[2] She ran the Disabled Women's Coalition office with Lynn Witt in the 1970s.
[3] On April 5, 1977, 150 disability rights activists stormed into the federal Department of Health, Education, and Welfare building demanding for the disability community to be included in the 504 section.
O'Toole was a participant in the 504 Sit-in, which lasted for twenty-five days, and ended in success.
Of the protest, she said, "At that time in history, there was simply no access: no right to an education, no public transit.
[4] In the protest, there were many groups who helped contribute to the success of the Sit-in, such as the Black Panther Party.
O'Toole was able to contribute to the law which provided aid and assistance to the disability community.
[5] In 1980 she established The National Disabled Women's Educational Equity Project in Berkeley, California.
Based at DREDF, the Project administered the first national survey on disability and gender and conducted the first national Conference on Disabled Women's Educational Equity held in Bethesda, Maryland.
[7] She also organized a first-ever briefing for California state legislators on issues of girls and young women with disabilities, in collaboration with the Center for Women Policy Studies (2003).
[7] On December 4, 2003, she received a "Woman of Valor" award from Educational Equity Concepts.
[7] In 2016 her book Fading Scars: My Queer Disability History was nominated in the category of LGBT Nonfiction for the 28th Annual Lambda Literary Awards.
Fit for Motherhood: Towards a Recognition of Multiplicity in Disabled Lesbian Mothers.
No Reflection in the Mirror: Challenges for Disabled Lesbians Accessing Mental Health Services.
Women: Disabled Women And Independent Living in Brazil, Germany, Great Britain, India, Japan, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Russia, South Africa and Uganda.