Celebrating Disability Pride in July at UMBC and Beyond
On Belonging, Ending Stigma and Being Authentically Known
Disability Pride Month is celebrated in July each year - and in 2013, Chicago's Disability Pride Parade explained their mission as:
"To change the way people think about and define 'disability,' to break down and end the internalized shame among people with disabilities, and to promote the belief in society that disability is a natural and beautiful part of human diversity in which people living with disability can take pride."
Learn more about the lived experience of people with disabilities:
Other ways to celebrate Disability Pride:
Get familiar with local resources and technical assistance - here is a sampling of what is available at UMBC:
We look forward to celebrating with you all month long. We ALSO celebrate Disability Pride every day, and especially in October, when more students are on campus.
Each year, millions of people navigate the lived experience of mental illness.
UMBC's Office of Accessibility and Disability Services, in solidarity with Student Disability Services, joins the movement with its many departmental partnerships, to promote mental health awareness, fight stigma, and provide support. One in five people will have a mental health diagnosis in their lifetime. We are in this together, indeed, we are stronger together for mental health.
In addition to the information above, UMBC has many resources and opportunities outlined here:
Students (undergraduate and graduate) groups and resources include:
Community
While some 24 hour resources are provided, it's important to know that anyone can have a moment of crisis, and are people available to listen and help via the following resources:
Have a safe and healthy month!
Photo of tiles spelling out MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS is displayed; credit Marcel Straub via
UnsplashAs we come to the end of a month that focuses on celebrating both our Autism community and our Deaf community, we'd like to remind you to continue to engage in opportunities to learn more and engage in discussion.
The ADS & SDS offices have selected two films this month that we encourage watching and spending time in reflection on in honor of our peers who represent these communities. As a reminder, we are hosting a Noontime, free-hour discussion session in the Math/Psychology Bldg, Room 222 conference room on Friday, 4/28 for anyone interested in joining us in discussion and reflection.
We hope to see you there, RSVPs are appreciated for space planning.
Films:
1. "In a Different Key"- Autism documentary that centers on the experience of Autism within neurotypical communities: From Patient Zero in rural Mississippi, initial discernment with Johns Hopkins healthcare providers, history of healthcare and structural inequality, as well as hope. This film centers on people on the autism spectrum within their families and community, and is available for free through PBS. For more information and to view it, please visit the website at
https://www.pbs.org/show/different-key/
Synopsis: A mother of a young adult with autism tracks down the first person ever diagnosed with autism, now an elderly man living in rural Mississippi, to learn if his life story holds promise for her own autistic son. Her journey exposes a startling record of cruelty and kindness alike, framed by forces like race, money, and privilege – but leads to hope that more communities are learning to have the backs of people on the spectrum. The documentary shows the lived experience of a diverse mix of people with autism within family, community, and transitioning toward independence.
2. "Feeling Through"- Academy Award-nominated film produced by Marlee Matlin, an American actress, and activist who is recognized as being the first Deaf performer to win an Academ
y Award (Best Actress, 1986). The film "Feeling Through" stars the only award-winning DeafBlind actor and the only DeafBlind member of the Screen Actors Guild. For more information, please visit the "Feeling Through" website at https://www.feelingthrough.com/. (Please note this film is not available for free online at this time and the film organizers are accepting donations to further their activism work for accessibility and disability representation in Hollywood).
Both films are captioned, have a downloadable transcript, as well as a version with audio description.
April is also a powerful awareness month to recognize and honor for...
National Stress Awareness
Irritable Bowel Syndrome Awareness
Oral Cancer Awareness
Alcohol Awareness
Sexual Assault Awareness
Sexually Transmitted Infections Awareness
National Minority Health Awareness
National Parkinson's Awareness
Arab American Heritage Month
Child Abuse Prevention
Join the UMBC Career Center and the Howard County Autism Society's AUTISM HIRING PROGRAM for this timely VIRTUAL workshop designed to help neurodivergent students (Autism, ADD/ADHD, Dyslexia, Long COVID, Mental Health Diagnoses, Learning Disabilities) prepare for and explore the workplace.
When: May 8, 2023 @ 12:00 Noon (Virtual via Webex)
How: Register via UMBC Handshake (Career Center's Hiring Platform):
or
Presenters from Howard County Autism Society's Autism Hiring Program and UMBC's Career Center will share what to consider, questions to ask, and how to engage with employers to land your next job, while learning more about the local Autism Hiring Program.
For information about the Autism Hiring Program, visit:
A photo of part of a desktop with headphones, mouse, notepad and plant accompany this post.
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Join the UMBC Career Center and the Howard County Autism Society's AUTISM HIRING PROGRAM for this timely VIRTUAL workshop designed to help neurodivergent students (Autism, ADD/ADHD, Dyslexia, Long...
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Celebrating Women with Disabilities Making History
Embracing Inclusion for Women's History Month
Accessibility and Disability Services and Student Disability Services celebrates Women's History Month, calling to mind all women who have contributed to pivotal moments and events in history and contemporary society. Women with disabilities have always been an essential part of history. These two articles showcase some of these women trailblazers, with links for more in-depth information:
Disabled Women from History You Should Know About- Sarah Bernhardt
- Adelaide Knight
- Raganhild Kata
- Rosa May Billinghurst
- Annette Kellerman
- Dorothea Lange
Some contemporary women with disabilities who are creating more change include:
Take a moment, connect with the linked material, and learn more about these trail-blazers.
Disability-related resources at UMBC include:
Happy Women's History Month!
A photo of a woman in a power wheelchair stopped in front of a pedestal accompanies this post. Credit Carlos Navas via unsplash.com.
UMBC's Office of Sustainability invites you to participate in our annual Rare Disease Day Challenge! This Tuesday Feb. 28th, we ask you to share your support, by showing your colors, on social media and using the #UMBCRare. We'll randomly select some lucky folks throughout the day to win some UMBC sustainability swag!
Rare Disease Day is the globally-coordinated movement on rare diseases, working towards equity in social opportunity, healthcare, and access to diagnosis and therapies for people living with a rare disease.
Since its creation in 2008, Rare Disease Day has played a critical part in building an international rare disease community that is multi-disease, global, and diverse– but united in purpose.
Rare Disease Day is observed every year on 28 February (or 29 in leap years)—the rarest day of the year.
Though Rare Disease Day is patient-led, everyone, including individuals, families, caregivers, healthcare professionals, researchers, clinicians, policy makers, industry representatives and the general public, can participate in raising awareness and taking action today for this vulnerable population who require immediate and urgent attention.
By Sharing your colors via social media, events, illuminating buildings, monuments and homes, by sharing experiences online and with friends, by calling on policy makers and shining the light on people living with a rare disease, collectively we aim to change and improve lives of the 300 million people worldwide.
What does this have to do with Sustainability?
The overarching goal of the campaign is to recognize that People Living With Rare Disease (PLWRD) are an overlooked population requiring immediate and urgent attention, and global and national policies that address their needs and contribute to achieving the UN 2030 Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals and their pledge to ‘leave no one behind’.
The 300 million PLWRD around the world and their families face common challenges in all aspects of their daily lives. As a population with increasing vulnerabilities, they are disproportionally affected by stigma, discrimination and social marginalization, within their social environment and in society at large. The paucity of knowledge and expertise on rare diseases and the lack of awareness of the challenges faced by PLWRD mean that they are psychologically, socially, culturally and economically vulnerable.
There are a number of synergies between the rare disease community’s needs and goals, and those of the UN 2030 Agenda and its
Sustainable Development Goals , mainly the following ones:
- Challenges affect the whole family and cause overall increased isolation and impoverishment (SDG 1);
- PLWRD lack access to appropriate diagnosis and lifelong care and social support (SDG 3);
- PLWRD face challenges in accessing education at all stages of their life due to inaccessibility of facilities and non-adapted teaching methods (SDG 4);
- Women living with a rare disease face more difficulties in accessing care and, when a member of the family lives with a rare disease, the primary unpaid care role is most often assumed by women (SDG 5);
- PLWRD and their families face challenges in access, retention and return to employment (SDG 8);
- The disproportionate level of vulnerabilities means PLWRD face stigma, discrimination and lack of opportunities for inclusion in society (SDG 10).
Photo of two young zebras peeking above the back of a third zebra, all with different black and white stripe patterns. Credit Hans Veth via unsplash.com
Diabetes Awareness Month is celebrated in November, where we call attention to a serious health condition that is no laughing matter with its need for monitoring and management, as well as its intersection with disability and mortality. November includes World Diabetes Day (November 14th) which was created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Foundation and the World Health Organization to recognize growing concerns about escalating health threats posed by diabetes. In 2006, it was recognized by the UN, and is celebrated on the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting who co-discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922.
Diabetes has a wide global reach and fits within the definition of a disability, and sometimes concerns about its flares (especially with Type 1) have graduate and undergraduate students reach out for on-campus resources, such as
The students with UMBC College Diabetes Network Chapter let us know that their national organization has been renamed to The Diabetes Link, with the tagline: Diabetes does not define you, but does define us, we exist to support and empower you. The students' recommended Diabetes Resources for young adults include:
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Diabetes Awareness Month is celebrated in November, where we call attention to a serious health condition that is no laughing matter with its need for monitoring and management, as well as its...
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5 Things Ally Can Do For Bb Course Accessibility (IT Repost)
Making Bb Courses Accessible & Disability Friendly 8/16 10a
REPOST from Instructional Technology, click here or on the Website button to register for the 8/16/22 10:00a online session.Learn about Ally, a tool available in Blackboard Original and Ultra courses, that improves the accessibility of your course content. Attend this session to see Ally's remediation capabilities and file conversion tools that generate alternative formats for you and your students.
This workshop will offer ideas for developing a strategy to improve your course usability and accessibility and how to get started with Blackboard Ally. Available in both Original and Ultra courses, Ally scans content in Blackboard and provides feedback and tools to identify and fix accessibility issues.
Leverage Ally's powerful alternative format options yourself, and let students know they can download content in multiple formats that give them choices in how they watch, read, or listen.
Upon completing this online session, participants should be able to:
Following the 45-minute presentation, join us for a closer look at how to use Ally and Q&A.
To RSVP for this event, please click the Website button below to get to the Instructional Tech page to "Go virtually" and be sure to add the event to your calendar!
This webinar will take place in a Blackboard Collaborate virtual conference room. Enter the webinar up to 15 minutes before the start time. Use the "Join Online Event" link above to join the session.
At least 5 registrations are needed for this session to proceed as scheduled. The session will be recorded if two or more people attend and the link will be distributed to everyone who registered.
"To change the way people think about and define 'disability,' to break down and end the internalized shame among people with disabilities, and to promote the belief in society that disability is a natural and beautiful part of human diversity in which people living with disability can take pride."
The Disability Pride movement is long-standing, and became more evident as a day of celebration in 1990 - the same year that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law. Boston celebrated its first Disability Pride Day that year, however many are also familiar with the earlier 504 disability civil rights movements of the 1970s which is chronicled in
the movie Crip Camp, (
Crip Camp Netflix link,
Crip Camp YouTube link, which highlights the advocacy efforts of
Judy Heumann and
James LeBrecht, among others). This July marks the 32nd anniversary of the ADA, and many cities across the country celebrate disability pride with parades and festivals. Let's work together to support access and inclusion so more people can say it loud, "I'm disabled and I'm proud!"
Other ways to celebrate Disability Pride:
Get familiar with local resources and technical assistance - here is a sampling of what is available at UMBC:
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Disability Pride Month is celebrated in July each year - and in 2013, Chicago's Disability Pride Parade explained their mission as: "To change the way people think about and define...
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Celebrating Women with Disabilities Making History
Embracing Inclusion for Women's History Month
Accessibility and Disability Services and Student Disability Services celebrates Women's History Month, calling to mind all women who have contributed to pivotal moments and events in history and contemporary society. Women with disabilities have always been an essential part of history. These two articles showcase some of these women trailblazers, with links for more in-depth information:
Disabled Women from History You Should Know About- Sarah Bernhardt
- Adelaide Knight
- Raganhild Kata
- Rosa May Billinghurst
- Annette Kellerman
- Dorothea Lange
Some contemporary women with disabilities who are creating more change include:
Take a moment, connect with the linked material, and learn more about these trail-blazers.
Disability-related resources at UMBC include:
Happy Women's History Month!
A photo of a woman in a power wheelchair stopped in front of a pedestal accompanies this post. Credit Carlos Navas via unsplash.com.