Join the U.S. Congress, Maryland Department of Disabilities and the disability community within UMBC and beyond to celebrate National Assistive Technology (AT) Awareness Day.
National AT Awareness Day honors people with disabilities who require AT to access their education, workplace, community, and recreational activities. The day also recognizes the innovation of researchers, educators, and the dedication of AT specialists and program providers who operate AT programs so that millions of individuals can acquire and use low-cost and often no-cost AT.
Every state has an Assistive Technology Program that is a resource for its residents - information on Maryland's Assistive Technology program MDTAP is linked here. MDTAP AT loan libraries are located throughout the state with nine community locations so people can try out devices for suitability before committing to a purchase. Assistive Technology is in regular use on campus.
Learn more about Maryland's AT High Tech Reuse Program on June 12th via the MDoD webinar, register via this Zoom link - potentially a no-cost option for some Maryland residents.
More information about National Assistive Technology Day is available at the link below.
Blind Industries and Services of Maryland is in nearby Halethorpe and works with Marylanders and vision loss, including connecting with resources for incorporating assistive technology into daily living. Celebrate with group of AT users this Saturday at their upcoming Brew Reveal.
#ATAwarenessDay #disability #disabilityinclusion
Some good news from the Association of Higher Education and Disability/AHEAD (one of the professional associations that UMBC's ADS/SDS Staff belongs to)
"AHEAD is happy to share that on the 33rd Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) have reintroduced the Pell Grant for Students with Disabilities Act! (HR 5739 for those wanting to reach out to their Federal Representatives)
This reintroduction is due to AHEADs continued efforts to work with Congress to address an issue that has been raised time and time again by our members as a stumbling block for students with disabilities to successfully complete college. Students are in the position of having to decide whether to follow their recommended course load or ignore the recommendation and go with a full-course load in order to qualify for the full Pell Grant amount for which they are eligible.
The Pell Grant for Students with Disabilities Act, like its predecessor in the last Congress, would allow students with disabilities to take the recommended course load without losing Pell Grant funding by having the U.S. Department of Education consider the recommended course load as equivalent to a full course load (which is 12 credits)." -AHEAD listserv post 7-27-23
Don't be shy about reaching out to your elected officials. Closer to home, resources for campus members and visitors with disabilities include: Student Disability Services, Accessibility and Disability Services (Employees and Visitors), and UMBC's online form for reporting accessibility concerns. As Disability Pride Month comes to a close, please know we honor and celebrate people with disabilities every day, and have more events planned, especially for October, Disability Employment Awareness Month.
In this critical moment and movement, Accessibility and Disability Services affirms our solidarity with the Black community at UMBC and beyond. You matter. Your safety matters. Your health matters.
We mourn the Black Americans who have lost their lives to police brutality: George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, David McAtee, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Freddie Gray and too many others, including those whose identities include disability, such as Shukri Ali Said and Saheed Vassall (link).
American society and its institutions have yet to end the oppression of people on the basis of their race, religion, class, disability, and other aspects of their identities. We have miles to go and must not rest as we rise up as a nation and fully embody the self-evident truth of being created equally as humans that are entitled to full participation.
Student Disability Services (SDS), as part of Accessibility and Disability Services (ADS), works with members of the UMBC community to leverage our knowledge, skills and abilities to continue building more just communities and a society in which everyone can thrive with full inclusion of their race and ability. Given the experiences our work provides, we remain aware of how we must renew our commitment to challenging structural racism and white supremacy, and to advancing social justice with our work. We call out in solidarity:
I Can't Breathe: We remain horrified by police killings and brutality against the Black community that not only creates trauma and harm (which can result in disability), but perpetuates disability-based stigma, closeting and denial. The price for being Black and disabled is too high in the United States (link). Research on Policing at the Nexus of Race and Mental Health (link) underscores the need for more awareness and action. Media coverage on law enforcement use of force and disability also must improve (link) to end myths and stigma, while enabling belonging and awareness.
We Can't Breathe: In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, our national numbers are staggering. The Brookings Institute reports that the death rate from COVID-19 is disproportionately higher for Black and Latinx people in all age categories (link). The CDC highlighted how factors like residential segregation, service work/underemployment, and lower access to health care can result in adverse health outcomes, higher rates of hospitalization and death in communities of color (link). SDS staff are listening. We will seek opportunities to create inclusive and effective change as we continue our work with the students, staff, faculty and visitors who engage with our offices*.
We are encouraged and strengthened by University leadership:
UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski and Provost Philip Rous's Statement: This Time in America and
USM's Leadership Statement on Structural Racism and the Killing of George Floyd