Autism Acceptance, Deaf History and Sexual Assault Awareness

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 08:21:16 -0400
ability, able, ableist, aspie, autism, behavior, black, disability, disorder, female, grandin, neurodivergent, neurotypical, race, social, spectrum, temple

Autism - from Awareness to Acceptance

April is known as Autism Awareness Month, including April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day (link). In listening to many within the Autism community - there is a call for media to move from using awareness to acceptance this year to foster change and inclusivity for those affected by autism - read more about it from the Autism Society here. Information on What is Autism is linked here, and a deeper dive sharing the voices of many people on the Autism Spectrum is posted here.

People of all identities around the world live, go to school and go to work with the neurodiversity that Autism brings to a world, often with struggle and difficulty. UMBC's students, faculty, staff, and visitors have this neurodiversity as well. While many learn and work well with best practices and accessible design, students (both undergraduate and graduate), as well as faculty and staff who experience disability with a diagnosed health condition (which includes autism) may seek accommodations through Student Disability Services (link) for academic programs, as well as work-related accommodations via Accessibility & Disability Services.

National Deaf History Month

National Deaf History Month runs from March 13-April 15th - and had its beginning in 1996 when two Deaf employees at Martin Luther King Library in DC began teaching their colleagues American Sign Language. (UMBC has American Sign Language courses throughout the year, and Sign of Life is the student organization for people who are learning/know ASL) April 8, 1864 was when Gallaudet University-the world's first institution of higher education for the Deaf and hard of hearing, April 15th, 1817 is when the American School for the Deaf - the first public school of its kind - opened.

Recent history includes the 2021 movie CODA winning Best Picture and Deaf actor Troy Kotsur, winning Best Actor at the Oscars, among other Oscars that night and SAG awards for best cast. Marlee Matlin, who won her first Oscar in 1987, played a pivotal role in advocating for a predominantly Deaf cast. Perhaps some of UMBC's students and alumni will be influenced by this history-making, if-you-can-see-it-you-can-be-it moment? Students, faculty and staff can learn more about UMBC's Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services here.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

This month we highlight awareness about sexual assault - which informs community safety and health at UMBC. ADS and SDS are acutely aware of how this harmful and criminal behavior disproportionately affects people with disabilities. Participating in the campus climate survey supports the campus awareness and training and response efforts. UMBC Office of Equity and Inclusion's survey is now open. You can access the online survey here and it will be open until Monday, April 25, 2022 and will take about 15-25 minutes to complete. This survey is anonymous and confidential; only after completing the Campus Climate Survey, is there a voluntary prompt for a drawing.

Content note: This survey asks some questions about personal experiences with sexual and interpersonal violence. Some of the language used in this survey is explicit and direct, and may be triggering or uncomfortable for some participants. Information on how to get help, if you need it, appears before and after the survey and is available at any time on the OEI website.

Learn more about Disability and Victimization here. Become involved with awareness, prevention and safety by participating in Green Dot (prevention) Training and being familiar with UMBC Resources.

*People with disabilities, including the Deaf and Autistic communities are not a monolith, it's important to respect how people individually self-identify.