UMBC's Wellness Initiative
Connecting with mental health providers and wellness coaches through employee health benefits, as well as

Have a safe and healthy month!

During a recent University System of Maryland online gathering , our Assistant Vice Provost jointly presented with College Park about tips and strategies for digital accessibility.  We work in partnership with DoIT, and directly with Instructional Technology, beyond our collaboration and communication with faculty and the Faculty Development Center.  We are broadly sharing resources campus-wide to refresh awareness, including:

which is also posted on  SDS's Information for Faculty Resource website (link). and

These postings supplement and complement ongoing work with DoIT's Instructional Technology office, their department supports Blackboard, Ultra, Collaborate, Ally (Accessibility information linked here) and more.  UMBC's DoIT has a strong and enduring association with Educause that informs the drive for inclusive excellence online. The collaboration between Student Disability Services, students with accommodations, Instructional Technology and faculty/Faculty Development began when course content started  to shift online and continues today.

Faculty can learn more about Instructional Technology's web-based  PIVOT training here. The Planning Instructional Variety for Online Training was mentioned during this week's online Student Town Hall.  Additional FAQ information and technology-based training options are also available through DoIT.

Voicethread training, and Universal Design for Learning is being promoted by Intstructional Technology via this link. (Lots of captioning provided via this app during URCAD - it's not just for faculty!)

A  gentle reminder - Accessibility and Disability Services remains a resource for anyone fielding a UMBC-related accessibility question or concern.  ADS and Student Disability Services are also available for accommodation questions and intakes during this period of telework, and distance learning, including if there is a change in the need for accommodation. Details can be found here:

Faculty, staff and student employee accommodation information (link)

Accessibility Concerns may be reported to our office via this link at any time.  Office staff can be reached via 410-455-5745 and slazar@umbc.edu during regular business hours. 

Accessibility and Disability Services joins the Office of Equity and Inclusion as well as the Women's Center to raise awareness about sexual assault prevention, response and survivor support for all campus members, given its strong intersection with people with disabilities. 

The Women's Center's Virtual Sexual Assault Awareness  Month online (link) is transitioning from Deconstructing Rape Myths and Narratives into week three which is Honoring & Believing Survivors Stories. Connect here to see the latest events and activities.

Inclusive excellence is at the heart of these events.  Last August, UMBC staff, along with representatives from regional campuses, attended specialized training for Supporting Student Survivors with Disabilities and Deaf Students to reinforce our community's shared commitment to both refresh awareness and reinforce support for student survivors with disabilities. This training was funded by the BRAVE (Bringing Respect and Advocacy for Violence-Free Environments) Consortium Office of Violence Against Women Grant  of which UMBC is a member university. As a first step, campus teams help survivors connect with health care professionals to receive support. Please take a moment to review on-campus and off-campus resources below.  

Farther downstream, after initial Title IX-related supports, Accessibility and Disability Services, along with Student Disability Services, develop accommodation plans for people with diagnosed health conditions, which include mental health disabilities. 

We remind all readers that UMBC staff are still here and available for support during this COVID-19 moment. Do not hesitate to reach out for questions, concerns, or care.

On-Campus Resources Available for Virtual Support include: 

• Counseling Center

• Office of Equity and Inclusion (Title IX and more)
  

• University Health Services

• Women’s Center

• Retriever Courage has a full list of campus resources and support to include resources for USG students, faculty, and staff 

• For up-to-date details on how to access these resources during this time of distance learning visit UMBC’s COVID-19 resources page.

To report a complaint of sexual misconduct or discrimination, please submit this online form.

Off-Campus Resources:

• TurnAround, Inc. Helpline (Available 24/7): 443-279-0379; Office: 410-377-8111.  If you are in Maryland and far from UMBC and  are seeking support locally, additional Maryland sexual assault/rape crisis centers are listed here (link). If you are concerned about relationship violence, contact TurnAround or your local center about next steps.  These centers have adapted to COVID-19, and there is a domestic violence exception to the stay-at-home order in Maryland. While procedures are modified for COVID-19, help and support remain available.
  

• MCASA is still open and supporting survivors. Their Fact Sheet on Sexual Assault and People with Disabilities (link) underscores why Accessibility and Disability Services and Student Disability Services take sexual violence and gender-based violence so seriously. Inclusion matters.
  

• The National Sexual Assault Hotline is 24/7, confidential and free: 800-656-HOPE (4673) and through chat.  They can also help you connect with a sexual assault crisis center that is convenient to you.
  

• The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 24/7, confidential and free: 1-800-799-7233 and through chat. 

• Visit Retriever Courage for a more extensive list of off-campus resources and support

We share this to honor survivors, as well as in appreciation of the people we serve, as departmental partners and allies, as we continue the work to end sexual violence as a community.

Autism Awareness Month kicks off with World Autism Awareness Day (link)

to raise awareness that people around the world live, go to school and go to work with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. At UMBC, we works with students and employees who seek academic accommodations through Student Disability Services (link), as well as work-related accommodations via Accessibility & Disability Services. We are not unique, and some employers have specialized programs including Freddie Mac (link), Microsoft (link), as well as Ernst & Young, in addition to requesting job accommodations generally.

While there is a CDC Fact Sheet on Autism linked here, we can take note of UMBC alum Melanie Wiley's journey from diagnosis during medical school to Autism Advocate (link) and  from those who have the experience:

Temple Grandin shares that The World Needs All Kinds of Minds (link)

Ethan Lisi shares What It's Really Like to Have Autism

Rosie King shares How Autism Freed Her to Be Herself

Faith Jegede Cole shares What She Has Learned From Her Autistic Brothers

Research on Autism is ongoing, such as what Wendy Chung explains here (link), however, like most people who have been diagnosed are seeking dignity, respect and inclusion within their families, schools, workplace and community.  Take a journey with Steve Silberman to learn of The Forgotten History of Autism.

Additional Autism-focused media for home viewing during these COVID-19 Stay at Home Days include:  Please Stand By, My Name is Khan, Temple Grandin, The Imitation Game, A Brilliant Young Mind, Rain Man, Ocean Heaven, The Lighthouse of Orcas, Marathon, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Atypical, Autism in Love, The Horse Boy, as well as Life, Animated. Please consult online resources such as IMDB or Common Sense Media for brief plot descriptions, ratings, and suitable viewing ages if there are children who may view them with you.

As we end Women's History Month during this period of COVID-19 remote work, learning and social distance, we find ourselves looking for diversions and engagement while we are staying-at-home.   We've curated a global who's-who of women who identify as having a vision-related disability and have led historic and noteworthy lives and provided links for a deeper dive into their lives and experiences:

Helen Keller has spent her life as a speaker, author and advocate for people with disabilities, and her biography is posted on the American Federation of the Blind's website (link).  She is also the namesake for Helen Keller Services (link), which has a Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults, as well as services for people who are blind.

Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to receive a medical degree in 1849, and lost sight in her left eye while treating an infant with an infection.  In 1875 she helped found the London School of Medicine, where she taught as a professor until 1907. More about her life can be found on the Amazing Women in History site (link).

Trischa Zorn was born without irises and is the most medaled Paralympian of all time. When not working in athletic endeavors, she taught science as an educator and went on to become an attorney. She shares more about her journey on her website (link). Team USA writes of her as The Most Decorated Athlete You've Never Heard Of (link).

Sabriye Tenberken lost her vision to retinal disease at the age of twelve, and went on to found Braille Without Borders (link).  She was interviewed by Oprah (link) and featured in O Magazine (link), and has a fascinating TED talk on the right to be different (link), which shows more of her work in  Tibet and nearby countries.

Matilda (Tilly) Aston was born in 1873 with a vision impairment, becoming blind by the time she was seven.  She is described as the "Helen Keller of Australia", given her many accomplishments as a disability activist, teacher, and poet. (link). She was honored more recently with the Tilly Aston Bell (link).

Sinead Kane, with 5% vision, is legally blind, and lived through bullying and discouragement during her schooling. She went on to earn a law degree and found The Kane Ability (link) to address bullying and adversity.  She has now moved on to study bullying towards earning her PhD, and can be followed on Twitter via @blindrunner777.

Haben Girma was the first deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School in 2013.  She has recently written a book about her life and experience, as well as advocated for accessible design, including this 2016 presentation at Apple (link).

These women have navigated grief, loss, and uncertainty, as well as their successes, progressing with academic accommodations, work accommodations, and assistive technology.  UMBC's Student Disability Services (link) and Accessibility and Disability Services (link) are resources for students, faculty and staff with disabilities who wish to explore accommodation in academic endeavors, employment, and while visiting UMBC.

Photo of smiling woman with sunglasses was shared by Philip Cavalcante on Unsplash.com

Important to note:

1. The ADS website has a "business continuity" posting on our landing page. Important information, accommodation request processes and resources will continue to be updated there. 

2. As of March 19th, ADS staff are in the process of updating other pages of the ADS website accessibility.umbc.edu. Employees with risk factors are encouraged to contact  Human Resources for telework and leave options (UMBC COVID-19 link here). If you are unable to find the information being sought, please email us at slazar@umbc.edu. Similarly, business continuity information about Student Disability Services and academic accommodations is located on their website: https://sds.umbc.edu/. 

3. ADS staff are working remotely. You may email or call for general information, please use slazar@umbc.edu.  Staff will be checking that email throughout the day during business hours. You may also call 410-455-5745 between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday.

4. ADS staff are available for online or phone appointments. If you are a UMBC employee with accommodations please email  to book an appointment - send along your phone number as it might not be what we have on file. If you need assistance with booking an intake or follow-up phone or videoconference appointment, please email slazar@umbc.edu or call 410-455-5745. 

5. The most up-to-date campus information for students, staff and faculty can be found at covid19.umbc.edu. 

We look forward to communicating with you by phone, email or videoconference.

Campus members with other risk factors (e.g. age, someone else at home) may also have questions. Support and instructions for all high-risk employees (beyond faculty, staff and student workers with disabilities) are linked here, 

"For me it is just about trying to sensitize the world a little bit to barrier-free travel," Ebel said in the German town of Hanau.  She has been using a wheelchair since she was involved in a car accident 25 years ago.