• Participate in the ADA National Network's 35th Anniversary Awareness Campaigns 
• Attend Baltimore's Disability Pride Art Fest on July 12 (Sat) 10-2 at 400 Cathedral Street (EPFL Central Branch)
• The NYPL has a range of titles for reading a book about disability.
• Take in Michaela Otera's 2023 Disabled Beauty Series.
• Watch a movie that includes actors with disabilities.
• Visit the Society of Disabled Oracles - a creation of Alice Wong, Aimi Hamraie and Jen White Johnson. If they sound familiar, Aimi Hamraie has presented here on Critical Access Studies via the Dresher Center, and Jen White Johnson has conducted two HTLab on Zines as Tools for Action.
• Faculty can learn more about Accessible Course Design with this free webinar on July 24

• UMBC Critical Disability Studies courses as a minor area of study
• Accessibility and Disability Services (check out Disability Pride events here)
• Student Disability Services
• Report a UMBC Campus Accessibility Concern via this online form and be an accessibility ally - this is after being a good campus citizen by bringing it to the attention of the responsible department, such as reporting a Facilities Management repair to 410-455-2550.
• Learn more about UMBC's Disability Studies First Year Seminar and American Sign Language courses.  
• Become involved with student organizations such as Sign of Life (ASL), UMBC NAMI (Mental Health), Delta Alpha Pi (Honor Society for Students with Disabilities), DAU, Best Buddies, and more.

• Participate in the ADA National Network's 34th Anniversary Awareness Campaigns 
• Patapsco Valley State Park/A Park for Everyone (link) has a webinar on Adaptive Initiatives to ensure recreation for visitors of all abilities July 17 2-3:30 pm
• Take in an interview of Guinevere Chambers, Disability Sociologist via the Ologies podcast whose content is described as "Sexuality and disability! Invisible illnesses! Airline frustrations! How many of us are disabled!...[B]ust myths and provide perspective on everything from the history of ableism to sign language to eyeglasses, the criminal justice system, caregiving, how to ask for what you need, handling curious strangers, disclosing disabilities, where ADHD and autism come into play, and how to follow this study path." Transcript available at the link.
• The NYPL has a range of titles for reading a book about disability.
• Take in Michaela Otera's 2023 Disabled Beauty Series.
• Watch a movie that includes actors with disabilities
• View Tiffany Yu's Ted Talk on the disability employment gap and ways companies can make the workplace more inclusive. Tiffany shared three tips that every workplace can  incorporate to welcome people with disabilities:  Stop making assumptions. Rethink accessibility and accommodations. Embrace flexibility. To view the video click: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoyHvfJowZI 
• Visit the Society of Disabled Oracles - a creation of Alice Wong, Aimi Hamraie and Jen White Johnson. If they sound familiar, Aimi Hamraie has presented here on Critical Access Studies via the Dresher Center, and Jen White Johnson had a HTLab on Zines as Tools for Action.

• Accessibility and Disability Services (check out Disability Pride events here)  Staff attend professional development with the Association for Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) - this month their national conference is in Baltimore!
• Student Disability Services
• Report a UMBC Campus Accessibility Concern via this online form and be an accessibility ally - this is after being a good campus citizen by bringing it to the attention of the responsible department, such as reporting a Facilities Management repair to 410-455-2550.
• Learn more about UMBC's Critical Disability Studies Minor and American Sign Language courses. 
• Become involved with student organizations such as Sign of Life (ASL), UMBC NAMI (Mental Health), Delta Alpha Pi (Honor Society for Students with Disabilities), DAU, Best Buddies, and more

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.

A photo of three women conferring over their laptops  while seated accompanies this post. Credit: Christina Wocin via unsplash.com

• Participate in the ADA National Network's 33rd Anniversary Awareness Campaigns 
• The NYPL has a range of titles for reading a book about disability.
• Take in Michaela Otera's 2023 Disabled Beauty Series.
• Watch a movie that includes actors with disabilities.
• Visit the Society of Disabled Oracles - a creation of Alice Wong, Aimi Hamraie and Jen White Johnson. If they sound familiar, Aimi Hamraie has presented here on Critical Access Studies via the Dresher Center, and Jen White Johnson had a HTLab on Zines as Tools for Action.

• Accessibility and Disability Services (check out Disability Pride events here)
• Student Disability Services
• Report a UMBC Campus Accessibility Concern via this online form and be an accessibility ally - this is after being a good campus citizen by bringing it to the attention of the responsible department, such as reporting a Facilities Management repair to 410-455-2550.
• Learn more about UMBC's Disability Studies First Year Seminar and American Sign Language courses.  A Disability Studies Minor is in the process of being developed.
• Become involved with student organizations such as Sign of Life (ASL), UMBC NAMI (Mental Health), Delta Alpha Pi (Honor Society for Students with Disabilities), DAU, Best Buddies, and more

• Participate in the ADA National Network's 32nd Anniversary Awareness Campaigns 
• The NYPL has a range of titles for reading a book about disability.
• Watch a movie that includes actors with disabilities.

• Accessibility and Disability Services
• Student Disability Services
• Learn American Sign Language
• Become involved with student organizations such as Sign of Life (ASL), UMBC NAMI (Mental Health) , DAPi (Honor Society for Students with Disabilities

• Being Intentional and Creating Accessible Documents via Instructional Technology Nov 18 Noom-1p online
• Trivia at Sunset
• Delta Alpha Pi November meeting
• Writing With Our Bodies: Diversity, Embodiment, and Technology in the Humanities Classroom  Note: Faculty & Grad students only Nov 20 at 10a: 
• Department online trainings (request yours via the website below)
• Spring 2021 registration - consider taking ENGL 493 -01 with Dr. Drew Holladay explores the efforts of disability activists to gain inclusion and challenge harmful stereotypes about disability and neurodiversity

• Share a #ThankstotheADA moment on social media
• Become aware of different perspectives: Don't Look Down on Me; How a Blind Astronomer was Able to Hear the Stars;
  
• Laugh and learn with comedians Stella Young and Maysoon Zayid
• Watch a movie such as Crip Camp, a Disability Revolution with a friend and talk about it.
  
• Visit a DisABILITY History Museum, or a Museum of Disability History online to consider what gains have been made, and the work that persists.
• Experience an Interview of the Honorable Tony Coelho, chief sponsor for the ADA bill in the House of Representatives and lifelong disability advocate. Learn more about the Section 504 sit-in with Judy Heumann.
  
• Participate in upcoming events throughout this 30th year with UMBC's Office of Accessibility and Disability Services.
  

• Five Disability Issues Candidates (and Voters) Need to Understand for the 2020 Elections
• Challenges to Disability and Basic Employment
• Americans with Disabilities are Advocating for More Support During COVID-19
• Medical Rationing Concerns during COVID
  

• COVID 19 Response and Retriever Return Roadmap: Students and Fall Course information; Employee and Supervisor Guides (link)
• Accessibility and Disability Services: Work Accommodation; Report an Accessibility Concern
  
• Student Disability Services