Watch Chip lead the way to accessible paths on campus — tap to play!
Next tour- Dec 8 @ Math/Psych 222!
October was Disability Identity and Awareness Month, and SDS was bustling with exciting events! One of the highlights was welcoming our special guest, Chip, who joined us for one of our monthly Accessibility Walk & Roll Tours.
We're thrilled to share this video showcasing Chip as she explores and demonstrates some of the accessible routes around campus. If you missed this one, don't worry! There are more opportunities to join us. Our next tours will take place on
November 10
and
November 19
at 12 PM.
Click on the image below to watch it!
What are the features? We have
many, including a Skywalk and several upgrades (lecture halls and elevators) and more on the way.
We will gather in the ADS Conference Room - learn the skywalk and tunnel connections within the Academic Core, review Adaptive Computing within the Library, and visit the reception area of Retriever Integrated Health - which supports both physical and mental health. The tour is limited to a small group, and please know that mask use is VERY WELCOME.
UMBC is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive environment for all. To request accommodation(s) or to inquire about event accessibility, please contact us via slazar@umbc.edu with "November 10/11 Accessibility Tour" in the subject line.
Can't make the day or time? More tours are planned. Have a (small) group? Email us to set up a day and time that works for the occasion.
Come learn, explore, and experience how accessibility shapes our campus community. See you then!
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October was Disability Identity and Awareness Month, and SDS was bustling with exciting events! One of the highlights was welcoming our special guest, Chip, who joined us for one of our monthly...
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Office of Accessibility & Disability Services
https://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/accessibility
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Office of Accessibility & Disability Services
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A picture of Chip posing with the True Grit Statue.
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On Language and Disability: Some Considerations
Person-first, Identity first and more. Ask.
The two primary ways that we identify with disability in language are
person first (person who uses a hearing aid) and
identity first (
Sandra Mae Frank is a Deaf actor). Both options have implications for how we, as a community, think about disability, and it is important, when working with individuals to glean their preference for either centering on identity, or identifying as a person first, which can create distance, especially based on their lived experiences to date. Someone with a person-first perspective may state, "I identify as a person with a disability to separate my Self from the stereotypes and stigma that others associate with disability."
When referencing disability, naming it explicitly is important. Accessibility and Disability Services and Student Disability Services embrace the word "disability" and work with people with any health condition that may qualify as a disability, regardless of how the person self-identifies. In the same vein, avoid coming across as condescending by not using euphemisms such as handi-capable, diverseability or differently-abled. We agree with Lawrence Carter Long's
#Say the Word Campaign. Other terms have been retired or don't apply in higher education where the emphasis is access and
on not being "Special" and acknowledging that
"handicap" is very Last Century.
The following resources (many with direct links to content) were informed by recent communications from our professional association the Association of Higher Education and Disability/AHEAD. If you would like to explore further, check out these links and books:
● Becoming Disabled: Rosemarie Garland-Thomson*, New York Times, 2016
● Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist: Judy Heumann (Beacon, 2020)
● Brilliant Imperfection: Grappling with Cure: Eli Clare (Duke UP, 2017)
● Claiming Disability: Knowledge and Identity, Simi Linton (NYU Press, 1998)
● Disability as Diversity: Lilah Burke, Inside Higher Ed., 2020
● Disability Visibility Project: Alice Wong
● Disabled: Just Say the Word: Barbara J. King, NPR, 2016
● Disabled Person or Person with a Disability: Annie Elainey
● Guidelines: How to Write About People with Disabilities, University of Kansas, Research and Training Center on Independent Living
● Guidelines for Writing About People with Disabilities: ADA National Network
● Identity-First Language: Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN)
● Language and Disability: Explore Access, UA Partners for Inclusive Communities
● The Language of Disability Activity: Disability as Diversity Toolkit, Explore Access, UA Partners for Inclusive Communities
● Language Guide: Disability Cultural Center, Syracuse University
● Leaving Evidence (blog): Mia Mingus
● PC Labels Do a Disservice: Stephen Stern, Inside Higher Ed., 2020
*Rosemary Garland-Thomson came to UMBC as a speaker for the Dresher Center's Humanities Forum on May 8, 2019
A photo of Scrabble letters stating "choose your words" illustrates this post. Credit: Brett Jordon via unsplash.com
For the past few years, UMBC has worked with American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
in hosting our annual Out of the Darkness: Suicide Prevention Campus
Walk. Each year, students, parents, staff, and community members come
together to raise awareness about mental health and to find ways to
support persons on their journeys out of darkness. In our current times,
the mental health needs of our students are growing, making events like
this are of great importance. In light of physical distancing, this year's annual Out of the Darkness Walk, to be held on Saturday, April 25, will be virtual.
Instructions: Please take a picture of yourself in an AFSP shirt (if you have one) or a UMBC shirt either walking or holding up a positive message and
share it on your (or your department's) social media page. Ideally,
take the picture outside (in a safe manner). Please include the
following or a similar message:
"Today
#HopeWalksHere at @UMBC to support @afspmaryland's mission to save
lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide! Let's create a
culture, that is smart about mental health: www.afsp.org/umbc !"
We encourage departments to make walking teams and register them on our campus website:
www.afsp.org/umbc . Please urge students to make teams as well!
Teams are asked to set a giving goal to raise money for AFSP and
the many programs (including those at UMBC) that they support. Your
giving goal is your choice. We will be raising funds through June 30, 2020.
Please join our department, in partnership with University Health Services, as we walk, tap & roll out of the darkness in body, mind and spirit!
Aerial Photo of five people and their shadows walking on a path and observing social distance by inbal marilli on Unsplash
Looking for supplemental or other UMBC health resources?