What is Disability Awareness?
Disability Awareness is about understanding, recognizing, and respecting the challenges and abilities of people with disabilities. It involves:
- Education: Learning about different types of disabilities, both visible and invisible, and understanding how they affect individuals’ lives.
- Empathy: Developing a sense of empathy and compassion towards people with disabilities by listening to their experiences and perspectives.
- Inclusion: Promoting inclusive practices in various settings, such as schools, workplaces, and public spaces, to ensure that people with disabilities have equal opportunities and access.
- Advocacy: Supporting policies and initiatives that protect the rights of people with disabilities and advocating for changes that improve their quality of life.
- Breaking Stereotypes: Challenging and changing negative stereotypes and misconceptions about disabilities.
By raising awareness, we can create a more inclusive and supportive society where everyone is valued and respected. Is there a specific aspect of Disability Awareness you’re interested in learning more about?
Books
Special Stories for Disability Awareness by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781843103905Publication Date: 2006-11-15
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781984899422Publication Date: 2020-06-30
Articles on Disability Awareness
- Why Disability Inclusion Matters - Shantha Rau BarrigaHuman rights advocates should embed a disability perspective in all rights issues, cultivate the leadership of people with disabilities, and address ableism, including in their own organizations.
- Equal Treatment, Equal Access: Raising Awareness about People with Disabilities and Their Struggle for Equal Rights - Anti-Defamation LeagueFor centuries people with disabilities were thought to be helpless, indigent citizens, and were forced into institutions and asylums without equal opportunity or equal protection under the law. The disability rights movement of the 1960s marked a critical turning point with the rise of a grassroots effort that eventually led to the legislative victories of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 (renamed IDEA in 1990) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.
- Disability Awareness: Eryn BrownAn aisle too narrow, a lab bench too high: the scientific world is a complex place for researchers with disabilities. But many of them find ingenious ways to make it work.
- Want to be a Better Ally to Disabled People? Here's How !- By Thomas Lu & Sylvie DouglisJuly is Disability Pride Month, an event that promotes awareness for the about 61 million adults in the United States who live with at least one disability.
What is Disability Empowerment?
Disability Empowerment is about enabling people with disabilities to take control of their own lives and make decisions that affect them. It involves:
- Self-Advocacy: Encouraging individuals with disabilities to speak up for their rights and needs, and to participate in decision-making processes.
- Access to Resources: Ensuring that people with disabilities have access to the necessary resources, such as education, employment opportunities, healthcare, and assistive technologies.
- Skill Development: Providing opportunities for people with disabilities to develop skills and gain knowledge that will help them achieve their personal and professional goals.
- Community Support: Building supportive communities that recognize and value the contributions of people with disabilities, and that provide social and emotional support.
- Policy and Legislation: Advocating for laws and policies that protect the rights of people with disabilities and promote their inclusion and participation in society.
Empowerment is about creating an environment where people with disabilities can thrive and lead fulfilling lives. Is there a particular area of Disability Empowerment you’re interested in exploring further?
Disability Empowerment: Free Money For Disabled Americans To Make Dreams Reality by ISBN: 9781438221779Publication Date: 2008-09-22
Here are ten highly recommended books that focus on disability empowerment and advocacy:
- “Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century” edited by Alice Wong - A collection of essays by disabled people sharing their experiences1.
- “Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice” by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha - Explores the concept of disability justice and the importance of care work1.
- “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma” by Bessel van der Kolk - While not exclusively about disability, it offers valuable insights into trauma and recovery1.
- “Crip Theory: Cultural Signs of Queerness and Disability” by Robert McRuer - Examines the intersection of queer theory and disability studies1.
- “A Disability History of the United States” by Kim E. Nielsen - Provides a comprehensive history of disability in the U.S.1.
- “My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey” by Jill Bolte Taylor - A brain scientist’s account of her recovery from a stroke2.
- “Count Us In: Growing Up with Down Syndrome” by Jason Kingsley and Mitchell Levitz - Shares the experiences of two young men with Down syndrome2.
- “The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love with Me” by Keah Brown - A collection of essays on disability, pop culture, and self-love3.
- “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist” by Judith Heumann - The memoir of a leading disability rights activist3.
- “Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law” by Haben Girma - The inspiring story of the first Deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School3.
These books offer a range of perspectives and insights into the lives and experiences of people with disabilities.
Articles on Disability Empowerment
- Achieving Disability Equality: Empowering Disabled People to Take the Lead - Laufey Love, et.al.Achieving disability equality calls for transformative changes to society's structures and norms. Recognizing the central role of disabled people and their organizations in this restructuring, and the call of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) for their full inclusion in all legal and policy decisions relating to their rights, this article focuses on how disability groups and organizations regard their ability to effect changes in line with the CRPD.
- Creating a Better Society: The Importance of Empowering People with Disabilities - The Mindful WordIf you have no disabilities, you may not have given much thought to the financial, psychological and emotional ramifications of not being able to do things that perfectly healthy people do automatically. If you look physically healthy, you may not have any awareness of the painful discrimination in all areas of life that people with disabilities live with on a daily basis.
- Disability Awareness, Training, and Empowerment: A New Paradigm for Raising Disability Awareness on a University Campus for Faculty, Staff, and Students. - Dana Roth,et.al.A select committee of faculty, staff, administrators and students collaborated to create and implement the Disability Awareness, Training, and Empowerment (DATE) program on the campus of a midsize public state institution in the Northeastern United States.
- Empowering Personal Trainers to Work with Individuals with Disabilities to Improve Their Fitness - Beattie, Cassandra; Streetman, Aspen E; Heinrich, Katie MThe benefits of regular physical activity for individuals with disabilities (IWDs) are well recognized. Nonetheless, IWDs report several barriers to physical activity participation, including limited access to qualified and experienced personal trainers. Limited research exists from personal trainers’ perspective. This qualitative study aimed to examine the experiences of personal trainers who successfully improve the fitness of IWDs. Individual interviews were conducted with ten personal trainers, focusing on educational and occupational background, experiences training IWDs, and experiences training IWDs within gyms.
- Empowering student with disabilities by teaching self-determination skills - 0 Lorraine H. Harrison, ET.AL.The increasing emphasis on the empowerment of individual with disabilities necessitates that classroom teachers provide instruction in self-determination skills. Since this curricular need is recent, special educators have critical needs for research to use as a base for appropriate classroom content and methodology. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the existing literature which special education teachers can use as a basis for classroom instruction.
- Voting as Empowerment Practice - Jennifer K. Davis,This article seeks to explore the appropriate use of empowerment-based social work practice to increase the voter participation of those with psychiatric disabilities. Empowerment-based practice has become standard in community mental health care but has not included voting as an area of focus. The Civic Volunteerism Model is utilized to provide a theoretical framework for the natural integration of voter participation into empowerment based practice. Barriers and their remedies to voter participation as a component of empowerment-based practice are discussed.
Celebrities
Jeremy Sicile-Kira is a visionary artist known for his unique ability to see and feel emotions as colors, a condition known as synesthesia. He is also autistic and communicates primarily through typing. Jeremy’s artwork is inspired by his dreams and visions, which he translates into colorful abstract portraits. His paintings often reflect people he knows, places he has visited, and significant social events. 1 2
Jeremy’s journey into art began in 2012 when he started sharing his dreams of painting with others. Despite being told it might not be possible, he pursued his passion and developed his skills, eventually holding art exhibitions and gaining national recognition. 2 3 His work aims to give people hope and highlight the beauty he perceives in the world. 2
Learn more: 1. jeremysvision.com 2. jeremysvision.com 3. damonbrooks.com 4. publications.ici.umn.edu 5.semel.ucla.edu
Famous Celebrities
There are many inspiring celebrities who have achieved great success despite living with disabilities. Here are a few notable examples:
|
1. Stephen Hawking: The renowned theoretical physicist lived with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for most of his life 1. |
|
| 2. Helen Keller: She was both deaf and blind, yet became a famous author, political activist, and lecturer. 2 1 | |
| 3. Marlee Matlin: An Academy Award-winning actress who is deaf. 3 | |
| 4. Andrea Bocelli: The famous tenor who is blind. 3 | |
| 5. Michael J. Fox: Known for his roles in “Family Ties” and “Back to the Future,” he has been living with Parkinson’s disease. 3 | |
| 6. Nick Vujicic: A motivational speaker born without limbs. 2 1 | |
| 7. Selena Gomez: The singer and actress has been open about her struggles with lupus. 4 | |
| 8. Lady Gaga: She has fibromyalgia, a condition that causes widespread pain. 3 |
These individuals have not only excelled in their respective fields but also serve as powerful advocates for disability awareness and inclusion. Is there a particular celebrity or story that resonates with you?
Learn more: 1. wecapable.com 3. disabilityhorizons.com 4. thethings.com 5. developgoodhabits.com 6. safesmartliving.com 7. media.gettyimages.com 8. media.gettyimages.com 9. media.gettyimages.com 10. media.gettyimages.com 11. media.gettyimages.com 12. media.gettyimages.com 13. media.gettyimages.com 14. media.gettyimages.com