BBMN Disability Awareness & Inclusion Training

Disability Awareness for Excelsior Rotary DEI Committee 1

Disability

Awareness Learn about disabilities and disability history!

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Why is Disability Awareness Important?

Disability awareness is about being mindful of disabilities that people have, educating society regarding disabilities and learning how we as individuals can bring about necessary changes for greater acceptance and inclusion.

Disability is very prevalent in our society, so it’s not enough to just know that discriminating on the basis of disabilities is unlawful. We must learn more to combat the stereotypes and prejudices that people with disabilities face.

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Disability Rights vs. Disability Justice 1960s A global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for people with disabilities.

Early 2000s A framework that examines disability and ableism as it related to other forms of oppression and identity, with a focus on dismantling systems that cause injustices.

Key Points: • Legal-based framework inspired by civil rights movement

Key Points: • Based around transformative change with focus on intersectionality

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Equality model that addresses symptoms, but not root causes (focus was first on physical disabilities)

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Disabled people of color, queer, trans and gender non-conforming people with disabilities at the forefront

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Focus on rights without a broader examination of systems of oppression (right to education does not mean education will be equitable)

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Seeks to spread awareness on how ableism is much more complex than people struggling with a disability

Founders - Patty Berne, Mia Mingus, Stacey Milbern 4

Are “Impairment” and “Disability” the same?

Sometimes, but not always!

A disability is the impact of a condition (physical, attitudinal, environmental, etc.) that significantly impairs, interferes with, or limits a person’s ability to engage or participate in certain tasks or actions in daily activities and interactions.

An impairment is an injury, illness, or congenital condition that causes or is likely to cause a loss or difference of physiological or psychological function.

@belonging.table

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The flu Ableist attitudes

Sprained ankle Appendicitis

Deafness Epilepsy Down syndrome

Impairments Torn ligament

20/200 vision

@belonging.table

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Spina Bifida

Inaccessible buildings

Disabilities/ Disabling Conditions Inaccessible information

HIV/AIDS Ableist laws

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Models of Disability Models of Disability seek to answer the question “Who or what is disabling to people with impairments?”

Medical Model

• Impairments alone are disabling to people with impairments

Social Model

Rights Model @belonging.table

• Non-impairment disabling conditions alone are disabling to people with impairments

• Both impairments and non-impairment disabling conditions are disabling to people with disabilities 7

Developmental Disability Defined Developmental Disability (DD) An umbrella term including intellectual disability but also includes other disabilities diagnosed during childhood. DD are chronic disabilities that can be cognitive, physical or both. The disabilities appear before age 22 and are typically lifelong.

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Types of Developmental Disabilities

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Down

Cerebral

Syndrome

Palsy

William

Angelman

Syndrome

Syndrome 9

Intellectual Disability Intellectual Disability (ID) Characterized by significant

limitations both in intellectual functioning (reasoning, learning, problem-solving) and in adaptive behavior, which covers a range of

everyday social and practical skills.

Disability originates before age 18.

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In Minnesota,

Around the world,

1 billion

200 million

people around the world live with some form of a disability (15%)

people have

1 in 6 children in the U.S. have

147,000 students currently get special education services,

intellectual and

developmental

accounting for

developmental

disabilities

16.3% of the

disabilities

student population11

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Inclusion

Basics Simple steps you can take to be more inclusive!

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Inclusion Basics Educate Interact Engage

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Educate Yourself Educate yourself about disability history and issues faced by the disability community.

Films/TV Shows

Social Media Accounts

Activists w/ Disabilities

Crip Camp

@valuable500

Haben Girma

Peanut Butter Falcon

@upgradeaccessibility

Melissa Blake

Where Hope Grows

@advocatesworld

Eddie Ndopu

Born This Way

@disabilityreframed

Jillian Mercado

Fundamentals of Caring

@theluckyfewofficial

Alice Wong

“Nothing about us without us.”

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Interact with Peers with IDD Disability Etiquette

▪ Be a friend ▪ Speak to the individual directly and avoid baby talk ▪ Excessive praise isn’t necessary ▪ Stop using ableist slurs and euphemistic language • • • • •

Differently abled Diverse abilities Handicapable Special needs NEVER say the “R” word

Disabled and disability are not bad words!

These phrases imply that a disability makes a person less than, and that disability is bad, negative, problem to be fixed, rather than a normal, inevitable part of being human.

“That guy is crazy.”

“You’re acting so bi-polar today.”

“It’s like the blind leading the blind.”

“I’m super OCD about how I clean my room.”

“She’s such a psycho.”

---------Handicapped parking → accessible parking Psycho / Crazy → wild, bizarre, chaotic Lame → awkward, uncool

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Interact with Peers with IDD The language we use matters!

Derogatory slurs → Euphemistic language → Person-First → Identity-First Person-First

Identity-First

Best to start with this if you don’t know what people prefer

Some people prefer this, becoming more common

Centering the person ahead of their disability

Validating disability as part of someone’s identity

Examples:

Examples:

People with disabilities

Disabled people

Woman with autism

Autistic woman

If you don’t know what someone prefers, just ask!

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Engage with the Community Opportunities to create inclusive schools, workplaces and communities: • Make your content and events accessible

• Talk about disability with children and young people • Hire disabled professionals • Listen to and defer to disabled voices • Work with Best Buddies!

If we are not intentionally creating cultures of inclusion, then by default, we are creating cultures of exclusion.

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Additional Topics to Explore ❖ Ableism ❖ Intersectionality ❖ Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging Thoughts to leave you with: Understand that not everyone is the same Dig deeper to understand better Avoid making assumptions

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