DISABLITY VISIBILTY PROJECT

Alice Wong (she/her) is a disabled activist, writer, media maker, and consultant. She is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, an online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture created in 2014.

Alice is also a co-partner in four projects: DisabledWriters.com, a resource to help editors connect with disabled writers and journalists, #CripLit, a series of Twitter chats for disabled writers with novelist Nicola Griffith, #CripTheVote, a nonpartisan online movement encouraging the political participation of disabled people with co-partners Andrew Pulrang and Gregg Beratan, and Access Is Love with co-partners Mia Mingus and Sandy Ho, a campaign that aims to help build a world where accessibility is understood as an act of love instead of a burden or an afterthought.

Alice’s areas of interest are popular culture, media, politics, disability representation, Medicaid policies and programs, storytelling, social media, and activism.

She has been published in the New York Times, Vox, PEN America, Catalyst, Syndicate Network, Uncanny Magazine, Curbed SF, Eater, Bitch Media, Teen Vogue, Transom, Making Contact Radio, and Rooted in Rights. To learn more, click here.

Additional Resources:

• An Evening with Alice Wonghttps://www.youtube.com/live/fBe2OSCb4EE?feature=share

• Activist Alice Wong reflects on The Year of the Tiger and her hopes for 2023https://www.npr.org/2023/02/04/1153937530/activist-alice-wong-lunar-new-year-yearof-the-tiger-rabbit

The Nora Project

Their mission is to promote disability inclusion by empowering educators and engaging students and communities.

The Nora Project trains and coaches educators and offers a suite of SEL programs that dive deeply into the concepts of empathy and inclusion, explicitly addressing disability and difference as a part of human diversity. To learn more, click here

The Nora Project Resources:

• Tips for Creating an Accessible Halloween for All

• 10 Tips for Hosting an Accessible Holiday Gathering

• Models of Disability: The Medical, Social, and Biopsychosocial

Disability Etiquette And Awareness

Etiquette and awareness refer to educating people regarding disabilities and terminology or languages. The biggest barriers people with disabilities encounter are most often - other people - Disability Etiquette and Awareness.

Additional resources:

• 10 Ways to Be Inclusivehttps://www.easterseals.com/support-andeducation/facts-about-disability/helpfulhints.html

Wheelchair Etiquette

The first rule of etiquette when interacting with people in wheelchairs, or power chairs, is to remember that one should not focus on their disability. Instead, focus on the person. Another rule of etiquette is the act of shaking hands, even if their limbs are limited in use. Focus on the person, not on his or her disability - Wheelchair Etiquette.

Additional resources:

• Wheelchair Users Poll o Poll asks people who use wheelchairs what annoys them most - Things That Annoy People Who Use Wheelchairs

We See Colors Differently

About 1 in 20 people are colorblind in some way. This means that one or more of the types of cone cells in their eyes the cells we use to detect color does not work normally. Because of this, a person who is colorblind sees a reduced color space; two colors which appear distinct to a person with normal color vision may appear to be the same to a person who is colorblind. This phenomenon is not random. Mathematically, there are lines through color space called "confusion lines" such that every color on a confusion line appears the same to a person who is colorblind as every other color on that same confusion line. To learn more, click here.

Additional resources:

• Designing for Color Blindness - http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/colorblind/palettes.mhtml

• Why Your Data Visualizations Should Be Colorblind-Friendly -

https://towardsdatascience.com/is-your-color-palette-stopping-you-from-reaching-yourgoals-bf3b32d2ac49

When You Meet A Person Who Is Blind

Visually impaired people, whether they are totally blind or have some degree of useful vision may, at times, require the assistance of a sighted guide. For the sake of simplicity, the term "blind person" is used in this booklet to refer to the person who is being guided, whether totally blind or partially sighted. Tips on meeting a blind person including when to offer assistance and awareness hints for helping the blind - When You Meet a Blind Person.

Additional resources:

• Language of Disability Awareness o How do I address a person who is blind? Can I ask about it, what should I say? Examples of ways to address a person with a disability such as being blind or deaf

- Language of Disability Awareness.

Ways To Make Your Social Media More Accessible

Social media is a huge part of everyday life. From allowing us to connect with friends and family to viral memes that dominate pop culture, to provide quick access to the news; social media is an easy way to keep us connected and informed. For most, it’s easy to navigate, we can log in at anytime from anywhere to enjoy content throughout the day. However, if you have a disability, your experience with social media might be different. To learn more, click here.

Additional resources:

• American Foundation for the Blind Social Media Accessibility Guidelines - https://www.afb.org/consulting/afb-accessibility-resources/afbs-social-mediaaccessibility-standards

• Creating Accessible Social Media Content - https://disabilityin.org/resource/creatingaccessible-social-media-content/

• Federal Social Media Accessibility Toolkit Hackpad - https://digital.gov/resources/federal-social-media-accessibility-toolkit-hackpad/

• A Guide to Basic Accessibility on social media - https://www.accessliving.org/newsroom/guide-basic-accessibility-on-social-media/

• What are tips for creating accessible social media post? - https://www.washington.edu/doit/what-are-tips-creating-accessible-social-media-posts

WHAT IS AN EMOTIONAL DISABILITY?

Every single one of us has a unique genetic makeup that comprises who we are as people, and no one else on the planet with have the same combination of atoms as you do. Our uniqueness means that we all have different physical, mental, and emotional health and that we express our feelings in different manners. For some, emotional disabilities might be holding them back from performing at their very best. To learn more, click here

Ableism And White Supremacy Are Intertwined We Must Confront Them Together

Ableism is a systemic oppression and an expression of privilege that finds common ancestry with white supremacy.

Disabled people are often asked to give an account of themselves to quell nondisabled people’s discomfort, while striving toward conformity. It is understood that our lives do not matter enough to fund robust public transportation infrastructure, rethink city planning, improve workflows for benefits administration, or to codify universal health care access. To learn more, click here.

Additional resources:

• (Re)Producing White Privilege through Disability Accommodationshttps://medium.com/national-center-for-institutional-diversity/re-producing-whiteprivilege-through-disability-accommodations-4c16a746c0dc

• Ableism Is the Go-To Disguise for White Supremacy. Too Many People are Falling for it - https://rewirenewsgroup.com/2018/11/19/ableism-is-the-go-to-disguise-for-whitesupremacy-too-many-people-are-falling-for-it/

Resources

Take a course in Special Education at UAlbany!

State Directory

• List of State DD Councils

• List of State P&A Agency

• List of State UCEDDS

6 Ways to Be a Disability Rights Ally

1. Take action to support the Disability Access to Transportation Act.

2. Hir people with disabilities.

3. Routinely include people with different access methods in our product development and usability testing.

4. Teach disability history.

5. Make your social media content accessible.

6. View and share accessible, archived webinars on disability inclusion.

10 Books on Disability Justice:

• https://bookriot.com/disability-justice/

TED TALK - https://www.ted.com/topics/disability

Indigenous Disabled Creatorshttps://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2020/12/26/ep93-indigenous-disabled-creators/

30 Black Autistic People You May Want to Know about - https://the-art-of-autism.com/24-blackautistic-people-you-may-want-to-know-about/

5 Latinas with Disabilities who are Thrivinghttps://boldlatina.com/5-latinas-with-disabilities-whoare-thriving/

Disabled, Asian American, and Proudhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/disabilityis-diversity/202207/disabled-asian-american-andproud

11 Outstanding People Living with Disabilityhttps://www.aaaplay.org.au/news/2019/11outstanding-people-living-disability

10 Influential disabled LGBTQ+ activists to followhttps://disabilityhorizons.com/2021/06/10-influentialdisabled-lgbtq-activists-to-follow-this-pride-month/

Disability Awareness Films

Riding the Bus with My Sister

2005

A woman takes time off from her career to spend time with her sister, who has an intellectual disability, only to learn that her sister's life is much richer than she ever imagined. (PG)

Disability Documentaries

“Documentaries can open windows to our past. They allow us to re-live iconic moments in history. Below is a list of powerful documentaries exploring Asian history and culture in America.” PBS.org

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution

Season 10 Episode 4 aired Oct. 20, 2020

Co-directors/producers Jim Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham talk about their awardwinning film, Crip Camp, giving insight to the disability revolution in America. This film tells a story of Camp Jened and offers a unique perspective on equality. Lebrecht and Newnham discuss their initial involvement with the project and the way that it has impacted their lives as well as millions of viewers.

Vision Portraits

2019 1h 13m

An in-depth exploration of the creative paths of blind and visually impaired artists including a photographer, dancer, writer, and filmmaker.

Unrest

2017 1h 38m

When Harvard Ph.D. student Jennifer Brea is struck down by a fever that leaves her bedridden, she sets out on a virtual journey to document her story as she fights a disease that medicine forgot.