Sesame Access are not only a disabled access lift manufacturer but we are also advocates for an accessible and inclusive society. We create products which change peoples lives and ensure they can access the buildings and places they WANT to go to and not just because it is accessible.

The news stories below demonstrate the struggles and obstacles the disability community face everyday. Raising awareness is essential to combat the issues and make a change.

“From Ableism to Empowerment: Increasing Disability Awareness” Event

On Friday, April 1 at 3 p.m., Christa Bialka, Ed.D., the Director of the Department of Education and Counseling and an Associate Professor of Special Education, hosted an event entitled “From Ableism to Empowerment: Increasing Disability Awareness” in Room 215 of Tolentine Hall. She was introduced by Irene Kan, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Studies.

Bialka was thrilled by the number of people who attended the event, especially with it being on a Friday afternoon and the day before the highly anticipated Final Four game.

“I am so appreciative that there are so many people who are interested in hearing more about disability awareness,” Bialka said. “People have a lot of different demands on their time, and I feel overwhelmingly supported.”

The term empowerment is important for Bialka, as it allows people to have more conversations about disability and leads to greater inclusivity of people with disabilities.

“What I want to give you today are tools for you to think about disability in ways you may not have before,” Bialka said. “I think, in line with some of the research, a lot of people are hesitant to talk about disability because they don’t want to be offensive. My aim is to empower people with the tools to function as allies and self-advocates and to move people from feeling hesitant to feeling confident.”

She accomplished this through discussing the language that we use when we talk, or don’t talk, about disability and the implications it has for how disability is thought of and stigmatized in our society. She was able to use her research in K-12 and higher education to inform this presentation and offer strategies for reducing the stigma around disability.

At the beginning of her presentation, Bialka implored audience members to “think back on moments when you might have been unsure how to talk about disability,” mentioning how we are socialized to think about disability in ways that reinforce stigma. This aligns with many standard educational experiences as well, where disability was not often included in classroom conversations. These experiences also underscore the history of disability rights, which is intersectional in nature and aligns with the civil rights movement.

Bialka mentioned how the longest- standing model for talking about disability is the medical model, which is the basis for much of the special education training that people receive. This model, according to Bialka, posits that “disability is a fixed condition,” and it “suggests that it is the person’s job to fit into society, that they should change.”

She explained that it is important to move toward a social model to reframe how we think and discuss disability, demonstrating how the world needs to be more accessible for disabled individuals, as opposed to those individuals having to adapt to an inaccessible world.

Read the full story here: https://villanovan.com/20477/n...

Burke County students getting eye-opening experience during Disability Awareness Week

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — Students across Burke County are learning what it’s like to live with a disability.

Two Exceptional Children’s teachers at Freedom High School came up with the idea as part of the district’s “Disability Awareness Week.”

Each day, students are given different tasks highlighting disabilities such as Down syndrome, autism and physical and learning disabilities.

“I think it’s really been beneficial to promote awareness about physical disabilities and activities like this make it fun. And we get to experience life from a different perspective,” student Sara Suctop said.

Read the full story here: https://www.wsoctv.com/news/lo...

Exclusive: Demand for learning disability consultant nurse in every Welsh board

There is a “desperate need” to boost the number of learning disability consultant nurses across Wales, according to a new report exclusively revealed by Nursing Times.

The report from Royal College of Nursing in Wales warns that there is currently only one learning disability nurse consultant in the country and that over the last 13 years there has never been more than two in post.

“Failure to properly invest in learning disability nursing will further increase the health inequalities these individuals already experience"

Helen Whyley

The college is calling for action to increase this number so that there is at least one of these nurses in each of the seven health boards and three NHS trusts in Wales.

“To invest in learning disability consultant nurses is to invest in the whole system and embed the importance of individuals with learning disabilities rightfully at the centre of health and social care,” it stressed.

The demands are outlined in a new RCN Wales report into learning disability nursing, which has been seen by Nursing Times and is due to be published on Thursday.

The report also highlights the need for more pre-registration learning disability nurses to be trained.

According to the report, the number of student places commissioned for learning disability nursing in Wales “was static at 77” between 2018 to 2021, although this had risen to 86 for 2022-23.

However, despite the low number of places on offer, RCN Wales recognised challenges faced by education providers in regards to recruiting onto learning disability nursing courses.

The college therefore stressed there needed to be “more of an emphasis on making the role of a learning disability nurse visible and seen as an attractive career for younger people”.

Action also must be taken to provide increased access to post-registration nursing education and universities should establish learning disability consultant nurse and advance practice nursing courses, the report suggested.

Overarchingly, RCN Wales said it was key that health boards and trusts in Wales ensured “learning disability nursing is embedded in every aspect of care”, including primary, community, secondary and specialist care.

It was also vital the Welsh Government sought to understand the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic on people with a learning disability, who have been disproportionally affected by Covid-19, urged the report.

Read the full story here: https://www.nursingtimes.net/n...

E-bike crash raised my awareness of disability, says van den Berg

Albert Jan van den Berg has spoken about how a crash on his e-bike raised his awareness of the challenges of disability, which he is now seeking to highlight in the international arbitration community.

Read the full story here: https://globalarbitrationrevie...

United Helpers holds celebration for Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

HEUVELTON — Holding signs that said things like, “The only disability is a bad attitude,” “My ability is stronger than my disability,” and “Keep staring, I might do a trick,” a group of nearly 50 individuals with developmental disabilities and their caregivers took to the streets of Heuvelton for a walk to celebrate Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

United Helpers Behavioral Health and Life Skills operates 10 Individualized Residential Alternatives (IRAs) across St. Lawrence County, providing employment to more than 250 individuals, while also caring for nearly 50 individuals with developmental disabilities.

Read the full story here: https://www.nny360.com/news/st...

Disclaimer- We do not own/write any of these article extracts, we are simply sharing to our audience in order to raise awareness and increase coverage. Credit is always given.