This episode is proudly sponsored by Ability Magazine, the leading magazine for health, disability, and human potential that strives to shatter myths and stereotypes that surround disabilities.
Welcome to the Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters podcast. I'm your host, Diana Pastora Carson. Here you'll find a safe space to learn and grow with leaders in education, disability studies, disability advocacy, and diversity, equity and inclusion conversations. Specifically, we look at how disability fits into diversity, equity, inclusion, access and belonging, and how to frame disability awareness in the context of educating K through 12 communities. This show serves educators, parents and community members who strive to learn and or teach about disability in a research-based and respectful way, moving beyond simple awareness and diving into inclusive and socially responsive conversations. Now, let's go beyond awareness.
Hello my friends, and welcome back to Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters. This is Diana, and I am again, I did this once before and I really enjoyed recording on the road. Um, I am actually walking on my dirt road right now, and I'm with my dog, Molly. I have a cup of mushroom chai in my coffee mug and a, a duffle bag, not a duffle bag, a tote bag that has piggies all over it. And I just went to the farm stand, my neighbor's farm stand, and picked up a fresh loaf of homemade organic sourdough as I'm walking, and it's gonna be a hot day. So I wanted to get out early, but I have something on my heart I just wanted to share. And that is this concept of access awareness.
So today what I really wanna talk about is this concept of disability awareness versus access awareness.
So we have this tradition, you know, historically all of our disability awareness is, you know, putting on glasses and smearing them with Vaseline or sitting in a wheelchair for 30 seconds or a minute, or, you know, just trying different disabilities on. And I always say, you know, I used to know a lot about disabilities when I got my master's degree in special education, when I got my credentials in teaching students with specific types of disabilities. And I knew a lot about disabilities, but I didn't know a lot about the experience of being disabled, or I didn't know a lot about disability. And so that's where this concept of access awareness versus disability awareness comes in. And I get to interact with a lot of people who are very interested in disability awareness, you know, because it seems like it's the thing that's going to transform our schools.
It's the thing that's gonna transform our communities. And, um, you know, it's very engaging. It's interesting and, you know, sometimes people, it, when you're in, um, an intimate trusting relationship within a classroom community and an individual who experiences a disability wants to share, that's okay. That's okay. But to, to have a parade of people that you don't know, um, and have it be perceived that we have a right to know what everybody's experience is in order to give them support and in order to give them kindness. I mean, we should just be kind and supportive and inclusive and all the, all the things, right, no matter what, whether somebody has a diagnosis or not. But what, what we really need to focus on is this idea of access. How does everybody with or without a disability, but in particular when we're doing, when we're thinking of the impact of disability awareness, how does ensuring that people have access to everything that non-disabled people have access to?
Because therein lies the disparity. Therein lies the, you know, the discrimination and the missed opportunities, and the exclusion is when people don't have equitable access. And so that's why it's important to really focus on access. You know, I, I talk about the five fundamentals being ableism, access and inclusion, assistive technology, um, disability rights, and, um, what's the last one? History, rights, justice. And then the last one is language. How we use language, you know, how we speak to people with disabilities, how we speak about disability, even little words like, but you know, like she's disabled, but she's very capable. Well, that, but that insertion of a but makes it, uh, it implies that we don't believe that somebody with a disability is capable, as capable as somebody without a disability. So yeah, when we focus on access, when we teach kids about, you know, let's observe, let's, let's evaluate accessibility in our environment and accessibility for somebody who uses a wheelchair, for sure.
That's a concrete way to do it. And how about going further? And how about access to friendship, access to communication that is meaningful, relationships that are meaningful, access to real education, access to curriculum. You know, what are we doing to ensure that students have access to meaningful relationships, to environments, to curriculum, to a real education? What are we doing? Are we paying attention to these things? That is what's so important, and this is, this is just in the context of education, but what I've discovered through my life with my brother and through many years of teaching di diverse students, is that this access con concept follows people into their adult lives. So do people have access to, um, housing accessible housing? Do they have access to healthcare that works for them? Do they have access to higher education? Do they have continued access to relationships, meaningful relationships? Uh, do they have access to employment? Do they have access to all the technology that they need and the support that they need in order to be successful and have, you know, satisfaction and, and pride in their lives when they're older?
Those are important things. And so when we're talking about disability awareness, really we're wasting our time if we are just focusing on, you know, what is autism and what is cerebral palsy and what is down syndrome and what is a mobility disability and what is, what is it like to be blind? Well, yes, those things can come into play when you're sharing in the context of let's talk about access. Let's talk about what I need, of course, because I would be the person doing the presentation, because of course, you want this to be centralized around the voices, and you want to be amplifying the voices of people who live this experience, who understand that many of the barriers that they experience are societal. You know, most people have come to a place where, or they just are at a place where it's normal for them to have this disabling body, right?
Or something about their body or mind that is disabling or their senses that is disabling. But what the constant fight is, the constant battle is the constant advocacy is for access. And so if we want to be considered allies, which I hope you do, I know that's what I strive for. If we want to be considered allies, we need to be focused on access. We need to be committed to access. And when we do anything related to disability awareness, we need to be talking about access, having difficult conversations about where there is a lack of access and how we can change that, how we can become change agents. Um, and you know, it's disability awareness should be a social justice issue. Access is a social justice issue. Access is a civil rights issue, and there's a hashtag that I love, and it's hashtag access is love. Something to think about. I hope you're all doing well. I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful day today.
Thank you for tuning into this episode of Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters. I love providing this podcast to support you in your passionate disability awareness and inclusionary practices work in our schools and communities. And I hope you'll help me to help others by promoting this episode far and wide. You can also proactively support this podcast in the following ways, subscribe, rate, and review this show on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you listen to this episode, it really means the world to me to have your support in this way because it increases the chances of others getting to hear the messages presented in each episode. For more valuable resources that align with the values of this podcast, you can visit my website, Diana Pastora Carson.com, where you'll find links to my priceless free resource, how to talk about disability with kids, as well as my blog, where I share my thoughts as an educator and sibling advocate, my flexible online Beyond Awareness Basics course, my books, including the Beautifully Illustrated Children's book, Ed Roberts Champion of Disability Rights, as well as my comprehensive guide for anyone wanting to do disability awareness work.
That is the book entitled In Beyond Awareness: Bringing Disability into Diversity Work in K-12 Schools and Communities. Now, while I love this book so much, and I believe you should have it in your library as a resource, I do understand that time is of the essence. So if you are super busy like me, and you just need something quick, easy and convenient, that will get to the point I have just what you need, you should definitely get your hands on my handy tri-fold, laminated Beyond Disability Awareness Educators Guide, published by NPR Inc. Again, all of these resources can be found at DianaPastoraCarson.com. You can also follow me, Diana on Instagram at Diana pastora Carson, and at facebook.com/GoBeyondAwareness.podcast. Transcription and podcast guest information can be found in the show notes. Intro and outro music has been provided courtesy of my son, Emmanuel Castro. Thank you again. Be well, be a lifelong learner, and let's be inclusive. See you next time.
