By: Brianna Wallen
Editor-in-Chief
With National Disability Employment Awareness Month recognized each October, it is important to highlight the experiences of people with disabilities and promote a greater level of understanding accessibility, inclusion and disability justice.
Students and faculty explored these topics during a disability awareness seminar on Oct. 13, by discussing ways to dismantle barriers, challenge ableism and create environments where people with disabilities feel supported and understood.
“It’s not just about being seen, but it’s also being spoken with and being understood to the best of everyone’s ability,” interdisciplinary studies major Sophia Gugliotti, a senior, said.
Gugliotti organized the event as part of her commitment to disability advocacy. Having a learning disability herself, she said her experiences with accessibility issues, discrimination and bullying inspired her to create spaces where students could connect and discuss their experiences.
“I knew I wanted to take what I learned and spread it,” Gugliotti said. “I feel very happy for everyone that they can have a safe space, even if it’s just one time a semester, to really connect and talk.”
The seminar brought together guest speakers from across the university and the disability advocacy community to discuss topics including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder , ableism, invisible disabilities and dismantling barriers to accessibility.
Speakers also explored disability joy, disability justice and the importance of educating others about different disabilities.
Carlos Torre, a professor in the College of Education, spoke about creating inclusive classrooms where students with and without disabilities can learn together. Torre, who said he has ADHD and dyslexia, emphasized that differences in how people think and learn should not be viewed as shortcomings.
“Everybody thinks differently, and there’s no cure for that,” Torre said. “You don’t want a cure. People think differently because we all do.”
Torre explained that accessibility should be incorporated into everyday teaching.
“Our responsibility as educators is not to remove intellectual challenges,” Torre said. “What we need to remove are the barriers that keep people from participating equally in addressing those challenges.”
Torre encouraged instructors to create classrooms where students feel supported and welcome to participate in.
“Creating a classroom where all students experience both support and belonging, because kids don’t learn from people they don’t like. So if they don’t feel wanted, if they don’t feel included, if they don’t feel they belong, why would they bother to get engaged?” Torre said.
Other guest speakers included English major Jeanette Bouvier, a sophomore, Rachel Furey, professor in the English department, Heidi Lockwood professor in the Philosophy department and Jeremy Ferrell, an autism advocate and university alumnus.
Their participation contributed to discussions surrounding disability awareness, accessibility and the experiences of people with disabilities.
“People with neurodiversity tend to communicate very differently,” Ferrell said. “It is to our benefit to tell them what we care about communication-wise, because then they can build it into how they communicate with us.”
Ferrell also challenged the idea that autism should be viewed as a superpower.
“It’s not a superpower. It’s just who I am,” Ferrell said.
Adira DeMatteo, a graduate, said having more seminars like this can help challenge misconceptions and create better understanding among collegues and peers.
“I think it has become a culture in which people fear what they don’t understand, and that leads to targeting at work or you know exclusion and things like that,” DeMatteo said. “At the end of the day, if you want to work cohesively, everybody needs to work together and understand each other.”
As Gugliotti’s final event before graduating, she hopes the conversation on disability does not end here.
“I think having multiple safe spaces should be like the next step that Southern should pursue to make sure that people with all disabilities feel comfortable and recognized, and also connected,” Gugliotti said.
