DO-IT News January 2014: All Articles

By Scott Bellman, DO-IT Program Manager

Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF) logo.

The new year brought excellent news to DO-IT staff, who have been seeking funds for an exciting three-year project called AccessSTEM-CAREERS. The Mitsubishi Electric American Foundation (MEAF, www.meaf.org) announced that it will support the initial three years of the project, which will help postsecondary students with disabilities and recent college graduates connect with industry mentors and apply for challenging internships and career-level jobs. A student leadership team will help implement the project. Online mentoring will address issues that relate to career success—especially in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

"There's no shortage of good ideas for new projects within the DO-IT community," shares Sheryl Burgstahler, DO-IT Director. "Members of our staff have a lot of expertise, but we also get very good ideas from DO-IT students, mentors, and esteemed colleagues and friends." Sometimes all that's needed is a thoughtful funding source that can help bring DO-IT's great ideas to life. For AccessSTEM-CAREERS, that's where MEAF comes in. As the corporate foundation of the Mitsubishi Electric group companies in the United States. MEAF works to make changes for the better by investing in innovative strategies to empower youth with disabilities to lead productive lives.

The MEAF-funded AccessSTEM-CAREERS project will conduct monthly workshops for students, recent graduates, and industry mentors. Workshops will include a visit to a STEM research lab, a resume-writing workshop, student competitions, hands-on engagement with assistive technology, and exploration of resources. AccessSTEM-CAREERS will also evaluate several college career centers, and partner with them so they can become more accessible and welcoming to students with disabilities. Employers who engage with the project will learn more about the great potential of people with disabilities in the workforce.

During year three of the project, staff will publish articles and disseminate project products across the United States, so that others can learn how to conduct similar projects in their area.

"AccessSTEM-CAREERS is going to be a great project," shares Tami Tidwell, DO-IT program coordinator. "We want the world to know about it, and there's no reason people should have to reinvent the wheel. We'll share what worked well, highlight our achievements, and encourage others to build on what we have learned with the generous support of MEAF."

To join AccessSTEM-CAREERS, email doit@uw.edu to learn more and receive details on upcoming events.

DO-IT NEWS, January, 2014, Volume 22, Number 1

By Tami Tidwell, DO-IT Staff

The correct accommodations can make or break a person's college experience.

Colleges and universities are required to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified students with disabilities. Each school may vary on what constitutes as acceptable documentation of a disability and what is considered a reasonable accommodation.

Consequently, it is important to compare the services offered by each college you consider, review your necessary accommodations, and complete the intake process with each college's campus Disability Services office. There are many differences between services provided in high school and those available in college. Colin Donovan, Disability Specialist at Bellevue College, recommends reviewing resources like "Differences between High School and College Accommodations for Students with Disabilities."

Many colleges require that the documentation be prepared by a doctor, psychologist, or other qualified diagnostician. Since documentation is used not only for academic accommodations, but also in housing, transportation, and other areas, it should include a diagnosis of your disability and how your disability impacts your major life activities. Although your individualized education program (IEP) or Section 504 plan from high school may help identify services that have been effective for you, it is generally not sufficient documentation. Discussing documentation with colleges while you are still in high school will allow you time to gather what you need. Submit your documentation early so that staff can notify you of any outstanding requirements for the accommodations you request.

Example policies and procedures from 2-year and 4-year institutions around the United States can be found at www.washington.edu/doit/typical-policies-and-procedures. The rights and responsibilities of faculty, campus services, and students with disabilities can be found at www.washington.edu/doit/programs/accesscollege/faculty-room/rights-and-responsibilities.

For more information, check out Preparing for College: An Online Tutorial at www.washington.edu/doit/preparing-college-online-tutorial.

DO-IT NEWS, January, 2014, Volume 22, Number 1

By Kayla Brown, DO-IT Staff

In part one of this series (www.washington.edu/doit/dis-course-disability-representation-and-media-part-one) I discussed representation and what it truly means: quality, not necessarily quantity. Just because we have a number of characters with disabilities in the media, it does not mean that there is sufficient representation. We must take a closer look at the portrayals to see their true colors, and consider the importance of having characters with disabilities played by actors with disabilities. Being a television and movie addict, I have noticed that non-disabled individuals portray most characters with disabilities.

My Gimpy Life is written by the show's star, allowing the story to paint an accurate and nuanced picture of the character.

Some TV and movie producers blame a lack of disabled actors to choose from, therefore "forcing" them into hiring actors without disabilities. Why is there a lack of disabled actors? Likely, there are a myriad of reasons, but one huge factor may be that actors with disabilities have a hard time establishing their careers. If (some of) these actors are already limited in roles they are able to portray, it doesn't help that they have to compete not only with other actors with disabilities, but also the non-disabled actors.

You may be asking, why isn't it okay for non-disabled actors to take on roles of characters with disabilities? Isn't this just another facet of acting?

First, when people with disabilities are not in control of how disability is portrayed, we end up with portrayals that are completely wrong. For example, you can tell when a script had no one with a disability involved in the creation of the story when you see a character who uses a hospital wheelchair and is not in the hospital. It may seem like a small detail, but it medicalizes disability, coding it as sick or weak.

Christine Bruno, co-chair of the Tri-Union Inclusion in the Arts & Media of People With Disabilities (I AM PWD), commented on the issue of non-disabled actors portraying disabled characters stating: "There is no substitute for the lived experience of disability. It is not a technical skill that can be easily turned on and off. Disabled actors bring with them a lifetime of unique experiences that allow them to present authentic, nuanced portrayals that add not only to the rich, diverse fabric of our country, but create a greater understanding about the society in which we live."

Second, if we value diversity as a society, we must prove it. Diversity must be a priority, because if it is not, we end up with writing rooms filled with white men. What harm does this do? It allows for the neglect of diverse perspectives. It allows for white, upper class, and able-bodied characters to be the norm, and anything that is different as a deviation of this norm. In a world where the histories of minorities have been ignored or written by the groups in power, we need to understand that when people with disabilities and other minorities are in positions of authority such as writer/producer/actor, we are allowing for those perspectives to be brought to the forefront.

Third, television and movies influence the way people think. If portrayals exhibit negative stereotypes, this will effect how we see groups of people as a whole. George Gerbner's cultivation theory says that recurring "television exposures can be the basis for acquiring opinions, attitudes and beliefs" (Gerbner, 1998). Berger & Luckmann (1967) have also studied how media messages effect how consumers "construct reality." Negative stereotypes are so prevalent in our society; maybe the best way to combat that is through the media.

So, where are the actors with disabilities? In my last article I talked about Switched at Birth, which features actors with hearing impairments. The cast includes one of my favorite actresses Marlee Matlin, the only deaf performer to win an Academy Award for Best Lead Actress. Another show I enjoy is called My Gimpy Life, a web series that features Teal, an actress in LA who uses a wheelchair. We see her experiences getting and going to auditions, dating, and dealing with accessibility issues. The show is meant to be humorous, and because Teal herself wrote the script, it's even more enjoyable because it is a first-hand account. Peter Dinklage, a phenomenal, successful, and prolific actor who plays Tyrion on Game of Thrones. In the upcoming X-Men movie, Days of Future Past, Dinklage plays a character that is not disabled in the comic books. This pleasantly surprised me, since most of the time writers/producers will not cast disabled actors unless the character calls for it. I want Hollywood to go further. Even if a character doesn't have an explicit disability, hire an actor with a disability. If you have a character with a disability, give them a chance to develop beyond their disability. Make them as multifaceted as the non-disabled characters. This will make strides towards better disability representation, and break down stereotypes.

The idea of disability is a complex and diverse set of experiences and cultures, and many people without disabilities don't understand this. Having actors with disabilities portraying characters with disabilities brings an important perspective into the creation and presentation of stories. We can't be reduced to inspirational fodder or comic relief. If we are the storytellers, the audience will see the diverse set of experiences that shape our characters. More importantly, we will write our own histories.

The next installment of Ms. Brown's multi-part series will appear in the next issue of DO-IT News.

DO-IT NEWS, January, 2014, Volume 22, Number 1

DO-IT is pleased to announce the development of a new online resource: a place to cumulate emerging examples of universal design applied in postsecondary education, as complement to the book, Universal Design in Higher Education: From Principles to Practice, published by Harvard Education Press (www.hepg.org/hep/Book/83).

Articles should include specific ways practitioners and researchers have applied universal design in postsecondary settings along with evidence of success. Articles will be peer-reviewed by members of the Universal Design in Higher Education Community of Practice (udhecop@uw.edu), and if accepted, edited by DO-IT Founder and Director Sheryl Burgstahler. Articles selected for the online resource will be available free on our website. Authors will agree to these conditions while retaining copyrights to their individual contributions.

Articles may be submitted at any time to udhecop@uw.edu. For author guidelines, contact doit@uw.edu.