Monthly Newsletter from Disability Services

May 2024

Enjoy your summer!

The Disability Dish is now on your favorite podcast platforms! Find us at: Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts.

Episode 16 - We learned a LOT in episode 16 about athletes, sports and disability. Lauren and Jodi were joined by nursing student Catherine Faherty who participates on the U.S. National Women's Sled Hockey Team, Cailin Currie (Merrimack College MA in Higher Education student) who is a two-time Paralympian swimmer, and Jeff Gerson, professor of sports and politics.

For months, he had progressively been losing his eyesight. He was diagnosed with keratoconus, and became legally blind. Trevor Landurand BS '23 is now a mechanical engineering master’s student, and he has since gained back most of his vision, thanks to corrective contact lenses and two eye surgeries. That experience has inspired him to help develop a robotic guide dog as a member of the university’s Robotics Club.

“Having this eye condition, I can definitely see this being incredibly useful for those who are visually impaired,” says Landurand, who relied on a walking stick and his dog to get around when his vision was at its worst.

uml.edu

Mass. Office of Disability's Client Assistance Program (CAP) hosts a series of three separate workshops over Zoom. The series is aimed at employees and jobseekers with disabilities and their advocates. There is no cost to attendees.

Deciding to Disclose - 6/12 9:30-10:30 a.m. or 8/27 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of disclosing your disability at different stages of the employment process.

Reasonable Accommodations in Employment - 6/12 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m or 8/28 5:30-7 p.m.

This interactive workshop covers the steps people with disabilities should take to identify their essential job functions, supports they may need to fulfill them, and how to request a reasonable accommodation at work.

Disability Discrimination in Employment - 6/12 2:30-4 p.m. or 8/29 5:30-7 p.m.

Using real world examples, participants learn how to identify and address disability discrimination in the workplace.

Crowned in November 2023 and the first Venezuelan-American, she states, “Deep down I know that this is just the beginning of a new chapter for me, and my hope is that I continue to inspire others to remain steadfast, prioritize your mental health, advocate for yourself and others by using your voice, and never be afraid of what the future holds, even if it feels uncertain.”

CNN.com

"I'm not dangerous. I'm not crazy. And I'm not delusional," Michael Vargas Arango says in his podcast, The Monsters We Create. "I'm just one more guy, with a mental health condition, living with it."

His emotional and deeply personal entry was chosen as the grand prize winner of this year's NPR College Podcast Challenge.

NPR.org

A Paralympian has criticized Nike for using amputee mannequins to promote its products when it doesn't sell single trainers.

Stef Reid, a single-leg amputee, said she was only able to buy the company's running shoes in pairs.

She told BBC Newsbeat companies that portray "an image of diversity and inclusion" should back it with action.

bbc.com

Participating drivers can choose to place copies of their license, registration and insurance cards inside a blue envelope, which acts as a visual cue for police and other public safety officials during stressful and potentially dangerous traffic stops.

The envelope would notify police that the driver is on the spectrum and provide guidance for how to handle certain behaviors, such as stimming. Drivers can also share emergency contact information on the envelope.

wbur.org

We love staying connected with you!

Submissions/ideas/feedback are always welcome: 
disability@uml.edu