Disability INC.

Integrate NYC Schools Now!

NYC has a long-standing school segregation problem that affects students of all age ranges and runs across school programs, disability, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Students, parents, and advocates are making news headlines as they call for meaningful integration across city schools. Matt Gonzales, Director of the School Diversity Project at NY Appleseed, explains the scope of NYC’s school segregation problem and the promising work happening to meaningfully integrate our schools at last.

Unpacking the Endrew F. Opinion

Steven Alizio interprets the landmark Special Education Case, Endrew F., a unanimous Supreme Court opinion from 2017 establishing higher expectations for all students, including those with cognitive disabilities. This reinterpretation of the critical free appropriate public education (FAPE) requirements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is good news for all who care about higher achievement for our students.

Steve Alizio is a special education attorney in private practice and former INCLUDEnyc Junior Board member. He taught in a public high school on Long Island for 7 years before earning his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

From Shakespeare to Speechless: Disability in the Media

People with disabilities face social stigma and misunderstanding stemming from what they see and hear from movies, books, newspaper, Internet, even advertising. When people are bombarded by daily misrepresentations, they can take root and create stereotypes, reinforcing negative images and ideas about people with disabilities. Learn how authentic representation of people with disabilities in the media is a foundational component in an inclusive society.  

Matt Conlin was previously the Digital Accessibility Fellow for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, adjunct professor and speaker at the CUNY School of Professional Studies. From the arts to higher education, Matt has advised how to create inclusive spaces. He is a Fordham University and CUNY School of Professional Studies alumnus and is currently enrolled in the advanced certificate for youth studies for youth development work.

One Sibling’s Journey: On the Bus & Beyond (Part 2)

INCLUDEnyc’s Family Educator Kaitlin Roh continues the conversation with Rachel Simon, a sibling of a woman with a disability and author of Riding the Bus with My Sister, on what has happened since Rachel stopped riding the bus. They dive into how relationships as adult siblings change, the importance of support networks, and advice for caregivers and parents as they grow and build those relationships.

The Sibling Support Project is a nation-wide project dedicated to the concerns of and support for siblings of individuals with special health, developmental, and mental health concerns: www.siblingsupport.org.

Bumps and Turns from a Sibling’s Perspective (Part 1)

In any family, relationships among brothers and sisters are unique and important. Siblings can be friends and secret-keepers, as well as rivals and combatants. This relationship can be impacted by a sibling’s disability, shaping the experiences of both individuals throughout their lives together. Rachel Simon, author of Riding the Bus with My Sister and The Story of Beautiful Girl, discusses her own journey and relationship with her sister Beth and all the bumps and turns that happened along the way.

For more information on Rachel Simon and her writing, check out her website: www.rachelsimon.com.

Preschoolers with Disabilities

Jean Mizutani and Chris Treiber, Associate Executive Director for Children's Services at the Inter Agency Council of Developmental Disabilities (IAC), discuss the changing role of private schools that serve three and four year olds with the most significant disabilities, and how the expansion of public preschool in NYC affects them.

A Family Affair

One of the hardest things parents of children with disabilities face is creating a vision for how our kids' lives will look once they become adults. How much independence and autonomy is wise? What does it look like and what are the risks? Hear one father's story.

 

Unstoppable: Ms. Wheelchair NY's fight for accessibility, inclusion, and representation

Ketrina Hazell is 23 years old. At 9 months old, she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. She describes her experience in the health and education system as hopeless because she felt everyone in those systems expressed very low expectations and outcomes for her. Despite the feeling of hopelessness, she persisted. She is a college student and an advocate for herself and other students with disabilities. She graduated from Partners in Policy making in 2014 and has served on the Youth Advisory Panel for Special Education and the Access A Ride Paratransit Committee. She is the founder and president of her own advocacy group called Voices of Power. She is an educator, volunteer, mentor, friend, aunt, and sibling. Currently, Ketrina serves as Ms Wheelchair NY 2018 with the platform of bringing self advocacy into schools and building an inclusive environment within schools and local communities for all students.

Designing with a Heart

Cara McCarty, Director of Curatorial at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, speaks with INCLUDEnyc Senior Family Educator Ruth DiRoma about the history of the museum, accessible design, and their favorite pieces from the latest exhibitions.

McCarty oversees the museum’s curatorial vision and leads exhibition planning. She played a lead role in the 2014 renovation and transformation of Cooper Hewitt into a 21st-century museum, from the overall master plan to the creation of new gallery spaces and participatory visitor experiences. Previously she was curator and head of the department of decorative arts and design at the Saint Louis Art Museum, where she established the museum’s 20th-and 21st-century design collection, and was instrumental in the museum's expansion. Prior to that, McCarty held curatorial positions in the department of architecture and design at The Museum of Modern Art. Her numerous exhibitions and accompanying publications include Access+Ability; Tools: Extending Our Reach, National Design Triennial: Why Design Now?, Structure and Surface: Contemporary Japanese Textiles, Masks: Faces of Culture, and Information Art: Diagramming Microchips. She received a bachelor's degree in Architectural History and East Asian Art from Stanford University and was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard's Graduate School of Design.

Getting Unstuck: Parenting, support, and treatment for youth with OCD

Kelly Anderson's documentaries include My Brooklyn, about the redevelopment Downtown Brooklyn, and Every Mother’s Son, about mothers who lost sons to police violence. She is currently the Chair of the Department of Film and Media Studies at Hunter College. Kelly discusses UNSTUCK: An OCD Kids Movie, which she made with a fellow parent of a child with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Chris Baier. This documentary presents the experiences of youth with OCD and the skills and supports they develop. She explores the topics surrounding it--from the specific nature of OCD in youth, to parenting a child with this unique disability--and sheds inspiring light on the advocacy and support that both parents and youth alike have built through their experiences with OCD. For more on the film and great OCD resources, visit ocdkidsmovie.com.