Disability Awareness Month

Every year the President's Commission on Disability Issues organizes the October Disability Awareness Month.

If you would like to propose an event, workshop, presentation, performance, or any other activity, please complete this form.

2022 List of Events

Access to the 2022 Disability Awareness Month flyer is provided in PDF and Microsoft Word versions. Use and distribution of the flyer is encouraged!

SUN Oct. 2 | 2:00 PM | RecWell Adventure Program Climbing Wall

This semester we are offering Adaptive Climbing Affinity Space events on October 2nd and 16th from 2-4pm. This affinity space is intended to create community at the climbing wall for out disabled community. Contact Alex Gebhart at agebhart@umd.edu for additional information.

More information

THU Oct. 6 | 2:00 PM | Virtual Event

This event will help people all around campus know the in's and out's of making their event accessible for people with disabilities. Presentations that are accessible to people with disabilities are also inclusive to many more audiences. This presentation will discuss ways to make your meetings and events accessible to everyone by providing all attendees with the tools they need to plan an accessible event.

Register

FRI Oct. 7 | 12:00 PM | McKeldin Mall

The Self-Care Fair is an interactive mental health & self-care fair sponsored by the campus-wide Mental Health Coalition as a part of Mental Health Awareness Week 2022.

Join student organizations, campus departments, and community partners in our quest to end the silence around mental health. Learn about how we can take care of ourselves and each other.

Meet those on campus who are passionate about mental health, engage in games and activities, access resources, and grab giveaway items that promote self-care!

Come visit the PCDI/PCDI-SAC booth during the Self-Care Fair and learn more about how mental health impacts the Disability Community.

More information

WED Oct. 12 | 7:00 PM | Virtual Event

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Did you know that nearly 1 in 10 working disabled adults reported experiencing some kind of workplace discrimination within the five years after the passage of the ADA, and almost a third of these individuals permanently left the workforce? Source: ADA National Network. Thirty years later, 2020 saw disability claims as the most commonly reported type of discrimination in the workplace, showing us there is still so much work needed to be done.

This virtual panel will dive deeper into topics ranging from disclosing disabled identity to sharing resources for better inclusion, accessibility, and support within the workplace.

Register

THU Oct. 13 | 11:00 AM | Virtual Event

In this webinar, we will review how to incorporate accessibility best practices into your everyday tasks such as emails, presentations, and ELMS-Canvas. Attendees will learn:

- Six essential steps of accessibility for online content.
- Strategies to create accessible documents.
- IT Accessibility services and resources

Live automatic captions will be provided for this event. If you need additional accommodations please contact us at itaccessibility@umd.edu

Register | Presentation Slides

THU Oct. 13 | 4:00 PM | Virtual Event

The Circle is a monthly restorative space to center those impacted by identity-based trauma. All UMD members are welcome into The Circle, acknowledging that we are holding space for one another as we share with vulnerability and humility. Restorative circles derive from indigenous ancestral wisdom as a means for individual and community healing.

This restorative Circle with center the disability community as a means to build relationships and repair any harm experienced as a result of bias against those with varying abilities. We welcome all participants, but particularly those with disabilities to join us.

Register

FRI Oct. 14 | 3:00 PM | Annapolis Hall Multipurpose Room

Tourette Syndrome is an often misunderstood diagnosis in the context of disabilities, generally and neurodiversity, specifically. Understanding TS and its co-occurring disorders can be e critical to the success of our students and colleagues with such a diagnosis. This presentation will explain and help to bring light to this interesting, complex, and dynamic disability, via both research and integrating aspects of the presenter's own experience with TS. The event will focus primarily on Tourette, but will also explore its relationship with other common disabilities and neurodiverse conditions. The event will also introduce strategies to help folks support neurodiverse people who we work and interact with.

SAT Oct. 15 | 8:00 AM | JTCC - 5200 Campus Drive, College Park

JTCC Wheelchair Championships on October 15 and 16 is the second-annual wheelchair tennis tournament in College Park, MD. Wheelchair tennis is the most integrative and professional of all adaptive sports - the only difference is wheelchair tennis players receive up to two bounces of the ball. The event is open for volunteers and spectators to enjoy learning about the sport of wheelchair tennis and watching the best on the East Coast compete! Volunteers will receive a meal and will help retrieve balls during matches.

More information

TUE Oct. 18 | 10:00 AM | Virtual Event

This panel will share sibling perspectives on disability and family life. Families that include a child with a disability often have a lot of energy directed toward helping the child with a disability navigate the world. Siblings may play an integral role in promoting and supporting their sibling with a disability. An often-overlooked perspective is the sibling experience of disability. This panel will explore the sibling experience of disability through personal stories, life choices, and the enduring role of advocacy siblings share.

Join Event | Videorecording

THU Oct. 20 | 1:00 PM | Virtual Event

This webinar is intended to educate attendees on Digital Accessibility, provide an overview of the Siteimprove Accessibility module, and cover the importance of Manual Testing. We will also provide resources and additional training opportunities offered by Siteimprove.

Live automatic captions will be provided for this event. If you need additional accommodations please contact us at itaccessibility@umd.edu.

Register | Presentation slides | Create an account at Siteimprove (use your UMD user ID and passwrod)

THU Oct. 20 | 1:00 PM | Virtual Event

Join a panel of entertainers and artists from the disability community as they discuss the relationship between disability and their creative works. Panelists include comedians, writers, poets, musicians, artists, crafters, graphic designers and more. This event is open to the public, not just members of the UMD community, and all are welcome. Come learn about their experiences and/or sign to share your own.

Register

THU Oct. 20 | 2:30 PM | Virtual Event

In this webinar, members of UMD’s Office of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment will share best practices for creating data visualizations that are accessible to a wide audience. Through examples of specific design elements, this presentation offers guidelines for accessible data visualizations that can be applied across contexts. While this session is not platform-specific, it will offer recommendations for resources to implement these design elements in participants’ software of choice. This session is appropriate for anyone interested in data visualization, regardless of experience.

Register

MON Oct. 24 | 6:00 PM | ADS Main Testing Room (Shoemaker 0114)

The Accessibility and Disability Service (ADS) and Delta Alpha Pi Honor Society (DAPi) welcome you to a social event to celebrate Disability Awareness Month. Get to know ADS staff, members of the DAPi Honor Society for students with disabilities, and other students who are interested in disability awareness. The ADS main testing room just got spookier with Halloween decorations and treats. Activities will be offered including tabletop games. Don’t forget your costumes!

Register

WED Oct. 26 | 2:00 PM | Virtual Event

Body size is part of the conversation when we talk about being inclusive. How does the university create environments that welcome all bodies? One way to envision this question is to look at the physical campus. Are sidewalks wide enough to encompass folks using assistive devices alongside those who do not? Do classrooms, libraries, and labs offer a variety of seating and desk/table configurations to comfortably fit every body?

We might also think about the non-tangible ways bodies ‘fit’ into the university. Are the DEI goals including body size in the conversation? Do students feel emboldened to identify as a person of size and/or an individual with a disability? Does that translate into increased and more confident advocacy on behalf of students of size?

These and other questions will be addressed as we envision inclusion in all its parameters.

Register

THU Oct 27. | Multiple Times | Multiple locations

For those who are neurodiverse, “body doubling” is a fantastic strategy that assists in anchoring a person to enable them to focus their work on projects. This method can be effective for many neurotypical people, as well.

In What is 'body doubling' for ADHD? Zawn Villines (2021) of Medical News Today relays that through body doubling, one may be able to stay on task because it can alleviate a sense of isolation or evoke feelings of accountability. Body doubling may also increase motivation and feelings of accomplishment.

We are having 3 body-doubling sessions on October 27th. We will independently work on our own projects while supporting each other with our presence.

First Virtual | 10:00 AM | Register

In-Person | 12:00 PM | Register

Second Virtual | 2:00 PM | Register

THU Oct 27. | 11:00 AM | Virtual Event

In this workshop, we will discuss the impact of using the principles of Universal Design for Learning in your course to improve accessibility for all students as well as align with required accommodations for specific students. We will also review the most common academic accommodations and how to implement them in ELMS-Canvas.

Live automatic captions will be provided for this event. If you need additional accommodations please contact us at itaccessibility@umd.edu.

Registration link

Need Accommodations?

Please contact us at pcdi@umd.edu, if you need accommodations that will facilitate your full participation in the events.

Past Events

Last update: October 04, 2022