RespectAbility will offer guidance on recruiting, hiring and promoting people with disabilities into the workspace and how to make your workplace accessible by demonstrating the best practices in disability inclusion. Our team will discuss tips for increasing your pipeline of people with disabilities, navigating reasonable accommodations, improving accessibility for all and how disability increases diversity, equity, and inclusion with your nonprofit. [continue reading…]
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Heritage Christian Services’ Grief Support Team works with people who are aging and experiencing life changes. This presentation about the team’s work reflected on why and how the team was developed, how the team provides grief support through music, dance, and art to people with disabilities and their chosen congregations, and how team members support one another with self-care in the process. This webinar was the third in a four-part series from the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) Religion and Spirituality Interest Network and RespectAbility. [continue reading…]
From February to April, NACDL, in partnership with RespectAbility, is offering a 3-part webinar series on disability in the criminal legal system. For part 2, this 60 minute session covered legal requirements for accessibility, including individualized accommodations, as well as accessibility best practices and how they can be applied to materials, meetings, procedures, and programming. We also highlighted additional best practices and resources, including those for the digital world like building better websites and hosting accessible virtual events. Throughout the session, legal professionals were invited to draw from their own experiences working with clients and other legal system participants with various access needs, including those with disabilities. [continue reading…]
RespectAbility hosted a conversation with the talent behind the making of Dahlia, a disabled character from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ most recent film, Wish. In Wish, a young girl named Asha wishes on a star and gets a more direct answer than she bargained for when a trouble-making star comes down from the sky to join her. Asha is joined by an ensemble led by her best friend, Dahlia, the best baker in town who also happens to use a crutch.
Moderated by RespectAbility’s Lauren Appelbaum, this panel included several key individuals involved with the production of Wish, including story artist Tom Caulfield, producer Juan Pablo Reyes, consultants Erica Mones and Maddy Ullman, and the voice of Dahlia herself, Jennifer Kumiyama. They discussed the making and development of Dahlia’s character, ensuring authenticity in disability representation, and why intersectional representation matters.
Disney’s Wish is now available on digital and Blu-Ray, and will be streaming on Disney+ on April 3. [continue reading…]
When applying for various labs and fellowships, some applicants may feel compelled to reveal personal details about their lives. This is especially true for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds who may feel pressured to share more information about themselves in their applications and writing. However, it’s important to recognize that not everyone is entitled to your story. In this panel discussion, attendees had the opportunity to learn from a group of experts on how to share some personal details about themselves in a way that feels comfortable without feeling the need to disclose everything about their background.
This event was part of the BRIC Summit Talent & Education Day, which focused on industry career education, educator resources, and acted as an outreach and recruiting day for companies and studios to connect with up-and-coming talent. [continue reading…]
Our Policy team hosted an informative webinar on how to register to vote and access reliable information on elections and candidates. Attendees had the chance to hear from a panel of experts who shared their insights on how to get involved in campaigns and make a meaningful impact on the political process. [continue reading…]
The J’s Opening the Doors department celebrated Jewish Disability Awareness Acceptance & Inclusion Month (JDAIM) with Ava Xiao-Lin Rigelhaupt. Ava is a writer, consultant, actress, speaker and advocate for disability and autism representation in the entertainment industry. Ava was the Autistic Creative Consultant on the Broadway musical, “How to Dance in Ohio,” based on the HBO documentary, which follows 7 Autistic adults, and has written for PBS Kids shows. Ava shared stories about the musical and on her own experiences as a Chinese, transracial, Jewish, autistic adoptee. She spoke surrounded by an art exhibit by the neuro diverse members of Living and Learning Enrichment Center.
Neurodiversity and neurodivergence may feel like buzz words that are thrown around, but what do they mean, and why does it matter? In this session, neurodivergent experts within the media and entertainment industry shared their own perspectives on what it means to be neurodivergent, why authentic representation of neurodivergence is necessary, and how employers, allies, and studio execs can foster and cultivate an inclusive environment where big brain energy can thrive. [continue reading…]
Spoiler alert: disabled people are not your inspiration, and we’re more than just suffering. But why does Hollywood keep telling the same stories over and over again? In this fun, unfiltered conversation, disabled creatives discussed the harmful effects of inspiration porn, a term coined by the late disability activist Stella Young, and how we can strive to tell better stories of disability on-screen. [continue reading…]
In an era where representation matters more than ever, the television industry stands at the forefront of influencing societal perspectives and norms. Attendees heard from panelists who are driving disability inclusion both on and offscreen, as they discussed strategies for success, challenges faced when advocating for inclusivity, and what it takes to achieve greater equity in the television industry. [continue reading…]
