Kaleidoscope Conversations 2023: Race and Disability

Kaleidoscope conversations will provide an opportunity for students to come together for a conversation with their peers and get the chance to dive beneath the surface, lean into vulnerability, and to explore the struggles and stories that make up our lives. In these conversations we will explore how the identities you hold shape your experience of the world and your understanding of social issues.

Join us for a discussion on the intersection of race & ethnicity and disability, the the unique experiences of disabled people of color.

Dinner will be provided!

Registration link

Grad Students with Disabilities: The Americans with Disabilities Act, Rights, and Accommodations

Are you a graduate student with a disability or chronic illness* who wants to better understand how to advocate for their rights and access accommodation?
Grad Students with Disabilities: The Americans with Disabilities Act, Rights, and Accommodations is a virtual event to educate students about rights guaranteed under the ADA. Participants will receive concrete guidance on how to successfully advocate for ADA rights, request accommodations, and address shortcomings at the University of Michigan.
*This event is designed to be inclusive to all graduate students who may fall under the umbrella of disability and chronic illnesses. If disability or illness meaningfully influences your life, regardless of your diagnosis (or lack thereof), this event is for you.
Registration is required at myumi.ch/zwVVM
We want to ensure full and equitable participation in our events. If an accommodation would promote your full participation in this event, please follow the registration link to indicate your accommodation requirements. Please let us know as soon as possible in order to have adequate time, preferably one week, to arrange for your requested accommodations or an effective alternative.

DEI @ LSA: Celebrate & Inform the Future of DEI in LSA

As we conclude DEI 1.0 and plan for DEI 2.0,
we invite all LSA students, faculty, and staff to join us!

Celebrate
Recognize the collective work around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion @ LSA,
while enjoying food, grabbing swag, and entering giveaways.

Listen
Featuring keynote speakers from our community members on their DEI work.

Share
Provide your input on the next five years of DEI @ LSA at interactive stations.

Opening remarks will be provided by Anne Curzan, LSA Dean, and Isis Settles, Associate Dean for DEI.

Disability Awareness and Equality

This session will focus on raising awareness around disability and discussing strategies for increasing inclusion and accessibility. We will discuss suggestions for appropriate language and strategies for assisting individuals with disabilities. This session is intended to be a first step in inviting participants to think more deeply about disability and how to ensure that the university is inclusive and accessible to all members of the community.
This workshop is designed for University of Michigan master’s students, doctoral students, and postdoctoral fellows. For faculty and staff, please contact rackhampdeworkshops@umich.edu to see if we can accommodate your attendance.
Registration is required at https://myumi.ch/Nm3pR.
We want to ensure full and equitable participation in our events. If an accommodation would promote your full participation in this event, please follow the registration link to indicate your accommodation requirements. Please let us know as soon as possible in order to have adequate time, preferably one week, to arrange for your requested accommodations or an effective alternative.

Trade Show | Outdoors for All

University of Michigan’s Art & Design, Business, Engineering, and School of Information students are gearing up for the Integrated Product Development (IPD) Trade Show! Members of our community will gather to view and make purchase decisions from the “best of the best” of their work over the past semester in this interdisciplinary course.

IPD is an experiential, cross-disciplinary course that puts teams of students from Art & Design, Business, Engineering, and Information in a competitive product development environment. This innovative course has been featured on CNN and written in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Businessweek. The course is hosted by the Tauber Institute for Global Operations and is taught jointly by faculty members Eric Svaan of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and Stephanie Tharp from the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design.

The Problem Statement: to design and produce a tangible product that lowers barriers to participation in outdoor activities by persons who have lost functional use of one or more limbs.

See the actual products and test them out. Then cast your vote! Network, have fun, and meet up with friends, old and new!

Parking is via street meter, or public parking is available in the Hill Street Structure Parking Garage.

The event is free and open to the public.

LSA Workshop: Disability 101 & Identity Development

In this workshop we will explore the world of identity development and how it is impacted by Disability. We will unpack what a social construct is and whether or not Disability meets that definition. We will also examine how social constructs such as race and class interact with Disability. Moreso, we will discuss concepts such as Intersectionality and Simultaneity in relation to the individual living with a disabilities’ daily experience.

LSA DEI Workshops are open to all staff, faculty, undergraduate, and graduate employees in LSA. External guests may request to join, but due to space, may not be able to access the session.

Registration link

Trauma-Informed Interpersonal Practice with Marginalized Clients

As social workers, it is imperative that we understand that psychotherapy and other forms of interpersonal practice can be biased against BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, those with disabilities, among those with marginalized identities. This session explores how psychotherapy can be biased, and how psychotherapists can and should be more inclusive, trauma-informed, and equity-driven in their practice with diverse clients. Speakers include Jess Kota, Licensed Clinical Social Worker/Therapist at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Vanessa Marr, psychotherapist at Amplify Colectivo; and Anao Zhang, U of M SSW Assistant Professor.

Registration link

“Disability in Higher Education”

You’re invited to this special virtual seminar that will highlight the plight of those with disabilities in higher education and discuss what may be done to develop different disability imaginary of the future. Register at https://bit.ly/3S8gFiQ

Abstract
From statistics we know that disclosure rates amongst postgraduate research students in higher education are much lower than in the general population or amongst undergraduate students, and that academic staff are even less likely to disclose needs. However, there is no evidence that invisible disabilities are less prevalent in higher education.

In this presentation, Nicole will draw on her extensive research to highlight the plight of those with disabilities, chronic illnesses and/or neurodivergences in higher education. She will commence with an introduction to the definitional difficulties of “disability” as a term, before exploring some of the issues individuals encounter. She will then present her concept of looking at disclosure as a cost-benefit analysis to gradually ease delegates into what may be done to develop a somewhat different disability imaginary of the future.

Intro to Neurodiversity: Unmasking Autism

Author and Social Psychologist, Devon Price, PhD

Upcoming DEI event:

Intro to Neurodiversity: Unmasking Autism, in conversation with social psychologist/professor/author Devon Price, PhD

An event sponsored by the Michigan Medicine Health Information Technology & Services (HITS) DEI Committee

When: Thursday, November 3, 2022 1:00-3:00pm EST (Zoom Webinar)

*After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

This event is open to anyone at Michigan Medicine and University of Michigan; please feel free to share with your peers!

Description of the Presentation: In this presentation, Dr. Devon Price introduces attendees to the neurodiversity movement and the social model of disability, explains what Autism really is versus the pervasive myths we’ve all been told about the neurotype, and outlines essential accommodations that neurodiverse people require from care providers, in their workplaces, and from public institutions. This workshop places particular emphasis on the phenomenon of masked Autism, where marginalized and under-diagnosed populations of Autistic people are required to camouflage and compensate for their Autistic traits because they do not meet the cultural stereotype of what Autism “looks like” and thus receive far less support. The costs of masking and the ways in which narrow social standards force disabled people to mask, and how we might collectively work to build a more accepting society will also be highlighted.

About the presenter: Dr. Devon Price is the author of the books Laziness Does Not Exist and Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity. He is a social psychologist and professor at Loyola University of Chicago’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. Devon’s work has appeared in Slate, Business Insider, Financial Times, HuffPost, Psychology Today, and on NPR and PBS, and he has given recent speaking engagements at Nike, Indeed, The University of North Carolina, Ohio State University, the Ontario Public Library System, the Ohio Board of Developmental Disabilities, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. He lives in Chicago, Illinois.

ABOUT UNMASKING AUTISM (source: Penguin Random House): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/688819/unmasking-autism-by-devon-price-phd/

Diversity 101

In order to have meaningful, productive conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion, we must start with a common language. This session will provide an introduction to key terminology as well as the categories and labels we use to describe others and ourselves. We will also examine how our identities shape the way we enter the world and our interactions with each other. Emphasis will be placed on using our identities to help us understand the identities and experiences of others.

In this session, participants will:
Identify the benefits of inclusive environments
Review key terminology related to diversity, equity, and inclusion
Reflect on the origin of identities, their intersectionality, and their meanings
Use our own identities as a window to understanding the identities of others to build more authentic, empathic relationships

Audience:
This session is open to all LSA employees. External guests may request to join as space allows.

For questions or requests for accommodation, please contact our office (lsa-dei-office@umich.edu) as soon as possible.

Registration link