August 2025 Meeting

Meeting Date
  • Opening quotation
    • “You should never feel ashamed of using something that help keep you safe.”- @nicolebelieves on instagram
  • Agenda
  • Guest Speaker - PF Anderson
    • Topic: Disability Pride Recap
    • Slides for today: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1E7VfJDnFie_HFWbkk96ZYsOnN_EN2AHsV_O0cyA_xik/edit?usp=sharing
    • The disability pride flag
      • The original disability pride flag was not accessible
        • The community worked with Anne McGill to make a final version of the flag that is truly accessible
        • The original was zigzagged and had high intensity colors
          • The current flag is less overstimulating
          • The zigzag design caused issues for photosensitive folks when scrolling too, if I recall correctly.
      • What does the disability pride flag mean
        • Colors display the range of disability identities
        • There are different communities, accommodations, etc. for each disability
          • No one size fits all
        • Universal accessibility is an aspiration
          • To get there depends on the community
        • The importance of setting norms within a community to ensure everyone has the access they need
    • The disability pride newsletter
    • Discussion:
      • Question 1: What is something you wish you could tell your younger self about living with disability?
        • I'd tell my younger self that disability doesn't necessarily mean inability.
        • I’d advise my younger self to stop living for others and to do things I want to do. That tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone and that I should travel and do daring things. That it’s really more “pre-disabled” than able-bodied and I should use what I have while I have it. But also that just because things will change doesn’t meant mean it’s all bad, because there will be beautiful new things and community too.
        • I wish someone had told me as a child that I can't "be anything I want to be" - and that's okay! What I can do is worthwhile even if I could never be a doctor, an astronaut, an athlete.
        • “All the ways you dreamed the world could be better - you were right!”
        • I’d tell my younger self that there will be hard days and good days. That my family will understand my limitations, adjust, and continue to love me. And that I would find medical professionals that believed me and would offer tools to help.
        • I'd tell my younger self to not be embarrassed to ask for accommodations and that any paths that I can pave for myself, will pave the way for others later on
        • I would tell myself to advocate for help and for testing, having a diagnosis would have changed my life as a student and I wouldn't have had to struggle so much.
        • I’d tell my younger self that I am autistic and there’s nothing wrong with me - late diagnosis is wonderful but it would have meant so much to me to understand more about how my brain worked from a younger age.
      • Question 2: What do you wish others understood about your life as a disabled person?
        • “I wish others realized how much power they have to influence the culture and environment around them for the better, regardless of if they are disabled or not.”
        • Through being disabled, I will learn to listen to my body and my needs, and learn so many other things about myself and the world that will lead to new skills and more empathy and understanding for others. I will learn that it’s ok to accept help, ask for help, and that help is not conditional. That I will become an expert on various conditions beyond any degree through lived experience and advocacy in a world not built for me, and I will pave the way for others and use what I’ve gained to help others in ways I never could otherwise.
        • Being disabled and in community with other disabled folks has taught me so many new ways to love others and be loved by others.
        • That even though I can have good days, many in a row, that my bad days are still bad and I need help on those days. Just because I don't need it every day doesn't mean I don't need it at all.
      • Question 3: If you could change one thing to improve accessibility, what would it be?
      • Question 4: If people wanted to learn more about your disability / identity what is a good resource you'd share?
      • Question 5: What questions do you wish someone would ask you about disability life or disability pride?
        • I am a firm believer of asking a person for help. I would rather have an over-bearing able bodied person than feel I have to be aggressive in getting support. I feel the most important for someone who isn't disabled is to provide support, help a person that needs it.
      • What would we like to see for disability pride at UM?
        • More mask required events
        • More hybrid and virtual events
        • A story hour
        • Book clubs
        • Events showing what it might be like to live with disabilities
          • Can create empathy but may also create distrust and concern in the community
        • There should be a mandatory 8 hour training for department leaders on working with a disability.
          • Trauma informed workspaces
          • Understanding the added stress
        • Health advocates for us with our insurance would be soooo helpful.
          • Help with making appointments and finding resources for disabled patients
      • Other discussions:

 

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