​WE NEED YOUR HELP!

People with Disabilities have repeatedly told us that access to transportation is a very large problem for them. We want to know more. Frankly, we need to know more. Is access a problem because there is not enough information, too few options, or is there some other reason?
 
The Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council, Services for Independent Living, Disability Rights Ohio and the Government Resource Center have developed a survey about the transportation system that serves people with disabilities in Ohio. This survey is open to everyone and will help these groups develop a better understanding of the real challenges people with disabilities face when dealing with transportation barriers.
 
If you are a person with a disability, a family member, a provider of transportation services or anyone with a stake in the transportation system in Ohio, we invite you to participate in this survey. Advocates often use the phrase, “Nothing about us, without us,” as a rallying cry for inclusion and participation of people with disabilities. Now is your chance to participate!
 
The survey is offered online at each organization’s website, or via the link below. Don’t wait too long though, the survey will be open to the public until July 13, 2016.

Click here to get started now.
 
If you have any questions about this survey before or after you complete it, or encounter any technical problems, please contact Colin Odden at colin.odden@osumc.edu or at 1-614-685-9357.
 
 
Sincerely,
The Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council
Services for Independent Living
Disability Rights Ohio
Government Resource Center

Sami Schalk
More than a Metaphor:  Disability in Black Women’s Speculative Fiction
Monday, March 23, 2015,  2 – 4 pm
The Ohio State University’s Columbus Campus, 255 Townshend Hall
 Free Public lecture

Sami Schalk is an Assistant Professor of English at University at Albany, State University of New York. Her research focuses on the representation of disability in contemporary African American literature. Sami is an active member of the Society for Disability Studies and the National Women’s Studies Association. She is also a poet and Cave Canem fellow.  In 2013 Sami was the recipient of the American Association of University Women dissertation Fellowship

For more information or to request accommodations please contact Tess Pugsley 614-292-1021; pugsley.8@osu.edu

Lennard J. Davis
The Ken Campbell Lecture on Disability Policy
"The Stories We Tell: The Americans with Disabilities Act After 25 Years"
Monday April 13, 3:00-4:30 pm
The Ohio State University Columbus Campus, Blackwell Hotel
Free Public Lecture

Based on his forthcoming book, Enabling Acts Davis' topic honors both the 25th Anniversary of the ADA and Campbell’s life’s work as an advocate including over twenty years guiding the City of Columbus’ disability policies and practice.  A highlight of the Multiple Perspectives conference this public lecture was established by the Columbus Advisory Committee on Disability Issues after Campbell's death in 2007.  

Davis is a Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences, a Professor of Disability and Human Development  and a Professor of Medical Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  A well published author whose works on disability include Enforcing Normalcy: Disability, Deafness, and the Body,  the Disability Studies Reader and his memoir My Sense of Silence numerous journal articles, presentations and interviews.  In addition Davis has edited several collections including his parents’ correspondence Shall I Say a Kiss: The Courtship Letters of a Deaf Couple, 1936-38.  His forthcoming book, Enabling Acts will be published in July for the 25th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act by Beacon Press.

Davis tells the neglected story behind the Americans with Disabilities Act, a model for civil rights laws around the world that is too often absent from the curriculum and too far from popular consciousness at home.  Enabling Acts is not a dry legislative history.  Davis tells the rich human story; illustrating the successes and shortcomings of the ADA in areas ranging from employment, education, and transportation to shifting social attitudes.  This powerfully told story promises to set the stage for the next generation of disability rights leaders. 

Davis summed up the importance of these stories this way.  "I have come to see that disability studies is imperative. It is crucial that students in elementary and secondary school, as well as students in the university, grow up in close contact with people with all kinds of disabilities. It is crucial that disability studies be included in the curricula of schools so that when Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement are studied, when films on Stonewall are screened, Chicano authors are read — that disability history and culture be included as well from the accomplishments of Vietnam Vets and Ron Kovic to the Berkeley movement led by disability activist Ed Roberts to the Deaf President Now movement at Gallaudet University. The drafting of the ADA should be studied the way that the drafting of the Declaration of Independence is studied. Students should be able to read the work of Nancy Mairs or Andre Dubus, to know about the disabilities of artists and writers like James Joyce, Harriet Martineau, and William DeKooning, as well as the more obvious Beethoven or Ray Charles."

Student Perspectives
Reception and Poster Competition at
Monday April 13, 4:30-6 pm
The Ohio State University Columbus Campus, Blackwell Hotel
Free Public Lecture

Student Perspectives encourages students to network with professionals, the community, and scholars who share their interests in disability.  A generous gift from the Ethel Louise Armstrong Foundation  funds cash awards for graduate research, undergraduate research, arts, community service and class projects focused on disability.   http://ada.osu.edu/conferences.htm

Ethel Louise Armstrong Lecture on Disability Art & Culture
The Hearing World Around Me:  A performance by Trix Bruce
Tuesday April 14, 3:45 pm
The Ohio State University Columbus Campus, Blackwell Hotel
Free Public Lecture

The performance reflects culture, identity and pride providing a personal backdrop to the anniversary of the ADA.  Bruce's stories are those of culture clash and connection, contact and confusion, and the many ways which language and identity can twist our perceptions of each other. Her energetic style, witty delivery, poetic grace, and honesty welcome you to her world as a deaf person among the hearing.  Through a series of stories Trix shares her embarrassing moments, challenges, learning experiences, and a growing sense of pride.  Video excerpt of The Hearing World Around Me at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwey1wAhJL8

Trix has been involved in the performing arts since 1980 when she won the role of Helen Keller in her freshman year of high-school. She participated in the summer program hosted by the National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD) and performed at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). As a deaf poet and actress, her performances draw heavily on her life experiences.  Trix’s one-woman show has been a long-standing success. Audiences are captivated by Trix’s sign artistry, sheer elegance and irresistible, smile-sparking humor. Trix’s performances and presentations always showcase her skills as an outstanding communicator.  Trix’s main area of study has been in ASL Linguistics with a focus on ASL Performance. She is an approved sponsor for the Registry Interpreter for the Deaf (RID) Maintenance Program. Whether writing, creating, improvising or starring in her many productions, Trix’s passion for the dramatic arts always shines through.  On line  at http://www.trixbruce.com/;  on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TrixBruce

Working Title: Valuing Disability Elizabeth Barnes, University of Virginia Thursday, April 16, 2015 - 3:30pm to 5:30pm
Columbus Campus of The Ohio State University, Location TBA

Elizabeth Barnes works on metaphysics, social philosophy, and feminist philosophy - and is particularly interested in the areas where these subjects interact. She's currently writing a book on disability and thinking a lot about the metaphysics of social structures. She's also the editor of Philosophy Compass. Among her many writings on a variety of ethical and metaphysical issues are the following articles focusing on the concept and evaluation of disabilities: "Valuing Disability, Causing Disability," Ethics (2014), "Disability and Adaptive Preference," Philosophical Perspectives (2009), and "Disability, Minority, and Difference," Journal of Applied Philosophy (2009). Professor Barnes' talk for the Center for Ethics and Human Values will be based on her important philosophical work on disability.

 CART (Computer Assisted Real-time Transcription) will be provided at this event by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

To ask questions about accessibility or request accommodations, please contact Michelle Brown at 614-292-7914 or brown.930@osu.edu. Two weeks' advance notice will allow us to provide seamless access.