The Latest: Bending Toward Justice 🕊️ 

👋 Welcome to the April 2024 edition of The Latest, where we know the arc always bends toward justice, even (and especially) on the days when it feels like it doesn’t. 

📣 The Main Takeaway: Ableism in Academia 

Disabled people are often seen as “less than” their peers. They are held back by ableism — negative attitudes and systemic barriers to opportunity — and frequently omitted from important dialogs and those incidental yet influential chats around the proverbial watercooler.  

• Ableism is everywhere, including in academia.

Disabled scholars are often viewed as less credible and their work as less rigorous than others — including, incredibly, by journals and publishing outlets that focus on disability. 

• I was even told by an academic supervisor that I should abandon research about disability because “it’s too narrow” and “you won’t get tenure.” 

Being awarded tenure at The University of Texas at Austin and receiving more than $50 million (and counting) in grant funding sure proved him wrong.

But his ableist attitude was reflective of my peers, infected my confidence, and made life harder than it had to be. 

How can we stop ableism in academia? Let’s start by valuing research done by, with, and for disabled people. Which leads me to… 

🎤 Nothing About Us Without Us

… including disability research! I’m super excited to be a featured panelist in a webinar on April 30 hosted by the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR). 

• “Including People with Lived Experience on Research Teams” is a topic near and dear to my heart as a researcher, research center PI and director, educator, business owner, and disabled person. 

Including people with lived experience is a foundational component of the National Disability Center for Student Success, which has a Leadership Team, Student Fellows, and Faculty Cadre composed of people with disabilities or people deeply connected with the disability community. 

🤟 Consulting Freebie: ASL Translation Guidelines 

Not all ASL translations are created equal. 

• Here is my FREE downloadable PDF that shows how to do them right.

Why is it so important to (a) have ASL translations and (b) make sure you get them right? Because standardized tests, measures, and surveys are used everywhere.

• Job Placements + Screenings

• Customer Intake Forms

• Education settings from K-12 to Postsecondary

• Much, much more!

Yet rarely are these formats accessible to deaf people who use ASL, which can be a major equity issue — and ADA compliance matter — for many organizations. 

Have an online test or survey? Contact me for ASL translation support and accessibility consulting. 

➡️ No DEI Without Disability

We all know DEI is in the news every hour these days, mostly for all the wrong reasons. 

• If you read just one article about DEI, make it this one by Lily Zheng in the Harvard Business Review. 

And be sure to include disability in your vision of what DEI can be! Because:

• There is no disability without diversity, and no diversity without disability. 

🌀 The Wrap-Up 

• Vote now! In my LinkedIn poll, let me know what you think: Would you join an online disability-focused resource group outside your workplace? 

• Spread the word! The inaugural National Disability Center Townhall is this Thursday! In just one hour on Zoom, you’ll get the lowdown on my new research center and fascinating preliminary insights from our first two studies. Register now and invite your colleagues!  

• Congratulations, Ryan! My doctoral student and mentee, Ryan A. Mata, MA, has received a UT Austin Graduate School Continuing Fellowship for his major accomplishments. 

• Meet Desirée! You’ll want to get to know Desirée Lama, a bright and shining star who is here, there, and every-bleeping-where (as I channel my favorite chant from Ted Lasso)! 

👯‍♀️ And Finally…

Badass conference twinsies know where it’s at.