👋 Welcome to The Latest, which is sweltering in a heatwave like so much of the world. Was this email forwarded to you? Get your own subscription and read past issues!
This month’s newsletter is only 945 words — a quick 4 minute summer read.
☂ Living the Umbrella Deaf-inition
I recently wrote about what it is like living the umbrella deaf-inition — capital “D” Deaf, deaf, late-deafened, deaf with disability, hard-of-hearing…. There are so many different terms and identities that are under the broader umbrella of “deaf”. And I had to admit:
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It has taken me decades to say “I am a deaf person.”
I am so grateful to The Mind Hears, a blog by and for deaf academics, because their profile of me was a profound personal experience. It was a chance to share my own journey and how my deaf identity has evolved over the course of my nearly fifty years. The response from all of you was so heartfelt and kind. Thank you.
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I recently went back for an audiogram for the first time since pre-pandemic.
The contrast in results, mostly a large drop in hearing higher frequencies, reflect the effect of aging overlapped on my congenital hearing loss. I also have noticeably different hearing levels (deaf levels!) in the left and right ears, something I’ve really never noticed, but did so in that hearing test booth for the first time. The audiologist said, well, you have mild to severe hearing loss. What a range! My deaf identity keeps evolving, and the umbrella keeps getting bigger.
👉 Main Takeaway: The Transformative Experience of Personal Branding
For many of us in academia, “personal branding” can make us cringe. How (and why) are we supposed to “brand” ourselves? When do we find the time?
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For me, it’s about both agency and control. This means not relying on other entities to amplify my work and my passion to expand opportunities for disabled people. I love collaborating with organizations and team leaders as they level up access and equity for disabled people — and I can’t rely on my institution or anyone else to communicate my mission.
Much of my personal branding revolves around my personal website. Two new sections are particularly exciting.
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Consulting: This section captures activities that are ongoing but that usually do not have a traditional home. For example, task forces for federally funded projects, supporting assessment companies in their work towards accessible platforms, and so on.
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Media Room: I want to make it easy for people to understand my work, portray me accurately, and contact me for evidence-based insights based on my research.
And sometimes branding is using old-fashioned paper. I recently updated my personal business card — designed to match the look of my website and presentation slides — and printed it on high quality paper that makes people “ooh” and “ahh” when they are given one. Trust me: It’s worth the time and effort.
🌟 Make Accessibility Easy: Download and Print New Infographics for You and Your Students
We are thrilled to launch two new infographics created and written by the student, staff, and faculty teams — many of whom are disabled themselves — from the Collaborative for Access & Equity, the innovative program I direct that is designed to improve accessibility, equity, and inclusion for disabled college students. Click the buttons below to download, print, and use them daily!
💗 July is Disability Pride Month!
Let’s join together to celebrate and elevate Disability Pride — and work to unite as a community, promote disability as a part of human diversity, improve access and equity, and change ableist perceptions.
A simple start is by displaying and sharing the Disability Pride flag!
This spotlight on Disability Pride Month is helpful to learn more about the flag — designed by a disabled woman with consensus and lived experience — and how each of its elements symbolize a different part of the disability community.
[Created by Ann Magil. Alt-text description: The Disability Pride flag is a charcoal grey flag with a diagonal band from the top left to bottom right corner, made up of five parallel stripes in red, gold, pale grey, blue, and green.]
🌀 The Wrap-Up
📈 With my coauthor Vitaliy V. Shyyan, I wrote a summary of the state of the field, Accessibility and Accommodations on Large Scale Standardized Assessments, that has just been published in the newly-launched Routledge Resources Online – Education.
🚨 My special bulletin in the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education is on the new Model State Plan for Vocational Rehabilitation Services for Deaf People — the 111-page report commissioned by CSAVR that we debuted in February.
👏 Striving to hire a diverse workforce? I explain how inaccessible assessments could be hurting your efforts (and your company’s bottom line).
💻 Around the Internet
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Are you IN? I am! I am excited to attend the Disability:IN 2022 Global Conference & Expo in Dallas on July 18-21. It’s so refreshing to be a part of a conference that doesn’t ask if attendees need accommodations and simply provides accessibility at all sessions. Conference planners, take note!
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Remember: #AltTextAddsMore. Don’t forget that blind people who use screen readers need image descriptions. Add alt text to all of your photos, artwork, and visual elements in tweets, social media posts, PowerPoint slides, and more. (And caption your videos!)
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Art in all forms feeds our souls. Deaf author Sara Nović wrote about the importance of art (and activism), especially in times of crisis.
✌️ And Finally…
I’m scared by a lot of things right now. What can we each do to help each other keep going?
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The other day I wore a yellow blazer — a distinct departure from my basic black travel wardrobe — when I was headed to the National Conference on Student Assessment in Atlanta.
That pop of yellow gave me the positive energy I needed that day (and every little bit helps). What’s your “pop of yellow”?
Selfie by Stephanie Cawthon. Alt text: White woman with brown hair wearing a yellow blazer, blue patterned top, and white face mask flashes the peace sign with her left hand.