Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters

Free Resource - How to Talk with Kids about Disability

Beyond Awareness: Bringing Disability into Diversity in K-12 Schools & Communities - Diana's Book

Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights - Diana's Children's Book

Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights Thematic Unit/ Disability History Lesson Plans

Diana's Teachers Pay Teachers Store - Disability as Diversity

Diana's Trifold Laminated Resource: Beyond Disability Awareness: An Educator's Guide, Published by National Professional Resources, Inc. (NPR, Inc.)

Credits and Image Description

Intro and outro music courtesy of Emmanuel Castro.

Podcast cover photo by Rachel Schlesinger Photography.

Podcast cover image description: Black and white photograph of Diana, a Spanish-American woman with long, wavy, brown hair. She is wearing a flowy, white blouse and smiles at camera as she leans against wooden building. Photo is colorfully framed with gold and orange rays of seeming sunshine on top half, and with solid sage green color on bottom half. Text reads "Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters, Diana Pastora Carson, M.Ed."

34. Disability Awareness: Do It Right

Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters

09/12/23 • 27 min

In this episode, Diana leads listeners through guidelines for leading a disability awareness event from a social model lens. She tells the story of how she used to conduct disability awareness using traditional, outdated models. And she shares how her learnings and experiences have transformed her focus, and has taken her "beyond awareness." She includes a walkthrough of McMillin Elementary School's Beyond Awareness Celebration, and interviews leaders and participants throughout the planning, implementing, and reflection process.

Special thanks to McMillin Elementary School in Chula Vista, California. Thank you to Andrea Galang and Liza Tuscano, for continuing our McMillin tradition with so much enthusiasm and care. Thank you to all the administration, staff, families, and students for embracing these opportunities for new learning and growth throughout the years.

And mostly, thank you to all the guest presenters for generously sharing your time and energy with students, staff and families.

Links Mentioned or Related

Diana's Trifold Laminated Guide, Beyond Disability Awareness: An Educator's Guide, Published by National Professional Resources, Inc. (NPR, Inc.)

Beyond Awareness: Bringing Disability into Diversity in K-12 Schools & Communities - Diana's Book

"Beyond Awareness" - Diana's Digital Course

Andrea's Free Resource - Recorded Interviews with Guest Presenters

Diana's Free 5 Fundamentals Poster
Inspiration Porn Episode with Dr. Toni Saia

Stay Connected with Diana

Free Resource - How to Talk with Kids about Disability

Beyond Awareness: Bringing Disability into Diversity in K-12 Schools & Communities - Diana's Book

Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights - Diana's Children's Book

Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights Thematic Unit/ Disability History Lesson Plans

Diana's Teachers Pay Teachers Store - Disability as Diversity

Diana's Brand New Resource! Beyond Disability Awareness: An Educator's Guide, Published by National Professional Resources, Inc. (NPR, Inc.)

Credits and Image Description

Intro and outro music courtesy of Emmanuel Castro.

Podcast cover photo by

35. Mainstreaming, Integration, Inclusion & Belonging with Dr. Shelley Moore

Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters

10/20/23 • 39 min

In this episode, Diana has a conversation with Dr. Shelley Moore. Shelley is a Canadian educator and an expert on special education who also has taught in the U.S. She is the author of One Without the Other, which I've read a couple times, as well as her upcoming book, All for One, which I look forward to reading. Shelly is a teacher researcher, YouTuber and extraordinary speaker. She advocates for inclusive education and seeks to reform iep programs to better suit the needs of individual students. Shelley is so well-informed as it relates to disability diversity and educational policies related to students with disabilities, both in the US and in Canada. And she's brilliant and talented and funny, and really just a good human. Shelley and I discussed the concept of inclusion and she distinguished between mainstreaming, integration, and inclusion with a real sense of belonging in one's community. She compares the intent of LRE (least restrictive environment) with what we have been doing in public education, as well as individuals with disabilities and families as the intended beneficiaries of a continuum of services. Shelley also shares on a personal level of what her "why" is, and some fun rapid-fire questions at the end of the interview. I hope you'll enjoy this episode as much as I did!

Dr. Shelley Moore

DrShelleyMoore.com

Links Mentioned or Related

BlogSomeMoore

Five Moore Minutes

Five Moore Minutes YouTube

One without the Other Book

All for One Book

Dan Habib

Herb Lovett - Learning to Listen Book

Stay Connected with Diana

Free Resource - How to Talk with Kids about Disability

Beyond Awareness: Bringing Disability into Diversity in K-12 Schools & Communities - Diana's Book

Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights - Diana's Children's Book

Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights Thematic Unit/ Disability History Lesson Plans

Diana's Teachers Pay Teachers Store - Disability as Diversity

Diana's Trifold Laminated Resource: Beyond Disability Awareness: An Educator's Guide, Published by National Professional Resources, Inc. (NPR, Inc.)

Credits and Image Description

Intro and outro...

6. What is Ableism? with Michelle Nario-Redmond, Ph.D.

Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters

12/31/21 • 43 min

Michelle Nario-Redmond, Ph.D.

Michelle Nario-Redmond is a professor of psychology and biomedical humanities, specializing in stereotyping, prejudice and disability studies. As a Ford Fellow, she graduated from the University of Kansas with a Ph.D. in social psychology. Her research focuses on access to higher education, group identification, wellness and political advocacy, and strategies for social change and antiracist practices in higher education.

In 2019, she published her first book, “Ableism: The Causes and Consequences of Disability Prejudice for the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues,” and delivered a Congressional Seminar on Capitol Hill. A graduate of APA’s Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology, she currently serves as chair of Hiram College’s Diversity Committee and is passionate about reducing disparities in education, health and civic participation. Her favorite courses to teach include Who is Normal: Freak, Gimp, Crazy, Crip, and Gimpy Geezers: Representations of Ableism and Ageism.

In this episode, Dr. Nario-Redmond defines ableism and provides examples of ableism as it relates to education and everyday life, both as a mother, and as a community member.

Links Mentioned in Show

Ableism: The Causes and Consequences of Disability Prejudice

Stay Connected with Diana

Beyond Awareness: Bringing Disability into Diversity in K-12 Schools & Communities - Diana's Book

Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights - Diana's Children's Book

Credits and Image Description

Intro and outro music courtesy of Emmanuel Castro.

Podcast cover photo by Rachel Schlesinger Photography.

1. Beyond Awareness Introduction

Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters

12/03/21 • 16 min

Is it appropriate to talk about disability? Is there a way to respectfully talk about disability? What words do I use when talking about disability? How do I teach kids about disability? Why do I feel awkward when I talk about disability? Are there any good resources out there to teach me about disability? This show will serve educators, parents, and community members who strive to learn and/or teach about disability in a research-based and respectful way, moving beyond simple awareness, and diving into inclusive and socially responsive conversations.

In this introductory episode, Diana shares her personal journey and transformation that led her from conducting traditional disability awareness activities and events, to reframing disability awareness into a social justice movement.

Stay Connected with Diana

Beyond Awareness: Bringing Disability into Diversity in K-12 Schools & Communities - Diana's Book

Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights - Diana's Children's Book

Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion - Paul Bloom

Credits and Image Description

Intro and outro music courtesy of Emmanuel Castro.

Podcast cover photo by Rachel Schlesinger Photography.

3. The Importance of Relationship Featuring Shannen McKinney

Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters

12/03/21 • 26 min

Shannen McKinney has spent her career in the service of students, teachers, support staff and administrators. It was during her undergraduate studies when she attended a job fair and subsequently began her first position in special education working with individuals with significant behavioral needs. While working at the non-public school, she realized there was a segment of the population who had been hidden and silenced. She fell in love with her work and the students who came into her life—and finally decided on a college major! This also meant she would indeed follow in her mother’s magical footsteps and embrace teaching as a career. Over the past two decades, she has held a variety of positions in education including instructional assistant, education specialist, autism specialist, and behavior analyst, and is currently the Program Specialist on the Support for Teams in Autism and with At-Risk Students (STAARS). She enjoys spending time playing outdoors, baking yummy goodies indoors, laughing with her amazing teenage daughter and phenomenal friends, and holding her loved ones tightly, but her true passion lies in helping people develop a deeper understanding of our shared human experience through listening, learning, mentoring, and advocating.

In this episode, Shannen discusses the value of relationship with students and with colleagues as we strive to create inclusive environments in our schools.

Link Mentioned in Show

Stay Connected with Diana

Beyond Awareness: Bringing Disability into Diversity in K-12 Schools & Communities - Diana's Book

Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights - Diana's Children's Book

Credits and Image Description

Intro and outro music courtesy of Emmanuel Castro.

Podcast cover photo by Rachel Schlesinger Photography.

8. Social Inclusion with Jeff Moyer

Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters

01/14/22 • 27 min

Jeff Moyer is a true twenty-first century renaissance man. He is an advocate for human rights, a songwriter, author, poet, playwright, television producer, documentarian, and writer of fiction, disability history, and memoirs. Moyer's music is the soundtrack for the American Disability Rights movement and his songs became the theme music for a BBC documentary on that movement. Moyer’s music and books are at work in schools and universities internationally, and he has been featured on the CBS evening news, 2020 in National Geographic, as a commentator on NPR, and has three times been invited to the White House.

We’re People First – The Jeff Moyer Show, completed 20 episodes as the only fully accessible program on YouTube or any television broadcast medium. The Show provides in perpetuity, a provocative, entertaining, and enlightening overview of disability, disability rights history, and access through interviews with disability leaders, Jeff’s original music, and his insightful commentaries and conversations with his wife Cristi. In 2022 Jeff will introduce Underdogs – A Book of Short Stories, and will produce an international Zoom concert with Paul Mugambi, a Kenyan disability rights musician, who is blind.

Moyer is blind as a result of Inverse Retinitis Pigmentosa which began to steel his sight beginning at age five. His brother Mark was born that same summer with a severe cognitive disability which resulted in his institutionalization at age eight. Moyer’s advocacy was forged in the fires of his struggles for accessibility and education, and his decades of work which resulted in Mark’s return to community through supported living. Mark died in 2014.

Moyer received his bachelor’s degree in Social Welfare with highest honors from University of California at Berkeley in 1975, and his master’s degree in Rehabilitation Administration from University of San Francisco in 1978. He has received phase I and phase II certification as a member of the Americans with Disabilities Act Implementation Network. Jeff Moyer's books, recordings of music, and disability history documentaries can be found at www.jeffmoyer.com

In this episode, Diana and Jeff discuss the important things that kids need to know, and the things that adults can focus on for the best outcomes toward social inclusion.

Connect with Jeff

www.JeffMoyer.com

Stay Connected with Diana

Beyond Awareness: Bringing Disability into Diversity in K-12 Schools & Communities - Diana's Book

Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights - Diana's Children's Book

Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education (MCIE)

Credits and Image Description

Intro and outro music courtesy of Emmanuel Castro.

Podcast cover photo by Rachel Schlesinger Photography.

2. How I Became an Inclusionist Featuring Tim Villegas

Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters

12/03/21 • 32 min

Tim Villegas, B.A.
Director of Communications at Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education (MCIE)

Tim Villegas joined MCIE’s communications team in 2020, implementing MCIE’s communications and marketing plan, and leading MCIE communications through blogs, podcasts, social media, webinars, and product development. Throughout his prior sixteen-year career as a special education teacher, Tim advocated for the inclusion of learners with significant disabilities in general education classrooms and systems change in schools and districts; and spent three years as a district-level program specialist supporting learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), emotional and behavioral needs, and intellectual disabilities. He founded Think Inclusive, now MCIE’s official blog.

In this episode of Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters, Tim Villegas discusses his transformation from a staunch self-contained, special education classroom teacher to an "inclusionist." He provides some recommendations for teacher support, and the value of spreading our stories of inclusion.

Links Mentioned in Show

Email Tim: [email protected]

Think Inclusive Blog & Podcast

Julie Causton - The Inclusion Podcast

Shelley Moore Video

Jenna Rufo & Julie Causton - Reimagining Special Education

Jennifer Kurth & Megan Gross- The Inclusion Toolbox

Emily Ladau - Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally

Stay Connected with Diana

Beyond Awareness: Bringing Disability into Diversity in K-12 Schools & Communities - Diana's Book

Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights - Diana's Children's Book

Disability Visibility - Alice Wong

Credits and Image Description

Intro and outro music courtesy of Emmanuel Castro.

Podcast cover photo by Rachel Schlesinger Photography.

7. Educator Training, Experiences, & Growth - Emily Nusbaum, Ph.D.

Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters

01/07/22 • 25 min

Emily A. Nusbaum, Ph.D., is invested in supporting students labeled with disability and their families in accessing general education school contexts. She provides advocacy and support to families in Individual Education Plan and 504 Plan meetings, as well as other school-related contexts. She also provides consultation to create IEP and 504 Plans that reflect student capacity and that participation in general education contexts. Emily also works individually with students who have experienced educational trauma to support young people as they rebuild the sense of themselves as learners. She also provides 1:1 organizational and executive functioning support to students. Emily has extensive experience providing training and technical assistance to school teams and community organizations in the development of inclusive practices. Finally, she works as an expert witness on legal teams in litigation against school districts, related to Least Restrictive Environment and Free and Appropriate Public Education, as defined by federal law.

In this episode, Emily shares her foundational experiences of teaching in an inclusive setting, the work that she does to prepare incoming teachers for inclusive classrooms, and the importance of looking at disability from an intersectional lens.

Links Mentioned in Show

Black Disabled Art History 101 - Leroy Moore

Black Disabled Ancestors - Leroy Moore

Undoing Ableism: Teaching About Disability in K-12 Classrooms - Susan Baglieri & Priya Lalvani

Beyond Awareness: Bringing Disability into Diversity in K-12 Schools & Communities - Diana Pastora Carson

Disability Studies in Education

Stay Connected with Diana

Intro and outro music courtesy of Emmanuel Castro.

Podcast cover photo by Rachel Schlesinger Photography.

37. My Disability Awareness "Why"

Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters

01/24/24 • 24 min

In this episode, Diana discusses the correlation between real life situations that she and other individuals and their family members find themselves in due to lack of societal commitment to their well-being, and the social paradigm focus of going Beyond Awareness vs. traditional disability awareness. She concludes with encouragement to listeners to take steps toward going Beyond Awareness so that we can begin making progress toward access to well-being for all.

Stay Connected with Diana

Free Resource - How to Talk with Kids about Disability

Beyond Awareness: Bringing Disability into Diversity in K-12 Schools & Communities - Diana's Book

Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights - Diana's Children's Book

Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights Thematic Unit/ Disability History Lesson Plans