
34. Disability Awareness: Do It Right
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 She tells the story of how she used to conduct disability awareness using traditional, outdated models.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
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
Diana's Website, including blog
Free Resource - 5 Keys to Going Beyond Awareness
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
"Beyond Awareness" Digital Course
Beyond Awareness Facebook Page
Beyond Awareness Pullover Hoodie
Beyond Awareness Raglan Baseball T-Shirt
Beyond Awareness Journal/Notebook
Diana's Teachers Pay Teachers Store - Disability as Diversity
Credits and Image Description
Intro and outro music courtesy of Emmanuel Castro.
Podcast cover photo by
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 She tells the story of how she used to conduct disability awareness using traditional, outdated models.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
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
Diana's Website, including blog
Free Resource - 5 Keys to Going Beyond Awareness
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
"Beyond Awareness" Digital Course
Beyond Awareness Facebook Page
Beyond Awareness Pullover Hoodie
Beyond Awareness Raglan Baseball T-Shirt
Beyond Awareness Journal/Notebook
Diana's Teachers Pay Teachers Store - Disability as Diversity
Credits and Image Description
Intro and outro music courtesy of Emmanuel Castro.
Podcast cover photo by
Previous Episode

33. Parent Advocacy for Inclusion with Olivier Bernier / Forget Me Not Film
In this episode, Diana interviews Olivier Bernier, film producer of Forget Me Not, which revolves around his family's fight for inclusive schooling for their son, Emilio, who has Down Syndrome.
Links Mentioned or Related
The Henderson Inclusion School, Boston
Stay Connected with Diana
Diana's Website, including blog
Free Resource - 5 Keys to Going Beyond Awareness
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
"Beyond Awareness" Digital Course
Beyond Awareness Facebook Page
Beyond Awareness Pullover Hoodie
Beyond Awareness Raglan Baseball T-Shirt
Beyond Awareness Journal/Notebook
Diana's Teachers Pay Teachers Store - Disability as Diversity
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."
Next Episode

35. Mainstreaming, Integration, Inclusion & Belonging with Dr. Shelley Moore
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!
Links Mentioned or Related
All for One Book
Herb Lovett - Learning to Listen Book
Stay Connected with Diana
Diana's Website, including blog
Free Resource - 5 Keys to Going Beyond Awareness
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
"Beyond Awareness" Digital Course
Beyond Awareness Facebook Page
Beyond Awareness Pullover Hoodie
Beyond Awareness Raglan Baseball T-Shirt
Beyond Awareness Journal/Notebook
Diana's Teachers Pay Teachers Store - Disability as Diversity
Credits and Image Description
Intro and outro...
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