Disability Deep Dive

In this episode of You First, we chat with our friend Beck DeTrempe who is doing some awesome peer led community building in Florida. They founded Basically Wonderful, which is a grassroots organization run by Queer + Disabled folks in Orlando, Florida, USA. Their mission reads: Our hope is to create peer-led spaces for marginalized communities where folks are free to express themselves and build friendships with peers who have similar lived experiences. We are creating intentional spaces for both Disabled & LGBTQIA+ folks to commune and thrive in identity-driven spaces. We have a great conversation about the programming they offer, such as community spaces, book clubs, arts events, media clubs, and much more. We also discuss how they center Disability Justice, accessibility, accountability, and inclusion to provide community spaces that are inviting for all.

With one of their favorite holidays just around the corner, co-hosts Maddie and Keith delve into a serious discussion on using disability as a tool for instilling fear in others, all in the name of Halloween fun. From dressing up in offensive costumes to visiting eerie museums and reopened haunted institutions, the hosts explore how disability history and the disabled community have been intentionally disregarded in favor of a cheap thrill.

Content warning: Mentions of violence against people with disabilities and BIPOC people, including colonialism, institutionalization, eugenics, incarceration, and slavery.

References in episode:

• Ugly Laws
• History of Willowbrook State School
• Article in Disability Visibility about the Mütter Museum
• Florida Farm Colony Institution
• Pennhurst Haunted Asylum
• History of zombies
• History of the term spooky
• Article with Annie Elainey's experience with Halloween

On today's episode, we chat with the co-hosts of The Accessible Stall podcast, Emily Ladau and Kyle Khachadurian! These two disabled podcasting stars were some of the first podcasters with disabilities when they got their start in 2016. They are both strong advocates for disability, accessibility, and the power of story-telling. They join Keith and Maddie to discuss why they began podcasting, what accessibility considerations they make when producing a podcast, and much more.

About the guests and their podcast: The Accessible Stall is a disability podcast hosted by Kyle Khachadurian and Emily Ladau that keeps it real about issues within the disability community. Because we each have different disabilities and mobility levels, we approach everything we talk about with two unique viewpoints, offering our listeners a fresh insight into how differences in disability can color your experiences and perspectives. And we never shy away from offering our honest opinions. Even if they go against the grain of the disability community at large, we always speak our minds.

As we head back to school in a few weeks, we wanted to highlight our new Transition Toolkit. Transition is a term to describe when youth are moving into a new phase of life. Think about big transitioning moments in your life growing up: going to middle school, trying to get a job, or being able to vote. The Transition Toolkit has timely, helpful information regarding education plans, like IEPs or 504s, and things like self-advocacy, assistive technology, driver's licenses, and much more. It is accessible, easy to read, and offers youth and their supporters the information needed to plan for a successful future.

Resources:

• Online Toolkit: Transition.DisabilityRightsFlorida.org
• Our Education Resources
• Sign up for Ann's upcoming presentation about the Transition Toolkit on August 18, 2023

Guest Dr. Anita Marshall joins hosts Keith and Maddie to talk about her work to make STEM more accessible for students with disabilities. As someone who acquired a disability later in life, she realized how ableist and inaccessible higher education really was. Anita created the first-ever disability-accessible planetary geoscience field course and mentoring program, GeoSPACE, and is the Executive Director of The International Association for Geoscience Diversity. We discuss collective disability knowledge, debunk myths about academia, and gush about our love for universal accessibility. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Show Notes and Resources:

• Dr. Anita Marshall's Website
• GeoSPACE Program
• The International Association for Geoscience Diversity

A little over one year ago, Florida decided to stop participating in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) voluntary Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Since 1991, Florida participated in the YRBS. It is widely given to youth across the United States to assess their well-being regarding to mental health, teen dating violence, bullying, drugs, eating and exercise habits, and sexual activity. This survey has been critical lately to monitor the rise in anxiety, depression, and suicide among teens since 2020. In addition to risk taking behaviors, the survey assesses how youth of marginalized identities are doing while living in florida. With Florida no longer participating, people are concerned about what metrics will exist to track youth and teen safety trends.

After discontinuing involvement, Florida created its own survey: the Florida Specific Youth Survey (FSYS). This survey focuses on 'student resiliency standards' and has little to no questions about sexual, mental, and relationship health.

Host Keith Casebonne talks with DRF staff and leadership from Equality Florida & Florida Policy Institute about the impact of Florida leaving the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. These three guests discuss their deep concerns about the survey and real repercussions on marginalized youth, including people with disabilities, people of color, LGBTQ youth, and more.

Show Notes & Resources:

• Equality Florida's website
• Florida Policy Institute's website

In honor of Pride Month, upcoming Disability Pride Month, and the opportunity to always highlight cool disabled people, let's talk about Frida Kahlo.

Many are aware of the legendary artist, Frida Kahlo: her famous artwork, impact on culture, and iconic appearance. But many people do not know that she was a bisexual disabled woman with physical disabilities due to polio and an automobile accident. Her disabilities made a lasting impact on her art, heavily influencing what, who, and how she painted.

Show Notes & Resources:

• FridaKahlo.org
• Our Blog Frida Kahlo's 6 Disability Themed Paintings
• Respectability's article on Frida Kahlo: Frida Kahlo, Role Model for Artists, People with Disabilities and Bisexual Women
• Annie Elainey's YouTube video 'Why You Should Love Frida Kahlo'

Guest Jen Deerinwater joins host Maddie Crowley to talk about the intersection of disability and Indigenous identities. Jen is a disabled Two Spirit Indigenous individual who is an award-winning journalist, organizer, and leader within the disability, Indigenous and environmental justice movements. During the conversation, they discuss paving the way to create a native media organization, combatting ableism and invisibility, and highlighting upcoming opportunities and new resources developing for disabled Native folks.

Additional Resources:

• Jen Deerinwater's website: JDeerinwater.com
• Jen's writing and journalism: JDeerinwater.com/media
• The Native American Protection and Advocacy organization: NativeDisabilityLaw.org
• Crushing Colonialism's website: CrushingColonialism.org
• Intertribal Disability Advocacy Council (IDAC): bit.ly/43HwGm5
• IDAC Listening Sessions: To be announced!
• Indian Health Service: theIHS.org
• Native American LifeLines, Inc.: NativeAmericanLifelines.org
• Our Native American Resource page: bit.ly/3ZMbJEs

Native disabled folks mentioned in podcast to follow:

• Johnnie Jae
• Sarah A. Young Bear-Brown
• Jules Edwards
• Sharon DaVanPort
• Hector Ramirez
• Hoskie Benally
• Kera Sherwood-O'Reagan
• John Gilroy

June 1st is the beginning of hurricane season. As Floridians know, it can be a mixed bag as to what storms we're going to get. But hurricanes impact other states around the country, and it's important to be prepared and safe. On the show today we're talking with our coworker, Bryan Russell, who is the Emergency Management Coordinator at Disability Rights Florida. And, while it might be hurricane season, people in Florida and individuals across the country experience severe weather and natural disasters all year round. Bryan will talk about the best safety practices that can and should be considered year-round so we can always be prepared.

Visit our Disaster and Emergency Planning pages for more information and to find links referenced in the episode

With our lives and world becoming more connected and reliant on the internet, what does that mean for people with disabilities? The internet can be a great way for disabled folks to connect, especially as access barriers and safety considerations keep our community apart. But, what if that online space wasn't accessible to the very folks that need it most?

We're here to help you change that. We co-authored a blog on this back in November 2022, but we think this information is important to share everywhere because online accessibility is still such a huge issue. We all have a responsibility to be more conscientious, considerate, and inclusive online. In this episode, we will talk about some best online accessibility practices to help you make your content more accessible for folks with disabilities.

Additional Resources:

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview
• Introduction to Web Accessibility
• Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool (WAVE)
• Color Contrast Analyzer
• Hemingway Editor
• Readability Tests
• Rooted in Rights Accessibility Basics
• Our blog 15 Best Online Accessibility Practices