Haben Girma, the first deaf-blind student to graduate Harvard Law spoke at an Accessibility Expo to a New York City Department of Education audience about the importance of sharing positive disability stories and services available.
At the Expo attendees saw amazing work happening in schools with students. If you did not have the opportunity to attend, you don't have a way to find out about what's happening. That's because schools, districts, government agencies, and those who use their services, often can do a better job of sharing. They forget about sharing their QR codes and hashtags and websites. They forget to celebrate on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat.
As a result, important stories and services are not widely known. Haben Girma has useful advice for how educators about how they can do a better job of posting positive stories.
Girma advises the following:
Frame
Frame the story in a respectful, positive way.
Post accessibly
If you're posting a video, make sure the video has captions.
If you're posting a photo, add an alt text.
You can learn from Girma directly in the video below. You can also find out how she is able to communicate with hearing person communicate. When you visit the video, turn on the captions. You'll see why they are helpful for people with and without disabilities.
Want to know more? Check out Girma's Brief Guide to Producing Positive Disability Stories.
Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal.
