Promoting Advocacy

“As we strive for an inclusive and equitable environment, it is important to continuously learn about the lived experiences of our students, faculty and staff with disabilities so we can be better prepared to support their success,” Sánchez said.

The official national name of the month that raises awareness around disability is called Disability Employment Awareness Month. However, OfDEI decided last year to encompass a broader meaning of disability awareness by calling it Disability Awareness Month.

“Disabilities, broadly defined, are integral to many peoples’ lives,” said Jonathan Eldredge, PhD, a professor at the UNM Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center. “Learning about these many types of disabilities needs to be incorporated into the education of our future health care professionals.”

Eldredge said he was motivated to join this year’s event planning efforts firstly because a colleague with a physical disability was recently injured on campus, and secondly, because he spent several years caring for his mother, who used a wheelchair.

“My mother was an independent, athletic woman who remained physically active into middle age. Within a few months, however, she was confined to a wheelchair where she remained for the next seven years of her life,” he said. “I came to admire her courage in the face of her disability.”First-year medical student Audrey Eakman, who is Deaf, said it’s important to celebrate Disability Awareness Month and acknowledge the accomplishments and contributions of people with disabilities, as well as bring attention to the accessibility and inclusivity issues they often face.

“Celebrating Disability Awareness Month allows the disabled perspective and disabled voices – or hands – be uplifted and reminds the medical community that we are more than a series of symptoms and syndromes, but people with passions and livelihoods who deserve as much respect and have the same sanctity of life as our able-bodied fellows,” said Eakman, who will lead a session called “Perspectives of Learners, Faculty, Staff with Disabilities” along with Zainub Dhanani, a medical student at the Stanford School of Medicine.

Eakman added that most people, at some point in their life, will be disabled – whether it’s temporarily, like having a broken leg and being on crutches for a few months, or permanently, like being blind, deaf or having mobility issues.

“Despite this, the disabled community faces an incredible amount of hardship,” Eakman said.

Of DEI has scheduled several virtual presentations for the month, all of which are open to the public.

“Building a Culture of Inclusion: Creating Campus Advocates for Students with Disabilities in the Health Sciences” will feature speaker Grace C. Clifford, MAEd, director of disability services at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. Virtual attendees will learn to understand common myths and stigmas and analyze programmatic barriers related to inclusion of individuals with disabilities.

“I am incredibly humbled at the opportunity to take part in the UNM Health and Health Sciences Disability Heritage Month,” Clifford said. “As an individual with several disabilities, many of which were late-diagnosed, I understand the importance of awareness and advocacy at all levels. I appreciate the commitment of the institution in valuing disability as diversity and look forward to taking part in this amazing event.”

The last virtual session, “Update on Disability Services through the UNM Accessibility Resources Center (ARC),” will be led by Kelly Cano Martinez and Amanda Butrum, ARC’s accommodations specialist and director, respectively.

“It is important to bring awareness that disabled doctors and other disabled medical professionals support our communities,” Martinez said. “Shifting the view on disability from a medical model to a social justice model will empower more disabled students to attend medical school and ultimately create a more inclusive environment.”

Martinez added: “If you are a UNM student curious about accommodations, please do not hesitate to email me at kcanomartinez@unm.edu, and I can help you through the process and answer any questions you may have.” To register and for more information, visit the DEI’s Disability Awareness Month webpage.