Students
Find Disability Awareness Eye-Opening
by Kristine Berg and Wendy Roquette
Last
month, “No Access” posters could be seen around the campus
of Roseville’s Northwestern College, as part of
their annual Disability Awareness week. The event, also known as DOSS (Disabilities
Office for Social Services) week, provides a chance to organize and educate
those both in and outside of the disability community at Northwestern.
The focus of the week was hidden disabilities. Besides the poster
campaign, students and staff also had the privilege of hearing more
about Asperger’s syndrome from highlighted
speakers John Ricker and Erika Hammerschmidt, who are a married couple both
diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.
A key focus for organizers
was highlighting hidden barriers around campus. In preparation
for DOSS Week, we hung up “No Access” posters. These
posters were put in different places around campus that students with
physical handicaps are not able to use. This visibility campaign
was powerful to many students on campus who had not thought about the
access some students do not have. One student commented, “I
am really glad you are putting these signs up. It really helps
people understand and see the limitations on campus.”
The featured speakers
brought a different sort of visibility to disability. Not knowing
they had Asperger’s syndrome, one would have a hard
time knowing it by looking at them and hearing them speak. Through
hearing them speak, students learned that part of Asperger’s
syndrome involves not understanding social cues and norms. Rather,
people with Asperger’s syndrome have minds that work in extremely
logical ways. Presenting it in that way helps to better understand
Asperger’s syndrome. However, that is just part of Asperger’s
syndrome; there are many more complexities included in the disorder.
It was also fascinating to watch John and Ericka’s interactions,
and how they balanced each other so well. They both have individual
areas they excel in. For example, John is very interested in nanotechnology
and understands math very well. Erika is good with English, especially
writing, and is a published author.
Organizers Anna Boyer
and Kendall Young were struck by the power of the week’s activities. “As the five of us were helping
put together DOSS Week, we learned more than we could have imagined. We
saw the world and specifically our college campus through the eyes
of a person with a disability. We were able to learn more about
hidden disabilities and Asperger’s syndrome by listening to the
speakers and looking at the world through their eyes. Our eyes
were opened, and we know that others were too because of DOSS Week. We
are greatly appreciative of the opportunity that we had to participate
in Disability Awareness week on campus. Our views on disabilities
have been changed and we hope others have too.”
When asked about their
motivation for this inclusion work, another organizer, Alyssa Klein,
cited a passage in the Bible, which says, “The
eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And
the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On
the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special
honor…so that there should be no division in the body, but that
its parts should have equal concern for each other.”
“That is our goal,” Klein said, “that
each of us, disabled or not, should be equal and a solid member of
every community.” ![]()
