Disability Inc.

INCLUDEnyc’s Kpana Kpoto interviews Oroma Mpi-Reynolds, education lawyer, parent, and former Special Education Settlements & Claims Attorney at the New York City Department of Education. This conversation explores the impact of race, culture, and socioeconomic status on special education and the racial disparities in identification and discipline. Listen as they discuss the inequities in the special education system and how to ensure appropriate referrals and high-quality supports and services despite them.

NY Peace Institute’s Restorative Justice Coordinator Kailani Capote shares her experiences implementing restorative justice at a Harlem high school with Colin Montgomery of INCLUDEnyc. Restorative justice practices will be adopted across all NYC middle and high schools in the 2019-2020 school year and they make up a big part of the DOE’s recent major reforms to limit school suspensions and to equip students and staff with social-emotional and conflict resolution tools.

Leonie Haimson, one of New York’s most active education advocates and proponent of small class sizes, and Jean Mizutani of INCLUDEnyc address the challenge of controlling student data in an era when practice precedes regulatory safeguards and education is today’s most data-mineable industry. For more information, visit https://www.studentprivacymatters.org/

Susan Dooha, Executive Director at The Center for Independence of the Disabled, NYC (CIDNY) and Ruth DiRoma of INCLUDEnyc discuss the movement to ensure that all New Yorkers are safe during emergencies. When they filed their first lawsuit against the city in 2011, demanding emergency planning that addresses the universal needs of residents, little did they know how soon the arrival of Hurricane Sandy would put the city to a life and death test. Find out what happened, and what we expect in the future.

Susan Scheer, CEO at the Institute of Career Development, founder of Access-A-Ride and Jean Mizutani of INCLUDEnyc discuss Section 504, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Education for All Handicapped Children’s Act/IDEA, which were all born of the vigorous activism of people with disabilities and their allies. This conversation explores the current state of activism and leadership at a time when our hard-won rights are increasingly vulnerable.

Disability has long been defined by an individual's impairment and the notion that each disabled person should rely on medicine and health care to fix or cure themselves. Others define it by the social, political, and environmental barriers that society creates. Join Lori Podvesker of INCLUDEnyc and Dr. Jessica Bacon, Assistant Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Montclair State University, as they explore how the opportunities, experiences, and education available to people with disabilities are shaped by the lens through which society views disability and calls on each of us to rethink our definition of disability.

NYC has a long-standing school segregation problem that affects students of all age ranges and runs across school programs, disability, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Students, parents, and advocates are making news headlines as they call for meaningful integration across city schools. Matt Gonzales, Director of the School Diversity Project at NY Appleseed, explains the scope of NYC’s school segregation problem and the promising work happening to meaningfully integrate our schools at last.

Steven Alizio interprets the landmark Special Education Case, Endrew F., a unanimous Supreme Court opinion from 2017 establishing higher expectations for all students, including those with cognitive disabilities. This reinterpretation of the critical free appropriate public education (FAPE) requirements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is good news for all who care about higher achievement for our students. Steve Alizio is a special education attorney in private practice and former INCLUDEnyc Junior Board member. He taught in a public high school on Long Island for 7 years before earning his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

People with disabilities face social stigma and misunderstanding stemming from what they see and hear from movies, books, newspaper, Internet, even advertising. When people are bombarded by daily misrepresentations, they can take root and create stereotypes, reinforcing negative images and ideas about people with disabilities. Learn how authentic representation of people with disabilities in the media is a foundational component in an inclusive society.   Matt Conlin was previously the Digital Accessibility Fellow for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, adjunct professor and speaker at the CUNY School of Professional Studies. From the arts to higher education, Matt has advised how to create inclusive spaces. He is a Fordham University and CUNY School of Professional Studies alumnus and is currently enrolled in the advanced certificate for youth studies for youth development work.

INCLUDEnyc’s Family Educator Kaitlin Roh continues the conversation with Rachel Simon, a sibling of a woman with a disability and author of Riding the Bus with My Sister, on what has happened since Rachel stopped riding the bus. They dive into how relationships as adult siblings change, the importance of support networks, and advice for caregivers and parents as they grow and build those relationships. The Sibling Support Project is a nation-wide project dedicated to the concerns of and support for siblings of individuals with special health, developmental, and mental health concerns: www.siblingsupport.org.

In any family, relationships among brothers and sisters are unique and important. Siblings can be friends and secret-keepers, as well as rivals and combatants. This relationship can be impacted by a sibling’s disability, shaping the experiences of both individuals throughout their lives together. Rachel Simon, author of Riding the Bus with My Sister and The Story of Beautiful Girl, discusses her own journey and relationship with her sister Beth and all the bumps and turns that happened along the way. For more information on Rachel Simon and her writing, check out her website: www.rachelsimon.com.

Jean Mizutani and Chris Treiber, Associate Executive Director for Children's Services at the Inter Agency Council of Developmental Disabilities (IAC), discuss the changing role of private schools that serve three and four year olds with the most significant disabilities, and how the expansion of public preschool in NYC affects them.

One of the hardest things parents of children with disabilities face is creating a vision for how our kids' lives will look once they become adults. How much independence and autonomy is wise? What does it look like and what are the risks? Hear one father's story.  

Ketrina Hazell is 23 years old. At 9 months old, she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. She describes her experience in the health and education system as hopeless because she felt everyone in those systems expressed very low expectations and outcomes for her. Despite the feeling of hopelessness, she persisted. She is a college student and an advocate for herself and other students with disabilities. She graduated from Partners in Policy making in 2014 and has served on the Youth Advisory Panel for Special Education and the Access A Ride Paratransit Committee. She is the founder and president of her own advocacy group called Voices of Power. She is an educator, volunteer, mentor, friend, aunt, and sibling. Currently, Ketrina serves as Ms Wheelchair NY 2018 with the platform of bringing self advocacy into schools and building an inclusive environment within schools and local communities for all students.

Cara McCarty, Director of Curatorial at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, speaks with INCLUDEnyc Senior Family Educator Ruth DiRoma about the history of the museum, accessible design, and their favorite pieces from the latest exhibitions. McCarty oversees the museum’s curatorial vision and leads exhibition planning. She played a lead role in the 2014 renovation and transformation of Cooper Hewitt into a 21st-century museum, from the overall master plan to the creation of new gallery spaces and participatory visitor experiences. Previously she was curator and head of the department of decorative arts and design at the Saint Louis Art Museum, where she established the museum’s 20th-and 21st-century design collection, and was instrumental in the museum's expansion. Prior to that, McCarty held curatorial positions in the department of architecture and design at The Museum of Modern Art. Her numerous exhibitions and accompanying publications include Access+Ability; Tools: Extending Our Reach, National Des

Kelly Anderson's documentaries include My Brooklyn, about the redevelopment Downtown Brooklyn, and Every Mother’s Son, about mothers who lost sons to police violence. She is currently the Chair of the Department of Film and Media Studies at Hunter College. Kelly discusses UNSTUCK: An OCD Kids Movie, which she made with a fellow parent of a child with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Chris Baier. This documentary presents the experiences of youth with OCD and the skills and supports they develop. She explores the topics surrounding it--from the specific nature of OCD in youth, to parenting a child with this unique disability--and sheds inspiring light on the advocacy and support that both parents and youth alike have built through their experiences with OCD. For more on the film and great OCD resources, visit ocdkidsmovie.com.

The skills learned in travel training by students with disabilities were put to the ultimate test on 9/11/2001. Hear Peggy Groce, creator and former director of the NYCDOE Travel Training program recount their extraordinary experience. 

Tyrese Alleyne-Davis is currently a graduating senior at the Henry Viscardi School in Long Island, NY. He has triplegic cerebral palsy which requires him to use a wheelchair. For the past 10 years, he has been a public speaker, giving keynote addresses for many children's organizations such as the Starlight Children's Foundation, S.K.I.P. of NY, New Alternatives for Children, and INCLUDEnyc. Earlier this year, he had the distinct pleasure of addressing legislators in Albany, NY advocating for 4201 State Funded Schools. Additionally, Tyrese has had the opportunity to address the Black Law Student Association at Harvard Law School and speak at Columbia University's Disability Caucus. Last summer, Tyrese was one of twenty high school students chosen out of 500 applicants to intern at the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.   Academically, Tyrese has soared, being inducted into the National Juniors Honor Society and receiving multiple college scholarships from CACNY, The Options Center, and the Henry Viscardi Sc

Learn how to prepare, how to fly, and how and where to stay to make your Disney vacation with your child with a disability the best it can be. In addition to being a travel guru, Millie is INCLUDEnyc's Intake Coordinator, she is a Certified Lactation Consultant, Postpartum Doula, former AmeriCorps Volunteer, and has a BA in Anthropology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. 

Brooklyn born native Led A. Bradshaw is a talented comic book artist/writer, graphic artist, and Technical Writer who has been captivating children and adults alike with his exceptional artistic abilities from the time he was three years old. Wanting to inspire his son Jacob, an autistic child, to learn, create and be his own hero, Led created the children’s comic book series, "The New Adventures of Jake Jetpulse." A true partnership, this series explores Jacob's imagination and chronicles his superhero and his characters' adventures. You can find the comic book, along with other resources, at jakejetpulse.com.