Kelsey Lindell’s Post

Understanding Disabilities: Visible and Invisible Disability comes in many forms, and it’s important to remember that not all disabilities are visible. While some individuals may use mobility aids or other assistive devices, others might have disabilities that are harder to see, like chronic pain, mental health conditions, or neurological disorders. “Invisible no more: Why disability inclusion is key for brands. When it comes to representing people with disabilities, the barriers aren’t what you think they are. Brands are eager to be inclusive and want to showcase representation across their channels. They understand why inclusion matters, but how do they actually achieve it? The disability community is ready to be included. According to the latest stats from the ABS, there are more than 5.5 million Australians with a disability – that’s a massive market. People with disabilities are individuals first. They belong to families and communities and are consumers of brands, with spending power just like everyone else.” Let's build awareness, break down barriers, and ensure that everyone—whether their disability is visible or not—can participate fully in the community. #Inclusion #Accessibility #DisabilityAwareness #VisibleDisabilities #InvisibleDisabilities

July is Disability Pride Month, a time to honor the experiences and struggles of those with disabilities. Social media is abuzz with stories and experiences from disability advocates and people with disabilities themselves. This year, disability has also been prominent in cinema and OTT platforms. Films like "Srikanth" and "Chandu Champion" showcase stories of people with disabilities achieving great things. These portrayals move away from stereotypes and show the complexities of living with a disability. These films' success highlights that inclusion is not just about social good, but also good business. The American detective series "Monk" on Netflix also features a detective with OCD. While the portrayal may exaggerate the condition for comedic effect, it also highlights his brilliance and problem-solving skills. The evolving representation of disability in media reflects a growing awareness and inclusivity in society. These stories not only foster empathy and understanding but also prove that disability can be a part of a successful and entertaining narrative. Read more about the films and the importance of disability representation in media as penned by Shruti Pushkarna! https://lnkd.in/g_p6h3GN Shruti Pushkarna MxMIndia George Abraham Score Foundation, India #DisabilityPrideMonth #DisabilityRepresentation #InclusionMatters #MediaRepresentation #NuancedStories #CelebratingDisability #BeyondInspiration #DisabilityIsDiversity #MoreThanAnAbility

Tips for an important topic around #DisabilityInclusion— representation in imagery. I’m partial to tip No. 3. This is because I’ve had an invisible disability for decades and people just.don’t.get.it. They won’t just take me at my word and let it go. Instead, they turn it into the focus of the conversation by grilling me on “How is that true?? Because bla bla bla (a million of their assumptions). They want a justification for my condition and activities. 3. Portray disability in the broadest sense including less-visible disabilities. Use images of people with a range of disabilities including people with less-visible conditions. Someone with a less-visible disability may use physical adjustments to help manage their condition, so consider showing these. #DisabilityAwareness #DisabilityInclusion #Disabled https://lnkd.in/gmRNDthj

Blatant ableism and discrimination-during Disability Pride month, nonetheless. Disability and age are some of the only things that connect us all as humans and, goodness knows, we need more unity now. People of all ages and cognitive abilities use mobility aids. I, for one, have used walkers several times in my life due to illness and injury. People with disabilities have just as much ability and right to lead. Perhaps the world would be a kinder, more equitable, and just place to live if resilient, innovative, and compassionate disabled people were in leadership. I believe so. More importantly, for everyone reading, what did you think and feel when you saw this cover? Were you aware of or outraged by the ableism (ageism as well)? Check your biases. If you are a leader in business, recognize the opportunity here to have conversations and trainings at work about disability, which will undoubtedly improve your culture and increase psychological safety. Remember that 80% of disability is non-apparent. Disability is 100% effecting the lives of people you work with. Talk about it. Don’t avoid the conversation. Reach out to me or other disability educators to help. And, as for The Economist , I hope you will consider a public apology for spreading stigma and hate towards disabled people. #disability #DisabilityPride #ableism #Leadership #OneBillionStrong ID: the cover of The Economist magazine with an photo of a walker with the President of the US emblem on it and the heading “No Way to Run a Country”.

Disability Does Not Define Potential "Ability is what you're capable of doing. Disability is what you're not. But capability is what matters." - Vikas Khanna Empowering Messages: 1.⁠ ⁠Disability is not inability. 2.⁠ ⁠Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. 3.⁠ ⁠Focus on abilities, not limitations. 4.⁠ ⁠Inclusion and accessibility matter. 5.⁠ ⁠Diversity makes us stronger. Inspirational Quotes: 1.⁠ ⁠"The only disability in life is a bad attitude." - Scott Hamilton 2.⁠ ⁠"Disability is not a barrier to success." - Nick Vujicic 3.⁠ ⁠"I am not my disability. I am a person." - Unknown Disability Awareness Hashtags: #DisabilityAwareness #InclusionMatters #AccessibilityForAll #DisabilityDoesNotDefine #EmpowermentThroughInclusion Call-to-Action: Share your story of overcoming adversity! Support organizations promoting disability inclusion!

My philosophy on inclusive language and #disability: 1) Don't trivialize it. Resource availability is a huge inequality gap in several disability communities. So the subtle details of how we talk about #disabled people in mainstream media are often the average person's only impressions of a specific disability community. What you say can make a significant difference in disabled people's level of acceptance in school, work, and all aspects of their social lives. 2) When in doubt, ask and ask as widely as you possibly can. There's a reason so many disability advocates shout the words "nothing for us without us" into the void on repeat until someone listens. The most valuable way to talk about disability in a way that's not tone-deaf and aligns with how that disability community is pushing to be treated in society is to find out how people with lived experiences with that condition want to be talked about. 3) Don't shame those who use the wrong words, phrases, or terminology; calmly discuss how to do better next time. Otherwise, how will anyone learn anyway? Maybe the person who got it wrong isn't your enemy. Maybe they simply don't know what words or phrases are socially acceptable. 4) Don't shame people from a specific disability community who use words that aren't the same as the majority within that community. Maybe their choice of words is reflective of what generation, background, etc, they come from. Maybe they are simply opting for the words that are the most familiar to them. Language is a complicated thing, and not everyone will mutually agree on what words are best all the time, and that's okay. What I am discussing here is a big part of what I do as an independent consultant. My website, www.rosemaryrichings.com, has more info about what work I do/ have done previously.

Webinar Alert! ✨ Disability Inclusion - What It Is and Why It Matters Tuesday, June 18th at 12pm CST Think about a meeting you’ve been to lately. Now, picture the people who were around you in the meeting. How many of them had a disability? Maybe you counted one or two. It’s likely a lot of you thought none. The fact is that one in four people have a disability.    Statistics show that you or someone you work with has a disability. But with 70% of disabilities being invisible, how do you navigate the unknowns?   In this fireside chat with Anessa Powell, Founder and CEO of AllAbility Solutions, we will learn more about the many forms of disabilities, and what it means for our working environments. We will dedicate extra time for questions during this session to help you apply your learnings to your specific situations.   Attendees will learn the following: - A better understanding of disability in its many forms - The word disability is not a bad word - Disability will affect you at some point in your life - What disability inclusion means for your organization Reserve your spot here: https://lnkd.in/giVeqB2n #WISE #WISEWebinar #DisabilityInclusion #Disabilities #Recruiting

The World Institute on Disability is excited to share "#NothingWithoutUs" the newly released USAID #DisabilityPolicy! Led by the Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation, Inclusive Development Hub (DDI/ID), and Agency #DisabilityRights Coordinator Kathy Guernsey, this is the long-awaited update to their 1997 Disability Policy. Nothing Without Us "reinforces USAID’s commitment to championing disability-inclusive development and the rights of persons with disabilities". Thank you to all who have worked so hard on this important work that defines the commitment to "intentional, sustainable, and meaningful inclusion of persons with disabilities in all areas of USAID’s work". Office of Press Relations For Immediate Release October 31, 2024 PRESS RELEASE USAID Announces New Disability Policy Today, USAID announced the release of the new 2024 Nothing Without Us: USAID Disability Policy. There are more than 1.3 billion persons with disabilities around the world – 80 percent of whom live in low- and middle-income countries. Any issue that affects humans – climate change, hunger, disease – often disproportionately affects persons with disabilities. Intentional, sustainable, and meaningful inclusion of persons with disabilities in all areas of USAID’s work is therefore no longer an option – it is essential to realize our potential and meet our development goals. The 2024 Policy is a comprehensive update to the 1997 USAID Disability Policy in response to stakeholder feedback and changes in the 21st century. At its core, the Policy reinforces USAID’s commitment to championing disability-inclusive development and the rights of persons with disabilities. The Policy, upheld by seven key operating principles, seeks to empower and elevate the lives of persons with disabilities by ensuring that USAID and our partners recognize, respect, value, meaningfully engage, include, and are intentional in supporting persons with disabilities and their representative organizations. The Policy: Updates our framework of understanding disability to a social and rights-based framework in which the goal is to remove societal barriers to participation of persons with disabilities in their communities; Promotes the inclusion of persons with disabilities both in wider USAID programming and in activities focused specifically on persons with disabilities; Underscores the importance of working with persons with disabilities and local disability-led groups across all phases of the program cycle; Highlights promising approaches to disability inclusion in the full range of USAID programming areas. The Policy is available at: https://lnkd.in/eWBHxsGu

A message from our Founder and CEO, Meredith Sadoulet: I'm proud to belong to the disability community. I want to encourage celebration of #DisabilityPride beyond the month of July…let's celebrate disability pride every single day. While July shines a spotlight on our community, the commitment to inclusion, accessibility, representation, and amplification must continue year-round. Let's remove stigma. Let's reframe perspectives. Disability is a natural part of humanity. People with disabilities are powerful, influential, accomplished. Disability leadership is all around us in the workforce. Let's talk about it. Let's amplify it. VD: Close-up of Meredith speaking in a garden setting. Title appears, Meredith Sadoulet, Founder and CEO of Profound. Later, a text frame appears: "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Excessive thoughts (obsessions) that lead to repetitive behaviors (compulsions)." Meredith continues to speak, and another text frame says, “3 OCD traits that I’m proud of…” followed by three labels “Creativity,” “Attentiveness”, and “Goals” that appear as she discusses each trait. At the end of the video, a button appears with a call-to-action to follow ProFound Network on LinkedIn. The video concludes with an animated ProFound logo. #ProFound #DisabilityLeadership #Leadership #Accessibility #a11y

Just 2.2% of speaking characters in top movies released last year were portrayed as having a #disability. At a time when over one-quarter of the United States population reports having a disability, this low level of #disabilityrepresentation is not enough. We know that representation matters and true representation occurs when folks truly know and understand disability. #CertifiedRehabilitationCounselors work daily on and off the clock as key disability advocates. With CRCs expanding into new and emerging work settings, hopefully, we will see an increase in discourse, representation, and understanding of disability.