Summer 2018: Disability and Cultural Diversity

The Latest in Disability Research, Advocacy, Policy, and Practice

Disability and Cultural Diversity

Summer 2018 Issue

Welcome to the Summer issue of the RAP Sheet. In the best of circumstances, obtaining an accurate diagnosis, finding appropriate supports, and navigating the maze of a bureaucratic service system can be overwhelming for individuals with disabilities and their families. These challenges are significantly compounded for those who are not members of the dominant or majority culture. In this issue we look at the importance of finding ways to meetthe needs of diverse communities.

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Finding Their Way

By By Déodonné Bhattarai, Communications Specialist, Disability Rights Center-NH

Tabla player Prem Sagar and singer Hari Maya Khatiwada are renowned musicians. They met in Varanasi, India when both were attending graduate school. Even as students, they were well known and performed extensively throughout India and in their home country of Nepal. After graduating, their musical careers continued to soar. Working around their concert schedules,
they taught in the Music Department at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan University.

In 2011, the couple obtained visas through the Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery
program and, with their five-year-old daughter, moved to the United States.
After landing in Baltimore they made their way to Texas where they performed at a festival in

“Before starting Leadership my automatic thought regarding anything was – I can’t do it. Now I no longer have that feeling and my first thought is usually – How can I do it? – because I know I probably can.”

Prem Sagar and Hari Maya Khatiwada with their children

Tabla player Prem Sagar and singer Hari Maya Khatiwada are renowned musicians. They met in Varanasi, India when both were attending graduate school. Even as students, they were well known and performed extensively throughout India and in their home country of Nepal. After graduating, their musical careers continued to soar. Working around their concert schedules, they taught in the Music Department at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan University.

In 2011, the couple obtained visas through the Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery program and, with their five-year-old daughter, moved to the United States. After landing in Baltimore they made their way to Texas where they performed at a festival in Houston. When they were in Houston the Khatiwada’swere enticed with promises of free room and board if they would come to work outside of Boston. The family relocated and were given a place to live. However, the time they spent working was considered “training” and for months they were not paid.

It was an awful and isolating time for the family. “We were always scared,” recalled Hari Maya. Their situation was compounded by the arrival of their son, who was born nearly four months premature and weighed just over 1.5 pounds. The hospital where

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THANK YOU MIZ JULIA!

Professional headshot of Anne Rice. Sitting in an office with law books on the shelf behind her. Neck length blonde hair. Black suit coat with white shirt and necklace.

It is with profound sense of gratitude that we dedicate this issue to Julia Freeman-Woolpert. After more than three decades of service and advocacy on behalf of individuals with disabilities and their families, Julia is retiring as Outreach Advocacy Director for DRC-NH. Among her many responsibilities, Julia has played a pivotal role in the planning and production of the NH RAP Sheet. She has been the author for many of the personal stories that put a human face on the issues confronting people with disabilities. We are incredibly grateful for her insight and compassion.

While Julia will no longer be keeping office hours, her commitment to social justice is unwavering and her ties to New Hampshire’s disability and immigrant communities are unbreakable. Whenever there’s a need for advocacy, you can bet she will be there. We wish her an amazing next chapter.

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Assistive Technology Resources

New Hampshire Resources

AT for Education

AT for Education provides assistive technology and accessibility services for students and adults in the education environment as well as at the workplace.

Crotched Mountain ATECH Services

Specialized clinical program providing evaluation and AT consultation services.

ATinNH

Provides AT training, education, and outreach and AT services, including equipment demonstrations, loans, and refurbishing and reuse. ATinNH is a program of the UNH Institute on Disability.

National AT Resources

AbleData – Your Source for Assistive Technology Information

AbleData a comprehensive, annotated AT library of over 36,000 product listings. The site includes listing of resources and links to national and international sites

CAST

Expanding learning opportunities for all individuals, especially those with disabilities, through Universal Design for Learning.

Adaptive Environments

Advances the role of design in expanding opportunity and enhancing experience for people of all ages and abilities. This international organization balances expertise in legally required accessibility with best practices in universal design.

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Training & Events

Institute on Disability/UCED

Growth Mindset for Educators

Many educators face significant and continuous pressure to support all students to achieve to their greatest potential. The Growth Mindset, as introduced by Columbia University’s Carol Dweck, provides a sound sense of direction, personal and professional control, and focus for the classroom teacher to support all students to achieve to their greatest potential. This day long workshop introduces the theoretical framework of the Growth Mindset and provides opportunity for educators to apply its functions in their personal and professional work.

Date

July 19, 2018

Time

8:30 am – 3:30 pm

Location

Plymouth State University, 17 High Street, Plymouth, NH

Cost

$125

 

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DRC-NH, in collaboration with the UNH Institute on Disability and the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities, distribute a quarterly RAP sheet to educate community members and policy makers about the latest research, policy, practice, and advocacy issues affecting individuals with disabilities and their families.

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