AccessAbility Week 2018

I participated last week, our National AccessAbility week and shared The City of Kingston Facebook and Twitter posts too.

May 27 to June 2, 2018, was National AccessAbility Week. It was a time for Canadians to promote inclusion and accessibility in our communities and workplaces, and celebrate the contributions of Canadians with disabilities. It was also a time to recognize the efforts of individuals, communities and workplaces who are actively removing barriers to give Canadians of all abilities a better chance to succeed.

We needed to change the way we think, talk and act about barriers to participation and accessibility, and we needed to do it right from the start, not as an afterthought. An inclusive Canada is one where all Canadians can participate and have an equal opportunity to succeed in their workplaces and communities.

My daily post, I celebrated the people, organizations and businesses that learned from me and making the community a better place for the Deaf individuals.

Monday: I am celebrating DeafBlind intervenors/RNs who learn ASL to communicate with their Deaf clients. My client is able to express her wants and needs by responding to ASL and using a picture exchange communication system.

Tuesday: I am celebrating some of the students & staff from the Building and Designing Assistive Technology lab at Queens University for  working to better understand Deaf culture and for learning ASL to communicate with the Deaf community.

Wednesday: I am celebrating Coppens Academy staff on Divison St.  for learning about visual language acquisition of a Deaf child, all for the student\’s benefit when communicating in ASL.

Thursday: I am celebrating Circus Artists and Coaches learning ASL to communicate with the Deaf community that participate in their workshops and/or attend their shows.

Friday: I am celebrating Kingston’s Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee for being more aware of Deaf community’s need for interpreters at Public events and Closed Captions for fair accessibility.

Saturday: I am celebrating the City of Kingston’s Recreation and Leisure Service program for their Summer Camp staff taking Deaf Cultural Sensitivity and ASL training to communicate with Deaf campers and staff. They are hiring a Deaf mentor to be an ASL Summer Integration Staff – still looking for interested candidate!

Photo Credit: Accessible Canada (I\’m thrilled they included Interpreter and Signing icons!)