ACCESSIBILITY IN EVENTS

ACCESSIBILITY IN EVENTS WEBINAR

Neuro-inclusion in the Events Industry

To continue the conversation around neuro-inclusion in the events industry, we brought together two incredible leaders:

Megan Henshall
Strategy Lead, Global Events at Google
Founder of The Neu Project
[short bio]

Ava X. Rigelhaupt
Writer, DEIA + Autism Consultant, Public Speaker, & Autistic Creative Consultant for How to Dance in Ohio
[short bio]

RESOURCES

Many incredible resources were discussed during the webinar and through our research in this field. Please explore the list below to help you navigate this important topic.

Disability Belongs (formerly known as RespectAbility) resources for accessible events and working with disabled people. They’re a disability-led, non-partisan, non-profit that fights stigmas and advances opportunities so people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community.

• "Leaders of the Future" - Accessible Events: Both In-Person and Online webinar. Accompanying PowerPoint.
• Ensuring Virtual Events are Accessible for All resource guide
• People with Disabilities at Work resource guide
• Resources for employers: includes AskJan with info about workplace accommodations, websites to find disabled talent, ERG info, press clips showing benefits of hiring disabled employees.
• Job Seekers with Disabilities resource guide: includes knowing your rights regarding employment laws, federal employment resources, training resources, websites to find jobs.
• Autistic Self Advocacy Network’s guide on accessible events HERE. They are an autistic-led and founded nonprofit. Goal: a world in which autistic people enjoy equal access, rights, and opportunities.
• CO/LAB Sharing the Stage: A professional development workshop to build teams that are inclusive, collaborative, and welcoming. Co/Lab Theater Group is a non-profit organization in NYC dedicated to providing Creative Opportunities without Limits And Boundaries. CO/LAB offers individuals with developmental disabilities a creative and social outlet through theater arts. Becky Leifman, co-founder, is part of How to Dance in Ohio's Broadway’s Access Team and works closely with Ava.

• The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida. It is a one-of-a-kind memoir that demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds in ways few of us can imagine. This translation was a labor of love by David and his wife, KA Yoshida, so they’d be able to share with the world.
• Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judy Heumann and Kristen Joiner. A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn’t built for all of us and of one woman’s activism – from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington – *Being Heumann* recounts Judy Heumann’s lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society.
• Disability Visibility: First-person Stories from the Twenty-first Century edited by Alice Wong. “Disability rights activist Alice Wong brings tough conversations to the forefront of society with this anthology. It sheds light on the experience of life as an individual with disabilities, as told by none other than authors with these life experiences.” – Chicago Tribune

Watch

• The Reason I Jump documentary on Netflix! Based on the bestselling book, the doc is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people around the world. The film blends Higashida’s revelatory descriptions of his autism with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe, a rich tapestry that leads us to Naoki’s core message: not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say.
• "I’m Not Naughty, I’m Autistic” short video by the National Autistic Society. They are a charity in the UK. This shows what sensory overload can be like for someone on the spectrum. Remember, these experiences won’t be the same for every autistic person! NOTE: this video is made to explain and possibly simulate sensory overload for mainly non-autistic/neurotypical audiences. It takes place inside a mall and shows the perspective of an autistic child’s heightened bombarded senses, with flashing lights and loud overlapping sounds. If you’re sensitive to those elements, this video might be too much!

HOW TO

The best way to ensure you are being as accessible and inclusive as possible is to includeinvolve the neurodiverse community in the process. Whether by leveraging internal resources or hiring an outside consultant, integrating diverse perspectives is essential to achieving true accessibility.

Videos

Here are the videos mentioned above.