Striving to remove barriers that prevent us from building Vibrant, Diverse, Inclusive, Accessible Communities!
July is Disability Pride Month, marking a significant milestone in recognizing the disabled community and celebrating the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. Despite over 30 years since its passage, there is still work to be done in how we support and discuss People with Disabilities. Advocate Catarina Rivera emphasizes the importance of embracing "disability pride" rather than just "awareness." This powerful perspective challenges limited thinking and promotes a sense of worth and value within the disabled community.
Rivera's journey as a disability advocate began with her Instagram account, Blindish Latina, where she shares her experiences with blindness and deafness. Her account debunks stereotypes and educates others on topics such as alt text, image descriptions, and traveling with disabilities. With over 30,000 followers, Rivera's platform highlights the importance of understanding blindness as a spectrum. Her work is crucial in removing barriers and promoting inclusion, making her story an essential read for those committed to building inclusive communities.
Rivera's work extends beyond social media to public speaking and consulting. She educates workplaces on the importance of standardizing inclusive practices, such as enabling captions for all meetings. Her trainings address both hard skills, like removing barriers, and soft skills, like avoiding microaggressions. Rivera's approach underscores that the ADA is just the minimum standard and emphasizes the need for proactive inclusion efforts. By normalizing inclusive procedures, we can reduce the pressure on People with Disabilities to constantly disclose their disabilities and create more inclusive environments.
Traveling has also been a significant part of Rivera's journey. She documents her experiences and highlights the importance of accessible travel. Her YouTube channel showcases everyday moments of traveling with a disability, emphasizing the need for simple yet effective solutions like communication and patience. Rivera's travels have fostered brand partnerships and reached new audiences, reinforcing the demand for inclusive practices in the travel industry. Her story is a testament to the importance of removing barriers and creating communities where People with Disabilities can fully participate.
Read the Full Article: I'm Deafblind—Here’s How Traveling the World Helps Me Embrace My Disabilities and Educate Others
by: Elizabeth Djinis
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