Student Voices
Student Voices: Disability Experiences Made Personal
This page has been created specifically to give voice to the student experience of navigating the educational world, while also living and learning with a disability.
The resources on this page are to increase disability awareness, personal understanding, and inclusive pedagogical practices for and acceptance of people with disabilities in general.
This page is for love, equity, and oneness.
Sam's poem, titled "Disability Poetry," is a beautiful and intimate window into the internal dialogue and 
experiences of someone dealing with and overcoming Autism, ADHD, and anxiety all at
the same time. It is raw, and powerful, and real. Please invest a few moments getting
to know Sam through her poem.
Disability Poetry, by Samantha Rosenthal
(posted with permission)
perately wish their teachers knew about them - their struggles, their triumphs, their
hopes and wishes, and what school is like when you have a Learning Disability. Lovingly
championed and brought to life by Lisa Carlsen, the Instructional Assistant in the
LNSK 116 classes, and in collaboration with Chabot students in the Student Initative
Center (SIC), headed by Sean McFarland and Eric Heltzel, this was truly a collaborative
project. In addition to the PDF booklet linked below, it was also printed in hard
copy format, distributed across campus, and the individual student pages were printed
as posters and displayed across campus at numerous events in many locations. It was
an amazing project that continues to give to the Chabot campus, and now to all of
you, wherever you might be.
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, is a Netflix documentary on the lives and experiences of camp partipants 
at Camp Jened in New York, in the early 1970s. The students that attended this camp,
abled and differently-abled alike, were at the forefront of the Disability Revolution,
and key participants in getting multiple legal victories won, including the Americans
with Disability Act (ADA). This film is something everyone should watch, to get a
glimpse into the struggles these dedicated and determined individuals with disabilities
have gone through to achieve the Civil Rights everyone with a disability now has.
The phrase "Nothing about us, without us" came from this movement, and the film is
a must-watch for anyone with any interest in the development of the Disability Rights
side of Civil Rights.
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, graciously posted to YouTube by NetFlix
Why R Is For Respect, is a an essay on why it's never OK to use the "R" word.
Reflections
If the above stories have affected you in any way, personally or pedagocically, please take a moment to share your thoughts and reactions through the linked form below.