This piece was sent as simple text that reads: “you took me in with broken wings, nursed me over time, helped me move past many things, and taught me how to fly. When things began to fall apart, and darkness turned to stone, your kind embrace and warming heart, began to feel like home. You mended every shattered dream, with patience, gentle grace, and in your light, my spirit gleamed, I found my peace in this safe space. Now as I soar on newfound wings, and face the skies so wide, your wisdom guides me through the nigh t, and lifts me up with pride.”
Artist: Tara (She/Her) Interview: This project has been exciting for a number of reasons but especially because we had the opportunity to talk to each of the artists about their piece. Here is just some of what Tara (She/Her) shared with us on September 6th, 2024.
Tara (She/Her) is a lover of all things purple and DND (Dungeons and Dragons). She is a neurodivergent young adult living in a housing program for LGBTQ+ youth.
Describing their Art: Tara wanted to capture some of the thoughts that have been going through her head since she moved into the housing program she is in. “Everything that I thought I was never going to have I’ve been able to work towards and get.” For Tara, safe, stable, and nurturing environments have people who are just there to help guide you through the good and the challenging bits life has to offer. Those people ask what you need instead of assuming. “A lot of the time people just put things in place, but they don’t ask anybody who it would actually effect.” To those who are having a difficult time… “When things seem down there are places and people that can help get you to where you can thrive.” To those who work with young people like Tara… “Thank you.”
Description of Art: Front: This piece is painted and drawn on a rectangle canvas. It shows a bedroom with yellow walls, tan-colored flooring, a white open door, and typical bedroom furniture. The dresser drawers are open with clothes spilling out of them. The waste basket is overflowing, there is a book on the floor, and someone sitting in their bed on the right side of the room. The person has storm clouds with lightning above them and a thought bubble with the following words: Bills, Crime, Love, Food, Family, Success, School, and Job.
Back: The back of this canvas has a note from the artist written in pencil. This drawing represents anxiety and depression to me cause even though you’re in your so called Safe Space and where I feel most comfortable things around you that would make you happy can’t even get you out of bed. You have everything around you to make you happy but no motivation to do so. Anxiety will cloud my mind and I worry about everything all at once and I lose sleep, and precious productive time. I try not to overthink and just lay down but it never works. I feel like anxiety and depression go hand in hand and if you can eliminate one it feels a little better. Being in my room in general helps my anxiety and where I feel most free to release my emotions and isolate.
Artist: Kenadie (She/Her) Interview: This project has been exciting for a number of reasons but especially because we had the opportunity to talk to each of the artists about their piece. Here is just some of what Kenadie (She/Her) shared with us on August 5th, 2024.
Kenadie (She/Her) is a lover of art including drawing, poetry, and tattoos. She is a young adult living in a housing program for LGBTQ+ youth and she experiences depression and anxiety.
Describing their Art: When Kenadie thought about submitting art for this project the first thing that came to mind was her safe space, her room. Her room is the space where she gets to be alone with her thoughts and she has everything she needs. Even though it is her safe space, anxiety and depression can still come through. She was very intentional about portraying a space that is dark, “kind of dingy” to emphasize how it feels late at night. For Kenadie, a safe, stable, and nurturing environment has routine but the people supporting you let you take things step by step. “There can be better days, where you get up and feel motivated. You just feel the emotions through, it’s okay to feel them and feel low sometimes but when you’re ready just pick up and keep going.”
Growing up as a person with a disability, I always sought to achieve, having the same dreams, goals and aspirations as my sister and other non-disabled individuals. Included amongst those aspirations was the desire to obtain competitive employment.
Unfortunately, the opportunities were somewhat limited when it came to acquiring the skills and experience needed to promote my success later in life. Thus, I had to get creative. To that end, I took advantage of every volunteer opportunity I could find as a teenager.
While attending the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI), I volunteered as a tutor for elementary school aged children and a childcare provider for preschoolers while their parents attended meetings and other activities. I worked on the ISBVI switchboard during the evenings as well.
While in high school. A friend from ISBVI and I volunteered at Methodist Hospital on Saturdays and were tasked with a variety of assignments. We both put in over 200 hours there. While these volunteer opportunities didn’t necessarily lead to other employment after high school, those jobs gave me opportunities to meet new people and learn about workplace skills.
I was fortunate to find summer jobs in my home community through the Program for Economically Disadvantaged Youth,
and also worked with the Youth Employment Training Program as a receptionist/typist. These opportunities provided a feeling of accomplishment, allowing me to keep pace with other teenagers.
While attending college at Ball State University (BSU), I took advantage of volunteer opportunities both on campus and throughout the community. Some were for college credit and others for the purpose of giving back. I have continued to volunteer throughout my working life as well, holding leadership roles in various organizations. Volunteering may not give you the job of your dreams, however, it provides a means of networking with other people, learning skills related to employment, and adds experiential credit to be included on a resume.
Vocational Rehabilitation agencies help people with disabilities, who are eligible, find and retain employment. (To find out if you are eligible, contact the vocational Rehabilitation agency for your area.)
Below are some additional suggestions that I, as a former Vocational Rehabilitation Services consumer and counselor would offer:
Take An active Role. When attending a meeting with your Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC), to discuss your 504 and/or Individualized education Plan (IEP) be forthcoming and specific in defining your goals so that you can establish a rapport with your counsello
Avail yourself of experiential learning and other opportunities that will assist you in ascertaining your future goals.
Consider becoming involved in a blindness or disability-related consumer organization such as the American council for the blind (ACB), National Federation of the blind (NFB), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) or the Autism Society of Indiana to name just a few. These groups have mentors, special-interest affiliates for high school and college students and conventions where you can learn a mind-blowing amount of information. There is a plethora of exhibitors who display Adaptive Technology and other items along with many resources.
Get involved with your Disabled Student Services (DSS) support office if you plan to attend college in order to familiarize yourself with services offered on your campus as well as obtaining the necessary accommodations. The accommodations you were offered in high school will not carry over to higher education without determining your specific needs. This is another way in which your VRC can assist you. As one of my former supervisors used to say: “You are the one driving the bus” once you are out of high school. In other words, you have to assert yourself and ask for what you need.
Be honest with your VRC about your doubts and fears; see what accommodations the VRC would recommend and/or take another person with you who has been involved in the VR process to better assist in articulating your needs, hopes and dreams. Please know that VR will do all they can to assist you with necessary training, obtaining and retaining employment; however, you have to participate fully in the process and meet with your VRC as often as needed and required. Remember that your goal(s) may change, or VR may not be able to support your original goal. But keep communicating with your VRC in order for you to understand the reason that your goal may not be supported.
Lastly, if a job coach/employment specialist is needed to assist you in determining your vocational goal, assist you in finding places where you and your coach can evaluate your skills and interests and/or assist you in learning tasks for the job you want, work closely with your job coach just as you would your VRC. Don’t assume that your job coach knows your needs. You are the expert on you. If the job coach is not a good fit for you, talk with your VRC to see if another company and/or coach would be a better fit.
The object is to find a job that you will enjoy and want to keep.
Whether you want to work for the purpose of socialization, just to have a little bit of money in your pocket, for a long-term career, or to make a living wage, involvement in your plan is the key.
Remember, your VRC won’t know what you need unless you participate fully and communicate as needed and required. I wish you much success in your training and/or future employment.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dena Polston
I am Dena Polston who is a 2012 graduate in the Adult & Community Education Master’s program from Ball State University. I worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for 6.5 years both in the Muncie and Marion regions.
I am from a small town here in Indiana which is Shirley. But I went to the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually-impaired in Indianapolis where I graduated from high school in 1981.
I enjoy singing, loving my pet Golden Retriever, collecting recipes and reading books. I also enjoy volunteering in my community and sharing resources that may assist people in their daily lives.
This is a picture of Dena Polston and her former service dog Vern. Dena is a white woman with short brown hair, wearing a pastel floral blouse. She smiles broadly as she hugs Vern. Vern is a black lab, wearing a red harness. Their faces are pressed against each other’s.
What is the importance of having people with disabilities at the decision-making table?
Disability inclusion allows for people with disabilities to take advantage of the benefits of the same activities experienced by people who do not have a disability. Inclusion should lead to increased participation in socially expected life roles and activities – such as being a student, worker, friend, community member, patient, spouse, partner, or parent. The importance of disability representation in leadership fosters a more inclusive and belonging culture.
Disability inclusion means understanding the relationship between the way people function and how they participate in society, and making sure everybody has the same opportunities to participate in every aspect of life to the best of their abilities and desires.
Decision making is an essentially social process adopted by individuals or groups to identify and choose the best choice among several alternatives. Decision-making choices are influenced by the preferences, values, and beliefs of the individuals or groups involved in the decision-making process.
Social inclusion is the state of having the resources and opportunities to participate in social, economic, and cultural life, and to enjoy the standard life considered normal in the society in which we live.
Making decisions is vital to a person’s sovereignty and their spirit of personhood. It is a key component for enabling individuals to exercise their authority, have control over their lives, and interact with others in society.
The rights-based model focuses on the equal participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of their lives, becoming productive members of society.
The service delivery approach was changed to a rights-based approach in the late 1990’s to enable people with disabilities to exercise their civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights on an equal basis with others. The rights-based approach aims to promote, protect, and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by people with disabilities within the national legal framework. This framework tries to overcome exclusion and inequity at institutional, attitudinal, physical, legal, and communication levels.
Participation in decision making is an essential factor in measuring the social inclusion of individuals and groups, especially concerning people with disabilities. Each person with a disability can make decisions for themselves’ or participate in family- and community-level decisions. Participating in decision making at these three levels creates a sense of ownership among people with disabilities concerning familial, communal and societal activities. The personal decisions enables people with disabilities to improve fundamental aspects of their lives such as with respect to food, clothes and other basic needs. At the second level, the decisions help people with disabilities make choices regarding their health and education. Therefore, it is mandatory to involve people with disabilities in all decision-making processes that impact them.
Participation in decision making is a fundamental human right for all, including people with disabilities. Active participation in decision making at the personal, familial, and communal levels gives hope to people with disabilities that they can be productive members of society, and can consider themselves as a valued part of society, compelling their social inclusion in mainstream society.
In addition, it is important to ensure participation of people with disabilities in decision-making processes in family, community, school and other relevant institutions in order to ensure that the needs of people with disabilities are properly integrated at all these levels, and that their needs are satisfactorily provided for at each institutional level.
“Nothing about us without us” is a slogan used to communicate the idea that no policy should be decided by any representative without the full and direct participation of members of the group affected by that policy. The motto ”nothing about us without us” relies on this principle of participation, and it has been used by organizations of people with disabilities throughout the years as part of the global movement to achieve the full participation and equalization of opportunities for, by and with persons with disabilities. The concept of “nothing about us without us” signifies the belief that disability rights should not be created without including the voices of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations. The observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons will focus on the active involvement of persons with disabilities in the planning of strategies and policies that affect their lives. This is the importance of having people with disabilities at the decision-making table!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dee Ann Hart
Dee Ann is 59 years old. Born with severe low vision/visual impairment, 20/200 or worse. Thanks to developments in low vision rehabilitation Dee Ann has enhanced her visual function and improved her quality of life. Dee Ann has experienced the personal impact of irreversible severe vision impairment, delayed motor, language, emotional, social and cognitive development, with lifelong consequences. Dee Ann’s severe vision impairment has also impacted educational achievement, employment and mental health.
Dee Ann has found advocacy and leadership to be among her true inner callings – an internal feeling that drives the passion for her purpose in life.
Dee Ann Hart, a white/caucasian female, short (collar length) brown hair, blue eyes, outdoors on a sunny day in late Fall 2022. The sun highlights her hair and reflects off her skin.
