New initiatives to strengthen inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities at Washington University were discussed at a National Disability Employment Awareness Month training for students and employees at the University’s medical campus on Friday, Oct. 27. 

The training touched on the history of disability rights and unpacked what unintentional bias can look like in the workplace and beyond. In addition to the content presented at the training, both a representative from the Program in Occupational Therapy (OT) at the University’s Medical School and the Disability Resources department gave presentations on strides being taken to improve the experience of students and faculty with disabilities.

Matthew Sullivan, Assistant Director of Disability Resources, said a common misconception on the medical campus is that people with disabilities are assumed to be patients, not practitioners.

“We’re switching to understanding that in order to treat and care for patients with disabilities effectively,” Sullivan said. “We need to have a population of practitioners [with disabilities] that matches [the patients they serve] so that there’s a deeper understanding of what our approach should be.”

Sullivan said there is increasing awareness amongst medical students about disability support resources, mentioning how there were roughly 40 students using accommodations in the spring of 2022 compared to 70 students in the fall of 2023, and he expects the number of students Disability Resources serves in the medical school to increase by up to 50% next year.

He also discussed how time accommodations are the main form of support Disability Resources provides and how time constraints during tests have been one of the greatest social barriers for students with disabilities entering professional fields like medicine. 

Erin Stampp, Director of Programming and Professional Development in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the School of Medicine, also referenced the social barriers and social model of disability, which are the ideas that people with disabilities are disabled by structural barriers and social treatment, and removing structural barriers allows people with disabilities to thrive. 

Stampp said working towards inclusion is countercultural and mentioned how efforts to ensure accessibility are sometimes viewed as overly ambitious. 

“The pushback is, ‘We can’t possibly do that. How are we going to include everybody? I mean, let’s not get too crazy with this,’” Stampp said. “But we’re really smart. We’ve sent people to the moon. We’ve got some of the smartest people in the world right here on campus. I think we can figure it out.” 

Abby King, Administrator of Department Operations and RAPS Ph.D. Academic Coordinator within OT, highlighted the work a task force within OT is doing to maximize inclusion by gathering input from students and faculty. 

The task force developed accessibility checklists for meetings and events that included details like how to use Zoom to ensure all people are getting the same information, regardless of their abilities to hear or see. 

King described how a former student created a guide to make spaces accessible through details like furniture arrangement and how the task force worked to get more automatic door openers for restrooms. 

A current initiative for the task force is accessibility in parking, especially for employees who use wheelchairs or other mobility devices. One potential solution mentioned is to make the shuttle work better for people with disabilities to minimize time spent traveling to the building. 

The task force is also looking to expand beyond OT and partner with other programs and areas of campus.

Stampp also addressed how the Office of DEI is evaluating the language used around disability, and whether the office wants to use the word disability, or instead use the phrase “ability status.” 

Tonna Wilson, Program Coordinator in the DEI Office and MSW Student in the Brown School, said learning about the language around disability helps her make social media content accessible for the DEI Office and learn about all the lesser-known resources the University’s departments provide. 

Other versions of the training will be held quarterly to continue educating the University’s students and faculty and to keep them updated on developments for improving accessibility. 

“We’re trying to create something that we’ve never seen before,” Stampp said. “So it can feel really overwhelming… We don’t necessarily know what it looks like, feels like, or sounds like to live in an equitable community. You have to build the plane while you’re flying.”