Disabilities Awareness Month begins with panel discussion

As March approaches, so does Disabilities Awareness Month in Indiana.\nThe IU Office of Disability Support Services will hold two events in March to increase awareness of disabilities.\n“‘Access education, access the world’ is our motto, so accessibility is this year’s theme,” said Aaron Spector, the support services counselor for the IU Office of Disability Services. \nThe first event will be a student panel where IU students with disabilities will discuss their experiences. The panel is open to the public and will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. March 4 in the Oak Room of the Indiana Memorial Union. \nThe Office of Disability Support Services will host an exhibition day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 26 at the Herman B Wells Library.\n“There will be about 10 different tables set up to provide information and awareness about different groups,” said Elaine Kuhns, the support services coordinator for the Office of Disability Services. \nThe Office of Disability Support Services, the van service for disabled students, Counseling and Psychological Services, the American Sign Language Club, the National Center on Accessibility, the Disability Roundtable and the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community will all be present. The IU Adaptive Technology Center will give demonstrations, and the School of Optometry will do vision screenings. \nTo continue building awareness about disabilities, students can search the Office of Disability Support Services’ Web site at www.indiana.edu/~iubdss or join Students Talking About Disability at Indiana University Monthly. For information about meeting dates and times, students should contact founder and treasurer Peter Day at dayp@indiana.edu. \n“(The group) was formed late last year as a place where students with disabilities could gather together and have a sense of community, to share ideas, to share stories and to share frustrations with like-minded individuals,” Day said.\nThe group’s next meeting will be Thursday. The location had not been decided as of press time.