Beyond Awareness

11/21/2025

11/21/2025

I'm so excited to have helped High Quality IEPs to create these free resources. Please share far and wide!

06/28/2025

Rightful Presence with Kristin Wright! I loved every second of our conversation. Enjoy! And please share with educators and families of kids with disabilities!

In this powerful episode of Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness That Matters, Diana Pastora Carson is joined by Kristin Wright, Executive Director of Inclusive Practices at the Sacramento County Office of Education. Drawing from her deep personal and professional experiences—as a former...

02/01/2025

Children know about Civil Rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Cesar Chavez. But many have yet to learn about the transformational work of Ed Roberts, hailed as the “Father of Independent Living.” Ed Roberts: Champion of Disability Rights is a biography about Edward Verne Rober...

11/11/2024

Please...

10/16/2024

$0 for Anyone, Anywhere: A Guide to Superfest Online - https://mailchi.mp/48323a77b6be/learn-more-about-superfests-day-1-lineup-16548657

Description: It's almost here! The 2024 Superfest Disability Film Festival, passes are available now and start at $0! www.superfestfilm.org Oct 17-20 virtual, Oct 19 at the Exploratorium in SF, logos for the Longmore Institute and the Disability Cultural Center, with a strip of film stills from the 2024 lineup, hinting at the diversity of genres, disabilities, and people Superfest is known for.

10/10/2024

What is the point of doing disability awareness? Here I share my thoughts on the importance of prioritizing 'Access Awareness' over disability awareness.

In this solo episode, Diana Pastora Carson, educator, consultant, and public speaker, discusses the distinction between disability awareness and access awareness, and the critical, long-term importance of focusing on barriers and access vs specific disability labels. Teachers, parents, clergy,...

09/25/2024

I had the fun opportunity to interview Savitha Sundar (almost Dr. Sundar!) about the value and importance of occupational therapists roles (as well as other education-related therapies) in inclusive education as opposed to the traditional roles of OT's in schools. Savitha sees her OT role as a "participation access interventionist," as opposed to a deficit remediator. She also believes that access advocacy is a key to occupational justice.

So many gems came out of this conversation. Please share with your educator, OT, SLP, and other friends who might find this topic of interest!

Savitha Sundar Bio In this episode, Diana and Savitha discuss the the value and importance of occupational therapists roles in inclusive education vs. the traditional roles of occupational therapists in schools. Savitha sees her OT role as a "participation access interventionist," as opposed to a...

09/02/2024

"Ableism is glorifying the 'resilience' of disabled individuals while ignoring the systemic barriers we face. Stop praising perseverance in a broken system -- demand accountability and change it." Borrowed from Divas with Disabilities

09/02/2024

Ableism is glorifying the 'resilience' of disabled individuals while ignoring the systemic barriers we face. Stop praising perseverance in a broken system -- demand accountability and change it."