Need to know info!
Since our last update, Luke has joined the group.
With the new term starting, make sure your presentations and documents meet accessibility guidelines. General guidance and best practice can be found on the LibGuides writing style page.
Education, Education, Education
Over the Spring term, there were a series of workshops focussing on Neurodiversity led by Sarah and Ross from the Student Health and Wellbeing Team. Over the four workshops, Ross and Sarah delivered presentations that looked at Dyslexia, ADHD, Dyspraxia, and Autism. These workshops focused on lived experiences and theory, and they made to sure to include practical elements to really show the barriers that students face. This really brought home how life can have many unseen and unthought of challenges for neurodivergent individuals. The main takeaway from these was the importance of developing empathy for each other and that adjustments, such as giving people more time, is something we can all easily do without making people feel othered.
Ahead of the new term, the Accessibility Group are running a workshop about supporting blind and visually impaired people. There are a few more spaces on the Wednesday 20th September session. There are some great online resources out there too, that show how to use specific kinds of canes such as a symbol cane and useful life skills when being a sighted guide for someone or how to guide someone who has a guide dog.
As always, if you want more training on accessibility topics, please make use of the Introduction to Accessibility course on Moodle.
Extra, Extra…
Here are some things the Group have seen that are interesting:
- A new addition to the library is the recently released Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement. This interesting book will be available to borrow from Level 5 of Northampton Square Library soon.
- London Film Festival is in September with 3 offerings that seem really interesting. Slow is a fascinating drama that centres on an Asexual sign language interpreter, with the director telling the story both through words but also with beautiful movement from the dance and the sign language. This is Going to Be Big focuses on three Australian Neurodiveregent teens and one role in their school play in this heart warming coming of age film. The French documentary On the Adamant looks at a day centre for people with mental-health conditions and is described by the BFI as an “impassioned argument for enlightened mental care”, this film was the Golden Bear winner at the Berlin Film Festival this year.
- There is a fantastic array of non-fiction that focuses on Mental Health, Neurodiversity, Invisible Illnesses and Self Help too available through overdrive and through the Libby app.
Beth, Felicity, Jessica, Jonathan, Isobel, and Luke.