STAART July 2023 Article: Disability Pride Month

*Trigger warning

July is Disability Pride Month¹, a time to remember and honour the history, celebrate the achievements, and recognise the struggles of people within the disabled community.

A lot of disabled individuals find it difficult to accept their disability and embracing their uniqueness. However, Disability Pride Month allows everyone to celebrate what makes them unique, promoting visibility and providing a platform for mainstream awareness of disabilities, long-term health conditions and mental health difficulties experience. The month is a short period in time to remind individuals who are disabled or allies that many people have overcome barriers to get to where they are today. There have been amazing individuals throughout history who have made major differences in the lives of those living with disabilities.

Disability Pride was started as a single day of celebration in 1990 in Boston, USA. The USA also passed the Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 which prohibits the discrimination of individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The UK followed suit much later commemorating and celebrating Disability Pride Month for the first time in 2017 in Brighton.

The Disability Pride flag was adopted in 2015 and redesigned in 2021 (below)² has a number of elements, the background, the road shapes and colours.

The charcoal background – to represent those in the community who have been subjected to ableist violence, as well as representing protest in the community. The “band/road” shape – represents how disabled people face barriers and have to navigate their life according to them. The different colours in the shape represent the creativity in navigating life, and how the community is breaking free from authority. The colours – the colours represent the various experiences and needs (mental illness, developmental disability, invisible disabilities, physical disabilities, and sensory disabilities) in the disabled community.

The University of Greenwich continues to champion the work of the late Professor Mike Oliver³ who was a pioneer in disability studies. Professor Oliver is credited with coining the phrase, “social model”. The University of Greenwich powers on accelerating the work of Professor Oliver through the initiative of STAART, Support Through *AccessAbility - Retention and Transition which was created to help disabled and dyslexic students through their higher education journey at Greenwich.

For me, July 2023 not only marks the first disabled awareness month I have been a part of, but it will be the one-year anniversary of when I was taken ill with a suspected stroke which ended up being a disorder previously referred to as hysteria, but now more politically and medically correct is referred to as Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)⁴. Having FND meant my life changed overnight, I went from being an individual with a number of long-term health conditions including fibromyalgia and IBS to being a fully-fledged member of the disabled community. It has been a major adjustment which I am still getting used to. Before FND, I was always out and about exploring London or travelling. I had widespread pain, but strong painkillers helped. However, FND literally floored me. Overnight I required around the clock care in order to ensure I was safe and well due to having upwards of 70 seizures daily. It had been a shock to the system learning more about individuals and with disabilities similar to FND because the treatment of FND warriors when in places such as A&E hospitals is not exactly how you expect to be treated when one is not in control of their body, has speech issues, pain as well as mobility difficulties.

In relation to what Greenwich is doing to ensure there is visibility on campus this Disability Pride Month, the STAART Team, Disabled Staff Community and the National Association of Disabled Staff Networks (NADSN) fellows are joining together to present an exhibition, Histories of Disability: The Good, The Great, The Bad, The Ugly⁵ showcasing the experiences of disabled students, staff, and allies of the University as well as poignant moments in time and figures of great importance to the disabled community. The official opening of the exhibition will take place on 14^th July 2023 on the Greenwich Campus. We look forward to seeing you all there!

Bethany Howell

STAART Graduate and DSC Project Officer