Inclusivity and disability in the news this week
I saw several pieces in the electronic media this week that highlight the growing efforts to include persons with disability in everyday life.
The European Space Agency put out a call for astronauts with physical disabilities – a push for parastronauts to be included in the entering class of 2021. In its own words, the ESA is looking for “individual(s) who are psychologically, cognitively, technically and professionally qualified to be an astronaut, but have a physical disability that would normally prevent them from being selected due to the requirements imposed by the use of current space hardware.”
Then there’s a resource from New Mobility Magazine, a magazine that bills itself as the magazine for active wheelchair users, that profiles wheelchair-friendly and inclusive institutions of higher learning in the USA. Check out the guide called “Wheels on Campus: A Guide to Wheelchair-Friendly Higher Education” online and in downloadable PDF format.
Finally, New Mobility Magazine profiled portrayals of disability depicted in movies and television in Sylvia Longmire’s piece “Nailed It, Failed It and Meh“. As a wheelchair user due to multiple sclerosis, she has a unique perspective on which pieces in the media did (and did not) a good job with representation.
