But I have to be honest. I struggle
with the concept of disability awareness. When we look around us we can readily
notice that people come in all shapes and sizes, each one of us different than
every other. I just do not think that we need people to become more aware of
disabilities, but rather to learn how to be genuinely accepting of one
another’s differences. This is why the JDAM tagline makes sense to me – FROM
Awareness to Inclusion.
For me, the key distinction this
month is not to raise awareness of the fact that, yeah, there are Jews with
disabilities, but rather that many of those Jews with disabilities are not yet
meaningfully included in synagogue and Jewish organizational life. The value of
this month lies in raising the awareness that there is so much more we can
and should be doing to include those with disabilities in our Jewish
communities.
I will be doing my best to blog each
day during the month of February in honor of JDAM. You can read more hereabout this initiative. I hope to hear many new voices.
At the bottom of this post you will
find a place to link up your blog posts and articles. This will allow
readers to find one another’s posts, spread the word about their own and
generally serve as an online gathering space for JDAM blogging efforts. Feel free to come back often and link each of your JDAMblogs
posts.
Tag every post with #JDAMblogs on
social media so we can find and share posts. I encourage you to tweet at me and tag me on Facebook and I will share your content. (#JDAM15 is the other hashtag being used for general JDAM
information, resources and events.)
As a Jewish Special Educator, I
realize that the vague nature of “join me in blogging” might be overwhelming
for some. While you are free to blog on anything that relates to
disability, accessibility, inclusion, etc., some may appreciate prompts to get their
creative juices flowing:
And if writing is “not your thing”,
share a photo or artwork or a quote or a video. Honor your own expressive style
and do what is most comfortable and most accessible for you. Don’t shy away from sharing your voice!
Together we can move the Jewish world from awareness to inclusion!
Don't miss a post from Removing the Stumbling Block:
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