by Brenna Fox, Beth Tikvah B'nai Jeshurun At BTBJ I am in a classroom with 5 students that are in third grade.  One of the boys in the classroom has a hard time sitting still and concentrating. While I do not think he has any type of disability, there are a few things that help get him back on track in the class. When this student had a hard time sitting in his/her seat, I would take them for a walk up and down the hallway. If a student had a lot of energy, I would walk out of the [...]

by Aria Levy, Keneseth Israel On Sunday, we met artist Wendy Elliott-Vandivier. She creates cartoons based on her everyday life, including constant stereotypes, interactions with people, and offensive comments. Some of her comics include inappropriate terminology and getting special treatment to even worse treatment than others. We learned so much from the stories of these interactions with people, what is ok to be asked and what you shouldn’t be doing. She taught us that people with disabilities should be able to live without being put on a pedestal or made to feel like they’re different from everyone else. There are [...]

by Evan Berger, Main Line Reform Temple I recently had the opportunity to learn from Mrs. Wendy Elliott-Vandivier, and learn about inclusion and disability pride through art. Wendy is a fantastic artist, who shared with us her portfolio of disability pride artwork and her process for drawing. She talked to us about how harmful terms that sugarcoat disabilities can be. She told us that calling disabilities what they are can help able-bodied individuals be more aware, and therefore helpful. They are normal people just like the rest of us, with something physically or mentally hindering them that needs a little [...]