ETSU will be sponsoring several events throughout October in recognition of Disability Awareness Month.
According to Linda Gibson, director of ETSU Disability Services, the main focus of the events is to raise awareness among students. One in every five people has a disability, she said.
“Disability touches everyone’s life at some time,” Gibson said.
“It could be through a friend or a family member.”
Another focus of the events will be to help with employment for people with disabilities, Gibson said.
On Oct. 30, Susan Johnson, a recruiter for TVA, will be coming to speak to people with disabilities about possible internships and job opportunities.
A proclamation ceremony was held on Tuesday with speakers that included President Stanton; SGA President Jennifer Berry; Gibson; Silent Bucs President Crystal Piver and Johnson City Mayor Duffie Jones.
According to Gibson, there are 544 students actively using ETSU Disability Services. They are broken down into categories by their primary disabilities, which are disabilities that would create the biggest issue for the student on campus. For example, a learning disability would cause more of an issue than a medical disability.
The largest primary disability to touch students is attention deficit disorder with 106 students actively using Disability Services for help.
“We serve a wide range of students,” Gibson said.
The first week of October is Deaf Awareness Week which Libby Tipton, interpreter/coordinator of Disability Services, hopes will increase knowledge about deafness and the deaf culture on campus.
“We’re trying to remove as many barriers as possible,” said Tipton.
According to Gibson, any student can feel isolated when they come to college, but these students feel even more isolated.
“It can be very difficult for them to feel like they are fitting in,” she said.
Tipton says she hopes the events of the week will encourage and challenge students to take a chance.
Tipton wants students who are deaf to focus on their own abilities and see how they can use their assets to overcome their disability.
Martha Edde-Adams, assistant director of Disability Services and coordinator of the Leap Program, hopes this month will increase cultural diversity of students on campus.
Some of the remaining events of Disability Awareness Month, are a captioned showing of A Beautiful Mind in the Culp Auditorium on Oct. 11 and a seminar focusing on Social Security on Oct. 23 from 2-3 p.m. in Meeting Room 6 of the Culp.
One performance of the ETSU theatre department’s production of How I Learned to Drive will be interpreted in sign language on Oct. 10. from 7:30-9 p.m. in the Bud Frank Theatre located in Gilbreath Hall.

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