Disability Services hopes that the activities this October for National Disability Awareness month will help provide some understanding about living with disabilities.
“October is the default month for observing this,” Linda Gibson, director of Disability Services, said. “This is the month when the President signs a proclamation to hire more people with disabilities so it gets celebrated then.”
ETSU has been observing Disability Awareness Month for about 10 years. However, the university has been dealing with disability issues since the early 1970s.
Numerous activities have been planned for the month of October. “We’ve had pretty good success in previous years,” Gibson said. “It usually depends on the event. Last year, we had a deaf culture act and the forum was filled.”
This year they plan to have one information booth a week relating to the different topics surrounding disabilities. The first week will focus on deafness to correspond with Deaf Awareness Week and the second week will cover general disabilities and etiquette on how to act and achieve a comfort level with a disabled person.
There will also be a workshop in the library lab for people with disabilities that will demonstrate the technology and adaptive equipment that is available to help meet everyone’s needs.
On Oct. 3 at 11 a.m. there will be a proclamation in Alumni Plaza. ETSU President Paul Stanton and Johnson City Mayor Steve Darden will also be present, with the mayor giving the proclamation.
Disability Services hopes that the activities of the month will help others on this campus realize that there are students and faculty on this campus with disabilities. “We have students in every major,” Gibson said. “We work to tailor the program to fit their most urgent need first and then work with the others so that all their needs will be met.”
Some of the services that this office provides year-round are helping their students become able to work in the community when they graduate.
“Often times people with disabilities are underemployed or unemployed,” Gibson said. “We try to help people build skills. We encourage them to be active in student government and get internships. Our students graduate at a good rate and with jobs or with job offers shortly after.”
Disability Services will be advertising activities through the campus e-mail and the public relations office when the dates become concrete.

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