2023
ADHD: A student perspective
Tuesday, March 7 from 11:30-noon (Virtual)
Presenter: Nadia Gill, 4th year
(Moderator: Karen Pillon)
Watch a recording of the event on the University of Windsor’s YouTube channel through the 2023 AAD playlist
Nadia Gill is a 4th-year drama student and one of the Student Project Coordinators for the The ADHDe Project. Nadia will provide a brief overview of ADHD and share her experiences of what it is like to be a university student with this diagnosis. Included in this presentation will be tips for students on navigating the university experience and how others can be allies.
Accessible presentations: In-person and online
Tuesday, March 14 from 11:30-noon (Virtual)
Presenters: Cherie Gagnon, Accessibility Manager - Office of Human Rights, Equity and Accessibility; Dr. Erika Kustra, Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning
(Moderator: Nicole Canzoneri)
Watch a recording of the event on the University of Windsor’s YouTube channel through the 2023 AAD playlist
If you are an instructor or a student who presents to a class, or if your job requires presentation skills, then this session is for you! Following accessible practices will make your presentation and delivery more accessible for your entire audience. Information will cover tips for both in-person and online methods of delivery with practical steps you can begin implementing right away.
Quick tips for making your Brightspace site more accessible
Tuesday, March 21 from 11:30-noon (Virtual)
Presenters: Mark Lubrick, Learning Specialist – Office of Open Learning; Lorie Stolarchuk – Office of Open Learning
(Moderator: Anthony Gomez)
Watch a recording of the event on the University of Windsor’s YouTube channel through the 2023 AAD playlist
This session will demonstrate how to create accessible content using Brightspace’s text editor and utilize built-in accessibility checkers to identify issues to correct. Further, this session will highlight how to handle accommodations such as extra time, or different submission dates in Brightspace. Finally, we will demonstrate a new integrated tool called Panorama, which can provide users with several alternate format types for documents in Brightspace, in addition to offering instructors an accessibility checker for documents uploaded to course sites.
This event is in partnership with Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization (EDID) Week
Celebrating disability rights: A Conversation with Dr. Laverne Jacobs
Tuesday, March 28 from 11:00 am
Alumni Auditorium – CAW Student Centre and Live Stream via YouTube
Watch a recording of the event on the University of Windsor’s YouTube channel through the 2023 AAD playlist
Accessibility Awareness Days returns in-person for the final event of 2023. During this session we will announce the winners of the 2023 IDeA Competition, honour the legacy of David C. Onley, and highlight recent accessibility initiatives on campus.
Our keynote presentation will be a Conversation with Dr. Laverne Jacobs. Dr. Jacobs is a full Professor at the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law, and is an accomplished interdisciplinary legal scholar who advances disability rights and inclusion through her work. In June 2022, Professor Jacobs was elected to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). The Committee monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by countries that have ratified it. UN CRPD Committee members are independent experts selected from countries around the globe. Dr. Jacobs is the first-ever Canadian to be elected to serve on the United Nations CRPD Committee, and her election is historic for that reason.
2022
Universal Design for Learning and Accommodations
In this panel discussion, find out what the University is doing to promote Universal Design for Learning, common myths that students and instructors may have about accommodations, legislative requirements, and tips from a student perspective.
Presenters: Nick Baker (Office of Open Learning), Joyceln Lorito (Student Accessibility Services), Cherie Gagnon (Office of Human Rights, Equity and Accessibility), Skyla Baker (Student Representative)
View recording of this event on Youtube
Technology Tools
Technological advances provide useful tools to support accessibility. Learn about our free accessibility software, and other tools available to you as a campus community member.
Presenters: Mark Lubrick (Office of Open Learning), Anthony Gomez (Student Accessibility Services), Lorie Stolarchuk (Office of Open Learning), Craig Brown (I.T. Services), Mike Fisher (I.T. Services)
View recording of this event on Youtube
Accessible Spaces and Places
Learn about Universal Design, navigational and wayfinding tools to assist you with finding your way around campus, and accessible amenities at Leddy Library.
Speakers: Manjola Bali (VABE Alumni), Maria Lederer (VABE Alumni), Veronika Mogyorody (Centre for Teaching and Learning), Cherie Gagnon (Office of Human Rights, Equity and Accessibility), Karen Pillon (Leddy Library)
View recording of this event on Youtube
Disability and Intersectionality
This session will explore lived experiences and provide insights into how we can become better allies to make our campus and community more inclusive.
This event is in partnership with the University of Windsor’s EDI Week.
Speakers: David Robbins-Singh & Dane Macri (Guest Speakers)
View recording of this event on Youtube
Mental Health Supports
Gain an overview of supports available on campus, along with tips that we can all use in dealing with pandemic stress at this presentation.
Speakers: Dr. Mohsan Beg (Student Counselling Centre), Marcela Ciampa (Human Resources)
View recording of this event on Youtube
2021
“It’s Accessible but is it Inclusive” - held virtually every Tuesday in March 2021
Click on this link for a complete YouTube playlist of all the 2021 AAD events or click on the links below to view individual recordings of each weekly event:
AAD 2021 - Welcoming Disability with the Social Model:
Presenters: Dr. Jijian Voronka, Iseonna Silliker (SW student)
This presentation will introduce central tenets of the social model of disability. We will explore how the social model approaches disability differently from common medical and charity models, and the impact that valuing disability can have on our teaching, learning, and practice.
View recording of this event on Youtube.
AAD 2021 - Accessibility, Inclusion & the Limits of the Law:
Presenters: Dr. Laverne Jacobs and Nadia Shivratan (JD student)
How can we achieve greater social inclusion for people with disabilities? This question lies at the heart of a regulatory initiative that has been developing steadily in Canada since the mid-2000s. The question of inclusion has become even more acute during the COVID-19 crisis. Accessibility standards are the newest generation of law established to combat disability discrimination. Accessibility standards are designed to be proactive. But, Professor Laverne Jacobs argues that in order for this or any equality law to have a truly transformative impact on the lives of people with disabilities, much work still needs to be done. What does this mean for you?
AAD 2021 - Supporting Human-Centered Design:
Presenter: Dr. Veronika Mogyorody
Creating environments for people with diverse abilities is the role of the architect. It is their privilege to design everyday physical forms, like buildings, public spaces and structural objects, that are usable and inclusive for all. Enabling people to participate in activities, and interact with others is foundational to the profession, yet we find many situations where designers have failed to achieve this goal. Ideally, our environments should facilitate everyone’s ability to function, yet there is often a huge disconnect between principle and practice. During this presentation we will examine strategies in the planning and implementation of universal design. Please follow this link to reference the material used during this presentation.
AAD 2021 - Accessible Online Education During the Pandemic and Beyond:
Presenter: Professor Nick Baker
Online learning globally has been growing massively for the past two decades, but has still remained a relatively niche teaching and learning experience, with self-selected learners choosing the mode that fits their individual needs. While many learners with disabilities choose to take online courses to provide them the flexibility they need to succeed, the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden shift to online learning for the entire student body has meant that accessible online course design and principles of universal design are far more important than ever before. This session explores some of the core elements of accessible online course design, considerations for selecting accessible educational technologies, and encourages us to reflect on lessons learned from supporting the transition to online learning for all students and instructors.
AAD 2021 - Inclusion has to be Purposeful:
Keynote Speaker: Dave Dame
Dave Dame is an internationally recognized leadership coach, enterprise agile leader and trainer. As the Global Enterprise Agile leader with Scotiabank, Dave works with the organization across 5 countries. Born in 1971 with Cerebral Palsy, Dave has overcome many barriers with determination and the support of his parents. He acknowledges that changes to accessibility over the years has improved opportunities for him and others to participate in society. However, Dave explains that accessibility is not enough. Dave shares his journey of going away to University on his own to participation in a highly competitive job market to demonstrate the difference between mere accessibility to meaningful inclusion. Dave brings the perfect mix of humour and inspiration to encourage people to think about what their role is in creating an inclusive world.
2019
“Advancing Accessibility Together” – held on March 27, 2019
Keynote Speaker: Mr. David Lepofsky
Opening Panel Discussion:
- Anthony Gomez
- Christine Quaglia
- Erika Kustra
- Kaye Johnson
- Ryan Flannagan
- Veronika Mogyorody
2018
"Accessibility - More Than Meets the Eye" - held on March 28, 2018
Student Speakers:
- Jessica Tetreault-Fazio
- Julia Borsatto
- Nicholas Harris
- Ocean Connolly
Other Speakers:
- Anthony Gomez, Sharon Murno, and Karen Pillon: "Student Accessibility Services and the Leddy Library - Accessibility Supports at UWindsor."
- Debra Hernandez-Jozefowicz, Stephanie Cragg, and Virginia Amato: "The University of Windsor's School of Social Work, Disability Studies and Psychology Accessibility Planning Committee: Our History and Experiences."
- Denice Shuker and Ashley Vodarek: "Accessibility Enhancing Apps at UWindsor."
- Dr. Jijan Voronka, Tina Nguyen, and Abbey Stotts: "Mental Health in Disability Studies Context.”
- Mark Lubrick, Nick Baker, Nobuko Fujita, and Alicia Higgison: "Accessibility: more than just meeting AODA guidelines (although we have advice for that too!)."
- Rob Aitkens and Anthony Gomez: “Enhancing Accessibility on your Websites."
2017
"Accessibility in your Passion" - held on March 2, 2017
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Temple Grandin
Dr. Grandin is a noted person with autism who is an author, speaker, autism awareness advocate, cited expert in many publications, and video producer. She is the author of "Animals in Translation" and "Animals Make us Human".
Other Speakers:
- Diane Wintermute from ARCH Disability Law: "How you can Access your Passion in Post-Secondary Education".
- Laverne Jacobs and Shanae Soor: "Using Law to Advocate for Social Change for People with Disabilities".
- Nicole Daignault from UWindsor Recreation: "Improving Access to Preventive Care Services".
- Student Counselling Services and Morneau Shepel: "Making Mental Health Support Accessible for the Campus Community: Introducing Well Track".
2016
"Building Momentum" - held on March 10, 2016
Keynote Speaker: Fiona Crean
Fiona Crean is Hydro One’s first Ombudsman and one who embodies the true meaning of “public service" She has spent her entire career making communities better places to live by showing governments and organizations how they can improve their service to the public and treat people more fairly. Throughout her career, Fiona has broken new ground in her pursuit of equity and fairness for all. She was the City of Toronto's first Ombudsman where she focused on the issues of governance, accountability, equity and fairness in the delivery of services. As an Assistant Deputy Minister with the Ontario government, she was responsible for managing organizational change in the province’s corrections system. Prior to that, she established the Ombudsman's Office at York University. She was also the Executive Director of the Ontario Ombudsman's Office and early in her career, she worked as an investigator at the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
Multilingual and trained as a teacher and mediator, Fiona has designed and delivered programs internationally on how to conduct investigations into maladministration, human rights and corruption. She has also worked to further the development and good governance of governments and civil society organizations in South America, Eastern Europe and southern Africa. In Canada, she has designed and delivered training on conflict resolution and how to serve vulnerable populations. Fiona has also worked extensively with First Nations and Inuit communities, both as a teacher and advisor in developing good governance. Her accomplishments have been recognized with awards such as the 2015 YWCA Woman of Distinction Award, which noted that “Fiona is a force in this city, breaking down barriers, opening doors, and building an equitable city for all of us.”
Other Speakers:
- Cam Wells
- Karen Tompkins and Sherry Campeau
- Martin Ouellette and Angelica Haggert
- Meggie Stewart and Alicia Xavier
- Paul McCrar
- Stephanie J. Cragg
2015
"Accessible Recreation" - held on March 18, 2015
Keynote Speaker: Luca "Lazylegz" Patuelli
World-renowned dancer and motivational speaker, Luca "Lazylegz" Patuelli shared his message of "No Excuses, No Limits".
Other Speakers:
- Anjan Manikumar
- Anne Mullen
- Dr. Amy Ratelle and Dr Alison Harvey
- Dr. Debra Hernandez-Jozefowicz
- Frank Jeney
- Ivana Petricone
- Janice Koval
- James Anderson and Christine Easterbrook
- Josh Leeman
- Kevin McShan
- Oula Al-Khouri.
- Sandra Ondracka
- Virginia McLachlan
2014
"Creating an Accessible Community" - held on March 20, 2014
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Debra Hernandez-Jozefowicz
Other Speakers:
- Allan Angus
- Anthony Gomez & Erin Plumb
- Crystal Anderson & Hind El-Ayoubi
- Danny Castellan
- David Ryan-Soderlund
- Dory Azar
- Dr. Sean Horton
- Jennifer Bauder & Melissa Parent
- Matthew Pok & Lily Cao
- Stasha Todorovic
- Stephanie Cragg
2013
"Building an Accessible Community" - held on March 14, 2013
Keynote Speaker: Agnes MacKilop
Agnes MacKillop is a compliance assistance training officer with the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario. She discussed how we can all help to ensure people with disabilities are able to participate fully in society in her free public presentation, “Join our Journey toward an Accessible Ontario.” MacKillop leads the design and delivery of province-wide training programs to support compliance with standards under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
Other Speakers:
- Anne Mullen
- Anthony Gomez
- Bev Clarke
- Cam Cobb
- Debra Hernandez-Jozefowicz
- Dory Azar
- Erin Plumb
- Karin Kouvelas
- Laura Steffler
- Laurie Lessard
- Lorie Stolarchuk
- Nick Baker
- Richard Dumala
- Ryan Kenney
- Stephanie Cragg
- Toni Southern