This conference was the first of its kind that I have been fortunate enough to attend.  Hearing how different countries handle different situations regarding disability was truly eye-opening. One thing that really surprised me was realizing that the United States isn’t as great with disabilities as we make it out to be.   Continue reading →

NUI’s International Disability Law Summer School was incredible. I feel privileged and honored to have been able to attend and listen to renowned disability advocates from all across the globe. I was able to gain a variety of perspectives and brand new issues were brought to my attention. Continue reading →

I can’t believe this is our last day in Ireland. It’s been such an amazing experience and I’m very sad to leave this beautiful  country.

Yesterday was the last day of our attendance at the conference. Overall, I found myself having mixed feelings about how I feel towards the conference and the presentations. Continue reading →

So far, I have really enjoyed listening to all the speakers and learning about different cultures.  At today’s conference, I was really intrigued  by Dr. Shivaun Quinlivan’s presentation on inclusive education for children with psychosocial disabilities. I have learned about inclusive education before in some of my courses at UMass, but I was excited to hear about her thoughts. Continue reading →

In my last blog post, I illustrated how I personally still have a lot to learn about psychosocial disability. Luckily, I am not the only one since multiple people attending the conference have asked “what is a psychosocial disability?”. By day three of the conference,  I still didn’t have a grasp on the concept: what mental health conditions are included? Is psychosocial disability the same as mental illness? Is it a more politically correct term? Continue reading →

I thought that Dr. Quinn’s talk about inclusive education was important to hear. She discussed how inclusive education was the route that every country should be aiming towards. Throughout our class, however, we have gone back and forth about if inclusive education really is the best for everybody. Continue reading →

We took a tour bus to Northern Ireland on Saturday and I was stunned by many things, in good and bad ways. We took a black cab tour through the city of Belfast where we learned about the strict divide between the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. That was very alarming, but what was cool was that the small black cabs that we squeezed 6 people into are handicap accessible!! Continue reading →

Coincidentally we ran into some of the panellists at a restaurant. We introduced ourselves as attendees of the conference and told the woman from the Netherlands (also known as the lady with the Mohawk) how impressed we were with everything she had to share. However, I grew more impressed with a woman from Norway she was with, Liv Skree. Continue reading →

The conference has covered a large number of different articles within the CRPD. The panel discussing Article 19 change my perspective on group homes and housing for individuals with disabilities, specifically psychosocial disabilties. Continue reading →

Listening to Matilda Gonzalez talk about how her trans identity intersects with disability. Her presentation was a fantastic contribution to this conference, and a stance that many other presenters have not taken. I found that how she unpacked the entire construct of gender and sex so that the audience understood why trans people do not have a disability, but went further to examine what disability really meant. Continue reading →