In Tennessee, 1.6 million individuals with disabilities experience barriers to accessing the same education, housing, transportation, and health care as their peers. The Tennessee General Assembly has proclaimed March 11 to be #DisabilityAdvocacyDayTN, to honor the importance of advocacy in the lives of Tennesseans with disabilities and to improve access to equal opportunities across the state. From diabetes to depression, to Down Syndrome and everything in between, on Disability Advocacy Day we celebrate the accomplishments and advocacy of the incredibly diverse disability community in Tennessee.

We invite you to be an advocate for accessibility. To learn about the daily challenges faced by members of your community who are living with a disability, check out the following list of accessibility/disability-related books, movies, games, VR apps, and Ted Talks. Many of these resources were provided by the UT sponsors of Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2023, which takes place on May 18. GAAD focuses specifically on digital access and inclusion.

Virtual Reality games at Hodges

• Embodied Labs virtual-reality simulation apps are available at the Studio in Hodges Library (portraying Alzheimer’s, macular degeneration, high frequency hearing loss, Parkinson’s, social isolation, and other conditions).

Movies

• Love on the Spectrum (Netflix)
• Atypical (Netflix – autism spectrum)
• Girl Interrupted (multiple commercial outlets and DVD at Hodges – adolescent mental illness)
• A Beautiful Mind (multiple commercial outlets – mental illness)
• Gattaca (multiple commercial outlets and DVD at Hodges – sci-fi eugenics)
• Deaf U (Netflix – story of Gallaudet)
• I am Sam (Prime Video – intellectual disabilities)
• The Theory of Everything (Prime Video – Stephen Hawking/physical disabilities)
• Crip Camp (free from Netflix on YouTube)

Books

• NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity
• We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation
• Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz
• Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche
• Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law
• Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space

Learn Something New

• Both Gallaudet University and Sign Language 101 offer free introductory courses in sign language. 
• Learn braille 
• Or braille music 

YouTube videos, Ted Talks, and podcasts

• All Things ADHD and  ADHD365 podcasts
• “Neurodiversity- the key that unlocked my world” Ted Talks by Elizabeth Wiklander
• How Apple Saved My Life (video – vision impairment)
• First Call With My Son (video – hearing impairment)
• I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much (Ted Talk – Stella Young, comedian with multiple disabilities)
• I have 99 problems…and palsy is only one (Ted Talk – Maysoon Zayid, comedian with cerebral palsy)
• Crash Course videos on mental health and mental health in college

UTK resources

• Accessibility at the UT Libraries and how UT Libraries is working to ensure digital accessibility in its online resources
• Student Disability Services
• Korn Learning, Assessment, and Social Skills Center (to assist students with ADHD, dyslexia, and autism spectrum challenges)
  • Including the FUTURE and PASS programs
• College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences resources for Disability Pride Month
• Office of Equity & Diversity where you can report a campus accessibility issue
• Accessibility of Learning Materials (OIT)
• UT Policy IT0126 on IT accessibility

 Other

• The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity
• Learning Disabilities Online
• Spectrum (autism research)
• College Autism Network 
• Creating accessible meetings, events, and conferences
• Modify your computer so it’s easier to use