Demystifying Disability: A Community Conversation with Author Emily Ladau

HYBRID, interactive conversation on living with, talking about, and advocating around disability, in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Join Emily Ladau, activist and author of Demystifying Disability, for a fireside chat in honor of Disability Pride Month. After speaking in conversation with Jack Lovett, co-chair of the Newton Commission on Disability, Emily will take questions in a discussion with attendees. The conversation will focus on how to communicate well about disability, from advocating for needs to listening and learning about how to create a culture of accessibility and inclusion. Whether you engage with issues of disability regularly or aren’t always comfortable talking about disability and want to learn more, you’re invited to be part of this disability dialogue.

NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED TO ATTEND IN-PERSON, REGISTER FOR ZOOM HERE: https://newtonma-gov.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Nsrs_Qu7S4-hSxwX0257SQ#/registration

Copies of Demystifying Disability will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of Wellesley Books.

This program is presented in partnership by Understanding Our Differences, the Newton Commission on Disability, and the Newton Free Library

About the Speaker: Emily Ladau is a passionate disability rights activist, writer, and communications and cultural access consultant. Her career began at the age of 10, when she appeared on multiple episodes of Sesame Street to educate about her life with a physical disability. Emily’s writing has been published in outlets including The New York Times, CNN, Vice, and HuffPost and her first book, Demystifying Disability, was published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. She has spoken before numerous audiences, from the U.S. Department of Education to the United Nations. Central to all of Emily’s work is her belief that by sharing our stories and making the disability experience accessible to the world, we will reach a world that is accessible to the disability community.

Conversation Partner: Jack Lovett has lived in Newton since 2006, attending Bowen Elementary School, Oak Hill Middle School, and Newton South High School. Jack has Asperger’s Syndrome and chronic Tinnitus (ear ringing), and also has a brother with severe Autism. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Newton Commission on Disability (COD) and serves on the Newton Public Schools’ Disability Advisory Group (DAG). Jack also works for the City of Newton full-time. In what remains of his free time, Jack enjoys reading about American history.

The Disability Pride Flag was designed by Ann Magill in 2019, and updated by her in 2021 to accommodate people with visually triggered disabilities. The flag features a black background representing mourning and rage for victims of ableist violence and abuse. Diagonal bands of color stand for “cutting across” walls and barriers that separate people with disabilities from the rest of society. The five colors—red, gold, white, blue and green—represent the spectrum of needs and experiences of individuals with disabilities: physical disabilities, neurodivergence, invisible and undiagnosed disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, and sensory disabilities, respectively. The parallelism of the stripes symbolizes solidarity among communities.

The location of this event is wheelchair accessible and will include ASL interpretation. and CART transcription.

To attend this event virtually, please register using the Zoom registration link.

Reasonable accommodations will be provided to persons with disabilities requiring assistance. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact Newton’s ADA/Sec.504 Coordinator, Jini Fairley, two weeks in advance of this event: jfairley@newtonma.gov or (617) 796-1253. For Telecommunications Relay Service, please dial 711.