As we strive to make changes in how we perceive disability, we felt it was important to have core values to guide us to reframe disability and support our office mission statement. In 2005, Disability Services changed the mission of the office to reflect the new philosophy we were trying to incorporate. Ever since, our staff has tried to reframe disability and the services we provide, attempting to focus more on how we proactively design our learning environments. You can see some of the changes we have made in the past that reflects the beginnings of this paradigm shift.
We welcome others to use the core values when they think about disability and diversity in their own work. Below are the adopted core values.
- Human variation is natural and vital in the development of dynamic communities.
- Disability is a social/political concept that includes people with a variety of conditions who share common experiences.
- Inclusion and full participation are matters of social justice.
- Design is powerful and profoundly influences our daily lives.
- Universal design is essential for achieving inclusion and full participation.
- Creating usable, equitable, sustainable, and inclusive environments is a shared responsibility.
