Link: UCOP's e-newsletter

Stay Informed. Stay Connected.

You can help support colleagues with disabilities

Did you know that approximately 20% of adults in the U.S. have some form of disability?

It stands to reason, then, that many of our UCOP colleagues and clients also have a disability, or care for loved ones with a disability. And, sometimes it’s hard to tell whether someone has a disability just by looking at them. Common disabilities include:

  • Hearing loss
  • Low vision
  • Dyslexia
  • Speech impairment
  • Physical and mobility challenges
  • Emotional or psychological concerns

To ensure that everyone can access workplace materials and resources — including documents, websites, signage, equipment or buildings — we must work to ensure that everything we produce is accessible.

May 20 is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) — a perfect time to learn more about accessibility and the needs of colleagues with disabilities. Here’s how to participate.

Get new perspective with five fun videos

Tune into a webinar: Accessibility Is for Everyone!

The systemwide Electronic Accessibility Committee is hosting a GAAD webinar on May 20, from 10 – 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time. UC colleagues from several locations will show that each of us can do something to promote accessibility. The webinar will be fast-paced, with 15-minute sessions on topics including:

  • Empathy lab featuring differently-abled UC students and staff
  • Tips for making documents, videos and websites accessible
  • Lesson on how to caption videos
  • Advice for buying accessible technology

Register for the GAAD webinar

Take online classes

UC offers free online training in topics related to accessibility. Popular courses include:

  • General Digital Accessibility Principles
  • Making Accessible PDFs
  • Accessibility for Content Contributors
  • Accessible Documents
  • Accessible Multimedia
  • Accessible Purchasing

Consider your language

Note: There are varying views about the proper terminology to refer to people with disabilities or who are differently-abled and, of course, language evolves. The following articles on this topic support using the term “people with disabilities.”

For questions, contact Yvonne.Tevis@ucop.edu.

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