Disability Awareness Week Events Planned
Fairmont State University's Office of Disability Services has planned two events in
celebration of Disability Awareness Week, March 24-27.
From 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Monday, March 24, Central West Virginia Community Action will
present a puppet show with The Kids on the Block Incorporated. The event will take
place in Multi-media Room B of the Ruth Ann Musick Library. The show will be appropriate
for all ages. Admission is free and open to the public.
According to the organization's web site, The Kids on the Block, Inc. originated
in 1977 in direct response to US Public Law 94-142, which required that children with
disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment. For many children,
this meant being included in a classroom with their non-disabled peers.
Mark Riley, who represents a child with cerebral palsy, was the first puppet character
created to fill the need of children with disabilities to have their non-disabled
peers understand and accept them. Through Mark Riley, the children learned about cerebral
palsy and began asking questions directly to Mark. The Kids on the Block, Inc. was
launched because of this enthusiastic response from the children. The Kids on the
Block, now internationally acclaimed, has continued to grow over the years and offers
programs on disabilities such as spina bifida and visual impairment, medical differences
such as leukemia and AIDS; educational differences including learning disabilities
and ADHD, and social concerns including sexual abuse prevention, and alternatives
to violence. For more information on The Kids on the Block, Inc., visit http://www.kotb.com/.
From 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, Deaf author Raymond Luczak will give a talk
focusing on issues of the Deaf GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender). The event
will take place in Multi-media Room A of the Ruth Ann Musick Library. Admission is
free and open to the public.
Raymond Luczak is perhaps best known for books such as "Eyes of Desire: A Deaf Gay
& Lesbian Reader," a double Lambda Literary Award-nominated anthology he edited for
Alyson, and "St. Michael's Fall," a book of poems about growing up Deaf and Catholic,
published by Deaf Life Press. In the summer of 2002 he had two new books published
by The Tactile Mind Press at the same time: "Silence is a Four-Letter Word: On Art
& Deafness" and "This Way to the Acorns: Poems." The Tactile Mind Press brought out
his fifth book, "Snooty: A Comedy," in February 2004; and Gallaudet University Press
brought out his sixth book, "When I am Dead: The Writings of George M. Teegarden'
in April 2007. Handtype Press published his much-anticipated anthology "Eyes of Desire
2: A Deaf GLBT Reader" in October 2007. Suspect Thoughts Press published his award-winning
novel "Men with Their Hands" in January 2008. For more information on Luczak, visit
http://www.raymondluczak.com/.
The Office of Disability Services will have an information table and activities set
up on the second floor Main Street area of the Falcon Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
March 24-27.
