Enjoyed my time in Rochester! The second half of the northern jaunt brought me to Hartford, Connecticut for the NAD conference. It was the first time I attended and it was held concurrently with the National Deaf Education Conference at the same venue. NDEC is every year while NAD is every two.
From my hearing perspective, the accommodations team did a remarkable job making sure the hotel was accessible. I've been places where accessibility seemed like an afterthought or where there was only one person that had a clue. That didn't appear to be the case here. Interpreters abound in the lobby for checkin, pens and paper plentiful, captions on and working, visual menus that could be passed around. The presentations themselves had various interpreters and captioning devices.
I can't say that it was perfect because I'm sure there were things I didn't notice, but what I saw was very good. Most of my workshops were with NDEC, but I attended some with NAD as well. Had some friends present and it's always great to see your people shine!
My experience as a hearing person returning to NTID or attending NAD is nothing like that of a Deaf person, but I felt really good nonetheless. Conversations happening in ASL, everywhere, about everything was awesome. Yes, this happens with every language and no, I'm not awestruck like people seem to be responding to a coach signing to his kids, but when you see people not have full access all the time in situations where they do have full access, #FeelsGoodMan.
Saw some friends, acquaintances, and former colleagues -Deaf World is small yo- and sat in some very good workshops. I proooooooobabbly wouldn't go every year, but honestly, that just speaks to the quality of the school where I work. I went to an hour session on Lead-K. I didn't take away anything from that session that I didn't already learn from our staff meetings or conversations in the hall with colleagues. I'm lucky to work with some good people! You can learn something from every conference you attend and I look forward to going back.
From my hearing perspective, the accommodations team did a remarkable job making sure the hotel was accessible. I've been places where accessibility seemed like an afterthought or where there was only one person that had a clue. That didn't appear to be the case here. Interpreters abound in the lobby for checkin, pens and paper plentiful, captions on and working, visual menus that could be passed around. The presentations themselves had various interpreters and captioning devices.
I can't say that it was perfect because I'm sure there were things I didn't notice, but what I saw was very good. Most of my workshops were with NDEC, but I attended some with NAD as well. Had some friends present and it's always great to see your people shine!
My experience as a hearing person returning to NTID or attending NAD is nothing like that of a Deaf person, but I felt really good nonetheless. Conversations happening in ASL, everywhere, about everything was awesome. Yes, this happens with every language and no, I'm not awestruck like people seem to be responding to a coach signing to his kids, but when you see people not have full access all the time in situations where they do have full access, #FeelsGoodMan.
Saw some friends, acquaintances, and former colleagues -Deaf World is small yo- and sat in some very good workshops. I proooooooobabbly wouldn't go every year, but honestly, that just speaks to the quality of the school where I work. I went to an hour session on Lead-K. I didn't take away anything from that session that I didn't already learn from our staff meetings or conversations in the hall with colleagues. I'm lucky to work with some good people! You can learn something from every conference you attend and I look forward to going back.
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