Christine Sun Kim 

This video made me reflect on the experiences of everyday life and growing up being disabled (deaf or any other disability). I was amazed by her strength and creativity and how she explored sound and shared her experience of the world. Her work shows a wider understanding of a concept like sound that most of us share a common experience of. I think it is fascinating how she proposes a new and curious perspective to something familiar for most people. Christine’s video was for me a touching example of how with the right media she is so able to express and share her experience beautifully. There is a powerful determination, which I experience with the ISA students on my course too. 

UAL Disability Service Webpage 

There are several resources through UAL and I have experienced how it is a crucial support for the students. I have attended disability training sessions and information meetings at UAL and they have always been impactful. I agree if we make adjustments to support, it does not only help the individual but everyone in the group will benefit.  

The ISA agreements are a great help for me as a course leader to ensure that I can support the students in the best way and I have a way to share this with the teaching team without us having to know all the personal details. I try to be kind and understanding even if the student doesn’t have an approved ISA/EC’s. I have often experienced that there is a lot more going on under the surface that we do not know of, so I remind myself not to make any assumptions about the students.  

Confronting the Whitewashing Of Disability: Interview with #DisabilityTooWhite Creator Vilissa Thompson 

I found the interview with Vilissa Thompson insightful in terms of better understanding the feeling of invisibility by the lack of representation. This was also an example of sharing intersectionality issues of being a disabled woman of colour. It shows the complexity of the diversity and inclusivity topic and how representation in the media can have a meaningful impact. Looking further into this I found an article from SoN helpful to understand how the impact of racism and ableism interact (https://shadesofnoir.org.uk/journals/disabled-people-the-voice-of-the-many). I agree with the argument in the article that the mindset needs to shift from referring to ‘rights’ but ‘justice’ instead. The article further includes the very accurate quote of Wilthers (2012) that disability, ‘is not a point of individual and social tragedy but a natural and necessary part of human diversity’. 

Deaf-accessibility for spoonies: lessons from touring Eve and Mary Are Having Coffee while chronically ill 

This was a touching article of Khairani Barokka’s experiences of touring with her show despite being very affected by living with chronic pain. She is raising the intersectionality related issues of being an Indonesian disabled woman in a Western society. She perseveres through her pain with a strong desire to make her performance accessible for everyone and to share this invisible disability. I am amazed how this can foster such determination and creative ability and drive her ambition to bridge the ‘empathy gap’. This is also a reminder of how disabilities might not be visible. Both my mum and brother live with invisible disabilities and their experiences mirror her point that people struggle to understand and relate to her situation.  

There is also an important point about self-care. I think this is a relatable message for our students (and ourselves) too as ‘the need we all have at times to ask for help, to treat self-care as paramount and to do justice to our own needs in our own work.’  

Key term: Social Anxiety 

The article/video on Social Anxiety stood out, when looking through the different Shades of Noir articles. It is a worrying statement that only half of the people being affected seek help due to stigma around mental health services. Some of my students share their struggles with social anxiety with me and it is troubling to hear how the experience and setting of being in a classroom with other people can cause a barrier to study. I always direct them to the mental health support services that we have. I hope to be able to take the mental health first aider course to feel better equipped to support the students and navigate these conversations.