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Using the Power of the Arts to Promote Acceptance!

Music and art therapy are treatment modalities which enable individuals with developmental disabilities to express their emotions creatively while helping them gain awareness of themselves and others.  It helps to improve self-esteem and psychological well-being, while stimulating intellectual and cognitive abilities. 

West Hurley NY is home to Potential Unlimited Productions, offering workshops and weekly classes continue throughout February and March.

Check out the new and ongoing classes and learn about low-cost fees and schedules by visiting www.potentialunlimited.org. Sign up now for the Spring Music Day Camp at the Potential Unlimited Art Center, April 18-22, 2011.

Scott Rains in New Mobility Magazine: Accessiblity is Not Inclusion

From a post on http://www.unleashwebaccess.com written by Monica Guy: 
What if the first question we asked was, “What is so unique about this situation that it justifies ex­clusion?” instead of, “How much does it cost to make it accessible?” These aren’t my words, but those of disability rights guru Dr. Scott Rains in a recent excellent article in New Mobility magazine.

 

Scott Rains is one of those open-minded, forward-thinking individuals who are changing the conversation around disability. He has been doing it for years, on his excellent Rolling Rains Report and on frequent whirlwind trips and speaker appointments around the world, but we’re only just starting to listen.

His article is a beautifully phrased and sensitively considered exhortation to reject simple, weary, standards-compliant ‘accessibility for the disabled’ in favor of the more complex yet more fruitful concept of inclusion. He writes: “Accessibility looks backward. It goes halfway toward overcoming outmoded and artificial standards of what – and who – is “normal”. Inclusion looks forward. The word ‘universal’ doesn’t mean ‘one-size-fits-all’." He ends with a ringing entreaty: “Accessibility is doing for – a 20th-century task. Inclusion is doing with – a 21st-century vision. Which approach makes for stronger communities?”

Dr. Rains is right. If you believe, as most of us do, that the language we use affects the way we perceive the world and the decisions we make, then we must fight to replace ‘disability’ and ‘accessibility’ with ‘universality’ and ‘inclusion’.

Download Scott Rains’ article Accessibility is Not Inclusion, published in New Mobility magazine in January 2011.

2011 Sprout Film Festival Schedule Announced!

The schedule for the 2011 Sprout Film Festival, showcasing films related to the field of developmental disabilities, has been announced and is available at the Sprout Film Festival website. The festival will take place from Friday April 29  through Sunday May 1 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, and this year will screen 50 unique films from 16 different countries!  In addition to the festival, those interested in films related to the field should visit www.sproutflix.org.

Through sproutflix, you can purchase many of the memorable, entertaining and important films screened at this film festival over the years. 

The Sprout Film Festival was founded in 2003 and is programmed and supported by Sprout, a NYC-based non-profit organization, dedicated to bringing innovative programming to people with developmental disabilities. Please contact [email protected]  if you have any questions.