Newsletters
Planetarium: Our Digital Trip Through the Universe
by Alison & Kayla
During the 2019 Summer Study DO-IT program, we had the unique experience of going to the planetarium on the UW campus. When we arrived, we were escorted to a large circular room, rimmed with a long circular bench. After we sat down, we were all surprised at how comfortable the seats and atmosphere of the room were. The room was dimly lit and set the mood for exploring outer space. Several projectors around the room projected images on the domed ceiling, displaying the entire night sky.
In the presentation, we learned about our solar system and the individual planets within it. We even went beyond our solar system, and at the end of our presentation, we zoomed out to where we could get a view of the whole known universe. The technology enabled us to zoom through the sky and make it appear as though the stars were coming towards us. Once, we even flew through Jupiter and saw all its moons. Our presenter was not an instructor at the college, but a student who has attended the college for three years while studying astronomy. We were all impressed by how engaged he was with us and how passionate he was about the subject. Instead of using complex scientific words that he would know, but that we might not understand, he taught us the new term, and explained clearly what it was. One of the most interesting facts that we learned was that there may be different forms of life on planets or moons that do not require water to sustain them. Our questions were always welcomed, and the speaker made the presentation personal: including sharing what his favorite planets were, or what he found to be the most unique or fascinating about certain elements of the universe. He explained that although scientists have a vast knowledge of outer space they are far from knowing everything, and he emphasized the importance of research and continuous study of our galaxy.
This was one of our favorite places we were able to go during the week, because the experience of being in a pitch black room, zooming through the stars and planets, is unlike anything we have been able to experience: even in school. The visual sensation was like flying through space, and it felt like you were really there while you were learning. We all came out of the planetarium more educated and informed about intergalactic sciences than we had been before. Everyone was able to learn something, it was a comfortable learning atmosphere, and the technology, engaging speaker, and fascinating things we learned, made it a mind-blowing presentation and experience.
Microsoft Trip
by Paula & Norma
On the first Friday of Summer Study, we took a trip to the Microsoft campus in Redmond, WA and participated in many activities led by Microsoft employees. First, in a 30-minute challenge, DO-IT Scholars split into small groups to design a robotic dog that could make the lives of people with disabilities easier. One common idea was that the dog could detect objects and sounds nearby and notify its owner in various ways. This activity simulated how an innovative company like Microsoft creates and designs new products.
After that, we had a presentation about Microsoft and how its products have accessibility tools to help people with disabilities. Next, we listened and asked questions to a panel with Microsoft employees who have a disability. A few of them have been a part of the DO-IT program. They discussed about what designers, engineers, and program managers do as a team and explained their journeys and struggles and how Microsoft has helped them continue their work.
For lunch, Microsoft provided us with a taco bar, which was really nice. We had tacos with black beans, rice, flour and corn tortillas, beef, and chicken. They had many drink options available, like coffee, tea, soda, diet soda, coconut water, creams for coffee, milk, and chocolate milk.
After lunch, our group headed across campus to the Xbox Inclusive Tech Lab. The goal of the lab is to make sure everyone can play games. We learned and talked about the Xbox Adaptive Controller, which is for people who have difficulty playing with a normal controller. Bryce, who works at the lab, showed us some videos of people using the Xbox Adaptive Controller to show how it can help someone with a disability that makes it hard to hold a regular game controller. A regular Xbox controller can pair up with one of the adaptive controllers to work as one whole controller. The adaptive controller also can connect to many different customizable switches. We listened to a 3D surround sound system, which helps people who are deaf or hard of hearing. It brings a whole new level to movies, TV, and music. After the presentation, everyone was allowed to play video games on Xbox consoles and PCs using many types of controllers. We chose to play Minecraft on the PC, which was fun. Other Scholars chose to play different games, such as soccer and other sports.
Although we hope next year's Scholars can go to the Microsoft Store and Visitor Center, we still enjoyed the whole visit to the campus.
The Zoo
by Rohan & Carlin
We visited the Woodland Park Zoo on Sunday, July 21, 2019. It was very hot out. We started our adventure at the South entrance and made our way up the main loop towards the tropical rainforest exhibits. We came across the Ring-tail Lemurs after a couple of minutes of walking. They seemed to be sleeping at first until a few minutes after we arrived at their exhibit, at which point they began to stir, groom, and stared at us from a shaded area atop a hill.
After about 10 we started down the trail again, until we came across some Red Ruffed Lemurs lazily lounging in the sun on some low hanging branches over a stream. We soon moved on. Eventually, we the den of the jaguar who was prowling about as if they were doing laps around the enclosure.
After we saw the jaguar, we then went on to the gorilla exhibit, where we saw one of the gorillas lying asleep in an area near the glass. When we got to the gorilla's exhibit, we were very surprised to find out that the Mountain Gorilla is critically endangered; there are only around 1,000 Mountain gorillas left in the wild.
After we were done visiting with the Gorillas we passed by the penguin exhibit by the West entrance there were seagulls and a great crane hanging out there as well, none of them were doing much so we decided to go get lunch. This was a small insight into our trip to the Woodland Park Zoo.
National Park Accessibility
by Merritt, Jacob & David
Although many of the National Parks under the National Park Service have accessibility for those with disabilities, the main US National Park Service website has a lack of information on which parks are accessible and ones that are not. When you go to the accessibility link on the website, the page directs you to find relevant information concerning accessibility on the “Plan Your Visit" feature” of each individual park’s website. While some of the national park pages we reviewed do not provide this critical information, others gave the information in helpful detail. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee is a great example. They include “alerts,” detailed information on how to access the visitors center and camp/picnic grounds, information on park wide faciilties that includes parking permits, amphitheaters, auto tours, camping, horse camp and trails. While the sites that include this level of detail are great, not having the ability to quickly search which National Parks are accessible by using the “Find a Park” feature on the main website adds an additional barrier which causes a social barrier for people with disabilities something that merely should not exist in our society. Every park page should contain detailed information about accessibility to ensure equal rights and access.
Last year, I went on a trip to Yellowstone, and was given an “Access Passport" permit that allowed free entry into the park. In order to obtain this, I had to go to my local ranger station and bring some form of ID along with diagnostic documentation from my physician. Any U.S. citizen with a permanent disability may obtain one. For more information about the "Access Pass", see About the Access Pass (in PDF) from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Last year in August, I went to North Cascades National Park as a member of the Youth Leadership Adventures program. Many of the teens there didn’t know I had autism until they saw my actions. They finally realized, got to know me and became my friends as we trekked and camped through the scenery of the forests. They also learned how autism can be wonderful and is unique.
by Grant & Ellie
In life there is no cavalry to save you when the treatment that you receive is different from everyone else, but a targeted mentoring program just might do the trick. DO-IT Scholars strive to become truly sensitive to the navigation of their disabilities as aspiring college students, but sometimes learning how to navigate each other is the most important aspect of success. With camaraderie so much is possible.
Being a Phase 1 Scholar can be stressful, lonely, and confusing when you first arrive. You’re away from home with all new people, unsure of what’s to come. We asked Emma, Intern at DO-IT Summer Study 2019, “How did you feel as a phase one, awkward, excited, left out?” They said, “When I was a Phase 1, I was really shy, I felt out of place but once I started to get to know everyone else I felt better.” “It was also hard being away from home for the first time for two weeks.” For a lot of us this is the first time being away from our families, since most summer camps and programs either can’t handle our disabilities or think we are too much of a liability. Being with people, especially people you don’t know, all day everyday only escalates anxieties.
We also asked “Do you feel more comfortable coming back as a Phase 2 Scholar or an Intern?”, she said “Yes, I’ve known the people in my group for two years now so it’s much easier” and “once I figured out what the program stood for and that they were here to help us succeed I felt like I became a part of the community”.
All the staff and interns try to make you feel included and welcome, but we all retain some level of anxiety, especially before getting to know the other Scholars. Often large group activities and icebreakers that are meant to allow people to get to know each other can have the opposite effect those of us with anxiety or Autism, causing us to feel more isolated. In order to help other people feel more comfortable, talk to them individually and let them know you want to hear what they have to say. We asked Emma, “What was one thing that made a difference in making you feel like part of the group at DO-IT?”. She said, “My roommate Anna, on the first day she got up and said, ‘let's introduce ourselves to the group’, so there was someone bringing me along and making sure I didn't just sit by myself”. Just having someone to look out for you, can really help you feel like part of a community.
We then asked, “Do you feel like DO-IT has helped you become your best self?”. She said, “Yes, because I feel more comfortable with having my disability after going through this program because everybody is the same in the fact that they are different.” It is helpful to know that everybody feels nervous their first year some people just show it more than others. DO-IT is a wonderful program that helps prepare you for college, having a career, and gives you a network of support, but some of the most important benefits comes from being around people like you and learning that you’re not alone.
Adaptive Sports: An Opportunity Behind the Scenes
by Sam & Aidan
A basketball player goes for a layup. A soccer player spins past an opponent. Two rugby players collide, fighting for the ball. Now, I’m guessing you’re imagining a game with players, standing and running, a game with players who are exact specimens of athletes. But what if I told you that I was describing adaptive sports? Would that influence how you saw the situation? Nearly 1 in 5 people in the US have a disability, yet disability sports make up a small part of televised sports and lack as much prominence as their abled counterparts. That’s an issue. From the vast benefits for persons with disabilities to the general improvement of acceptance in the world around us, there are many benefits to both adaptive sports and their increased popularity.
Generally defined, adaptive sports are sports that are modified to allow people with physical and sometimes mental disabilities to participate in them.Typically consisting of sports like wheelchair basketball or soccer, adaptive sports provide opportunities for everyone to become involved in sport, and even obscure options like sled hockey are provided. It’s a great benefit to society in addition to persons with disabilities. However, it’s not just competitive sports that are included-even simple recreational activities, like biking, or horseback riding, are available.
One common example of an adaptive sport is that of wheelchair soccer, also referred to as power soccer. It’s known as the first competitive wheelchair sport, and has an Official US Federation, competitive leagues, and even a World Cup. Power soccer, as it is now known, was first created in France during the 1970’s, when a few teachers attempted to provide a game for some of their disabled students. Though it originally started with an old basketball and boards along the courtside, wheelchair soccer has quickly expanded, and in France, the country of its birth, the sport has over thirty teams in three divisions. Though the original French game varied from the US-adopted ‘power soccer,’ in January 2005, representatives from seven countries got together to form the IPFA, International Powerchair Football Association. Nowadays, over 250 teams compete under the IPFA banner. Power soccer is also officially listed in the Olympics. Wheelchair soccer is quite similar to so-called normal soccer, and as such, many of the rules stay the same, from a goal having to completely cross the line to be counted to a similar timeline (though in wheelchair soccer there are two halves of 25 minutes each compared to two halves of 45 minutes for soccer.) However, there are a few key differences.
First among them is that the game is played on a standard size regulation basketball court. Another changed rule is that the sport is played between 4 players on each team, with 1 player being the goalie for each. In addition, the ball must be moved by the wheelchair-moving it with anything else would be considered a violation except for in instances of unintentional movement with the feet or hands. Throw-ins also follow the typical system, and that comprises the few rules that are changed between wheelchair soccer and soccer. Going into the game in the US, Team USA are holders of the Power Soccer World Championship. Locally, there are multiple conferences (leagues) that comprise around 10 teams each. With names like the Atlanta Sting and Tidewater Piranhas, there are many options depending on which city you are in. There are four main conferences, with multiple non-conference teams who are not registered to a conference at the moment. With participation all across the country, it may come as a shock that there is not a Washington team in any of the professional conferences-however, if you live in the area then there are likely to be multiple semi-professional teams around Seattle and beyond. (If you are interested in participating near Seattle, try Seattle Adaptive Sports. The organization provides a power soccer program.) Power soccer provides an opportunity for those with disabilities to get involved in sports, and as Seattle Adaptive Sports says, aims to provide, “life changing moments through sports.” Wheelchair soccer has yielded enormous benefits to persons with disabilities, giving them a chance to compete in high level sports, and the hope is that it will only grow.
Another popular disability sport is wheelchair basketball. Sam Hahn, who plays the game himself, discusses his participation in the sport. Wheelchair basketball is my favorite sport to play. It’s not much different from actual basketball, the only big difference is you are sitting in a wheelchair. The rules of wheelchair basketball are very close to normal basketball, the only couple of rules that are different is that we don’t have double dribble, but we do have fouls, if you push your chair into someone that is a foul, and you can’t back into someone’s chair. Other than that, there are travels, much like actual basketball. The way you get a travel call is when you dribble the ball once and push more than twice, then that is a travel, besides that, most of the rules are pretty much the same, like three in the key, where you hit someone on the hand when they about to shoot a basketball, and last we also get to shoot free throws when we get a certain amount of fouls.
That is pretty much all there is to wheelchair basketball on the rule side. The wheelchair you are using to play this sport is much different from the wheelchair you use daily. The chair you use is very sturdy and is designed to not fall easily unless you push your chair and run into someone else’s chair or go too fast and can’t stop. The people that play wheelchair basketball are very passionate about the sport, they would do their best in every practice, so they can do well in a tournament. And that is why I like to play wheelchair basketball.
Despite the many sports available to persons with disabilities, often these sports are complete unknowns. If one were to ask a random person on the street, odds are that that person would not recognize the term power soccer, nor would they be aware of the opportunities, teams, and organizations that comprise the sport. It is a disappointing truth that these sports are relative unknowns, not just because of the opportunities that they provide but also because of missed opportunities for the many disabled persons, people who, like I, have probably experienced that feeling of not being able to participate in something that comes easily to many around us. It’s a bitter feeling of disappointment, but there are options available to participate! It’s a failure of society that such sports aren’t emphasized and advertised, but all it takes is a collective effort to surmount this issue. It’s one that writers, in covering disabled sports, can participate in. It’s one that activists, that politicians, that sports figures can all contribute to. And perhaps, with a concerted push, we can give adaptive sports the prominence that they deserve.
When we talk about sport, there are so many options you can choose like basketball, soccer, baseball, and American football, but what about if someone that have disability, what can they do? The truth is that there are many options, but we rarely think of them when we think of sport. And that is an issue. Some might say that adaptive sports are so different from ‘sport,’ which explains their lack of popularity and promotion. That, again, is an example of society’s obsession with perfection. Able-bodied sports may be considered the normal, but that’s only because society makes it so. Changing the definition is completely possible and completely valuable. People with disabilities are present, so it remains a disappointment that they are so often ignored. But that’s something we can change. In the end, adaptive sports are not so different from the ‘norm,’ so why shouldn’t they be made just as available and present?
