This is a lesson about Astrophysicist and Computer Scientist Dr. Wanda Diaz-Merced who is a blind scientist who studies the stars by listening to data converted into sound through a process called sonification. 

Sonification is the use of non-speech audio to convey information or perceptualize data. To put it more simply, Sonification is the process of using sound to convey information or turning data into sound. Sometimes, sonification can convey more detailed information better than visual representation can. 

Sighted and blind people use sonification to gather information. And blind people can use sonification to study the stars and the universe. 

This lesson can supplement Science units about Sound, Space, or Technology. It can even be adapted to supplement Music lessons about pitch and tone.

Image Description: The image is a digital artwork featuring a black and white photo of a Wanda Diaz Merced, who is wearing a headset with a microphone and appears to be speaking. She is set against a colorful, abstract background that includes a large orange circle, a smaller yellow circle, and a blue brushstroke. There are also various abstract shapes and patterns, including dots and lines, scattered around the image. On the left side, vertically, it says "SONIFICATION OF STARS" and on the right side, horizontally, it reads "WANDA DIAZ MERCED" in yellow text.

Including coloring pages and artwork in lessons (some of these allow you to use as clip art) that includes disability representation furthers the goal of regularizing disability by seeing it and offering opportunities to learn and ask questions.

Image Description: small images of the coloring books on a yellow background

Students will explore problem-solving by learning how scientist Joshua Miele and ballerina Krishna Washburn overcame challenges. They will then create their own invention - either practical or imaginative - through drawing, writing, or crafting a model. Afterward, they will be paired with a student interviewer who will either conduct a class interview or write a news article about their invention.

Image Description: “Creative Problem Solving with Joshua Miele and Krishna Washburn” in black text on a medium to light blue rectangle. The background of the image is a few dozen black question marks in various fonts, sizes and angles

Summary:
In this lesson, students will look at four different characterizations of autistic children in contemporary media. They will watch excerpts or videos featuring the characters, read about the characters, and study how they were created. They will then fill out an evaluation chart to analyze the different depictions. They will have a group discussion as a class and write a reflective response.

• Issues considered will include: character’s role within the show/movie; who was involved in writing/creating the characters; what public response has been; and so on. The lesson will conclude with a group discussion and students will complete a journal-style piece of writing as an exit ticket.

• The characters that the students will learn about are: 

  • Julia from the television show Sesame Street; 

  • Pablo from the television show Pablo;

  • the main character from a Pixar short called Loop;

  • Carl, from the show Carl the Collector.

Image Description: Upper left quadrant is Julia, a muppet with yellow skin and orange hair. Upper right quadrant shows the main character from Loop, a girl with brown skin and dark hair who is reaching with her hands to touch reeds. Bottom left quadrant shows Pablo, a hand-drawn boy with light skin standing on a green hill with a rainbow behind him. Bottom right quadrant shows Carl, an illustrated raccoon wearing an argyle sweater.

This unit focuses on the historical event that caused a ripple in the Deaf community, Deaf President Now. The unit includes three lessons, three projects, and a lot of fun! 

Image Description: Black and white photo of students holding a banner that says “Deaf Prez Now!”.

In this lesson, students will learn about data art, an art form that takes scientific or mathematical data and translates it into a visual art form such as a painting, drawing or sculpture. Using disability related statistical data from provided sources, they will create their own piece of data art. The students will also write short reflections on the artwork that they create. This lesson can function both as a standalone art exercise, or may be a useful closing exercise for a unit in math or science that focuses on statistics.

Image Description: Text at top of image in white says “Disability Data Art”. Image with a water like teal and pale yellow background and assorted shapes in various colors from the previous chart overlaid on the background.

In this lesson, students will be exposed to the artwork of Stephen Wiltshire. Wiltshire is from Britain and known for his large-scale detailed drawings of cityscapes. After learning about Wiltshire, who is autistic, students will have the opportunity to draw their own cityscape, inspired by Wiltshire’s art. For an extra geographic element, they can write facts about their city and create a bulletin board display. They will also consider how Wiltshire is often most widely described as a savant/genius, and how these words can create challenging stereotypes, both for the autistic community and for artists. For both, these words set up unrealistic expectations about who autistic people are/can be, and what art is/can be/how much training and practice is required to be an artist.

Image Description: Photo from behind a person wearing a dark jacket and a cap with headphones that is drawing on a large, detailed cityscape illustration. The drawing appears to be a bird's-eye view of a city with numerous buildings and streets.

In this lesson, students will learn about the paintings of Mary Duffy, a multidisciplinary artist from Ireland. Mary paints expressive landscapes, often inspired by the seashores. In this lesson, students will review her paintings, and be invited to create 2 pieces of artwork inspired by different elements of Mary Duffy’s practice. One will be done in the classroom, and a second will be done in nature, with direct observation (this may be assigned as homework, depending on the weather). Students will also be invited to reflect about issues of accessibility related to nature exploration and disabled people.

Image Description: A photo of Mary Duffy painting a canvas at the beach. She is seated, wearing a red dress, using her feet to paint the canvas in front of her on a short easel. The text “Expressive Landscapes: The Art of Mary Duffy” is at the top of the image.

In this lesson, students will learn about the art of Maud Lewis, a prolific Canadian folk artist who lived in rural Nova Scotia (Eastern Canada, near the Atlantic Ocean), and worked in the mid-20th century. She is now believed to have been born with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, but it was not diagnosed or treated in her lifetime. Students will learn about her artwork, rooted deeply in the place where she lived, and have the opportunity to keep a sketchbook for a week, and create a painting in Maud Lewis’ style that reflects their own local world. Students will also consider the complex intersections between disability, poverty and the arts that are embedded in Maud’s life story. 

Image Description: a painted clam shell that features a red birdhouse in the center, surrounded by colorful flowers and two blue birds on either side. The shell is mounted on a wooden background. The artist's name, "Maud Lewis," is visible on the shell.

In this lesson, students will learn about the paintings of Yayoi Kusama, an artist from Japan who is world-renowned for her immersive rooms and graphic paintings. Kusama lives in a supportive facility for people who live with psychiatric conditions, and has done so since the 1970s; the exact nature of her mental health support needs has not been disclosed to the public, but she has described experiencing hallucinations, anxiety, and pain in interviews. As part of this lesson, students will learn about different housing types for people of all abilities. Students will also be able to create either a painting or an infinity room (assignment can vary depending on your classroom materials). 

Image Description: A large pumpkin sculpture sits on the grass, yellow and covered in vertical rows of black polka dots in varying sizes

Using Amanda Leduc’s book “Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space,” as inspiration students will consider different representations of disability in fairy tales and classic stories. They will watch an interview and a reading with Leduc, read 2 texts referenced in her book and learn to identify issues with how disabled people are presented and stereotyped. Students will produce two written assignments. One is an update to a classic story (either Beauty and the Beast or the Little Mermaid); the students will rewrite the classic tale to center and honor experiences of all bodies and abilities. The second assignment is a choice assignment. Students will either rewrite a second tale, or write a 1 page autobiographical story in the style of a fairy tale. 

Image Description: The cover of the book “Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space” by Amanda Leduc

Students will consider the icon of the person in a wheelchair, the “International Symbol of Access.” They will learn about its history and the recent Accessibility Icon project that updated it. They will also consider other disability symbols, both in the US and internationally (such as symbols that indicate Deafness, Hidden Disabilities, and Autism, and how they are used/not used in other countries). 

Art extensions include photography assignments to document iconography in their school and in everyday life and new symbol-making where students make new symbols that could replace the wheelchair, and be more inclusive.

Geography extension is a study of symbols and use/news about them in other countries. Students will be assigned a country to study either individually or in groups, and explore disability iconography in that place. This activity would work well as a library-based extension as well.

Image Description: a white and blue reserved parking sign with a traditional wheelchair accessible symbol and a clear backed sticker of the new Accessible Icon in red pasted over it.

In this lesson, students will learn about alt text, and image descriptions that help people who have low vision or are blind to use the internet. Then, they will practice using the feature.

Image Description: "The Learning Network Teaching & Learning with the New York Times" Below the text is the Mona Lisa with 3 examples of alt text descriptions from Microsoft Word, Facebook and Wikipedia.

By experimenting with stenciling, one technique Eref Aramagan uses to create his Art, the student will become aware of a way by which visual art can be created by use of touch.

Image Description: Painting of brightly colored butterflies made using stencils by Eref Aramagan

In this lesson students will read a 2-page graphic novel format story about the Gang of 19 and “We Will Ride” action, and how they fought for equal rights for the disabled.

Image Description: Graphic Novel cover showing protesters in purple black and off white on a green background with the title “Colorful History Comics #31 We Will Ride” underneath the comic.