Physical and Occupational Therapy students pose with Mitchell Batavia, Chair of the Physical Therapy Department (third from right) and Gary Karp (center) and after his speaking engagement where he talked about life after rehabilitation and the important roles therapists play.

The NYU Council for the Study of Disability hosted a special talk by Gary Karp, titled ‘Life on Wheels: Living Fully with Mobility Issues’ on April 10^th. Karp is a Spinal Cord Injury Hall of Fame educator and has been a wheelchair user since injuring his spinal cord in 1973 at the age of 18. He has written several books on dealing with disability including, ‘Choosing a Wheelchair –A guide for Optimal Independence’ and ‘Life on Wheels- The A-Z Guide to Living Fully with Mobility Issues’ and more.  At the event, Karp spoke about the significance of resilience and activism in the face of traumatic injury, and the emerging paradigms of modern disability. “It is important for our students to meet people with disabilities who live their lives with the same successes, interests, and goals that we all have,” said  Anita Perr, a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, who is also a part of the NYU Council for the Study of Disability. “Education needs to focus on participation and satisfaction, rather than on dysfunction. These programs are a way for students to meet people that they might not meet during their day-to-day education at NYU,” she added.

The talk was co-sponsored by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the NYU Steinhardt Departments’ of Occupational and Physical Therapy, NYU Poly Integrated Digital Media, NYU Tisch’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP), and the Ability Lab at MAGNET.

Images by Alex Leff (AlexGhana.blogspot.com)

A cohort of eighteen NYU students learned how disability is viewed in Ghana during a January Intersession course, ‘Disability in Global Context’, taught by the NYU Steinhardt Department of Occupational Therapy at the NYU Accra campus. Led by Anita Perr, Clinical Associate Professor at the NYU Steinhardt Department of Occupational Therapy, the students  represented the wide variety of  programs at NYU Steinhardt including: Early Childhood and Childhood Education, Special Education, Educational Leadership, International Education, Occupational Therapy, Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Drama Therapy and Music Therapy. Students from the International Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy program at NYU Wagner and the Interactive Telecommunications program at NYU Tisch School of Arts also participated.

Students investigated the issues of physical access as well as environmental attributes like noise and crowds, in various settings such as the Makola market and the Accra business district. Visits were arranged to health, disability, and vocational training centers, and to general education settings where students learned about the services that are available to people with disabilities in Accra.

Kids paying close attention at La Enobal School

A series of guest lectures by local Ghanaians augmented the site visits to allow students to learn about religion, family life, and non-profit organizations in Ghana. Prior to visiting an autism center, a school for deaf children, and a typical public school, Professor Akosua Anyidoho, Director of NYU Accra, provided an overview of the educational system in Ghana.

Students learn about the treatment of African men and women who were taken into slavery at the seemingly picturesque setting of Elmina Slave castle

It wasn’t all work and no play for the students. They participated in a number of non-academic activities as well. The group traveled to a national park and hiked the canopy walk, visited a wildlife refuge and learned how traditional African beads are made. A visit to the historic site of the slave ‘castle’, Elmina, proved to be very memorable.

Since the students came from different academic disciplines and had different life experiences, they were able to learn from each other and consequently meld into a cohesive group. Their willingness to share their own experiences and perspectives helped them to build on their interests, by exploring new ways of thinking about their own fields in relation to disability.