October was Disability Awareness Month at Madison College, and in its honor Disability Resource Services hosted three viewings of the documentary “Deej.”
Disability Awareness Month is Madison College’s own version of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The documentary “Deej” centers on DJ “Deej” Savarese, a gifted writer who is a nonspeaking autistic, and deals with his transition into college life.
“This month-long celebration provides opportunities to share, learn and grow in the context of celebrating the stories and accomplishments of people with disabilities,” Disability Resource and Testing and Assessment Services Director, Scott Ritter said after one showing. “Disability Resource Services has the great privilege of being in the ‘story-telling’ business; the stories students bring to us, the co-authorship we experience with them as they learn to self-author their future is the greatest privilege a professional could ever ask for.”
“What a beautiful story we were treated to with the film ‘Deej’,” Ritter said.
“Deej” is Peabody award winning documentary, released in 2017 and is part of PBS’s America Reframed. Savarese is the credited writer of the documentary and narrates it. Since its release, he has graduated from Oberlin College and is an activist for nontraditionally speaking people as well as a writer and public speaker.
“For the first time we were able to witness and experience the world of an individual with autism who is nonverbal in his own words,” Ritter said. “It is remarkable and should serve as an inspiration and a reminder of what is truly possible; teamwork, trust, creativity, and above all unconditional advocacy and support is what drove both Deej’s family and himself to amazing heights.”
An in-person screening of “Deej” was held on Tuesday, Oct. 19. Virtual screenings of the documentary were held on Thursday, Oct. 21 and Friday, Oct. 22. Each screening was attended by a mixture of both faculty and students.
Ritter spoke at the end of each one while also inviting audience members to engage in a discussion about the film. Conversations ranged from how the various themes of the film applied to Madison College to audience members general feelings about the film.
During the month of Oct. at Madison College Disability Awareness Month is held congruently with National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
National Disability Employment Awareness Month was officially declared by Congress in 1988. It is a campaign that raises awareness about disability employment issues and celebrates the contributions of workers with disabilities.
Comparably, Disability Awareness Month’s aim is to increase awareness as well as promote independence, integration and inclusion of all people with disabilities in society.
Disability Awareness Month has now been celebrated at Madison College for over 15 years.
While speaking about “Deej,” Ritter referred to equitable and equal access as the backbone of the work done at Madison College. He also spoke on the American Disabilities Act with specific attention paid to Section 504 which protects individuals with qualified disabilities from discrimination. He noted that such laws provide individuals access to the opportunity to pursue their dreams in college, before noting the unique access offered by “Deej”.
“The ‘access’ is into Deej’s world; into his brilliance, his art and passion as well as into his love for his family and for other human beings,” Ritter said.