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What's on for Disability History Month 2023

Disability-related information stall
Weekly stall

As well as these events there will be a stall outside Saw See Hock on everything disability.
  You can visit the stall on:
- 15 November
- 22 November
- 29 November
- 6 December 

3 volunteers standing behind a stall full of cakes, and snacks
 Say hello to our
 volunteers who can chat
 to you about anything 
 disability-related. We have a number of resources to give away too, such as leaflets
 and sunflower lanyards; 
 plus free cakes! 

LSE is proud to be observing UK Disability History Month (DHM). DHM is an annual event creating a platform to focus on the history and continued fight for equality and human rights for disabled people in the UK.

This year, DHM is running from 16 November to 16 December.

The EDI Team has collaborated with internal and external partners to collate a programme of events and activities for UKDHM at LSE, which we are honoured to present below:

Talking to employers about your mental health (for students) - Wednesday 22 November, 4.00 - 5.30pm

Location: Microsoft Teams

This virtual session is part of LSE Careers 'Support for disabled students' programme.

In it you will hear from two PwC representatives discussing the sharing of information of mental health challenges from the employer side of the conversation.

We will also have two speakers who have mental health challenges sharing their own experiences of being open about this during the recruitment process and at work, how this was received and adjustments they have which help at work.

Find out more about the event, and book your place  here.

Mental Health 'Lunch and Learn' (for Staff) - Wednesday 22 November

 Location: TBC

 More details to be confirmed shortly.

LSE Library Archive Drop-in (for all) - Thursday 23 November, 4.00 - 6.00pm 

Location: LSE Library Gallery

Join us for an early evening sneak peek at the archives in celebration of Disability History Month with LSE's DAWN! Archives on display will include materials of suffragette Rosa May Billinghurst, papers from the Maternity Alliance Disability Working Group (now Maternity Action, maternity rights charity), GEMMA newsletters, Gay Men's Disabled Group newsletters, the Disablement Income Group (DIG) and more!

Find out more here.

Book a place to register your interest and receive reminders about the day or just drop in and stay as long as you like!

Register Here

RNIB Interactive Presentation (for all) - Tuesday 28 November, 1.00 - 2.00pm

Location: The Community Space

We’re delighted to welcome Lara, Renu and Jay from the RNIB (the Royal National Institute for Blind People) during LSE’s celebration of Disability History Month. LSE staff and Students are welcome to join the interactive session that they will be hosting from 1-2pm on 28 November in the School’s new Community Space, Saw Swee Hock building.

They will be discussing how blind and partially sighted students, customers and staff members can be supported, what resources are available and you will get a chance to experience what it's like to have sight loss too. 

Register Here

Library Buddying Support Cafe (for students) - Friday 01 December, 11.00am - 1.00pm

Location: The Community Space

Come and meet the Library staff, who provide 1-2-1 buddying partnerships for disabled students. Find out more about the service and the support this provides you with.

Booking for this event is not required!

LSE Manager Forum: Demystifying Disability in the Workplace (for staff) - Tuesday 05 December, 11.00am - 12.00pm

 Location: Online

Do you have line management responsibilities at LSE? If so, please join us for the launch of the new monthly online LSE Manager Forum: Demystifying Disability in the Workplace, hosted by Lucy Mu, the new Staff Disability and Mental Health Adviser, and supported by the HR Partnering Team.

These forums are for LSE managers to come and share their experiences, tips and good practice in relation to supporting disabled staff. The forums are also a place to talk about the challenges associated with navigating systems and processes such as Occupational Health and Access to Work. 

Every month, themes attributed to each session will provide a focus for discussion and managers are encouraged to bring any themes they would like to discuss.

You are welcome to join for as long as you want, to listen in, ask questions, or join a discussion. There is no need to register in advance - click the button below on the day to access the meeting.

Click here to join the meeting

Details of the Demystifying Disability sessions will also be part of the new Disability Toolkit which will be going live in the near future!

Please get in touch via l.h.mu@lse.ac.uk if you have any questions; or would like to get further details on the upcoming sessions in 2024.

Entrepreneurship panel (for students) - Wednesday 06 December, 4.00 - 5.30pm

 Location: Online

This virtual session is part of LSE Careers 'Support for disabled students' programme.

This event, for disabled and neurodivergent students, will provide insights and advice on starting a business or a side-hustle. Come along to hear from successful disabled graduates who will share their stories on starting their own businesses and will provide advice on how you can maximise your chances of success as an entrepreneur.

If you would prefer to send in a question by email or if you require any adjustments to access this event, please email Edmund Lewis, Careers Consultant at LSE Careers: e.d.lewis@lse.ac.uk by Monday 4 December, 5pm.

Register for your place here




Deaf/Hard of Hearing Cafe (for all) - Thursday 07 December, 3.00 - 4.00pm

 Location: the new LSE Community Space.

Join us for the launch of the new Deaf/Hard of Hearing Café!

After having recently started to wear hearing aids, Lorna Severn, Graduate Admissions Administrator in the Department of Economics, recognised the significance of connecting with others who have faced similar experiences, and fostering a supportive community. She had the great idea to bring together LSE employees and students experiencing deafness or are hard of hearing.

This initiative aims to create a platform for individuals who live, or struggle, with deafness and hearing loss to feel welcome to connect and share their experiences. You are also welcome to join us if you do not yourself live with deafness or hard of hearing but wish to understand more about the life experiences of those who do.

This new venture is supported by the LSE Library, Human Resources Policy Team, Equality Diversity and Inclusion and the staff Disability and Wellbeing Network (DAWN), emphasising our commitment to creating an inclusive and supportive environment for all members of the LSE community.

All are welcome, light refreshments will be available and also an induction loop. Attendees are also welcome to bring a craft project, such as crochet or knitting, if they would like to.

Please contact Lucy Mu (l.h.mu@lse.ac.uk) or Lorna Severn (L.Severn@lse.ac.uk ) if you have any questions or have any adjustment needs. We hope to see you there!

Disability History Month resources from the LSE Library

This fantastic page contains links to free resources; and LSE archives and databases. (Note that the page may need a minute to load)

There are specific LSE resources in a section on Alf Morris. The LSE holds the archive of his work as an MP legislating for disability rights. You can also see links to databases where you can find journal articles and government papers on the topic.

 

LSE Manager Forum: Demystifying Disability in the Workplace

Do you have line management responsibilities at LSE?

The new monthly online LSE Manager Forum: Demystifying Disability in the Workplace are for LSE managers to come and share their experiences, tips and good practice in relation to supporting disabled staff. The forums are also a place to talk about the challenges associated with navigating systems and processes such as Occupational Health and Access to Work. 

Every month, themes attributed to each session will provide a focus for discussion and managers are encouraged to bring any themes they would like to discuss. In 2024, sessions will be themed around the topics below.

Upcoming themes:

  • Access to work
  • Reasonable Adjustments
  • Support and adjustments for neurodiverse employees
  • Inclusive practices in the workplace
  • Digital Accessibility and Assistive Technology
  • Support and adjustments for employees with mental health conditions

Further details with information for all upcoming sessions including dates and meeting links are on this webpage.   

Here is a recording of the initial presentation introducing the LSE Manager Forum and also providing a little more detail about the facilitator's role (Lucy Mu) as Staff Disability and Mental Health Adviser.    

 


Ensuring events are accessible


We encourage you to organise your own events for DHM! However when doing so remember to consider how to make the event accessible to people with disabilities.

In-person events

For in-person events, click here for basic information on physical access, and hearing loops.

The LSESU has also produced a comprehensive checklist to use when both planning an event and during an event. 

Online events

There are various things you can consider when ensuring online teaching is accessible to disabled students. The same considerations apply to online events. 

Live transcripts and subtitles can now be generated automatically when using Zoom. Learn how to set these up for your event. Alternatively you can organise our external supplier (121 Captions) to provide high quality live captioning.

Teams also provides options for captioning and transcriptions, but these can only be turned on by attendees once the meeting has started. You also need to make this option available to attendees before the meeting. If an alternative to Teams cannot be used, make attendees aware of this option and how to use it if they so wish.

Supporting materials

Whether your event is online or in-person, any supporting material you may use in the event should also be accessible. LSE has a practical guide to creating accessible resources here.


Share your recommended reads for Disability History Month 2023
 UK Disability History Month banner; showing a variety of disabled and non-disabled people on two sides of a fence. The fence has a sign on it saying 'Break Down the Barriers). It also has the words 'segregation', 'isolation', 'eugenics', 'discrimination'

LSE Review of Books is putting together a community reading list for UK Disability History Month.

They're looking for your recommendations of books about disability and books by disabled authors. As this year's UKDHM has a special focus on the experiences of disablement among children and youth, books relating to this area are especially encouraged!

If you'd like to contribute, email lsereviewofbooks@lse.ac.uk by the end of Sunday 18 November with the book title, author and edition along with your name and a short note on why you're recommending it. Fiction and nonfiction submissions are welcome.


Further Resources

Explore the information below to get guidance on 'My Adjustments'; ensuring online teaching is accessible to disabled students; and giving feedback to, and marking the work of, neurodiverse students.

You can also read guidance on inclusive teaching for students with:

  • Specific Learning Difficulties, Autistic Spectrum Disorders, or AD(H)D
  • visual impairments, or those who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
  • medical conditions, physical or mobility impairments
  • mental health difficulties

Share

We encourage you to organise your own events for DHM! However when doing so remember to consider how to make the event accessible to people with disabilities

UK Disability History Month banner; showing a variety of disabled and non-disabled people on two sides of a fence. The fence has a sign on it saying 'Break Down the Barriers). It also has the words 'segregation', 'isolation', 'eugenics', 'discrimination'

UK Disability History Month: More information
Our People Strand Promo

Disability and Wellbeing Network (DAWN) staff network
Two students sit outside

Disability and Mental Health Service for students