At the DCC, we prioritize proactive access for all of our events. Below are some things you can expect at DCC events and how they reflect our larger priorities of disability community, education and advocacy.  

The Disability Cultural Center is open to all, regardless of connection to disability. However, some of our events are designed for people who share a specific disability identity or role at UT. Please read the event description to ensure an event is a good fit for your role and identity. Please note that a formal diagnosis or documentation is never required to participate in DCC events. We trust people to self-select into the programs and events that match their connection to disability and role at UT. 

Access at DCC Events

Disability Community: We value building community at DCC events so most events start with participant introductions.

• We typically ask participants to share their names and connection to campus. Depending on the event, we may also ask participants to share their connection to disability (personal, professional, academic or any combination of these) and/or their interest in the topic.
• Participants can always choose what they want to disclose or include in their introduction.
• If the event is virtual, participants can share introductions in the chat or on screen and can choose to be on or off camera (or move between these throughout the event).
• Because we want to create a sense of community, we do not allow observers at our events. People who want to learn and engage are welcome and no prior knowledge or experience is needed. 

Disability Education: We try to model best practices for accessibility and universal design for learning at all our events. This means our events will contain the following accessibility features:

• Captions will be turned on for all videos and virtual events. We will provide visual description of any visual content.
• For virtual events, we read any comments shared in the chat out loud to ensure they are included in the conversation.
• We ask participants to identify themselves with “This is [your name]” before speaking so everyone can follow the conversation as it moves from person to person.
• We send out reminders and instructions for individual events via email and send follow up emails with any links or materials that were shared during the event.
• ASL interpreters will be provided upon request (we appreciate at least 3 days’ notice to secure these services).
• Physical locations will always be wheelchair accessible and have available and accessible seating. Doors will either be propped open or have automatic buttons.
• If food is provided, we will always provide gluten-free and vegan options and will always have water and straws available.
• Masks, hand sanitizer and fidgets will be provided at in-person events.
• Accommodation requests will be included in our event RSVPs.
• Events will be hosted in a hybrid format whenever possible to allow participation by the greatest number of people with different access needs.

We hope these access features allow everyone to fully participate, as well as models how to incorporate these practices into other settings (classes, organizations, meetings, etc.) 

Disability Advocacy: While we do our best to integrate accessibility into every aspect of our events, we know we can always improve. We welcome individual accommodation requests from participants as well as suggestions that can be incorporated more broadly. We often provide a time for additional access needs to be raised during our events, but these also can also be requested ahead of time or suggested at the conclusion of an event. We appreciate feedback on how we can continue to improve our programs and events.  

We hope this page helps you feel prepared to participate in DCC programs and events!