In Tennessee, 1.6 million individuals with disabilities experience barriers to accessing the same education, housing, transportation, and health care as their peers. The Tennessee General Assembly has proclaimed March 11 to be #DisabilityAdvocacyDayTN, to honor the importance of advocacy in the lives of Tennesseans with disabilities and to improve access to equal opportunities across the state. From diabetes to depression, to Down Syndrome and everything in between, on Disability Advocacy Day we celebrate the accomplishments and advocacy of the incredibly diverse disability community in Tennessee.
We invite you to be an advocate for accessibility. To learn about the daily challenges faced by members of your community who are living with a disability, check out the following list of accessibility/disability-related books, movies, games, VR apps, and Ted Talks. Many of these resources were provided by the UT sponsors of Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2023, which takes place on May 18. GAAD focuses specifically on digital access and inclusion.
Virtual Reality games at Hodges
Embodied Labs virtual-reality simulation apps are available at the Studio in Hodges Library (portraying Alzheimer’s, macular degeneration, high frequency hearing loss, Parkinson’s, social isolation, and other conditions).
Movies
Love on the Spectrum (Netflix)
Atypical (Netflix – autism spectrum)
Girl Interrupted (multiple commercial outlets and DVD at Hodges – adolescent mental illness)
A Beautiful Mind (multiple commercial outlets – mental illness)
Gattaca (multiple commercial outlets and DVD at Hodges – sci-fi eugenics)
Deaf U (Netflix – story of Gallaudet)
I am Sam (Prime Video – intellectual disabilities)
The Theory of Everything (Prime Video – Stephen Hawking/physical disabilities)
