This document outlines a two-day ableism workshop with the following objectives: (1) give participants a basic understanding of ableism as a system of oppression, (2) explore how ableism manifests on individual, institutional and societal levels, and (3) provide ideas for challenging ableism. The workshop uses discussion, activities and videos to define ableism, examine privileges, consider social constructs of disability, and brainstorm allyship and action. Participants are encouraged to reflect on their own experiences and roles in perpetuating or challenging ableism, and to commit to specific action steps toward creating a more just and inclusive world.

1. Ableism Workshop Outline
(1 hour, 40 min)
Greeting & Opening (20 minutes)
● Introductions: Name, title, house
● Go-around – “What interests do you have in this topic?” “Why did you
choose to be in this session?” “What are you hoping to learn today?”
“What are your expectations of today’s workshop?”
● Review learning objectives
○ Participants will leave with:
■ A basic understanding of ableism as a system of oppression.
■ An exploration of our roles in perpetuating or challenging
ableism on individual, institutional, societal/cultural levels.
■ Ideas for taking action to challenge ableism.
● Disclaimer: This is just the tip of the iceberg and we are just beginning the
conversation. Be on the lookout for other opportunities to engage in this
topic further (ie, last year there was a class)
Get the Conversation Going (45 min) -
● What’s your disability story?
○ Each person will have 10 minutes to free write with the following as
guiding questions:
■ What are your first memories around disability?
■ What messages did you receive about disability?
■ What was your exposure or relationship to disability?
■ How do you think of your own ability/disability and what does
that mean to you?
■ How has that changed?
○ Take 5 minutes each to share with one another what you wrote
○ Large group report out (15 min)
■ What themes emerged from people’s stories?
● Define Ableism
○ Brainstorm definitions of ableism

2. ● Review definition of ableism (page 3)
● Let’s talk about language and its impact
○ ADA and History
■ https://www.ada.gov/ada_intro.htm
○ Levels & Types of Oppression
■ Exploring Ableism - Individual Levels -
● Review Ablebodied Privileges (page 5)
In Pairs:
● Complete the Exploring Ablebodied Privileges (page
7)
In Group:
● In what ways have you seen ableism exist on an
individual level?
● Have someone take note of the themes we hear:
○ What are the messages we received? How
have those challenged or affirmed your
assumptions, judgments and/or beliefs?
○ How did those impact our ideals and values?
Deepening the Dialogue (15 min)
● Exploring Ableism – Institutional and Societal/Cultural Levels (page 3)
○ In what ways have you seen ableism exist on an institutional level?
■ What are some examples you’ve experienced at Smith?
■ How does this impact a student’s success at Smith?
○ In what ways have you seen ableism exist on a societal or cultural level?
○ How did coming up with examples make you feel? Why?
○ How do we understand Ableism as a systemic issue?
○ What if disability were the norm and not the exception? What might that
look like? What might that feel like?
● Moving into Action Primer
○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K9Gg164Bsw
HOMEWORK:
Moving into Action (20 min)
● How do we start thinking about allyship?
● What does watching this clip make you feel?
● How do we create a more expansive understanding of this in the world?
● Why is creating a more accessible world benefit everyone and how can we start working
toward this?
Day 2: 1hour, 30 min.

3. ● Getting back into the space:
○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8XOyY54-Ew
■ Thoughts? Reactions?
● Connecting today to yesterday:
1. Were there any lingering thoughts/ questions/ reactions/ reflections on what we
2. covered yesterday?
3. Thinking about the video we watched at the end of the day and the questions we
left you with, what are your thoughts, reactions, questions?
4. How can we use the videos to start the conversation on allyship?
● Going back to Levels and Types of Oppression:
○ Exploring Ableism – Institutional and Societal/Cultural Levels (page 5)
■ In what ways have you seen ableism exist on an institutional level?
● What are some examples you’ve experienced at Smith?
● How does this impact a student’s success at Smith?
■ In what ways have you seen ableism exist on a societal or cultural
level?
■ How did coming up with examples make you feel? Why?
○ Social Constructs
■ How do we understand Ableism it as a systemic issue?
■ What if disability were the norm and not the exception? What might
that look like? What might that feel like?
● Social Constructions of Disability and Responses
Disability as individual deficit
Disabled people are flawed
Response:
● Isolate individuals from society

4. Disability is abnormal
Disability means contagion and danger
Disabled people cannot keep up, can’t
work
Disabled people are sick
Disabled people are dependent
Disabled people are less intelligent
● Excused from work and civic
engagement
● Need understanding
● Need compassion, care and
protection
● Disabled people need charity
● Disabled people need to be
cured
Disability as Difference
Disabled people are just like everyone
else
Disabled people a little different, but want
to be treated the same
Disabled people want to fit into society
Disabled people have same feelings,
dreams, goals, etc.
Disabled people may talk, walk, feel, or
think differently, but are still people
Personal challenges can be overcome
Response:
· See people as people first
· Need acceptance
· Need respect
· Need understanding
· Need access
· Need employment opportunities
· Need home, community and job
modifications
Disability as Diversity
Disabled people are unique
Disabled people have unique life
experiences
Disabled people have important and
unique contributions to diversity
Disabled people bring unique
perspectives
Disabled people have talents and
creativity
Disabled and Deaf people have culture
Disabled people are a minority group
Response:
· Value unique differences
· Promote understanding
· Showcase talents and creativity, art,
music, literature. Etc.
· Be inclusive of different perspectives
· Create inclusive physical and learning
environments
· Create Disability and Deaf culture
· Collaborate with other diverse groups
· Form disability community
Disability as a Civil Right
Disabled people want to live
independently
Disabled people want self-determination
Disabled people face discrimination
Disabled people are taxpayers,
Response:
· Comprehensive civil rights and
enforcement
· Organize for advocacy, political power,
and disability community.

5. consumers
Lack access to society, the environment
Lack access to jobs, health care,
education
Disabled people can become empowered
Disabled people as activist community.
Disabled people are a political group
Disabled people have a right to engage
and benefit from social, community, and
economic participation.
· Policies to promote independence and
dignity
· Community Services and supports
· Employment training and opportunities
· Education
· Access to technology and information
· Health insurance
· Equal to the built environment
· Access to medical/ mental health care
Disability as Social Justice
Disability is created by the global effects
of capitalism, including lack of health
care, public sanitation, and the casualties
of war.
Disabled people are marginalized,
disenfranchised, oppressed.
Disabled people are overrepresented in
prisons.
Disabled people are commodities in the
medical industrial complex.
Disabled people are subject to the social
and cognitive authority of medicine.
Disability intersects with other social
identities and issues that compound
effects.
Disabled people lack money, resources,
education, technology to function, work,
be healthy, to survive.
Disabled people are a minority group in
USA with civil rights that lack
enforcement.
All oppressed groups include Disabled
people.
Disabled people must have sovereignty
over their bodies and minds
Disabled people are powerful individually
and as a community with multi-faceted
identities and issues.
Response:
· Challenge power and privilege
· Value disability experience and create
interdependent, vibrant disability
community and disability culture
· Resources for community care
· Public health solutions that address
both causes of disability and the needs of
disabled people.
· Foreign and domestic policy that ends
violence and imprisonment
· Foreign spending that promotes health
and accessibility
· Exposure and disentanglement of
race, class and gender based disability
discrimination and vice versa
· Collaborate with other marginalized
people/groups for social change
· Respect for personal space, personal
agency, and integrity. Disability as
empowered identity.
· Domestic policy that promotes and
enforces civil rights
· Implement universal design solutions
worldwide that are compatible with
sustainability goals.
● Laura Rauscher – Smith College - 2014

6. ● Looking at Privilege and understanding the system of oppression that is Ableism:
○ There are some problematic parts of the handout on Privilege. As Laura
points out: “ people having different abilities to do things is not what we're talking about
when we talk about privilege. That's awareness and sensitivity to disability. What we're talking
about is the privilege that's conferred upon somebody by society because they don't have a
disability.”
■ Examples might be that nondisabled people can expect to go anywhere in the world
and rent a hotel room, an apartment, or buy a home that will be accessible for them.
■ Disabled people will have to expend money or wait for modifications to be made or
choose from the limited supply of accessible places.
■ A non-disabled person can walk into a library or bookstore and expect that they will
be able to read every book on the shelf because books are provided in print for
people who read print.
■ Disabled people are limited to a small number of books available in alternative
formats, (Braille or audio) or will have to wait until a book can be digitally converted
for them and pay money for software that can read digital books out loud.
■ A non disabled person going through a difficult life transition can expect to receive
comfort and sympathy from other people when they have strong emotions.
■ A person with a mental health diagnosis will often be invalidated and treated as if
they are crazy or out of control for having strong emotions.
● “Disability Justice”
● “We must leave evidence. Evidence that we were here, that we existed, that we survived and
loved and ached. Evidence of the wholeness we never felt and the immense sense of fullness
we gave toeach other. Evidence of who we were, who we thought we were, wh o we never
should have been. Evidence for each otherthat there are otherways tolive--past survival;
past isolation.”
● Leaving Evidence is a blog by Mia Mingus
○ “Mia is a queer,psychically disabled,woman ofcolor; a Korean transracialand
transnationaladoptee,anda major writer and activistin the disabilityjustice
movement.”
○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNMLnlnaX-Q
■ What does justice and liberation look like or mean to you?
■ What would this look like in communities?
● Allyship and Action Planning -
○ Why does this matter to all of us? What if this were the norm and not the
exception?
○ Read around and discuss Working in Allyship Handouts
○ Break into pairs and answer the following questions:
■ What’s challenging about allyship? How might we overcome this?
■ What does this look like on campus?
■ What does this look like in your houses?
○ Report out
○ Silent free write:
■ What are some ways you would like to take individual and collective
action within the various levels of oppression

7. ■ What is 1 action step you would like to take?
● Any last thoughts/ concerns/ questions? -