Disability Awareness Day shows how students with disabilities can be very successful at AUS

Students with disabilities can be very successful at AUS and in their careers. This was stated at the 2016 Disability Awareness Day, held by the Academic Support Center (ASC) at American University of Sharjah (AUS) today, December 6. The event was aimed at providing participants with a general overview of common disabilities facing individuals.

The event was held in collaboration with the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) and the Faculty Development Center. Events through the day included lectures by various speakers, information and activity tables, and faculty trainings and social media campaigns to help raise awareness. The events were geared towards informing the AUS community about various resources available to them in the UAE and at AUS, as well as to educate them on some of the most common disabilities seen at AUS.

During a training session, AUS community also had the opportunity to learn about UAE laws protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities as well as about the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Dr. Mehvash Ali, Director of ASC said, "AUS students with disabilities do seek services for academic accommodations through ASC. It is important for students to understand what exactly is considered a disability, that most disabilities are invisible disabilities (not easily apparent), and that students with disabilities can be very successful at AUS and in their careers."

"Few people realize that mental disorders can be considered a disability if they have a significant impact on daily functioning. The most common type of disability that we see are mental health issues. However, we also have students with vision, hearing, speech, or mobility impairments. We hope that the AUS community was able to learn more about various disabilities and services available for them through the various events held today," added Dr. Ali.

The program ended with a movie entitled Taare Zameen Par that focuses on children with disabilities and ways to overcome them.