Claudia Alick held a talk about disability identity with the BACKBONES Youth Summer Program June 19 2024. BACKBONES connects people with spinal cord injuries and their families with events and one on one meet-ups. The ten youth participants shared their stories about how they entered the disability community. Claudia shared history of disability movement, disability justice concepts, and accessibility vocabulary that allowed the group to talk about disability identity and their world. It’s an accessible program with some awesome participants and we were honored to participate.

The goal of this program is to create a community for teenagers with spinal cord injuries and disease (SCI/D) to build self-advocacy skills and learn about topics important to youth with disabilities. Over the course of this ten week program we will focus on a different topic every week and invite guest speakers with knowledge and experience to give their insight. Participants will engage in interactive activities and team projects to incorporate these values into our everyday lives. The group will network and create meaningful relationships that continue beyond this program.