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The Human Experience of Disability

The Human Experience of Disability

By Sarah Vazquez

This podcast is about highlighting the Human Experience of Disability. Often times people who experience disabilities overlooked and under estimated. They are viewed for their medical diagnosis and their need for social services in this country. This podcast will explore the disability experience as a human one. It will analyze and evaluate the disability experience from many life’s perspectives. It will be viewed from a personal and professional lens. Ultimately, It looks too celebrate the disability experience and showcase that the community is a vital part of society
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Episode 3: The Importance of Self-Advocacy

The Human Experience of Disability Mar 11, 2021

00:00
13:18
Episode 24: Black History Month!

Episode 24: Black History Month!

In this episode, Sarah marries disability, history with black history. She shares how the Black Panthers were intricate support system to the disability rights movement. It is her way to pay homage to the black and brown community and thank them for their contribution to assisting people with disabilities as they advocated for their human and civil rights.
Mar 01, 202308:23
Episode 23: Dr. King’s Day!

Episode 23: Dr. King’s Day!


On this day, Sarah remembers Dr. Martin Luther King. She contemplates on his very famous “I Have Dreams” speech. She shares how the speech has influenced her work as an s disability advocate, as well as her view on American history.
This podcast episode is Sarah’s homage to Dr. King and his legacy. In addition, it is her way of acknowledging his call to action in her life from the vantage point of democracy.
Jan 16, 202311:08
Episode 22: Respect.

Episode 22: Respect.

In this episode, Sarah Wishes everyone a Happy New Year. She leaves her closing thoughts in this episode about the community she so proudly represents. She shares that in many cases people who have met her and learned about her life have often felt admiration for her. Even though she respects and receives this admiration, Sarah shares that she doesn’t necessarily want to be admired but rather be respected. Sarah indicates that because the disability community is often a segregated and isolated community that when people meet her and learn about her they are drawn to the idea that she is inspirational. However, Sarah wants people to think deeper about how people who experience disabilities would rather be seen as viable and respectable citizens of the community and hence the world.
Dec 29, 202209:56
Episode 21: Providing services to people with disabilities versus Support them?

Episode 21: Providing services to people with disabilities versus Support them?

In this episode, Sarah talks about the difference between providing service to people who experience disabilities versus supporting people with disabilities. She talks about it in regards to the Medicaid and Medicare social service systems that often times people who experience disabilities have to depend on in order to try to self-direct their lives. Sarah encourages people to think outside the prism of the Medicaid and Medicare systems in order to connect to people to resources within their community in so that they can achieve autonomy over their lives and full inclusion in their communities.
Aug 23, 202209:53
Episode 20: What it Means to Self-Direct

Episode 20: What it Means to Self-Direct

In this episode, Sarah explains what self-direction means for the disability community. How self-direction has been something people who experience disabilities have had to advocate for because it is not expected that people who experience disabilities self- direct their lives. She talks about how many in society have the overwhelming perception people with disabilities need to be serviced and medically taken care due to their disability experience that they can’t self-direct their own lives. Sarah indicates that self-direction is something that the disability community continues to want to achieve through advocacy and the recognition of their humanity.
May 11, 202212:15
Episode 19: Disability and Trauma

Episode 19: Disability and Trauma

In this episode, Sarah talks about trauma. She is very explicit with her experience with trauma as it relates to her disability experience. Sarah shares about how she recognize trauma within her life, was able to discover the root of it and most of all heal from the trauma. Sarah believes trauma is something that is not often talked about in general but especially for the community that experiences this disabilities. Sarah’s goal with this episode is to start the conversation about trauma among people who experience disabilities as well as other oppressed and marginalize communities that also experience trauma.
Apr 20, 202226:00
Episode 18: The Oscars and Disabilities

Episode 18: The Oscars and Disabilities

Sarah talks about last nights Oscars and the incident between Will Smith and Chris Rock. From her perspective, She is the notion that the incident between the two actors could have provided an opportunity for a conversation about disabilities, particularly disabilities that are not seen to the naked eye. Sarah is not necessarily indicating that the experience of Alopecia is a Invisible disability. She is indicating that when people are unaware that someone is experiencing a disability or a medical concern and they make assumptions or jokes there can be an opportunity to have a greater conversation. A conversation that can be used as a learning moment not only for the people involved but also for the greater community.
Mar 28, 202221:37
Celebrating The most important Woman in my life and Remembering the Women of Ukraine.

Celebrating The most important Woman in my life and Remembering the Women of Ukraine.

In this episode, Sarah celebrate her mother’s birthday. She talks about the influence that her mother has had in her life. Sarah speaks about how her mothers journey from Puerto Rico to the states in order to find medical and educational support when Sarah was only four years old. She also takes out the time to talk about the mothers of Ukraine who have children who experience disabilities. Sarah talks about the hardship that the mothers of Ukraine experiencing fleeing the war in order to find the right supports for their children. Sarah aims to celebrate her mother; and takes out the time to acknowledge what the mothers of children who experience disabilities are you going through in Ukraine.
Mar 21, 202211:46
Episode 16: Celebrating African-American history and Continuing the fight

Episode 16: Celebrating African-American history and Continuing the fight

In this episode, Sarah talks about celebrating African-American history and all that people of African descent have gone through in order to gain equal rights in America and how the fight continue. She also intersects race and disability in this episode. She shares her thoughts about how black and brown people are you like me to be targets of police violence when they experience disabilities; and there is no understanding on the behalf of police and communities where race and disability intersect. Sarah is a strong believer that the African-American community should indeed be celebrated this month and every month of the year however she also wants to emphasize the notion that there is so much work to do especially when race and disability is in the forefront of a societal issue.
Feb 21, 202213:52
Episode 15: How Dr. King’s work has influenced me!

Episode 15: How Dr. King’s work has influenced me!

In this episode Sarah explains her first encounter with learning about Dr. King as a child. She shares how that first lesson influenced her college career as well as her professional career as a national speaker and advocate for the community that experiences disabilities.
Jan 17, 202214:44
Episode 14: Diversity and Disability

Episode 14: Diversity and Disability

In this episode, Sarah talks about the diversity within the disability community. She talks about her own experiences about how people tend to assume certain things about her because she experiences a disability. She does this to exemplify the diversity of her experience versus the diversity of someone else’s who may experience disability in a different way. She also talks about the experience of people who love and care for people who experience disabilities. Her standpoint is that even their experiences are different as people who love and care for individuals who experience disabilities.
Jan 07, 202217:30
Episode 13: Gratitude and Disability

Episode 13: Gratitude and Disability

In this episode, Sarah talks about disability from a personal perspective. She shares with the audience her gratitude for her experience with her disability. She talks about her spiritual journey and what she has to learned about herself as she navigates her own disability experience.
Dec 10, 202112:05
Episode 12: What is and is not Inclusion?

Episode 12: What is and is not Inclusion?

In this episode, Sarah talks about what inclusion is and what it is not. It is a topic that she is very passionate about. Her goal is to make the distinction between what truly is inclusion and who needs to be defining it, which is people who experience disabilities. She also talks about to how the definition of inclusion is very different from a service providers perspective versus the perspective of people that experience disabilities and advocate.
Nov 03, 202116:18
Episode 11: The Affects of Intersectionality On the Disability Community

Episode 11: The Affects of Intersectionality On the Disability Community

In episode 11 of the Human Experience of Disability, Sarah explores the affects of Intersectionality. She talks about how Intersectionality is often not viewed through the lens of disability and the consequences that stems from such a perspective. She hears her own personal story of how Intersectionity shows up in her life and hopes to give more insight on how the community of people that experience disabilities is affected by the negative outputting of Intersectionality.
Oct 05, 202112:10
Social Construct of Disability

Social Construct of Disability

In this episode Sarah explains what the social construct of disability is and how it is used to informed society about people who experience disabilities. She like is it to the social construct of race in America. She hopes that it will inform her audience in the way that makes them think about the community that experiences disability in a better informed way.
Sep 17, 202124:20
Episode 9: Embracing Disability

Episode 9: Embracing Disability

In this episode, Sarah talks about how the disability community is moving the needle a bit further in how it is defining and showcasing the disability to the world. From her vantage point, Sarah sees that the disability experience is being seen in a more positive light by individuals who experience disabilities and the people that love them. She is happy to express her pride in the way that the disability community is embracing their experiences as a positive and diverse way. Sarah hopes that this can enlighten people‘s outlook on disability and see it as a positive experience as well.
Aug 20, 202109:54
Episode 8: Am I going to be able to vote?

Episode 8: Am I going to be able to vote?

In this episode, Sarah talks to About voting restriction voting laws being proposed and 48 states across do United States. She highlights how such laws if enacted would specifically impede people who experience disabilities from voting. Sarah explains that the accessibility to voting for people who experience disabilities will be severely compromised as assessability is the key for the opportunity to vote for many Americans who is experience disabilities in the United States. She reminds us that the ADA law was enacted on the premise that public life will be accessible to people who experience disabilities, this includes voting! She also shares her experience with voting and her need for supports to vote.
Jul 14, 202114:45
Episode 7: What the business industry can do to provide good customer service

Episode 7: What the business industry can do to provide good customer service

In this episode, Sarah talks about
What best customer service practices in the business industry can look and feel like. She shares her experiences and her perspective on how companies can provide better customer service attention to people who experience disabilities. It is topic that barely gets attention. However, it is an important one when considering that people who experience disabilities are consumers as well.
Jun 11, 202110:21
Episode 6: Ablism

Episode 6: Ablism


In this episode, Sarah explains what Ablism is, what looks like and what can done to get rid of it. She compares Ablism to White Supremacy. She provides concrete examples of Ablism to provoke listeners to be aware of how it shows up in society and their communities. She encourages the listeners to learn what Ablism is in order for listeners to contribute to the eradication it.
May 05, 202115:09
Episode 5: Me and my Brother on Siblings Day!

Episode 5: Me and my Brother on Siblings Day!

In this episode, Sarah sits down with her older brother, Octavio Vazquez, to talk about his experience as a sibling growing up with a sister who experiences a disability. Jr., as he is more commonly known as, shares his ideas about disabilities, his understanding of disabilities as a sibling and how it influenced his perspective on humanity and life in general. It is a sincere conversation between a brother and a sister that is has interesting details of another side of the Human Experience a Disability.
Apr 12, 202120:38
Episode 4: Disability and physical beauty?

Episode 4: Disability and physical beauty?

In episode four of The Human Experience of Disability, Sarah explores and opens the dialogue of what is considered beautiful in this country and how disability does not coincide with such ideas or standards. Sarah offers her perspective as a way to open up the dialogue in order to challenge listeners to think deeper about the idea of beauty and disability.
Mar 30, 202113:18
Episode 3: The Importance of Self-Advocacy

Episode 3: The Importance of Self-Advocacy

In the third episode of The Human experience of Disability Sarah explains how self-advocacy is one of the most important ways that the community of people that experience disabilities is able to get their voices heard and be recognized as respectable and contributing citizens of society. She shares a personal event while being in college; where her ability to self advocate shaped the way she navigate it through college and the rest of her adult life. Sarah believes that self- advocacy is a tool that is vital for people who experience disabilities and their support system to have and master.
Mar 11, 202113:18
Episode 2:Disability History

Episode 2:Disability History

Disability history is rarely talked about. In this Episode Vazquez talks about disability history from the perspective of how people who experience disabilities were institutionalized and considered as subhumans in society. She also talks about some of the civil rights laws that helped people who experience disabilities to gain access education and some opportunities for community inclusion. Lastly, shares how advocacy was and is a vital part of ensuring that the community that experience disabilities continue to have access to full and inclusive lives.
Mar 04, 202113:17
Episode 1: Words Matter and Shape our World

Episode 1: Words Matter and Shape our World

In this first episode Sarah Vazquez explains the importance of language as it relates to the community of people that experiences disability. She discusses how words matter because they shape how people are presented to the world. She speaks to the historic way people who experience disabilities have been verbally described, and how language has influence society’s views, addresses and treats people who experience disabilities. In addition, Vazquez explores how the community that experience has disability has advocated to be addressed with respect and dignity regards to the language used to describe their disability experience while gaining self empowerment.
Feb 23, 202110:48
Intro Episode the Human Experience of Disability

Intro Episode the Human Experience of Disability

Find out who Sarah Helena Vazquez is and her perspective on the disability experience from an personal and professional points of view. Vazquez is a author, advocate and national speaker. She shares her personal upbringing and how she was raised to believe in herself and view her diagnosis of cerebral palsy as just and label. She invites listeners to consider the disability experience more than a diagnosis. She encourages people to think about disability as a human experience that takes many different forms. She wants The audience to think of the disability community as a vital part of society who contributes to it any positive way.
Feb 23, 202117:06