1) You check in to the conference and they point out where the bowl of water for dogs is located
2) You go to a session about Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals and the presenter references Morey by name because she met him earlier in the day
Three days of learning about Disability Law was an intense but great experience. One of the presenters worked for the Office of Civil Rights on the federal level before there were any laws to protect the rights of people with disabilities and ensure equal access. He worked at the office that was occupied by people with disabilities for 27 days (the longest occupation of a federal building in the U.S.) in 1977 to protest the delays in issuing regulations for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the first law ever to recognize that people with disabilities had rights to participate in society. (You can find more about this little known historical event here: http://dredf.org/504-sit-in-20th-anniversary/short-history-of-the-504-sit-in/ )
As a person with a disability I realize how recent many of these laws and changes really are but I also realize on a daily basis how much farther we have to go. I am thankful that I get to work in an environment where I get to protect and advance the rights of students with disabilities on a daily basis.
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