By Tom Hoatlin
Tom will explore disability awareness and sensitivity through storytelling and guided discussion. He addresses respectful language and outdated terms (including “handicap”), etiquette, service and therapy animals, accessibility protocols, visible and invisible disabilities, inclusion, marginalization, and real-life experiences. The program is designed to help able-bodied people feel more comfortable interacting with people with disabilities, while including appropriate humor and audience participation through Q&A and shared dialogue.
Tom Hoatlin has more than 25 years of experience providing services for people with a wide range of disabilities. As Director of Development for 25 years at the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living he conducted and presented many tailored Disability Awareness and Sensitivity Training and educational workshops to the non-profit’s constituents ranging from elementary students to residents and physicians as well as faculty and staff at the University of Michigan. Tom also served as the Chair of the Spinal Cord Injury Advisory Board at the University of Michigan and served many years with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation’s Peer & Family Support Program. As the Midwest Regional Representative, he coordinated a peer-to-peer mentoring and support program for people with new spinal injuries and their families in the five Great Lakes states.
