The University will host a Disability Awareness Day in the Student Union on Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to help educate the campus and community about resources that are available to individuals with disabilities.

Stacey Guidry, director of disability services, said Disability Awareness Day is meant to educate people on campus about proper etiquette for individuals with disabilities, awareness on what disabilities encompass and to help develop an understanding that someone with a disability is not helpless.

“Awareness is one of the most important parts of my job,” Guidry said. “The true goal of Disability Awareness Day is to educate everyone.”

Guidry said she hopes to raise more awareness about “people first” terminology. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act Fact Sheet Three, people should “avoid referring to people by the disability they have. A person is not a condition.” For example, “an epileptic” or “blind people” should be addressed as “a person with epilepsy” or “people who are blind.”

“The diagnosis does not make the person,” Guidry said.

Using the word “diagnosis” sets a better tone than the word disability, Guidry said, because people associate it with not being able to do something. Guidry said society often takes words that are used to explain a diagnosis and turn it into a negative connotation.

“We will stop creating politically correct terms if society will stop putting negative connotations on them and use them in a proper way,” she said. “We are on a college campus; it is time to be open-minded and accept people’s differences.”

Guidry said it is also important to raise awareness about accessibility on campus for students with disabilities. She said the University has made significant progress with improvements such as automatic door openers, and they continue to move in the same positive direction.

The event will bring together on-campus and off-campus resources such as the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office with Prevention Partnership, the University Counseling Center, Bayou Land Families Helping Families, Thibodaux Regional Medical Rehab Center and other local agencies to help raise awareness.

The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office will offer free retina scans, which act the same as a fingerprint if an individual with a disability goes missing. The scan is a safety feature since it contains all necessary contact information to reunite the missing person with their caregiver.

The Sheriff’s Office will also raise awareness about their “Are You Ok?” program, which calls the homes of people who are elderly or have a disability to make sure they are okay during certain parts of the day. If the person does not answer their phone, someone is dispatched to their home to ensure their safety. This service is offered for free by Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre.

Another agency expected at the event is Louisiana Rehabilitation Services, which is an organization that helps individuals with disabilities find and maintain jobs by exposing them to all available resources. For example, people who are deaf have the opportunity to receive assistance from a licensed interpreter.

For more information on resources that will be available on disability awareness day, contact the office of disability services at (985) 448-4430.