Stephanie Cawthon grew up deaf. She tells us her story of how for her childhood she was quite isolated due to not having good methods of communicating with those around her. It wasn’t until college and the advent of the Americans With Disabilities Act that she began to learn to advocate for herself. Through self advocacy and some good teaching she finally learned American Sign Language, (ASL) and finally began to communicate efficiently with those around her. Stephanie has proven since college to be a dedicated teacher. She now is a tenured professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas Austin. In 2023 she founded the National Disability Center for Student Success. This center and the five-year grant that funds it is providing and will continue to offer invaluable information and techniques for including persons with disabilities into society especially within the college and university system. Stephanie has authored several books including a non-academic one which is being released on September 15 of 2024. On our podcast Stephanie and I are joined by two interpreters. Amanda is voicing Stephanie’s comments to me and Audrey is signing my comments to Stephanie. This episode gives us all a tremendous look into the philosophies and concepts about inclusion of persons with disabilities. I trust that you will enjoy and learn a lot from our time with Stephanie. About the Guest: Stephanie W. Cawthon, PhD, is an internationally renowned author, researcher, and consultant who brings relatable insights and real-world skills to her mission that—when we tap the power of accessibility—we ensure disabled people can thrive and succeed. Dr. Cawthon’s groundbreaking research has been funded by over $50 million in federal and other grants. In 2023 she founded the National Disability Center for Student Success at The University of Texas at Austin, where she is a tenured Professor of Educational Psychology. She also brings a lived experience to her work. In addition to her congenital hearing loss, she has several mental health and physical disabilities that have a significant impact on her ability to engage in important life activities. Dr. Cawthon earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Stanford University and her doctorate from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Ways to connect with Stephanie: Website: www.StephanieCawthon.com Book Website: www.DisabilityIsHuman.com Social Media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-cawthon/ Twitter: @swcawthon Instagram: DrStephanieCawthon The website for the National Disability Center: www.NationalDisabilityCenter.org About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children’s Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association’s 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the ...
