Julia Chalker

The white ribbons are on every door throughout campus as the school in the midst of Disability Awareness Week this week. For Best Buddies advisor Julia Chalker, it’s an opportunity for the school to gain more perspective about varying disabilities and become more acceptive of differences.

“The whole school gets a chance to look at how everyone has differences, everyone has strengths and weaknesses,” Chalker said. “You don’t have to be in special ed. or receive special ed. services to be considered somebody with a disability.”

Chalker, the school’s Transition Specialist and Vocational Adjustment Coordinator, has become familiar with disabilities after more than eight years of training and encourages others to be open about their own personal disabilities.

“I have ADD and I have depression–which are both considered disabilities,” Chalker said. “Everybody has got something and everybody has to deal with it on their own.”

Through the years, Disability Awareness Week has grown from being little known to being an event honored by students throughout campus. Best Buddies has also grown this year, exploding with members and students helping each other.

“I have been doing Disability Awareness week here for eight years and what’s really cool to me is that I have seen Liberty become more inclusive every year,” Chalker said. “It used to be that we were out there for lunch and I had to go up to the tables and encourage students myself. Now, kids want to get involved.”

The most important part Chalker hopes to emphasize this week is that disabilities aren’t limited to just physical struggles; disabilities come in different forms and each should be considered and honored.

“Be more accepting of the person sitting next to them. One thing about disabilities is that a lot of them are invisible,” Chalker said. “I guarantee that there is somebody in one of your classes with a disability you may not even be aware of.”