What can we do in our everyday lives to make society more inclusive? That’s the question at the heart of the second Discapacidad: Transformando la comunidad conference, taking place in Adeje on Tuesday 1 December.
Organised by Adeje Town Hall, the event brings together professionals and people with different lived experiences to look at disability, accessibility and the changes needed to make communities more inclusive.
The programme covers a wide range of subjects, including sensory processing, communication rights, movement, autism and the challenges of receiving a diagnosis later in life.
The idea is to look beyond disability itself and consider the barriers created by the world around us. That means thinking about how public services, institutions and everyday interactions can make it easier for everyone to participate.
A full day of talks and discussion
The conference begins at 8.30am with registration, followed by a musical performance from the Adeje Municipal Music School.
The morning sessions include a talk by occupational therapist Dafne Santana Alemán on sensory regulation and participation in everyday life, followed by special education teacher Sol Solís discussing the right to communicate and be heard.
Later, psychologist and psychomotor therapist Esteban Levin will explore the relationship between the body, personal experience, movement and disability.
Two round-table discussions will give participants the chance to consider how communities can change and what individuals can do to help make that happen.
The afternoon programme turns to autism, with speech therapist Aída Méndez García discussing girls, women and autism, followed by Sara Codina, an autistic woman diagnosed later in life and creator of the Mujer y Autista community, speaking about the causes and consequences of late diagnosis.
Teresa Perales closes the event
The final talk, scheduled for 5.30pm, comes from Teresa Perales, one of Spain’s best-known Paralympic swimmers.
A swimmer, writer and personal and sports coach, Perales has won 28 Paralympic medals and received the 2021 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports.
Her closing session, titled Querer es poder (Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way), will bring the day to a close with a focus on determination and possibility.
Supporting a local cause
The conference runs from 8.30am, with the programme continuing into the early evening. Networking breaks and lunch are also included in the schedule.
Money raised from ticket sales will go to Fundación Canaria ALAS.
The message behind the event is a useful one: inclusion isn’t something that people with disabilities should have to achieve on their own. It also depends on the rest of us being prepared to listen, rethink assumptions and remove barriers.