Nothing about us without us

As a disabled individual, much of my energy during my time at UW has gone toward ensuring that other disabled folks, across ages and experiences, are included, supported, and afforded opportunities to thrive.

Mia playing peek-a-boo wit a young child sitting in the Explorer Mini. — Explorer Mini play

Rooted in the disability justice motto, “Nothing about us, without us”, which I learned through my disability studies coursework, I’ve focused on returning knowledge, access, and resources to the community. My contributions include:

running a community resource booth at the Puget Sound Buddy Walk with friends from the Down syndrome community
developing open-source accessibility tools that create new ways to play and support children learning to use powered mobility
providing more than 10 education sessions to disability organizations and service providers through invited presentations and conference presentations, both locally and internationally
sharing information about disability resources on campus, including HuskyADAPT, GoBabyGo, and WATAP

Mia and two students tabling an informational booth at the Puget Sound Buddy Walk. — Puget Sound Buddy Walk

community members playing with the Switch Kit at an education session — Switch Kit education session

Mia and Bethany Sloane taking a selfie with a crowd of over 100 at a conference education session. — Reimagining mobility conference session

Education to access

Being connected with the community throughout my time at UW has allowed me to witness the direct impact of engineering, accessibility, and collaborative design. In September 2023, I brought GoBabyGo cars to an event at Seattle Children’s Hospital for families to try out. Months later, in February 2024, I was troubleshooting the electronics of an adapted car with GoBabyGo volunteers when a family from that event arrived to pick up their own car. I showed them how to safely operate it and watched their excitement as they took it home, waving goodbye to all the volunteers on their way out. Moments like this show how education and access intertwine to create meaningful change.

Mia fitting a young child to a GoBabyGo adapted ride-on car — Trialing a GoBabyGo car

My own disability journey

During my time at UW, I have also come to identify as disabled and neurodivergent. Through friendships in the disability studies program and CREATE, I learned to find disabled joy and interdependence. My labmates supported me while I recovered from surgery, illnesses, and multiple concussions, and Disability Resource Services ensured I had access to my coursework and research materials. In turn, I’ve been able to mentor other students navigating their own disability journeys, drawing from my lived experience to help them find grounding, resources, and community.