The George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences inaugurated its Bicentennial Faculty Lecture Series with a presentation by Roger Ideishi, JD, OT/L, FAOTA, program director of the occupational therapy program on October 24, 2024.
In the lecture titled, “A Journey Matrix: The Impact of Social and Community Participation on Health and Well-Being,” Ideishi emphasized that fostering social connections and providing accessible community engagement improves health outcomes across the globe, especially for individuals with disabilities.
“A journey matrix is the complex physical, social, and emotional tasks and activities a person identifies, sequences, coordinates, navigates, and implements to participate and experience a meaningful community life.”
The audience was challenged to imagine life persons with disabilities who are isolated in the community due to systemic barriers such as inadequate public transportation, inaccessible environments, and societal stigma.
Throughout the lecture, Ideishi demonstrated the importance of incorporating narratives from neurodiverse people in research designs to increase awareness in education and achieve inclusive environments as individual's needs–physical or mental–vary.
“When you've met one person with autism you've only met one person.”
Ideishi is leading multiple initiatives to improve health equity, break down systemic barriers, and increase community belonging through the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research and the Department of Education in collaboration with the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.
“Often the barriers for improving accessibility inclusion mostly exist in social attitudes and within inflexible organizations.”
Watch the GW SMHS Bicentennial Faculty Lecture, here: https://youtu.be/bZxFffv2tKY?si=fBvLrQJII1RL6NlL
