News

On April 11 and 12, 2025, the 21st Annual American Indian Disability Summit and the 5th Annual Native Youth Disability Summit were held. The American Indian Disability Summit was held in person at the Desert Willow Conference Center in Phoenix, while the Native Youth summit was held virtually. Both summits provided an opportunity to network, share knowledge and skills, and address issues and challenges facing Native communities.

On April 2, 2025, the U of A’s Sonoran Center, Autistic and Neurodivergent Student Association (ANDSA), and Disability Cultural Center (DCC) held Neurodiversity Day. Taking place on the U of A mall, Neurodiversity Day was a chance for the community to celebrate neurodiversity, grow and share understanding of neurodiversity, and share helpful resources. 

During the Fall 2024 Semester, I had the opportunity to be an intern at the Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities. I worked with a team to gather resources and make information available in an easily understandable format for people with IDD. Learning to write in plain language was a very valuable experience because it will help me become a better health care provider.

On March 13th and 14th, 2025, participants in the National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative (NSF IUSE) throughout the Southwest came together in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Participants shared updates, learned from each other’s successes, and planned ahead for the future.

The Pregnancy and Parenting Support project exists to assess and raise awareness of the support needs of people with disabilities who are or want to become parents. To further that mission, we are amplifying the voices of parents with disabilities to share their experiences. This is Jordan's Story.

During my internship at the Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities, I had a great opportunity to work with Celina Urquidez and be a part of their Pregnancy and Parenting Project. The project truly opened my eyes about women with IDD who are facing misconceptions regarding reproductive health and sexual activity. As part of the project, I created a resource product that can be used by the community.

This Black History Month, our aim is to continue to uplift, empower, strengthen and encourage the Black and Disability community! In this article, we are paying tribute to Black and Disabled Creators who have used their platform to do just that.

onoran Center director Jacy Farkas had the pleasure of participating as a 2024 Professional Fellows Program (PFP) on Inclusive Civic Engagement Outbound Fellow. She traveled to Kampala, Uganda in November 2024 to support the follow-on project of PFP Fellow mentee, Denis Ouma.

Reproductive health is a great interest of mine, so it was exciting to be able to support the Sonoran Center’s Pregnancy and Parenting Support for People with Disabilities project. Through this journey I have seen myself becoming comfortable with new things and I expanded my knowledge in the field.

During the spring 2024 semester, I had the pleasure of volunteering for the Children’s Clinics in Tucson. The experience illustrated how important it is to create programs in which children with disabilities can feel comfortable to be themselves, and can join inclusive and welcoming spaces in activities they enjoy.