DHS presents lecture on better communication with the disabled

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- Thousands of Oklahomans with disabilities live and work alongside us every day.  Yet all too often we do not engage those individuals because a disability can be confusing or frightening. The Department of Human Services (DHS) will provide a discussion on how to better communicate with people with disabilities, and learn important, empowering language that can make a disabled person feel more at ease.

The second installment of the DHS Spring Practice and Policy Lecture Series is titled “Communicating Respectfully with People who Have Disabilities.”  It will be held Tuesday, Feb. 25, from Noon to 1 p.m. at the Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City.  Guest lecturers are Ann Trudgeon and Helen Kutz.

Trudgeon is the Director of the Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Council, while Kutz currently serves on the Board of the Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Council. Trudgeon currently serves on several boards and commissions including the Governor's Blue Ribbon Panel to address community-based services in Oklahoma, the Legislatively-appointed Education Transition Task Force, Aging and Disability Resource Centers Steering Committee, Oklahoma Respite Resource Network, and the Oklahoma Self-Advocacy Network. 

Both Kutz and Trudgeon have devoted their professional career to the development and implementation of projects and programs that enhance the integration of people with disabilities into society at large. 

The Practice and Policy Lecture Series has been developed to provide thought-provoking presentations on Oklahoma's emerging policy issues, trends and best practices. The series is sponsored by the DHS Office of Planning, Research and Statistics and the University of Oklahoma Center for Public Management with the goal of providing the best educational opportunities available in a forum that offers participants an opportunity to question, share and learn from each other. 

All lectures are free and open to the public. For more information contact the Office of Planning, Research and Statistics at (405) 521-3552 or visit the Practice and Policy Lec​ture Series website 

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