09/30/2026
What happens when self-advocacy becomes more than a concept? We start reframing the way we think about inclusion.
At the 30th Annual National Hands & Voices Leadership Conference, Quill Modelยฎ was proud to be part of conversations that challenged us to think bigger about what meaningful access, inclusion, and self-advocacy can look like for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students.
One of those conversations came through our sister company, Carter Hears!'s Director of Communications and Access, Rylina Dey, and Language Facilitator, Aileen Pagan-Welchโs white paper: ๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง-๐๐ฅ๐ท๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ค๐บ: ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐ค๐ญ๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด.
The work explores self-advocacy through a broader, more globally inclusive lens, and asks us to consider what changes when students are not simply taught to advocate for themselves, but are given the knowledge, access, and opportunities to meaningfully participate in shaping their own educational experiences.
Weโre excited that this work will continue through upcoming Hands & Voices newsletter features, helping carry the conversation into the broader Deaf Education community.
This is the kind of work that embodies the heart of the Quill Modelยฎ: questioning what has always been done, connecting people and ideas, and writing a new future in Deaf Education.
Hereโs to the conversations that donโt end when the conference does. ๐ชถ
