Center on Disability Studies

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Center on Disability Studies The Center on Disability Studies (CDS) is located at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa in the College of Education

The CDS was established in 1988 as the Hawai‘i University Affiliated Program, and is a charter member of a National Network of University Centers, the Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD). This national network of university centers focuses on education, research, and service activities which impact upon the quality of life of persons with disabilities in each state. CDS began in 1988 with core funding of only $250,000 and a staff of four. From July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2009, the CDS generated over 20 million dollars of federal, state, and local grant funding with a staff of over 100 personnel. The CDS now receives funding based on an approved Strategic Plan for a five-year cycle from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities.

Artist Claire Alo, Center on Disability Studies' September 2026 artist of the issue!! Claire attends Responsive Caregive...
10/21/2026

Artist Claire Alo, Center on Disability Studies' September 2026 artist of the issue!! Claire attends Responsive Caregivers, Kapolei. To learn more visit, https://go.hawaii.edu/RK6.

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The 'Make Art, Change Lives' mission is: To provide training, opportunities and showcase the work of disabled artists.

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Fall 2026 eNewsletter
Center on Disability Studies, College of Education, University of Hawaii at Manoa, & Association of University Centers on Disabilities - Responsive Caregivers of Hawaii



ID: Painting of a multi-colored image of a self-portrait. Colors both inside and outside of the face. MACL logo. Artist Claire Alo.

The Ka Pilina Noʻeau Hoʻomau (KPNH) celebrates Summer 2026 by "Brings Culturally Relevant STEM Learning to Communities A...
10/18/2026

The Ka Pilina Noʻeau Hoʻomau (KPNH) celebrates Summer 2026 by "Brings Culturally Relevant STEM Learning to Communities Across Three Islands." Learn more at our website.

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During summer 2026, Ka Pilina Noʻeau Hoʻomau (KPNH), a project of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Center on Disability Studies (CDS), delivered its enrichment program at six elementary schools and four Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii sites across Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island, and Kauaʻi. Guided by the KPNH Math and Science Learning (MSL) model, KPNH staff supported teachers, administrators, and community partners in engaging 422 students from prekindergarten through grade 5 in a coordinated series of culturally relevant, standards-aligned lessons.....

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Fall 2026 eNewsletter


ID: PreK student at Linapuni Elementary sorting iʻa by different traits on an iPad. ID: Kindergarten student at Liholiho Elementary school planting a kalo plant in the school garden. ID: Three Grade 5 students presenting their hale made of newspaper and sticky notes. ID: PreK student at Linapuni Elementary practicing measuring with a thermometer. ID: Grade 1 student at Kāneʻohe Elementary measuring the length of a kalo corm. ID: Read the article at https://go.hawaii.edu/RK6.

ABLE today joined for the Hawaiʻi ABLE Savings Program with Eric Ochmanek and Zosimo “Zos” Arista!! Read more in our F...
10/16/2026

ABLE today joined for the Hawaiʻi ABLE Savings Program with Eric Ochmanek and Zosimo “Zos” Arista!! Read more in our Fall 2026 newsletter.

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Zosimo “Zos” Arista and ABLE today’s Eric Ochmanek connected with more than 250 attendees, including participants from American Samoa, Guam, Japan and New Zealand. Throughout the conference, they shared information about the benefits of ABLE accounts and the important role these accounts can play in helping people with disabilities achieve greater financial independence.

"We are especially grateful to Zos for being such a wonderful host and for sharing valuable stories about the history, traditions and
culture of the people of Hawaiʻi."

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Fall 2026 eNewsletter
Center on Disability Studies, College of Education, University of Hawaii at Manoa, & Association of University Centers on Disabilities



ID: ABLE Today Connects with Disability Advocates Across the Pacific Rim. Eric and Zos smiling.

Watch Dr. Sandie Yi in “Happiness is Overrated: Art, Therapy, Disability, and Humor” in our newsletter. ---This artist t...
10/14/2026

Watch Dr. Sandie Yi in “Happiness is Overrated: Art, Therapy, Disability, and Humor” in our newsletter.

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This artist talks about artistic practice as a way of generating, documenting, and sharing knowledge grounded in disabled lived experience. Through examples of my own work and a community project, audiences are invited to explore the meanings produced around the disabled bodymind and to examine the complexity of human relationships, care, and care­ relationships.

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Fall 2026 eNewsletter
Center on Disability Studies, College of Education, University of Hawaii at Manoa & Association of University Centers on Disabilities



ID: Dr. Sandie Yi smiling. Watch “Happiness is Overrated: Art, Therapy, Disability, and Humor.” Disability Studies Initiative. Three photos of disabled hands working.

Strand #6 Pac Rim 2027 "Translating High-Quality Evidence-Based Autism Practices into Service Systems" is seeking prese...
10/13/2026

Strand #6 Pac Rim 2027 "Translating High-Quality Evidence-Based Autism Practices into Service Systems" is seeking presentation proposals at our website.

Due: November 5, 2026.

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Dr. Meghan Miller Strand Chairs and Dr. Aubyn Stahmer Strand Co-Chairs
The Fourth Week of March 2027

This strand focuses on translating high-quality, evidence-based autism practices into real-world service systems. Bringing together expertise from the Autism Research Consortium in Behavioral Health, the strand will explore approaches such as AIM-HI, Project ImPACT, implementation science, community-based participatory research, and school-based leadership to address the challenges of moving effective practices from research into routine community, clinical, educational, and behavioral health settings.

Across presentations and interactive workshops, participants will examine not only what works, but also how to make evidence-based practices work in diverse communities and service systems. The strand will emphasize collaboration with providers, agencies, schools, researchers, families, and community members—including meaningful engagement with Native Hawaiian caregivers and professionals—to consider issues of cultural responsiveness, workforce capacity, organizational readiness, implementation, and sustainability.
... and much more!!

Learn about other strands on our website.



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ID: Translating High-Quality Evidence-Based Autism Practices into Service Systems. Dr. Meghan Miller & Dr. Aubyn Stahmer smiling in headshot. Pac Rim logo.

Strand #5 Pac Rim 2027 "Movement as a Right: Adapted Physical Activity, Health Equity, and Community Well-being" is see...
10/12/2026

Strand #5 Pac Rim 2027 "Movement as a Right: Adapted Physical Activity, Health Equity, and Community Well-being" is seeking presentation proposals on our website.

Due: November 5, 2026.

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Dr. Josie Blagrave and Dr. Kelle L. Murphy Strand Chairs
The Fourth Week of March 2027

Access to physical activity is not a perk or a therapy. It is a right, and one that disabled people are still routinely denied. This strand examines why, and what it takes to change it. We invite work that names the environmental, attitudinal, economic, and policy barriers that keep disabled people on the sidelines of sport, recreation, physical education, and healthcare, and that documents the strategies communities are using to dismantle them. We welcome critical scholarship, participatory research, policy analysis, and accounts from practice, and we prioritize proposals authored or co-authored by disabled people. Work that interrogates ableism within our own fields, including how adapted physical activity itself has been practiced, is warmly encouraged.

Focus areas include:
✔️ Interdisciplinary stories of teaching & scholarship in DSE;
✔️ Inclusive K-12 school-based practices that center DSE approaches to supports and services for students with disabilities and their families;
✔️ Incorporating DSE perspectives into professional preparation programs such as teacher education, school leadership preparation, school social work, school counseling, special education, school nursing, and early childhood education;
✔️ Intersectional cultural perspectives on DSE that give voice to historical and present injustice and imagine educational futures of equity/justice and thriveance.... and much more!!

Learn about other strands on our website.



The Yellow Door & Chico State Kinesiology

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ID: Movement as a Right: Adapted Physical Activity, Health Equity, and Community Well-being. Dr. Josie Blagrave and Dr. Kelle L. Murphy smiling in headshots. Pac Rim logo.

trand #4 Pac Rim 2027 "Disability Studies in Education" is seeking presentation proposals at our website.Due: November ...
10/11/2026

trand #4 Pac Rim 2027 "Disability Studies in Education" is seeking presentation proposals at our website.

Due: November 5, 2026.

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Dr. Jason Naranjo and Dr. Tyson E.J. Marsh Strand Co-Chairs
The Fourth Week of March 2027

Disability Studies in Education (DSE) centers understanding of disability in a social model and draws on a wide range of disciplinary perspectives to critique and unsettle medical, colonial, and psychological models that historically and currently guide educational practices in schools and communities. This strand creates a space for teachers, scholars, and community members to share about DSE approaches to teaching and learning in K-12 schools and higher education, present research and scholarship on disabled experiences related to DSE, and tell stories that demonstrate how DSE approaches in classrooms and in the community lead to equity/justice, allyship, and growth.

We seek topics in the following broad areas of teaching & scholarship:
✔️ Interdisciplinary stories of teaching & scholarship in DSE;
✔️ Inclusive K-12 school-based practices that center DSE approaches to supports and services for students with disabilities and their families;
✔️ Incorporating DSE perspectives into professional preparation programs such as teacher education, school leadership preparation, school social work, school counseling, special education, school nursing, and early childhood education;
✔️ Intersectional cultural perspectives on DSE that give voice to historical and present injustice and imagine educational futures of equity/justice and thriveance.... and much more!!

Learn about other strands on our website.



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ID: Disability Studies in Education. Dr. Jason Naranjo smiling. Dr. Tyson E.J. Marsh smiling. Pac Rim logo.

Strand #3 Pac Rim 2027 "Centering ‘Ohana: Strengthening Families, Communities, and Systems" is seeking presentation pro...
10/10/2026

Strand #3 Pac Rim 2027 "Centering ‘Ohana: Strengthening Families, Communities, and Systems" is seeking presentation proposals at our website.

Due: November 5, 2026.

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Roxanne Bristol Strand Chair and Mahea Ahia Strand Co-Chair
The Fourth Week of March 2027

Families play a central role in supporting the health, development, well-being, and inclusion of individuals with disabilities across the lifespan. Yet families often navigate complex systems of health care, education, social services, and community supports that may be difficult to access, coordinate, or understand. Led by the Hawai‘i MCH-LEND program, this strand will center the experiences, priorities, and expertise of families of individuals with disabilities and explore approaches that strengthen families as partners in care, decision-making, advocacy, and systems change.

Through presentations, interactive sessions, and opportunities for dialogue, the strand will highlight family-centered and culturally responsive approaches that support individuals with disabilities and their families across the lifespan. Particular attention will be given to family-professional partnerships, navigating systems and services, building family leadership and advocacy capacity, addressing disparities and barriers to access, and creating more responsive and inclusive communities. The strand will elevate family voices and examine how professionals, organizations, and systems can work alongside families to improve outcomes for individuals with disabilities and their ‘ohana.

Key areas of focus include:
✔️ Family-centered partnerships
✔️ Family leadership and advocacy
✔️ Navigating systems and services
✔️ Culturally responsive and equitable supports
✔️ Family well-being and community inclusion
... and much more!!

Learn about other strands on our website.


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ID: Centering ‘Ohana: Strengthening Families, Communities, and Systems. Roxanne Bristol smiling. Mahea Ahia smiling. Pac Rim logo.

Strand #2 Pac Rim 2027 "Building Strong Beginnings: Early Childhood and Early Intervention" is seeking presentation pro...
10/09/2026

Strand #2 Pac Rim 2027 "Building Strong Beginnings: Early Childhood and Early Intervention" is seeking presentation proposals at our website. Due: November 5, 2026.

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Jonathan Alexander Strand Chair and Dr. Kathleen O'Dell Strand Co-Chair
The Fourth Week of March 2027

Early childhood is a critical period for supporting children’s development, strengthening families, and building foundations for lifelong health, learning, participation, and inclusion. This strand will highlight innovative approaches to early identification, developmental monitoring, early intervention, and family-centered supports for young children with disabilities and children at risk for developmental delays or disabilities. It will explore how research, practice, and community partnerships can come together to ensure that children and families receive timely, high-quality, and culturally responsive supports when they need them most.

The strand will also examine the systems and workforce needed to deliver effective early childhood and early intervention services, particularly in geographically dispersed and diverse communities such as Hawai‘i and the Pacific. Sessions will consider strategies for strengthening early intervention capacity, improving coordination across health, education, and community systems, supporting inclusive early learning environments, and translating evidence into everyday practice. Throughout the strand, emphasis will be placed on early action, family partnership, cultural responsiveness, and building systems that support young children to thrive.

Key areas of focus include:
✔️ Early developmental support
✔️ Evidence-based early intervention
✔️ Family-centered and culturally responsive practice
✔️ Workforce and service system capacity
✔️ Inclusion and participation
... and much more!!

Learn about other strands on our website.

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ID: Building Strong Beginnings: Early Childhood and Early Intervention. Jonathan Alexander smiling. Dr. Kathleen O'Dell smiling. Pac Rim logo. Learn more about .

10/06/2026

Join us for the CJS Seminar with Dr. Kiriko Takahashi!

Dr. Kiriko Takahashi is an Associate Specialist at the Center on Disability Studies and a Project Associate Professor at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST), The University of Tokyo. Her work focuses on improving access, participation, and inclusion for students with disabilities in higher education.
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CJS Seminar: Higher Education and Disability Landscape in Japan
📆October 15, 2026
🕜1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
📍Tokioka Room (Moore Hall 319)

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