Disabusing Disability: Seeing the World Through Pearl's Eyes | Feranmi Okanlami | TEDxUofM

After facing a spinal cord injury in his third year of orthopedic surgery residency at Yale that paralyzed him from the chest down, Dr. Feranmi Okanlami has worked to spread his message that DISability doesn’t mean INability. As the Director of Student Accessibility and Accommodation Services at the University of Michigan, he continues to spur change in the realm of accessibility. He shines a light on society’s perception and advocates that disability is not something that needs to be “fixed.” Recently chosen to serve on Biden’s council for Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, Dr. Okanlami uses his background to take us on a journey of what it looks like to see the world through Pearl’s eyes. Dr. Oluwaferanmi Okanlami is an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and Urology at Michigan Medicine, and the Director of Student Accessibility and Accommodation Services at the University of Michigan. He is the Disability Issues representative on the Steering Committee for the Group on Diversity and Inclusion at the AAMC and was given the “A Teacher’s Teacher Award'' by the Academy of Medical Educators. He speaks around the country on topics related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, including, but not limited to creating a health system that is accessible to and inclusive of both patients and providers with disabilities, and providing reasonable and appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities in higher education. He is passionate about adaptive sports and fitness, striving to provide access to physical fitness and inclusive recreational and competitive sports for all This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx