When you go to the store to buy a pair of shoes and they don’t fit, you don’t blame your foot for being too big or too small. It’s the shoes that are the problem, so you try on another pair and another until you find one that works for you.People with disabilities are like feet that don’t fit the shoes they have been given. To live with a disability is to live in a world of barriers; obstacles that make your daily life more difficult, often unnecessarily, because of an environment that wasn’t designed for you.
To live with a disability is to live in a world of barriers; obstacles that make your daily life more difficult, often unnecessarily, because of an environment that wasn’t designed for you.
These barriers can be physical like stairs instead of ramps, tables and counters that are too tall to reach, or icy sidewalks that are dangerous to use; but they can also be social, like the way people treat you, and the opportunities you are provided for recreation and employment.
People have a wide range of abilities and different people experience different barriers. I personally do not face many barriers because I was born into a financially stable family that provided me many opportunities to learn and grow, and gave me a sense of security and self-esteem. I have thus-far been able to access almost all of the different environments I desire to and have no challenges moving around my home and my town. Why? Because every place I have been in my 18 years has been designed for me. However, it was not designed with varying levels of ability in mind. Lets look at some examples. I took dance classes for 15 years and for most of those years I took multiple classes. As you can imagine, it wasn’t cheap. However, dance provided me with an outlet which decreased my stress and helped with my grades. I learned a new skill and met new friends. Dance also helped me get into theater, another activity I enjoyed that gave me a sense of identity and community. If my family had not had the money to send me to dance class or if I had not been allowed to attend because of my abilities, those would have been barriers outside my control, keeping me from those experiences. Here’s another example: my middle school was a rather old building sitting atop a hill. To access the side door, I would walk up the often snowy or muddy hill from the bus every morning carrying a 20 lb backpack. If I wanted to go in the front door there were stairs to climb as well. This was exhausting, but manageable. However, if I had had any difficulty with mobility, this would have been a real problem and restricted my access to an education. Because of laws that require public facilities to be accessible, there was a back entrance with a ramp; but you still had to cross an uneven sidewalk and have someone open the doors as they were not, to my knowledge, automatic. This is not okay. Not only does it make things more difficult, but it stigmatizes people with disabilities by making them come in the back of the building. Things didn’t improve much once you got inside. I can remember the hallways in the morning, crowded with kids struggling to shove their belongings in tiny lockers and slam them quick before an avalanche of wadded up paper came tumbling to the floor. It was chaotic, loud, and cramped. You couldn’t get through without bumping into people. If you were sensitive to any of these potentially overwhelming stimuli, this would have been a stressful thing to go through at 8 am and if you used an assistive device, almost impossible to navigate through. I went to the school for three years and yet I never noticed these barriers, because I fit right into this chaotic environment. The shoes fit. Now, I don’t blame the administration or the town for this problem, in fact I hold them in high regard. I do, however, see the need for a shift in the way society views disability.
When you look back at the history of the treatment of people with disabilities, we have actually come a long way. . In ancient Egypt and ancient Rome people with disabilities were kept around for amusement, traded as gifts, and brought out so they could be publicly mocked and humiliated (Bullock & Mahon, 2010, 20). Later, “Institutions became the instruments for the facilitation of social death. Through a presumed scientific status, care for people with disability became …predicated on notions of tragedy, burden and helpless dependency” (Clapton & Fitzgerald, 2014). Then, of course we can’t forget forced sterilization and the systematic killing during WWII (Black, 2003). I don’t mean to belittle the struggles people face today, I only want to point out the possibility for real lasting change, change that you have the power to influence.
I don’t mean to belittle the struggles people face today, I only want to point out the possibility for real lasting change, change that you have the power to influence.
How? I’m glad you asked.
- Educate yourself. Learn about all the different abilities that are out there. Watch videos where people talk about their own experiences. —–> http://attitudelive.com/, Ted Talks, The Clarity Project, documentaries like Autism In Love by Matt Fuller, etc. Take a class on disabilities. Talk to someone who has a disability. Oh, and watch the Paralympics and the Special Olympics and know the difference.
- Promote Person-First Language. When you talk about someone, it isn’t necessary to mention their disabilities; just like you wouldn’t say “Clumsy Joe”, because it’s not polite. If you are going to mention someone’s disabilities, always put the noun before the disability. For example, say “the girl with autism” rather than “the autistic girl”. Also, avoid words like “differently-able” or “handicap-able” that may be patronizing. (Actually, avoid any form of the word “handicapped”. I have been told the term originated from “hand-in-cap” which described people with disabilities who were forced to beg on the streets.) Person first language is a good rule of thumb, but if you are talking about someone in particular and you can find out how they would like you to refer to their disability; that is even better because everyone has their own opinions on the language surrounding ability
- Be respectful. This is kind of a given, but let’s get more specific.
- Respect personal space
- Avoiding talking down to people (if they are in a wheelchair you may be able to sit in a chair so you are at eye level)
- Don’t talk in a patronizing way (if they are an adult, address them the way their age dictates)
- If they are with someone else, you should still address them directly
- Ask before you try and help them. Chances are they can manage on their own
- Not everyone is an inspiration. People are people, disability doesn’t change that. Yes there are people with disabilities who are inspiring, but just having a disability doesn’t make them that.
- Don’t feel sorry for people with disabilities. Many people are proud to be a part of the disabled community and their disability is an important part of who they are.
- Promote universal design. Universal design makes things more accessible to EVERYONE and honestly it just makes sense. Curb cuts are a good example, they help people with luggage, people pushing strollers, people in wheelchairs, and people with shopping carts all access the sidewalk easier. Yes, they help people with disabilities, but they also help pretty much everyone else too. Designing our communities to be accessible to everyone is vital to providing equal opportunities to all.
Bibliography
Bullock, C. C., & Mahon, M. J. (2010). History of treatment of people with disabilities. In C.C. Bullock, M. J., Mahon, & C. L. Killingsworth (Eds.), Introduction to recreation services for people with disabilities: A person-centered approach (pp.17-36). Champaign, IL: Sagamore Publishing.
Black, E. (2003). The horrifying American roots of Nazi Eugenics. War Against the Weak:
Eugenics and America’s Campaign to Create a Master Race. New York: New York: Thunder’s
Mouth Press/Avalon Publishing Group.
Clapton, J., Fitzgerald, J. (2014). The history of disability: A history of ‘otherness.’ New Renaissance Magazine (Renaissance Universal). Retrieved from http://www.ru.org/index.php/humanrights/315-thehistory-of-disability- a- history-of otherness
P.S. I just found this quote and it’s perfect: “If the shoe doesn’t fit, must we change the foot?” – Gloria Steinem
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/gloria_steinem_3.html
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