Tag Archives: accommodation

Special Snowflakes: Do you Want Equality or special Treatment?

08 Friday Jul 2016

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I’ve lived in a body whose eyes don’t function “normally” for over three decades now. My life is generally happy, productive, full of friends and hobbies and new trails to blaze, with unique fringe benefits of having eyes that don’t function quite the same way as anyone else’s. That being said, I will never ever say that being blind is easy: from the minor inconvenience of not being able to visually locate things when I drop them, to the more serious potentially life-altering perceptions of hiring managers, academic professionals, or complete strangers on what my abilities are supposed to be… Sometimes being blind can be really really hard. You can’t have one side of this equation without the other, and to be honest, I wouldn’t really want to.
But I also can’t deny that people with disabilities are treated differently than those without. Encounters on the street focus on how sorry someone is, we occasionally get asked if someone can pray for us, and we are presumed incompetent (if we say “no thank you” to an offer of assistance, it gets offered over and over again). That is a problem… but sometimes we perpetuate our own special treatment while demanding equality.

 

Over the past week, two news stories have blown up my social media accounts for completely different reasons:
1) A resolution from a blindness organization that basically lambastes Apple, a company who arguably has put accessibility at the forefront of their testing and release processes, telling them they haven’t done enough for blind consumers;
2) The fact that the CNE (an annual fair and exhibition in Toronto) is no longer offering free admission to people with disabilities. This decision has proved anecdotally unpopular among the disability community.

Both instances deal with the issues of equality and preferential treatment, and they are mutually exclusive; you can’t have one while demanding the other.

 

Accommodation is Not Special Treatment

 

Not long ago I had someone tell me that bringing my guide dog on a plane was a special privilege. In an unrelated note, I was once told that it would never be an employer’s job to provide assistive technology or other accommodations in the workplace because that would give the person with a disability “special treatment”.

Both of these examples are untrue. Guide and service dogs (provided they are well-behaved) enhance the independence of their handlers and can sometimes mean the difference between traveling independently and confidently… or not leaving the house. If a disabled person requires the assistance of an aid to guide or administer medication or otherwise assist them with daily living tasks, it’s far more preferable than being forced to stay in their homes. And assistive technology can be the difference between being employed and living on assistance… so is it still “preferential treatment” when it levels the playing field? Um… no…

If assistive technology, mobility aids, or other accommodations make it possible for a person with a disability to live, work, study, or access information just like the general public, on what planet is it special treatment? And if people with disabilities are viewed as equals (like the lip service I hear about everyone being equal), then no one should deny us the ability to work, study, or travel using the tools that provide us the autonomy that makes us “equal” to everyone else. If you do deny this, you prove that we are not as equal as everyone else, and should keep your mouth shut and think about your stance on “selective equality.”

 

NFB Resolution: We Want our Cake and to Eat it Too

 

Disclaimer: I do not use Apple products, and it’s my choice to do so. I am not affiliated with the NFB or any other blindness organizations. This to say… I have no horse in this race.

If you get through all the big words, what you need to know is this:

  1. Apple has continuously made huge strides in the accessibility marketplace. It’s one of the first, if not the first, to make built-in accessibility options such as the Voiceover screen reader part of all devices straight out of the box. Traditionally, accessible options had to be purchased separately and loaded on to any device, resulting in extra costs and less independent setup options.
  2. Because of this, Apple has been praised by many in the disability community for making people with disabilities a priority, making products instantly usable right off the shelf.
  3. The NFB resolution appears to be saying that Apple simply hasn’t done enough, because they are not prioritizing accessibility bugs and blind beta testers above others. This is a double-edged sword, however, because Google and Microsoft have their own accessibility issues that were not addressed at all in this resolution…
  4. Many have pointed out that this resolution has basically betrayed Apple for releasing software with bugs, telling them that they haven’t done enough for (exclusively) their blind consumers. Others have stated that accessibility bugs are now prioritized on the same level as other bugs in the software… isn’t that what the NFB claim they wanted in the first place?

Ultimately, I agree with those who state that there’s a HUGE double standard here. I use other software that was not lambasted so publicly, and like it or not, it has bugs too. The blind are not the only disability community in the world, and sighted users had problems with some of Apple’s software rollouts; that’s the nature of having software. If Apple were willfully ignoring the community that praised their accessibility efforts in the first place, that’s one thing; but they are creating software that, like it or not, isn’t perfect… for some blind users, but not all; for some sighted users, not all.

A brief note to those who voted for this resolution and publicly stabbed Apple in the back… it’s not always about you!

 

The CNE: Take me to the Fair!

 

The CNE is a well-known exhibition in Toronto; most major, and even some smaller, cities have their own annual fairs. Many provide discounted rates to guides or aids accompanying people with disabilities (see “accommodations” above?). This year, the CNE has decided to stop providing free admission to people with disabilities, but will continue not to charge for people who are guiding or otherwise assisting them. In the above referenced article, it’s made clear that this new policy might not be popular…

I’m all for it. As a fellow disability activist stated: if I can’t afford to go, I don’t go. I read a comment that people with disabilities are statistically living with higher poverty rates and should be given this “perk” because of it. But what about people without disabilities who don’t always have the money… who’s giving them a break? And what about the disabled person who’s fortunate enough to have disposable income… are they not taking advantage of resources designed to assist those who don’t?

If you can afford it, go to the fair; if you can’t, don’t. Nobody owes us extra perks; we face enough “other” treatment as it is.

 

Conclusion: Special does NOT Mean Equal

 

We have a long way to go before we are viewed as equals to those without disabilities. No one can deny that. We face access refusals because of our service dogs, are presumed incompetent for job duties unless we prove otherwise, and seem to be public sources of inspiration for getting out of bed in the morning. We need to decry true discriminatory practices for what they are, but also to live with the full responsibilities that go along with desiring equality. We should not be charged more to attend a fair because we require a guide or an aide, but we should not be charged less. If a company makes a valiant effort to make their system accessible, we need to praise them for their good work while kindly and gently encouraging them to improve things for everyone (not just us). When it comes right down to it, we’re not special snowflakes, and we will never reach true equality while taking advantage of special treatment.

An Open Letter to Hiring Managers: Want to make $$$? Hire Inclusively

09 Thursday Jun 2016

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Earlier this week, I found a story about a home improvement retailer who hired a service dog user with a brain injury. This is terrific! This is corporate responsibility. This is true representation of the broader community which this retailer serves. This is hiring people with unique skills and talents to fill a role that a company sees as valuable. I took to Facebook and thanked whoever hired this man for giving him a position that he clearly desired, wishing more hiring managers and companies did the same.

 

I’m on the job hunt, too, and it got me to thinking. Did this company hire this man – will a company hire me? – only because it is the law to do so? Will they do so because it is the socially conscious “in thing” to do so? Or will they hire people with disabilities because they realize that we’re a huge untapped market for them? Disability not only touches those living with blindness, who are deaf, who use wheelchairs, and/or who have brain injuries (sometimes in combination)… but those with invisible disabilities as well. This doesn’t even address our friends, families, and others who care about us. A Canadian organization recently launched the We Belong App. The app allows consumers to search by location for companies and organizations that hire inclusively (primarily people with developmental disabilities), giving them the opportunity to show financially that it pays to do so.

 

Meaningful employment is something that’s very important to me. I want to be hired at a position with a company that views me as an asset, not a liability. Unfortunately, the latter appears to be the prevailing thinking among people who’ve met me for interviews. I don’t make constant eye contact, I imply that it’s important to use words to communicate… and yet I have years of experience behind me, so that should count for something. Do I want a job? You bet your last dollar. But I want a job with a company or organization that views me as the asset that I am, with unique insights, skills, and talents to bring to the table. Things may have to be done differently, but change is a part of life; many accommodations for people with disabilities end up benefiting entire workplaces, and it’s not often realized until after the disabled employee moves on to other opportunities (personal or professional).

 

So for those who hire people with any disability out of pity or patronism, thanks, but no thanks. It makes everybody miserable and you honestly shouldn’t bother. For those who don’t hire us because of your preconceived notions of our capabilities – not because you truly had more qualified applicants – please know that you’ve broken human rights legislation. The law is only one piece in a mosaic that fits together to include people with disabilities in society, in the classroom, in the workplace. It takes inclusive thinkers – who are unfortunately not frequently in HR – to understand that we’re more than the eyes or ears or hands or legs or brain that doesn’t work as expected. If the law is the only reason you begrudgingly hire me or anyone with a disability, congratulations, you’re a rule-follower, move along now. Ditto about everyone being miserable. But if you want to be progressive, inclusive, and innovative like you claim you are, hire people with unique skills, talents and insights who just happen to be disabled. Your business will benefit as much if not more than the employee you hire, because we do have friends and families and others who care about us… and they reward truly inclusive and empowering workplaces with their positive words to their friends and families and coworkers… and their consumer dollars. The bottom dollar is a motivator for many; I’d like to use some of mine to support employers who don’t discriminate. but that can only happen once pretty words on a page start becoming action, once HR managers, CEOs, and office managers view people with disabilities as unique resources and assets to business and commerce.

 

Oh, and if you are one of those progressive, inclusive, innovative HR managers, CEOs, or office managers, drop me a line; I’d be happy to meet you.

When WE are the Problem

19 Friday Feb 2016

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No one can deny that people with disabilities are treated by society at large much differently than able-bodied ones. Social media activism over the past couple of years has given voice to movements like #StopAbleism and #TheAbleistScript, where people with a wide range of disabilities have articulated comments and ideas that have been whispered around us, shouted into our faces, or become internalized in our own lives. This is not to say that the situation is hopeless – far from it – but though a lot of work has been done, we have a long way to go to be treated as equals in a world that simply doesn’t know what to do with us, and occasionally doesn’t seem to care if we speak up for ourselves.

 

But, you see, my dear readers, there’s a flip side to this equation. If we don’t hold ourselves up as true equals, then how dare we expect others to treat us as such? I’m not talking about receiving accommodations so that we can access the same materials, buildings and facilities as our able-bodied classmates, coworkers and fellow consumers; I’m talking about feeding into stereotypes of low expectations, social awkwardness, and refusing to engage that wider world that doesn’t quite see us as human. Be mad at me if you want, but someone’s got to pull no punches. You and I can be contributors to our own experience of ableism, discrimination, and inspiration porn. Here’s how.

 

Over-sharing of the Mundane: Low expectations

Blame the selfie if you want, but over the past few months I’ve seen a ton of blind people (in particular) posting frequent videos of themselves working their guide dog, taking the bus or walking through Target. Many of these are not product education, technology or skill tutorial, or even informational videos, which appear to be extremely popular these days, but they’re just chronicles of ordinary people doing ordinary things. Maybe sighted people do this… I don’t know. Or perhaps I have friends online who have better things to do with their time – like make cool bicycle-repair tutorials, or share awesome and obscure tunes from Youtube. Sure, everyone shares pictures of the biggest chocolate cake they’ve ever seen, posts videos of their dog going crazy seeing snow for the first time, or vents about their bad day… that’s all part of the human experience in the social media world. But I’ve seen many videos filmed by blind people that are just… life! And they share it loudly and widely as though it’s a HUGE accomplishment to show the world how their guide dog takes them through a local pharmacy. I’m not against sharing life experiences – the happy, the sad, the ones that make you raise your eyebrows – but these videos about how courageous you are for taking a bus in a new neighborhood (while it might be very true for you) perpetuate the idea that all blind people feel and act this way… and WE DON’T! If you need support and encouragement, YES, reach out and grab it with both hands. If you’re a talented singer or musician, post those videos, by all means… but blindness has nothing to do with your talent. Video is a powerful medium and, for good or for ill, it shows the things that we’re truly proud of in our lives, and frankly I want us to be proud of accomplishments because they are accomplishments in and of themselves. As my new friend Nicole recently wrote so eloquently:

Think about the larger, sweeping, massive ramifications of allowing someone to think your day to day is amazing, inspirational, courageous. Think about the fact that you’re not just allowing it, you’re encouraging it by creating and posting videos or articles that evoke EXACTLY that response.

 

 

Social Awkwardness: We Just Don’t Belong

Everyone has foibles, eccentricities, preferences, and quirks. It’s all part of the human experience. But perhaps because we’ve never been taught, many blind people fall into habits that are at best odd and at worst damaging to the rest of us. We should be comfortable with who we are, neither denying our blindness nor emphasizing it so much as to make us look like toddlers who can’t care for ourselves appropriately. A recent hashtag on twitter has become a “parody” of sorts, claiming to represent the “funny” side of blindness.I’m not against laughing at the funny things we’ve sometimes confused with others, but I have never found jokes infantalizing us (“discovering” we’re dressed in matching clothes!) or emphasizing blindie-clique dynamics (see below) funny. In fact, they perpetuate the idea that we’re just too strange and awkward to be taken seriously, and who wants to hire or educate someone so awkward or “other” for anything other than than a source of inspiration?

 

Social Isolation: Using Sighted People for their Vision

I am by no means belittling the support of others who share the journey of blindness and visual impairment; in fact, I posted about how awesome and supportive it can be not that long ago. But hiding ourselves amongst exclusively those same people does little to dispel the idea that we are somehow “other” and too “unique” to be bothered connecting with on any meaningful level. perhaps out of necessity (Canada has a small enough blind population that this is possible), or perhaps because I am social by nature, my world has been blessed with terrific friends, blind and sighted. But I notice many blind people who never ever seem to socialize much outside the blind community, with sighted people primarily filling in the role of driver or shopping assistant. This isn’t to say that I would turn down a ride offered by a friend, or indicate that I like grocery shopping alone (I don’t). Nor am I indicating friendships can’t spring out of such arrangements. But just as we wish to be viewed as people, we need to treat others in this way. Keeping exclusively, even primarily, to our social blindie cliques and relegating sighted people into primary positions of driver or guide is no better than us being confined to the role of musician or couch potato. In fact, it’s worse; we know how crappy it feels.

 

Abusing the System: Accommodation at All Costs

I’m a firm believer in computer programs, web sites, and buildings being accessible to people with disabilities. I also believe that it’s essential for workplaces or educational institutions to make all accommodations possible to include us on the job site or in the classroom, not only for our benefit, but for theirs. But it is also our responsibility to ease the way forward for our employers, our service providers, and our professors.If we can make the available mainstream technology work (and much of it works well), then it’s up to us to do so. Using exclusively specialized technology – a note-taker rather than a computer, for example – keeps the barriers to education and employment higher than they need to be, and perpetuates the idea that we’re just too hard to accommodate, so why should an employer or university bother? In many developed countries, it is not uncommon to receive some funding to cover what can be extreme costs of technology. I got stuck in a catch-22 system, where I couldn’t get funding without a job, and I needed that technology to be able to obtain a job. This is sometimes the case in other parts of the world, but sometimes people can receive funding before getting that job, and there are drawbacks to that system as well. Thankfully, it worked out for me, but it makes my blood boil when I hear about people who receive technology for simply searching for jobs who don’t obtain employment due to lack of serious effort, who don’t return loaned equipment, and sometimes don’t even use the technology anymore. It’s important for us to obtain the assistive technology that we need to be able to work, to study, to learn; but if it is not used to those ends, it’s time to be realistic and pass it along to people or agencies who are struggling for basic supplies. Hanging on to unused technology (particularly if it’s been funded) is expecting the preferential treatment we’re trying so hard to avoid. In many developing countries, access to even basic literacy tools like braille writers is almost impossible… and yet I hear of some people who get a ton of technology and don’t even bother looking for work. Stop it! Your complacency and entitlement makes it harder for the rest of us who actually need that technology to be productive. And to say nothing about obtaining employment…

 

Making Excuses: “Because I’m Blind!”

I am not one of those people who thinks everyone should be able to cook a 4-course meal, have a spotless house, and never ever ever ever EVER ask for help with anything. Frankly, living with the expectation of perfection is exhausting, and no sighted person is held up to those standards either. But it drives me up a wall when I hear the excuse “I can’t [insert activity here] because I’m blind.” OK, even though three years ago a blind man tested out Google’s self-driving car, the technology isn’t quite there for us to drive completely independently. Aside from that, blind people have done tons of great things – big and small – all over the world, from raising families to opening businesses to studying subjects they love. The possibilities are endlesss, truly, even if not all of us have the inclination to climb a mountain or open up a restaurant. But if you aren’t a good cook, or don’t like to clean, or don’t feel safe sky-diving, that’s your humanity talking; it is NOT because you’re blind. Don’t even go there!

 

Conclusion: Cleaning out the Dirty Laundry

I hate the idea that I am an ambassador for the blind, and yet, in some ways, I really am. And so are you. It’s a fine line between expecting perfection of ourselves and allowing low expectations to dictate the course of our lives. Both are extremely damaging and exhausting, and really not realistic. Ultimately, though, we can’t expect equal treatment until we avoid the pitfalls listed above. I never would’ve written this post had I not seen so many instances of this both in-person and online. And if I’m truly honest with myself, at points in my life I’ve even engaged in some of these problem mentalities and behaviors. But we can move on from this place. We can share our lives from the focus of our humanity, not our blindness. Even if it’s painful, we need to take a look around us and notice which of our behaviors make us stand out unnecessarily. Many people wish to befriend us, and it’s up to us to open ourselves up to the sighted world to challenge us and befriend us, not just serve us. While we still are viewed as needing the right to access, stop confusing our rights to access with abusing the ability to use the supports that are supposed to make it happen. And we must stop using our blindness as a license to be lazy and have everything done for us, because if we don’t, we’ll be back where we started, making videos of us sitting on the couch and writing blog posts…

 

I won’t pretend any of this is going to be easy. But I hope that confronting some painful realities about ourselves can spur us all to make some necessary changes. Is discrimination and ableism a problem? yes, it is. But sometimes, we’re the problem, and in those instances – and only those instances – we need to get out of the way and give the naysayers, the ableist and the discriminatory no valid reason to think that we’re useless, lazy, manipulative or uneducated. After all, as much as it’s up to us, let’s give them no valid reason beyond their own prejudice to discredit us… then they can look in the mirror and realize how they’ve contributed. But right now, I think it’s our turn…

 

*** UPDATE: Thanks to John and Brandon for tearing this post apart in a marathon podcast. Because of this, I have kept this post primarily intact, but did change a line you rightfully found offensive. I appreciate your opinions, and the fact that overall they came from a place of respect, even if you disagreed with me. This blog is nothing without readers and friends. I love constructive dialogue, and am willing to listen to any who respectfully disagree with any of my opinions. So, please, I welcome any further dialogue on this and other topics related to blindness, confidence, life…

No more School, No more Books…?

06 Saturday Feb 2016

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A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to take part in a podcast regarding the education of blind children. At almost the same time, I found this radio documentary about whether the advent of technology is taking away the need or relevance for braille. Since it’s quite clear where I stand on the braille issue, I wanted to tackle the education questions, since (for some reason I’ll never understand) it is not infrequently assumed that all blind students attend special schools.

 

I’ve outlined briefly my educational background here; as is obvious, I was mainstreamed through my entire school history. All of my blind friends (few though they were) were mainstreamed, as Canada at the time only had one or two schools for the blind, and they were both in eastern Canada. It wasn’t until I was eleven or twelve before I spent a large amount of time with anyone who attended a school for the blind (in the US); even today, many of my friends were mainstreamed, and even those who attended a school for the blind for brief or extended periods have described many practices that would be decried by any civil rights organization (belittling treatment, lowered educational standards, etc.) While I realize this is not the case for all students at all schools for the blind (I’ve heard anecdotally how empowering such schools can be in Europe, as opposed to many in the USA and Canada), I’ve heard enough about it to cause me some concern. Instances like lowered expectations for totally blind students, allowing those with more vision to learn more skills than their totally blind classmates, not allowing those who took some mainstream classes to associate in any way with those “public school kids”… these all make me die a little inside. Even listening to some of the recorded portions of the documentary above, I cringed at the way some of the teachers talked to their students, as though they were much younger than teenagers.

 

But I cannot disagree that some students can find separate schools incredibly helpful. many smaller communities may not have the resources and facilities to assist blind students in the way that best suits them. Sometimes sighted peers will bully a blind classmate, and being in a place where they are not viewed or treated as “different” can make the difference between graduation and dropping out. If there are additional disabilities involved, a school for the blind can sometimes have the resources that a public school may not. Life skills that a public school may deem “too dangerous” or unsuitable for a blind student (cooking, workshop, etc.), and parents are unable or unwilling to teach these skills themselves, a separate school can sometimes provide such training and prepare the student to cook, clean, and perform other life tasks as a blind adult. even among some who attended schools for the blind under some of those circumstances, I’ve heard far too many comments along the lines of “They may have educated me in braille and technology and some life skills, but they nearly broke my spirit.”Many life-long students of such schools are never broken of bad habits that are socially unacceptable among sighted peers; mainstreamed kids learn (sometimes in harsh and cold ways) that such behaviors aren’t OK. I don’t think segregation is the best way to educate blind students, as it can perpetuate a certain “otherness”, but many of the resources of such institutions can be incredibly helpful for mainstreamed students who are struggling in school. I don’t have all the answers to these questions, but maybe it’s important to start a dialogue.

 

One thing that does concern me about schools for the blind might not be related to the education itself. Any job applicant is required to prove to an employer that they graduated from high school; including “_____ School for the Blind” on a resume will automatically “out” an applicant as blind right out of the gate. This doesn’t allow an applicant to allow their resume to stand on its own, with skills, talents, work and volunteer experience; Such schooling, just based on the name, will automatically show an HR manager, company CEO, or whoever looks at that resume, that the applicant is blind. Despite legislation prohibiting discrimination, like it or not, discrimination against people with disabilities still exists, particularly when it comes to employment. Why give hiring managers preconceived notions – right or wrong – about us as applicants?

 

I realize that I’m framing many of my thoughts from a western point of view, where blind people wish to be held up as equals to their sighted families, fellow commuters, and (many of whom) wish to maintain employment with mainstream organizations. But what about countries where societal views of blindness are not as supposedly enlightened as our western ones? What if blind students simply wish to… survive? Should we throw the baby out with the bathwater and assume that organizations such as this or that in developing countries shouldn’t exist, because, by gosh, we have rights? Are baby steps in the right direction still… well, in the right direction? Are abuse, deprivation, and family suspicion better than having a safe place for the blind, even though many such residential facilities offend my western sensibilities? Again, I don’t have the answers, but I have many many questions. Last week, I read a book about one of the organizations I referenced earlier (I do plan on reviewing it in full once I mentally process it further); I was touched by the empowerment many of the blind students at these schools felt, maybe for the first time, and yet dismayed by some of the childish and socially awkward behavior that was described. Does the presence of one negate the need to address the other? Or is what matters most the fact that these students are educated, whatever the cost?

 

Whether east or west, mainstream or separate,I  think what matters is that we are educated to be as productive as we can be. I don’t wish to only indicate what separate schools for the blind are doing wrong while praising mainstream schools, because even if I was very fortunate, I realize there are holes in that system as well. Ultimately, it comes down to us, and the power we choose to give to those around us, and I think that’s what concerns me most: as a blind child, you hear so many mixed messages, and you don’t have the mental maturity and life experience to discern truth from a lie. One teacher says that you’ll NEVER succeed at something because you can’t see, while another treats you like you’re a toddler; one shows you how to dissect that biology project, while another refuses to acknowledge your awkward behavior and help you improve it. At the end of the day, the best teachers are the ones that empower without condescension, push without bullying, and confront the hard stuff of life without pity. Those teachers are found in all schools, but are sadly all too rare… perhaps I’m lamenting education as a whole.

Your “Inspiration” doesn’t Pay my Bills

31 Sunday Jan 2016

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I’ve been on the job hunt for almost a month now. It’s a very different economy from the one I saw three years ago when last seriously looking for work. Like many people, I have experience and skills; the biggest challenge I’ve found (and I am not alone) is getting call-backs for interviews.

The following statements are my own preference, based on my own experience of work, resumes, and interviewing; not everyone will share this opinion. I don’t ever pre-disclose my blindness to prospective employers unless absolutely necessary. In my opinion, it has little to do with my ability to do the job itself, and I choose not to give my interviewers any opportunities to walk into that interview room with preconceived ideas about my capabilities. The idea is, if the job posting indicates that my skills and qualifications fit, I send in an application just like everyone else; I wouldn’t apply for a job looking through microscopes or driving a truck. Sometimes this has worked in my favor; my resume has stood on its own, and my solid work history and a successful interview has landed me a great job. Other times, I learn when I get there that there are truly visual job duties that were not indicated on the job posting, in which case I choose not to assign blame. Other times, I get turned down for the job because… um…?

I recently ran into a situation (though not for the first time) where I was graciously turned down for a job post-interview. I was told that my skills and qualifications were solid, but that there were some job duties that posed a safety risk to myself and my guide dog. There actually was a legitimate case for this, so I chose to be gracious in reply… until I read the part that said my attitude and qualifications were inspirational, and the hope was that I would find a position somewhere else.

Guess what? If I wanted to be inspirational, I’d go on the motivational speaking circuit. I am looking for a job, something that can use my skills and background, where employer and employee have a functional relationship, both being realistic about the capabilities of an employee with a disability, making reasonable efforts on all sides to be accommodating. Seriously, it’s not that hard. People just have to get over the fact that I wish to be taken seriously, and actually want to work for a living, and my resume proves I have the chops to do it! I took to twitter to vent, but I never expected my little tweet to gain such traction (as of this posting, it had 50 retweets).

There are many noble causes out there aiding people with physical or developmental disabilities, those struggling with mental illness and/or poverty. What few people understand is that people with physical disabilities want to work, to be taken seriously in the classroom, boardroom, or salesroom. The more we get treated like token inspirations, the more likely we are to become recipients of aide due to poverty and mental illness. Very few well-known figures who advocate for social change and social justice due to race or gender or other protected grounds even touch on disability. Why is that? Don’t they understand that the more we get shuffled off as “someone else’s problem”, the more likely we are to get sick and tired of just being pushed aside?

In the meantime, I choose to fight, because someone, somewhere, will give me the opportunity to use my skills and background, who will take me seriously as a job applicant. It’s happened before, and it will happen again. But I have a few tough questions for social justice warriors on both sides of the disability continuum: For those who don’t acknowledge our needs at all, and choose to address discrimination based on race, creed, or gender (legitimate grievance, to be sure), why is this the case? We face more discrimination on a daily basis than many of those for whom you are fighting. For those advocating on behalf of the disability community: why is employment not front and center in many of your mandates? In my opinion, meaningful employment is quite possibly the only thing that gives those of us who wish and are able to obtain it the dignity and self-respect we so desire. And for those employers who shuffle me and others like me off, telling us we’re so inspirational for coming to the interview? Guess what: I am not someone else’s problem, and your inspiration doesn’t pay my bills.

Accessibility: A Right, a Privilege, or Plain Good Business Sense?

19 Saturday Sep 2015

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This morning, I received a text from a friend who invited Ben and me for brunch at a downtown diner.  As I had never been to this diner before, I figured I would search around and see if their menu was posted online.  I find this helps my independence in several key areas:

  1. None of my companions would need to read the menu to me. Most people don’t mind, but it seems that if I can do something for myself, I should.  Perhaps that’s the perfectionist in me, but it’s always a little awkward when someone reads the menu out loud in a restaurant (Confession: I always feel a little bit like a small child who hasn’t grasped the concepts of reading yet).
  2. I could think about what I wanted to eat, and if I changed my mind or someone recommended something awesome, I’d at least know what they were talking about and not worry about missing something truly yummy.
  3. If I go back to this diner (something I will DEFINITELY do) and decide to go alone, i would already know their prices (something important for a cash-only business), their breakfast and lunch options, and not have to ask serving staff to take time out of a busy shift to help me out.

I was thrilled to find their menu online, but was disheartened to discover that it came in the form of pictures embedded onto their web page.  As someone who uses screen reading software, I could not access the text that is part of those pictures.  Mildly frustrated, I took to twitter, which I now realize is generally an ambiguous thing, because everyone has something to say on the subject.

 

But what came out of a pretty heated exchange was an ultimately complex discussion about asserting the rights of people with disabilities, when demanding accommodation is unreasonable, and when it is better to catch flies with honey by requesting accessibility or accommodation as a good move for a business’ customer base as a whole.

 

I will never completely understand what it is like living my life, navigating in a wheelchair, but I have friends who do.  Many of them have expressed frustrations about apartment buildings with only one elevator, or workplaces where the accessible washrooms are on a completely different floor, or having to avoid shopping at certain stores because the shelves are too close together to safely navigate a chair.  If I ask a restaurant to pretty-pretty-pretty-please re-post their menu online in alternative format, or (a rarity) ask if they have a braille menu on site, this is an infinitely easier accommodation than requesting them to alter their building structure for accessible washrooms or replacing stairs with a ramp.  In no way am I saying that doing one means a business can’t or shouldn’t do another, but that one is more a matter of education than architecture, carpentry and physics.

 

So when do my rights end and a business proprietor’s begin?  When is a request for accessibility unreasonable, untenable and rude?  I don’t have the answers to these questions.  To say that accommodations should never be requested (or even demanded) means that would put disability rights and dignity back into the dark ages.  But to say that every possible accommodation can and should be made just for the asking brings us to a no-mans-land we’re in now, where businesses are afraid to address out-of-control fake service dogs and deny a legitimate service dog team service because ten minutes ago they kicked out a faker.  Ultimately, the more people who can access a business, the more everybody wins.  So the more who stand up and calmly explain that general accessibility – to the physical building structure, to a menu, or to the point-of-sale pin-pad – benefits everyone, the more likely a business is to take the request under advisement.  Maybe wholesale change won’t happen overnight, but nothing worth fighting for ever does.

 

I won’t bully or brow-beat, but  maybe I’m not the only one who can’t read the physical menu, and even the digital one.  I felt right at home in that diner, and the food was stick-to-your-ribs comfort food.  You better believe I’ll be back.  So I, for one, am going to contact that diner and request an alternative format for their menu.  After all, the food is great, and more people should eat there!