A year ago in Disability Thinking: Ken Jennings' Tweet.
Remember Ken Jennings' "hot person in a wheelchair" tweet? Looking back, it really does seem more odd than offensive.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
More About Access Surveys
Last weekend, I posted about the Celebrate Access Equality social media and action event coming up this Saturday, September 26. In addition to Twitter chats and other events, organizer Dominick Evans and I will kick off a campaign, using AXS Map, to document accessibility at businesses and attractions across the United States.
We all run into places that should be more accessible every day, and we rightfully complain about it. We also all know places that have good accessibility, and though we probably reward them with our loyal business, we may or may not share this valuable information with others. Map-based accessibility rating systems like AXS Map may be the best way available to apply grassroots advocacy pressure to improve access, while creating a useful resource to disabled people and their families who also just need to know where they can go for a dinner out, a movie, or a hotel room for a business trip or vacation.
Our plan is to set up a Mapathon at AXS Map, and invite anyone who wants to participate to rate businesses and attractions they visit ... as many as possible from September 26 through the end of the year, December 31, 2015. Every site you rate and enter into the system makes it a more complete resource.
Here are some tips and observations to think about before you get started this Saturday:
Tips:
Pick a goal for each week. Do one, two, or three places per week. Or, do one a day. If you are out and about a lot most days, maybe commit to reviewing every place you enter. You may prefer to tackle a specific street or a particular neighborhood. Whatever your goal, set it and stick to it.
Figure out what works best for you. Install the AXS Map app and enter review data right there on the spot with your smartphone or tablet. Take notes and enter the data later, when you can stop and concentrate without being noticed or getting in anyone’s way. Or, wait until you get home and use the full website to enter all the data you’ve collected during the day. Whatever method you choose, try not to rely too much on what you remember about a place. Take notes, and enter them while they are still fresh. The sooner you report on a visit, the better.
Decide whether or not you will talk to business owners about what you are doing. AXS Map is designed a lot like Yelp and other customer rating sites. It’s entirely possible to enter accessibility reviews without dealing with the staff. On the other hand, it can be helpful to ask staff about their accessibility features, which may not be obvious to you at first glance. Letting business owners know about the project also makes accessibility a higher priority for them.
Maintain a positive attitude when you do deal with business owners and staff. Be honest, but not accusatory. If you catch some sort of flack about what you are doing, remind staff that it's just like any other kind of online review, except that it's focused on accessibility. It will also be helpful if you can give owners the contact information for a local place where they can get free or low-cost help to make their businesses more accessible. A good place for them to start is your nearest Center for Independent Living.
Use the AXS Map Notes field to add details that the star ratings alone don’t cover. For instance, this is where you might note that the accessible entrance is around the corner, or that the business has a portable ramp you can ask for.
Observations:
The purpose of a customer review site like AXS Map is not necessarily to document full ADA compliance, but to provide practical information for people with disabilities. The important question is whether a business or a feature of that business is easily and independently usable, not whether it meets every legal requirement.
Independent access is very important. If a customer with a disability would need help to access goods and services, that's better than no access at all, but considerably less than fully accessible.
AXS Map is designed for somewhat subjective reviews. You don’t have to get out a tape measure and provide exact door widths and space analyses of every restroom. You can use your best judgment about whether each feature is accessible, and you can give partial credit for barriers that exist, but may be less severe than others.
On the other hand, it’s important to have some idea of what “accessible” does and does not mean, including some of the key measurements we look for. For instance:
- Doorways that are at least 32” wide.
- Hallways and clear pathways that are at least 36” wide.
- Ramp inclines should be no more than 12 degrees. The easiest way to determine that is to measure the vertical rise the ramp traverses, and the horizontal run of the whole ramp. Ramps should be at least one foot long vertically for every one inch it climbs horizontally. A one foot high step requires a ramp that traverses at least 12 feet in horizontal space. A ramp shorter than that is too steep for ease of use and safety.
- Toilets in stalls should have two grab bars, one on the back wall, the other on the closest adjacent wall.
- Look for clear, level turning and maneuvering spaces that are at least 5’ square. Anything less makes it hard or impossible for a wheelchair to maneuver. This is especially important in restrooms and at the top and bottom of a ramp.
- It’s important to know that a single step can be as much of a barrier as three or four steps. Disabled people don’t always have friends or “caregivers” with them, and accessibility should never rely on staff who are “willing” to lift a wheelchair user or provide some other sort of physical assistance. Some wheelchair users can bump themselves up or down a single, very small step, but anything more than that is a real barrier.
- If your are a wheelchair user or are blind, you may want to have a partner to do surveys with you. That way, you can fully investigate every place you visit, including those with major barriers to entry.
Stay tuned for more information on joining our Mapathon!
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Monday, September 21, 2015
Weekly Reading List
I read some things last week ...
Dylan Matthews, Vox.com - September 17, 2015
Dylan Matthews continues to do great and necessary work on autism at Vox.com. He is autistic, and has written at least one other major piece for Vox explaining the neurodiversity view of autism. I also found a short article he wrote 3 years ago for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. The best thing about this is that Vox isn't a publication about disability, and Matthews usually writes about other things. So although the subject is important to him, he has both an insider and outsider voice, interested, but objective. Of course, it helps that there is the new book Neurotribes for him to write about, and presidential candidates to say stupid things about autism as well.
Ari Ne’eman, Sometimes a Lion - September 17, 2015
Ari Ne’eman, Sometimes a Lion - September 20, 2015
Speaking of autistic voices being crystal clear on difficult topics, Ari Ne'eman has started a blog. He is the Director of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, and has just finished a term on the National Council on Disability. His first two posts are complex and wonkish, but also quite readable. Everyone interested in disability issues in public policy is probably going to love Sometimes a Lion.
FlutistPride’s Blog - September 15, 2015
FlutistPride is a frequent commenter here at Disability Thinking. She mentioned working on a series of posts on the "Five Temperaments" but I wasn't sure what she meant by "Five Temperaments," and it took me awhile to get around to reading the posts. I am so glad I finally did. The descriptions of each "temperament" are so accurate and relateable they're spooky. I mean that in a good way, though there may be moments of discomfort here, for disabled people, family, or service providers. I guess you could say this is a trigger warning. You may feel like one or two of your deepest secrets has been found out, or that some habits of yours you thought were utterly baffling and unique turn out to be pretty simple and predictable. But do read. It's all worth thinking about.
Helen Rutherford, The Mighty - September 15, 2015
I'm glad this article appears in The Mighty, which seems to skew heavily towards readers who are parents of disabled children. I'm glad, because Rutherford's message is as important to parents as it is to adults with disabilities. Disabled youth need disabled role modes. Also, just because a disabled child or teen seems happy and well-adjusted, doesn't mean they actually are. This is one reason why so many of us balk at images of disability that emphasize how brave, cute, or cheerful disabled people are. We get the mistaken message that in order to be accepted, we have to be happy and low-maintenance. It's an understandable confusion, with really unfortunate and unnecessary effects that parents can do a lot to prevent.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Weekly Wrap-Up
Last week’s posts on Disability Thinking:
Tuesday, September 15
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Thursday, September 17
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Friday, September 18
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Saturday, September 19
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Saturday, September 19, 2015
Celebrate Access Equality, September 26, 2015
Hello Everyone!
I hope you are well! I’m writing to tell you about a project I’ve been working on the last several months. I am working with others with disabilities around the world to promote a day to educate and inform about access barriers. I believe that the vast majority of discrimination people with disabilities face is due to lack of access.
In my mind, access isn’t just about physically being able to move around this world. Access barriers can be mental and emotional. Access barriers can include stigma and oppression. As such, something needs to change. We need to make the world aware of access barriers, so that real change can be made. That is the idea behind the day of Access Equality.
Participation can occur anywhere in the world. There are a variety of ways to participate. These include:
-blogging
-sharing our FB page located here: https://www.facebook.com/AccessEquality
-tweeting about access barriers using #AccessEquality
-contacting state and federal government representatives
-protest in your own community
-sign petitions relating to access barriers
-rate a business for accessibility on apps like AXS Map and AbleRoad
-support organizations holding protests, actions, and events on September 26 by sharing their updates
We’re also planning events throughout the day, including a twitter chat, and live streaming.
We are offering two gift cards on Amazon to encourage participation. One person will randomly be selected from those who choose to blog, and one person will be selected from those who take pictures in their community and post them to our FB page and/or using our #AccessEquality. Participants do not have to be disabled themselves, although we heartily encourage individuals to share their own personal experiences with access barriers!
The idea is to create so much content and noise on September 26 that it is too hard not to notice us.
You can find more ideas and information here:
http://www.dominickevans.com/2015/09/celebrate-access-equality-on-september-26/
I could really use your help. Please share this information with your networks and encourage participation. Please also consider participating. We need your voices!!
I appreciate your consideration and possible participation.
Thanks,
Dominick
I plan on joining in the Twitter discussion on September 26, posting a blog post here at Disability Thinking on that day, and helping promote all of the above activities.
Most of all, I plan to help Dominick kick off a really significant push for disabled people and disability activists to enter hundreds, maybe thousands of businesses into online accessibility mapping tools like AbleRoad and AXS Map. Nothing is definite yet, but it looks like our best bet will be to use AXS Map, which has a feature that keeps track of group mapping efforts.
To review ...
These mapping tools use existing Internet-based maps and consumer review sites like Yelp to form the basis of easily consulted reports on accessibility at businesses and other public facilities. Both programs can be added to and consulted on a PC’s web browser, and both also have accompanying mobile apps, so you can enter reviews immediately, without having to take notes and enter them later. Anyone can go to one or both of these sites, download the apps, and get started. If you’re still foggy on how this works, check out this video:
Our tentative plan is to set up a Mapathon at AXS Map, and invite people to register (for free) and commit to enter a certain number of site accessibility reviews. We are thinking we will use September 26 for the kickoff, with an end date of December 31. As soon as the Mapathon is set up, we’ll announce how to get started.
Meanwhile, here is some additional information about the September 26 Access Equality Day:
Friday, September 18, 2015
Accessibility Apps Need Us!
I spent the morning exploring the new Apple mobile device operating system, iOS 9. Among other improvements, the Maps app offers more information on businesses and attractions. Just click the label for, say, the Dunkin’ Donuts on Main Street, and you’ll see the address, phone number, price information, and both quotes and a direct link to Yelp reviews. I live in a small City and I don’t travel much, so I don’t expect to use the Maps app much myself, but it’s pretty cool.
It also got me wondering, for the eleventyith time, why we still don’t have a really comprehensive Internet-based database where disabled people can find out about the accessibility conditions at all kinds of businesses.
There are a few sites and apps designed specifically for accessibility ratings, like AXS Map and AbleRoad. Both build upon existing mapping and review services, Google Maps and Yelp respectively. This seems like the obvious way to document accessibility everywhere. The information can then serve as a guide to individual disabled people, and as an advocacy tool to encourage business to address their accessibility problems sooner rather than later.
The problem is that the system will only work if enough people add accessibility reviews, and that is up to us, the disability community. I don’t know how many disabled people regularly add accessibility reviews with mobile apps or websites, but I almost never hear anyone mention it, either in person or on disability blogs like this one. I could be all wrong, but it still feels like most of the disability community complains about accessibility, but relatively few of us help document the problem using tools that are more effective and easy to use than anything we’ve had before.
Isn’t this something we could all get behind? Can't we do this?
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Thursday, September 17, 2015
Disability Politics
- One of the biggest barriers for the disability community in mainstream politics may be that most of us find it hard to connect our lived experience of disability with either concrete policies or political philosophy. It's second nature for disability activists, but most of us aren't activists. Most disabled people just live their lives and deal with barriers and frustrations in very immediate, personal terms. We need to get into the habit of asking ourselves what kinds of public policies would improve our lives as disabled people. We need to practice asking ourselves, and each other, so we become better equipped to ask the people who want our votes.
- Disability issues should rank higher on the priority lists of candidates, political commentators, and the voting public. However, I don’t think disability will ever rank among the most important and widely discussed issues in American politics. I’m not even sure it makes sense for us to argue that disability should be a top concern.
- I do think it's realistic and completely appropriate for the disability community to someday be a more widely recognized constituency than we are now. Candidates should care about connecting with us and developing distinctive policies that address our needs and concerns … not because they matter much to the country as a whole, but because we are a bona-fide “special interest group” worth courting. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being identified this way. Our concerns are more important than people realize, but they are mainly our concerns, mostly affecting disabled people and their families. Disability issues don't have much relevance for everyone else. That doesn’t mean they are unimportant.
- Most campaigns for national office eventually get around to issuing disability-related policies and positions. Most include “People with Disabilities” on their websites, usually on a drop-down menu of issues or voter groups. Some campaigns take longer to do this than others. Some do it better than others. The real problem is that what they say tends to be generic and non-specific, more about using the right code words and endorsing the usual disability activist themes than about suggesting actual policies. I may feel differently by November 2016, but right now I would much rather hear appalling stuff about lazy cheaters on Disability from someone like Rand Paul, than entirely predictable, or maybe patronizing fluff from a candidate I would otherwise probably vote for. There are legitimate differences of opinion on disability issues. It is better for all of us to discuss them openly and "have it out" than to stick only with candidates who use the right words and an encouraging tone, but have nothing to say.
- Our top priority should be to force candidates to explain how their political philosophies would translate into different approaches to disability policy. If Donald Trump’a positions on disability issues turn out to be not much different than Hillary Clinton’s, or Marco Rubuo’s than Bernie Sanders' then something is wrong. If, on the other hand, we can easily identify which of two unlabeled disability statements is Trump’s and which is Clinton’s, then we will have made some progress, no matter what the policies actually say.
- Despite what I said about disability being a “special interest,” we should connect the dots for voters and candidates between disability issues and the more widely discussed topics that dominate election campaigns. Disability issues connect naturally and in illuminating ways with entitlements, poverty and inequality, employment, healthcare, transportation, education … not to mention infrastructure, law enforcement, and civil rights. Of course, it’s been said a thousand times, but it’s worth repeating that many key disability issues are also aging issues, which demographics suggest should be a much bigger deal in politics as it is.
There will be more about all this from me, I am sure.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Weekly Reading List
Sometimes it’s good to take a break from the policy monkery and identity navel-gazing, and revisit the fundamentals of life with disabilities.
Alex Ghenis, New Mobility - September 11, 2015
When I first saw this article, I expected either a lesson in politeness or a scolding of disabled people who are too proud to ask for help. Instead, Ghenis effectively balances the practicality of asking for help in a pinch, with recognition that pride and independent accessibility are still important. I especially appreciated the idea that “Respectful Thanks” means both respect for the person who helped you, and also for yourself.
Hannah Zack, Huffington Post - September 4, 2015
This young woman has a better grasp on how she feels about her disability than I did until much later in my life. Even so, it’s hard to identify how her experiences match up with her suggestion. Her encounters with ableism seem to involve very specific misconceptions, while she attributes all of it to a very broad devaluation of disabled people that she says must change. I agree with her, but I get the feeling people will continue to do and say annoying things, even if they think better of us. It’s all a work in progress.
Rob Crossman, The Telegraph - September 15, 2015
I enjoyed getting a taste of English football culture … which seems to be fundamentally different from other sports fandoms. But the real reason I posted this article here is item 5. People still question whether “ableism” is real, just as others unfortunately also doubt the current relevance of “racism.” If anyone tries to tell you that disabled people aren’t systematically treated like a different species, ask them to explain why sports mascots and other giant costume characters glom onto disabled people at every opportunity. And don’t say it’s harmless. It’s certainly a lot better than a beating, or losing a job opportunity, but let’s not underestimate the power of public humiliation, okay?
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Sunday, September 13, 2015
Weekly Wrap-Up
Last week’s posts on Disability Thinking:
Monday, September 7
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Weekly Reading List |  |
Tuesday, September 8
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Wednesday, September 9
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Thursday, September 10
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Friday, September 11
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Disability Blogger Link-Up |  |
Friday, September 11, 2015
Disability Blogger Link-Up
Time again for a Disability Blogger Link-Up! Share a disability-related blog post or article here, any time between Friday, September 11 and Midnight Sunday, September 13, 2015. And of course, read what others have posted.
Technical note: To make the links easier to browse, in the “Your name” blank, type the title of the article. In the "Your URL" blank, paste the address of the item you are posting.
Then click the "Enter" button. That's it!
Go ahead and post, read, and enjoy! This Link-Up will close at Midnight Eastern on Sunday. The next Disability Blogger Link-Up will start Friday, September 25, 2015.
Go ahead and post, read, and enjoy! This Link-Up will close at Midnight Eastern on Sunday. The next Disability Blogger Link-Up will start Friday, September 25, 2015.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Throwback Thursday
Two years ago in Disability Thinking:
One year ago in Disability Thinking:
Both posts and the articles they link to are equally relevant today.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Imagining The Next Apple Event
I watched today's Apple Event, which included a major overhaul of the Apple TV system. I may find the new Apple TV hard to resist, but I'm going to try.
The new Apple TV will apparently run stand-alone apps. This suggests the possibility of using Apple TV, with its new Bluetooth remote and Siri-based voice controls, to run a full slate of household appliances and devices. This could make it the most elegant and complete home automation unit ever ... a blast for tech nerds, and a major liberation for people with significant physical disabilities.
Imagine turning lights on and off, opening and closing doors and windows, turning heat or air conditioning up and down, controlling kitchen devices, or flushing a toilet through voice commands or the flick of a thumb. That's what I'm talking about. It's not far fetched at all. Lots of companies already sell control devices you can plug into any standard appliance, and control from a central unit like a smartphone. It's just that right now it's a rather confusing and very expensive field. Apple is great at making things easy to use, and, if not cheap, at least reasonably priced and easy to pay for. Apple seems like the perfect company to make environmental controls an everyday, common reality, including for disabled people.
The problem is, I still don't know and I can't seem to find out whether anything like this will be included in the new Apple TV, or any of Apple's other product lines. If anyone knows about new apps and systems that maybe just didn't make it into the event, please let me know.
The last Apple Event, back in March, did include a lengthy demonstration of Home Kit, a suite of home appliance devices controlled mainly through an iPhone. However, the presentation was a bit confusing and I don't recall Tim Cook mentioning how useful these controls could be for disabled people.
Here is what I hope to see, maybe at the next Apple Event:
- A smoothly operating, flexible, and simple home appliance control app that will work on any Apple device, including the Apple TV.
- A control app designed by Apple, included free with all Apple operating systems. Users would pay only for each device control unit they want or need for their own homes, purchased from third-party developers.
- I would love to see Tim Cook introduce a person with significant physical disabilities to explain and demonstrate the app at the Apple Event. It worked well when he had Christy Turlington introduce the Apple Watch's fitness features.
I don't mean to imply that the system is only for disabled people. It's just that disabled people can dramatically illustrate, in a unique and memorable way, how useful environmental controls could be for everyone.
Apple is already a leader in making its products accessible to disabled people. I am still waiting for the company to turn it's products into tools to make the whole world more accessible for everyone, especially disabled people.
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Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Access or Awareness?
BBC Ouch: Disability Talk - September 3, 2015
The always excellent Ouch: Disability Talk podcast from the BBC recently spoke to three people with cerebral palsy who live in Japan, about what life is like in Japan for people with physical disabilities. All three live in Japan by choice, having moved there from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. All three love living in Japan. They specifically praised Japan's accessibility and plentiful transportation. All three said they have much more freedom and mobility living in Japan than they ever did at home.
On the other hand, while they cited the fundamental hospitality and friendliness of Japanese people, especially towards “western” visitors, the expatriates all spoke of encounters with Japanese culture's explicit and unashamed ableism. Disabled foreigners are treated well, because Japanese people love guests and find westerners fascinating. Disability, however, is widely and openly viewed as ugly and embarrassing … an unsightly disruption to the smooth, calm exterior appearance of a deliberately conformist society. While ableist discrimination happens everywhere, in the US, UK, and Canada, there is at least a general agreement that disability discrimination is wrong, something to be frowned upon, hidden or disguised. In Japan, disability discrimination is considered natural and more or less logical. For instance, in Japan, it’s considered perfectly fine to deny a job to a wheelchair user, for no other reason than that a disabled person might be disruptive and upsetting to others.
I am fascinated that all three of the disabled people interviewed clearly love living in Japan, and feel that the country’s better, more accessible infrastructure more than compensates for the society’s often stunning lack of “disability awareness.” This has implications for the long simmering debate within the disability community between two apparently competing priorities: accessibility vs. awareness.
People who focus more on accessibility and other systemic justice issues say that if our infrastructure and laws are good for disabled people, then peoples' individual prejudices won't matter so much. Others argue that ramps and non-discrimination laws by themselves don't bring true equality, which depends in the end on how well people understand and accept disability.
My own perspective has always been on the accessibility side of the argument. If I had to choose, I would prefer a more accessible community that is less understanding, to community of compassionate people "aware of" disability, but full of physical and systemic barriers. The three people interviewed seem to agree, but I wonder if they will still feel the same in a few more years. What if the novelty of excellent accessibility wears off, while the persistent ignorance of neighbors and colleagues grinds away at your soul? Living in a wheelchair-user's paradise might not be as great as it seems to be at first.
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