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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Disability Politics

I am working on some kind of blog post or article on evaluating election candidates from a disability policy perspective. I’m not ready yet to come out with a definitive list of questions we can pose to candidates, but I have a few preliminary thoughts:

- 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.

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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.

Asking for Help: 3 Tips

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.

Why We Need to Reshape What It Means to Be a Person With a Disability

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.

Five things I've learnt watching football as a disabled fan

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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Weekly Wrap-Up

Last week’s posts on Disability Thinking:

Monday, September 7	Weekly Reading List
Tuesday, September 8	Access or Awareness
Wednesday, September 9	Imagining The Next Apple Event
Thursday, September 10	Throwback Thursday
Friday, September 11	Disability Blogger Link-Up

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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.

Throwback Thursday

Two years ago in Disability Thinking:

Best Nursing Homes vs. Home Care Statement Ever.

One year ago in Disability Thinking:

4 More Tips For Parents.

Both posts and the articles they link to are equally relevant today.

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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Access or Awareness?

'Standing out' as a disabled foreigner in Japan

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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Weekly Reading List

What Was the Telethon?

Kevin Gotkin, Medium.com - September 5, 2015

Brilliant article on telethons, what they did and what they meant. I look forward to Paul Longmore's book. I am especially curious to see if he discusses how other cultural factors contributed to making the telethon the way it was. For instance, I wonder if the exclusive focus on research and cures might have been partly a result of Jerry Lewis' generation seeing so many truly dread illnesses successfully cured by scientists. For awhile there, it seemed like we could cure anything. Also, Jerry Lewis came out of a very specific tribe of entertainers who in the peak years of the telethon gave it a certain Vegas-y, Rat-Pack-ish, tough-guy sentimentality. The Labor Day Telethon always felt like a swanky, boozy charity event bankrolled by a mobster. In short, it was kind of gross and creepy, quite aside the insulting way it talked about disability and disabled people.

We've called autism a disease for decades. We were wrong.

Dylan Matthews, Vox.com - August 31, 2015

Dylan Matthews interviews Steve Silberman, author of the new book, NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Nerodiversity. Matthews is autistic, which he has occasionally mentioned before in his Vox.com articles. Vox.com itself is a general interest news website that specializes in "explainer" journalism, with an emphasis on making complex and obscure issues understandable. It has also been a strong champion of debunking popular myths and prejudices through careful, objective examination of data. That's one of the reasons I think this article, in this publication, is so important. Vox.com doesn't endorse "fringe" theories just to be trendy or make people feel good, so it lends further credibility to the neurodiversity understanding of autism. Of course, Matthews' own experience lends considerable credibility as well.

Does Down Syndrome Justify Abortion?

Mark Lawrence-Schrad, New York Times - September 4, 2015

This article provides a pretty good map of how the ethics and rhetorics of abortion and disability intersect and intertwine in complicated, often unpredictable ways. Two things in the article stand out to me. First, I am not surprised but I am very discouraged that Lawrence-Schrad and his wife's doctors responded to their decision follow through on the birth of their Down Syndrome child with “raised eyebrows.” He doesn’t say anyone actively tried to talk them out of it, or talk them into an abortion, but total neutrality is the lesson I first learned from talking to pro-choice people. Pro-choice people just aren't supposed to encourage people to have abortions, or not to have them. The second thing I come away with is that we need better education about disabilities for maternity professionals. I mean life with disabilities, not just the medical details of disabilities themselves.

Helping struggling seniors and disabled

Timothy Canova - August 30, 2015

For years, politicians of both major parties have spoken as if it was obvious that reducing or limiting entitlements like Social Security has to happen. Recently, however, a growing number of economists and even a few politicians have been suggesting that maybe we need to increase Social Security. Expensive though it may be, Social Security also delivers a lot for the money. For one thing, it has virtually eliminated extreme poverty among the elderly. And while we justifiably complain about how meager and limited life can be for disabled people on Disability or SSI, I think we all realize that without these benefits, the our poverty rates and the intensity of our suffering would be much, much worse than they are. The Miami Herald's proposals here aren't that dramatic, but it's notable to see a mainstream newspaper openly endorsing measures that would increase, not reduce the cost of entitlements ... because doing so might just be necessary to avert a true economic and human disaster. It's never been particularly cool in the disability activist community to campaign for more benefits. We tend to prefer fighting for civil rights and other supports partly on the assumption that our greater independence will save everyone money. I still think that's true to an extent, but I am starting to think we may need to gear up to fight for basic support pretty soon. And teaming up with seniors might be a good idea, too.

Tories promise improved disability grant amid turmoil over urinating candidate

The Canadian Press / The Globe And Mail - September 7, 2015

It’s interesting as an American to read about disability policy in the Canadian elections. I wish the article was more informative. I’d like to know more about this Disability Savings Grant. It sounds like a characteristically conservative benefit program that says, “If you have money, we will allow you to save it tax-free.” However, the article doesn’t explain the program much. I also noted that none of the comments are about the policy, because nobody knows a thing about disability policy. Okay, there’s also that unrelated peeing in a cup thing which I guess is much more fun to comment about. But still, doesn't anyone have a anything to say about the Prime Minister’s proposal or the program it relates to?

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Weekly Wrap-Up

I’m stretching the definition of “weekly” this week, to take in everything posted since I got back to blogging on my new iMac.

Thursday, August 27	… And, We’re Back!
Friday, August 28	Disability Blogger Link-Up
Monday, August 31	Weekly Reading List
Wednesday, September 2	Dueling Dualisms
Thursday, September 3	Throwback Thursday
Friday, September 4	Brainstorming
Saturday, September 5	Disability Arts

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Disability Arts

Cheryl Green, disability activist, artist, and co-host on my Disability.TV podcast about Glee, asked me to help spread the word about a new independent film called Becoming Bulletproof. It is a film in which disabled people participated at all levels of production, including playing most of the key acting roles. It has already won some film festival awards, and based on what I see in the trailer, it looks like a really, really good film. Click here to find out where you can see “Becoming Bulletproof."

It’s a bit of a departure for me to feel excited about a disability arts project. I’ve never been interested in disability arts. There are several reasons for this.

For one thing, I have an aversion to programs of any kind that are just for disabled people. Disability arts programs tend to look at first glance like segregated therapeutic programs that just happen to use art as their hook, rather than arts programs per se. It’s much more complicated than that, but I’m only just starting to realize it.

Also, I’m usually not fond of art that has some obvious external purpose. For instance, I don’t like highly politicized art. I am all for art that deals with political and social issues, but I prefer it to be subtle, natural, not driven into my head with a sledgehammer. When disability art isn’t explicitly therapeutic, it tends instead to attempt some very heavy ideological lifting.

Finally, I’ve always been skeptical of amateur and DIY art. I am sure there are great poets to be found at poetry readings, and I’ve seen a few performance artists who really impressed me, but I cringe at the thought of attending those kinds of events, because I guess I don’t have the patience to sit through something mediocre or ragged.

(By the way, I am painfully aware of the hypocrisy of an amateur blogger and podcaster disdaining amateur art).

This is where my internalized ableism comes in. I am ashamed to say that in the past at least, I have tended to equate “disability arts” with low-quality art … as if arts programs for disabled people necessarily produce bad art, uplifting for the artist perhaps, but not interesting to most audiences, including me. Put another way, I have assumed over the years that experiencing disability art is about doing some thing nice for the artists.

That’s why I am so excited by “Becoming Bulletproof.” Although it is integrated, with both disabled and non-disabled people involved, it does have a disability-related mission aside from art. Yet, it looks like everyone involved worked really hard to do everything really well, to entertain audiences, not just to satisfy themselves or have a meaningful experience. Whatever else the film accomplishes, it looks like it is a good, fun, well-made film … full stop. When I watch this film, it will be because I want to see it, not to support some kind of cause.

I can’t wait to see the whole movie, and I think it’s obviously long past time for me to explore disability arts with a more open mind.

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Brainstorming

I keep a running list of potential blogging topics. At least once a week, I go through and add new topics, and erase or rewrite topics I’ve changed my mind about. Here is what’s on my topic list today:

• Disability policy questions for election candidates.
• Tips for being a disability advocate without being an asshole.
• How I really feel about my disabilities.
• A preference for passion or policy?
• The difference between advocacy and activism.
• Notes for people who think ableism isn't a problem.
• My take on "Political Correctness."
• Which is worse, opposition or ignorance?
• Discredited ideas about disability.
• Intentions don't matter, except that they sort of do.
• How disability issues differ from other kinds of policy issues.
• Exploring pessimism and optimism in disability culture.
• "Educating" people is a profession and a calling, not an obligation.
• Is there a "Disability Agenda?"
• Exploring the different neighborhoods within the “disability community."
• Inspirational disability stories that don't make me want to throw up.
• I wish I could talk to my parents about how they dealt with my disabilities.
• Checking my privilege, disability edition.
• The disability version of “respectability politics."
• My take on “Intersectionality."
• The evolving arguments for disability rights.
• My most embarrassing disability-related moment.
• What do disabled people fear most?

What should I write about over the next few weeks? I would also like to learn about how other disability bloggers decide what to write. Please add your thoughts below!

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Throwback Thursday

A year ago in Disability Thinking: Normal People Sick. I guess I wasn’t feeling well. Also, “God damn these vampires."

I don’t know where or when I first ran across the phrase, “Normal People Sick.” I suspect it was on Tumblr, but I’m not sure. I do know that when I first read “Normal People Sick” I identified with it immediately. It’s a useful expression for disabled people. We need a way to distinguish between health problems that are an everyday component of our disabilities … like chronic pain … and the kinds of illnesses everyone gets … like colds and flu. The distinction doesn’t always mean much in practical terms, but I like how it helps reinforce the fact that disabilities are not illnesses, and that being sick is a very different experience from being disabled.

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