Thoughts About Disablism

Since Blogging Against Disabilism Day (May 1 2012), I have been working my way through all the blog posts and enjoying them immensely. The posts have given me lots to think about and I always enjoy reading about other people’s experiences. I didn’t start this blog until after BADD, so I obviously didn’t write a post then, but I’m definitely thinking about disablism now and numerous thoughts have come to mind.

1.     Being disabled and being disablist/ableist are not mutually exclusive.

2.     There is a lot of anger about perceived “fakers” which seems to be leading to vigilantism and general ill-will towards people who don’t have visible disabilities.

3.     There are more inclusive ways of marking accessible parking locations. Something similar to this (http://www.grt.ca/en/accessibility/resources/Priorityseating.jpg) sign used increasingly on buses in Ontario could be one option.

4.     Disablism also comes from the parents of children with disabilities.

5.     I don’t consider Asperger’s Syndrome to be a disability in my case, but I can see how others might see it that way.

6.     It is disablist to say that the only thing that disables people is their attitude or their environment, but it is not disablist to say that the only thing that disables yourself is your attitude or your environment.

7.     I need to find out more about the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, particularly when it comes to people asking for proof of disability. Bus drivers, I’m looking at you on this one.

8.     Not being in a wheelchair does not make me a “lesser disabled person”, it makes me an invisibly disabled person.

9.     I refuse to use a cane simply to prove that I’m not a faker. It feels fake and I’m uncomfortable doing it. If people can’t understand that my brace IS a mobility aid, they can go screw themselves. I may still buy a cane, because there are days when I could probably use one.

10. Unrelated to disablism, but still something that has been weighing on my mind lately: I have decided that I’m opposed to the DSM V taking out the specific entry for Asperger’s Syndrome. This has come from discussions with parents of children on the “lower” end of the spectrum who believe that people with Asperger’s should not identify as having autism and who are irritated when they do. I think that lumping everything together will cause more anger for these parents and might have the impact of making services less accessible to people with Asperger's. I intend to write a more involved post about this decision, which may evolve.

11. Also unrelated to disablism, but related to BADD: there are A LOT of QUILTBAGPIPE bloggers with disabilities out there.

Some of these thoughts may become the subject of longer blog posts, but they’re all still being thought out and simmered for a while.  If you’re interested in reading some Blogging Against Disability Day posts, a list can be found here: http://blobolobolob.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/blogging-against-disablism-day-2012.html