Thursday, August 18, 2005

ACCESSIBILITY

*photo below--"Montreal Train Tracks and Photophobia" by sapphoq


I am so sick of the wheelchair
sign for accessibility.

Not all of us use a wheelchair.

Along with Dan Wilkins and my other acquaintances from the organization ADAPT, I
vote for getting rid of the wheelchair sign and using the all inclusive letter A
instead.

A is for Accessibility.

A is for all of us.

A is for "an inclusive society" that does not distinguish between "obvious" and "invisible" disabilities.

A friend of mine who has neurofibromatosis [von Recklinghaus disease or "Elephant's Man Disease in the vernacular--a cancer of the nerve cell endings caused by a genetic mutation] came up to see me once. She has a "handicapped" permit. Some man pulled up behind us and started verbally abusing her. She looked at him and said, "I have CANCER, do you mind?" That is just one example of why I vote for using the letter A for accessibility. Society is used to equating "handicapped" with people who use wheelchairs. This needs to change.

When my friends who use wheelchairs cannot access independently the entryway to a medical clinic that gets medicaid funding, THAT IS WRONG.

When government
buildings do not provide
accessible elevators and restrooms,
THAT IS WRONG.

Every time any member of this society is denied services, access to public places, or the ability to move within this society, THAT IS WRONG.

It should not matter whether any individual with a disability uses a wheelchair, has hearing or vision problems, mobility problems, cognitive problems, a mental condition.......

What should matter is that ALL OF US need to be able to maintain real employment [not sheltered workshops thank-you as they are akin to slave labor], housing, public accomodations, transportation, education, financial solvency, intimate relations, etc-- with or without supports-- of OUR choosing.

When the regional VESID office refuses to sign off on a waiver so that I can get a job coach and work less than twenty hours a week, that is discrimination.

[Yes, I am complaining.]

When the "special bus" has a very limited schedule or is too "busy" to pick up disabled tourists in Myrtle Beach so they can go out to dinner at a restaurant of their choice, that is discrimination.

When a human being with a history of severe trauma and resultant mental condition who has self-inflicted healing scars on their arms is asked to leave a diner in Pennsylvania because those scars are upsetting to the other patrons, that is discrimination.

When I went on vacation in Montreal in April of 2005 with my cane, suddenly there were obstacles that I do not have to deal with in my hometown--uneven broken sidewalks, long long walks to change metros [read:underground subway trains], and people who could not wait for me to find the words to express myself with in retail establishments.

YES, the whole world needs to be accessible to wheelchair users. YES, insurance should pay for equipment that would most improve quality of life. YES also, many of us need society to be INCLUSIVE OF ALL DISABLED PEOPLE.

When I brought the disability papers to one of my doctors to fill out when I was applying for SSD, he said, "But you can do housework and drive!" And I thought to myself, hmmm, I'm the one who got the brain injury here???

I did get the SSD-- but there are horror stories about people with cancer on chemotherapy being denied SSD because some bureaucrat believes that between fatigue and throwing up, they should be able to find some time and energy to work.

Cross-disability work is so important, now more than ever. Let's get rid of the wheelchair sign and substitute the letter "A." Let's gather together as a coalition to fight for the same rights that the temporarily abled around us take for granted. The horror stories need to stop. There are real people behind the horror stories suffering because our politicians and our big lobby insurance companies want to save money at the expense of our lives.

-sapphoq

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