Disability as a Class Theme
In the past few months I’ve been working with my RC class on disability.
As a woman with cerebral palsy, which is very visible, I’ve wanted to move disability liberation forward and figure out why disability oppression is often not addressed when RC teachers and leaders speak about the various oppressions. It is often the etcetera at the end of a sentence (racism, sexism, classism, LGBQTF oppression, etc.). This also seems true in the field of science, in which I work, even though many students and scientists with disabilities have been celebrated for the innovation and creativity they have brought to their fields. One of my wide world tasks is to encourage people, especially in science, to address disability in conversations about diversity and inclusion.
Disability must be addressed as an important piece of liberation theory. It is present in every identity—of race, gender, class, sexual preference, age, and so on—but it is the part that is left out, because no one wants to think that it matters, and everyone is afraid it could happen to them.
The bias against people with disabilities, sometimes called ableism, is often based on assumptions of inferiority. Even professionals who understand disability issues may be reluctant to personally engage with people whose conditions make them uncomfortable. It can be hard for people to imagine that someone who uses a wheelchair or a walking device, has slow speech, is blind or visually impaired, is deaf or hard of hearing, has a learning disability, or struggles with a health or other condition has the skills to contribute to an educational, social, or professional environment.
Things are not so different in many Co-Counseling settings. Although there is always a well-meaning attempt to include us in classes and workshops, people with disabilities are still sometimes (not always!) marginalized. We may be chosen last for a session, not be invited to join in walks or play, not be given a job, just not be considered equal or as counseling-competent as everyone else. The fact that we may need an accessible counseling location or assistance with getting around or getting our meals should not exclude us from big connections with others or from just having fun!
WHAT WE DID IN MY CLASS
Disability is tough to look at. I wanted to create a safe space in which folks could look honestly at their feelings and admit to all the terrible images and fears they had associated with disability. Our class had been together for about a year, and we really liked each other and counseled each other well, so I thought the time was right to take a crack at [attempt to address] this large issue.
I asked people to work on their early experiences—what they had heard, what they had seen, what they had personally experienced, and what they had felt they could not deal with. People’s early experiences get recorded in their minds and make them vulnerable to acting out patterned behavior when they encounter a person with a disability. But big discharge begins to change perspectives. Stereotypes can begin to fade away.
Counselors can help clients get to the core of their feelings. I have used the direction “Be glad you’re not like me.” It is hard on me but has often brought immense discharge for a non-disabled client. In the class we just tried different things.
In addition to what people have experienced regarding those who are different, many people have feelings about their own bodies that affect how they feel and act around disabled people. Maybe they’ve had a disability themselves and never acknowledged it. Or maybe they need to say all the terrible phrases they’ve ever heard or laugh about being scared. But everything attaches to their early distress.
The more we addressed disability in the class and people discharged, the more people began to work on their connections to family, partners, and friends. As young people we expect closeness and a sense of belonging. When we don’t get what we need, our yearnings become frozen and we can spend our whole life trying to fulfill them with an assortment of friends, lovers, and family members. When we encounter someone with a perspective, lifestyle, or appearance that is not like ours, we tend to emotionally run away. We don’t like disruption when we have worked so hard to find our “tribes” (groups of people who are “just like us”). The yearning for a perfect relationship can feed into a bias toward people with disabilities, who are often assumed to be less valuable than those who fit the unrealistic description of “normal.”
Folks also fear being dependent. I asked my class about any difficulties they’d had in accepting that it could happen to them and what images had come to mind.
The harder it was for me to hear the negative things, the more support and discharge I went after [pursued] and the more excited I became by people’s non-pretentious responses. I could face their responses because of the relationships I had built with everyone. I knew that my class respected me enough to work hard. Perhaps disability was not such a horrible thing after all.
DISABILITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
We will also be looking at how climate change affects people with disabilities, the most vulnerable population. Marsha Saxton, the International Liberation Reference Person for People with Disabilities, has thought a lot about this. Here are some things to consider:
- Extreme heat will harm people with spinal cord injuries. They will need cooling areas, because they are unable to perspire.
- If there’s a lack of communication technologies, people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing will not be able to make their needs known.
- Ramps into shelters, accessible bathrooms, and feasible evacuation transportation are essential for people with mobility impairments, including those who use respirators and anyone who is unable to use regular buses, cars, or trains.
- Toxic waste dumps and rising sea levels affect the health and well-being of people with disabilities, many of whom live in poor or low-income areas, and can force them to migrate.
People need to include disabled folks in conversations about disaster prevention and safe evacuation.
Confronting my own assumptions has shown me that many people with disabilities, if given proper encouragement and support, will persist and develop the tools and creativity they need to cope with their disability and succeed in education or a social path or career. Those of us with disabilities continue to test new technologies and other accommodations in our homes, jobs, and social environments. Because of our life experience, we know what does or doesn’t work. We can contribute unique perspectives to any community, especially when there’s a commitment to innovation and new thinking. We must be welcomed.
There are so many reasons to have big sessions on disability and to make people with disabilities a part of any life or “tribe.”
Conquering feelings about disability takes a long time. My class and I have made a good start.
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA