Comments on: “What can I do?”

By: BADD: Blogging Against Disablism Day « Pizza Diavola

BADD: Blogging Against Disablism Day « Pizza Diavola — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:20:19 +0000

[...] most of her life without even considering the existence of spoons. amandaw’s post “What Can I Do?” was similarly eye-opening and made me think about how my able-bodied privilege isn’t [...]

By: Taking the Stairs « 19th & Folsom, San Francisco, CA

Taking the Stairs « 19th & Folsom, San Francisco, CA — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:02:32 +0000

[...] the Stairs A while ago, I read this post by amandaw, “What can I do?”. amandaw is disabled in a way that isn’t obviously visible to most able-bodied people, a [...]

By: Smite Me! [.net] » Blog Archive » elsewhere, other things

Smite Me! [.net] » Blog Archive » elsewhere, other things — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:28:38 +0000

[...] amandaw at three rivers fog lets the fully-abled individual(s) among us know what we can do to improve accessibility for those [...]

By: Opopanox, Home of the Arrogant Worm

Opopanox, Home of the Arrogant Worm — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:11:55 +0000

[...] link located here [...]

By: Jessica

Jessica — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:00:06 +0000

Thanks, Emily. Those are really good thoughts.

By: Emily

Emily — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:45:16 +0000

I’m with Jessica- can we try a little brainstorming session in comments here?

I was standing on a bus the other day and a guy gave me his seat because I was stumbling a bit. (I’m not disabled, but I had a heavy bag and I didn’t feel well, so he might have noticed that I looked miserable.) This guy is probably good at recognizing when people with less visible disabilities could use help because he’s attentive. So, hmmm. Pay attention to non-obvious cues like facial expression, how someone’s walking, amount of effort they seem to be expending. Any others?

This probably wouldn’t be feasible in the school example, but I can imagine elevator situations (e.g. in a hotel or a mall or something) where an able-bodied person can ask, “I’m next in line, but if anyone’s waiting because you *need* the elevator, please go ahead.”

Raise the issue / advocate. Friends who *are* aware of the particular issue can advocate solutions (maybe as a sign urging students who can easily do so to take the stairs or escalator. though that might be dicey because of the social judgment of others’ abilities involved. or a sign on the escalator that normalizes non-climbers by asking climbers to keep to the left?).

Don’t assume that if you don’t know there’s a problem, everything’s fine. Educate ourselves about what kinds of access problems tend to arise and how they’re problematic, so that we can recognize them when we encounter them. (This is kind of vague… any suggestions?)

Does anyone have other ideas?

By: Jessica

Jessica — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:51:28 +0000

Amandaw, this is very well-explained and has brought my attention to my role in the problem as an able-bodied person, but I still don’t have a very good understanding of the answer to “what can I do?” I don’t mean to put the burden on you to have an easy answer to the question– it’s definitely not fair to expect disabled people to be the only ones to have to come up with solutions. But since that’s the title of this post, I hope my question comes across as earnest and respectful. Reading your examples of waiting for an open elevator or an empty seat on the train, I’m still lost as to what I should do in everyday life. I live in Pittsburgh and ride the buses, which are always crowded, so it’s easy to imagine a situation where I might be sitting down and there are no empty seats when you board the bus. Reading your post has definitely reminded me not to be irritable if someone who appears to be able-bodied asks me to give up my seat, but beyond that, how can I know when I should offer it? In those circumstances, unless someone says something, all I really have to go on is appearances. So I would move for a parent with a baby, or a person with a cane, but I’m not sure how I would recognize that you needed the seat or needed to cut in front of me in the elevator line unless you said something. I realize this puts all the burden on you to ask for it and identify yourself, so I want to find a better way.

By: barbara

barbara — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:29:12 +0000

Let me tell you, amandaw, a cane would not have helped you. I use a cane, and people simply look past it. They are constantly amazed when I can’t go upstairs, or walk as fast as they do, or wait in long lines. “Oh-you’re handicapped? I never noticed!” The only handicapped people that get any respect at all are those in wheelchairs. Any other assistive technology (I’ve learned this from other disabled friends) such as braces, walkers, even scooters, goes pretty much unrecognized.Thanks for writing this great article though—hopefully, it will make someone think twice.

By: amandaw

amandaw — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:04:02 +0000

erin, I certainly think you are entitled to a seat when you have a serious injury like that. And I feel your pain. One time I tried standing on the T (Pittsburgh’s light rail) when it was overcrowded on the way to a Penguins game. I paid for that for weeks afterward — not days, weeks, and it was miserable. My husband and I will wait for a second or third train after a game, just to make sure I can sit without having to ask someone to move. I mean, it’s not just standing upright — you have to balance yourself, the swaying, the lurching, keeping yourself from falling into someone else’s lap… etc. I can imagine that was hell on your knee.

Have you heard the term “temporarily able-bodied”? :) It is in reference to situations much like yours — a great majority of the population will face a disability of some sort at some point in their lives — temporary or permanent.

By: Erica

Erica — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:37:46 +0000

Wow.

Thank you for a very thought-provoking article. It’s one of those pieces that suddenly made that little light in my brain turn on. Seriously, wow.

I am going to take the stairs from now on and will try to keep my eyes open to find more opportunities for good.

By: lilacsigil

lilacsigil — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:09:28 +0000

Also, sometimes it’s so easy to make a change, and that change benefits everyone. I got to have input on the design of my workplace (a retail pharmacy) and for no apparent reason, the original design was raised off the ground and had a short ramp. I asked why this was so, and wouldn’t it be easier to just have the whole thing flat to ensure easy access for people with disabilities and parents with prams, and…the architect hadn’t thought of that! In a pharmacy, of all places! In the end, taking out that extra 18 inches of height saved about $2000, quite apart from the access benefit. I have no idea why other new public or retail buildings wouldn’t include equal access as the very first planning step – it’s a huge and stupid gap in education.

By: erin

erin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:43:12 +0000

I tore my ACL in March of this year and am waiting to get surgery. For the most part, I don’t limp or have outward signs that I have something physically wrong with me. Every time I have had to be on public transport I have looked at the seats reserved for the elderly or the disabled and could not bring myself to use them, even though I have very little balance, and any side-to-side movement (like in a subway) is very tiring for my knee.
I’m sure that previously I have been a part of the problem because I did not know there was a problem to begin with. Now, having had a disability (even though it is only temporary), and reading things like this entry, I will be more conscious of the decisions that I make regarding other people’s needs and comfort.