merry christmas!

Have an awesome Christmas! More real posts in the new year.

This is an upsetting letter about a man's struggle to reach his goals and hopes for his life.

new study on helping kids with disabilities feel included

This is a cool article. The University of Alberta's Dr. Spencer-Cavaliere interviewed kids with different disabilities and found three main themes to what made them feel included: being able to participate, having an important role, and having friends. I think these are probably true for all kids. They might just be more difficult for some kids with disabilities.

I think it's great that the people doing the study talked TO the kids, instead of just about them, and recommends talking to each kid to get their perspective. I think this is really important: just because people have disabilities doesn't mean they don't have important things to share!

i love this video

This has been one of my favorite youtube videos for years: the world's first wheelchair backflip.

this is a sad story

This is awful: a person with a physical disability was left out in the cold because their taxi was 2 hours late.

robots

This is a really neat article about robots being developed to be used by students with disabilities such as cerebral palsy. The robots allow people with limited mobility to manipulate objects more easily.

an interview with Heidi Janz

Heidi Janz is a postdoctoral fellow with the John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre at the University of Alberta. She has done extensive research on end-of-life issues for people with disabilities, as well as being a writer and playwright and recipient of the 2010 Tanis Doe award for Canadian Disability Study and Culture.

What does anti-ableism mean to you?

To me, anti-ableism is a social and ethical principle. Anti-ableism is about individuals and social institutions recognizing that any kind of discrimination against people based on their dis/abilities is morally and ethically wrong, and therefore should not be tolerated.


Why is anti-ableism important?

I think that anti-ableism is important because I believe that, unless/until a society recognizes that all its members are inherently valuable and worthy of respect, everyone in that society will be at risk of maltreatment and victimization. It seems to me that able-ism is really about a fear of or refusal to recognize that all human abilities are in fact temporary; all people, if they live long enough, will acquire disabilities of one type or another. To acknowledge this means acknowledging one's own vulnerability, and that can be scary. On the other hand, by acknowledging disability as a universal human experience, society, I believe, becomes a safer place for EVERYONE.


What effect has ableism had on your life?

I think that ALL people with disabilities encounter ableism, in various forms and to varying degrees, throughout their lives. For me, I guess the ableism that I most often experience takes the form of people's reluctance to have to "deal with" my disability. For example, just the other day, I got into an argument with a DATS booking agent who didn't want to take my booking until I had an aide with me because she claimed she couldn't understand my speech. On my THIRD CALL back, guess what? -- she was able to take my booking.

What can people do to fight ableism?

I think that one of the best ways to fight ableism is for people with disabilities (along with their friends and families) to take pride in who they are, rather than somehow feeling a need to apologize for their disability.


What is one positive experience you've had with anti-ableism?

My very first prof in university, Bruce Stovel, always took a very practical approach to working WITH me to figure out ways to accommodate my disability-related needs. When, during the course of my undergrad, I encountered professors who were decidedly ableist in their attitude toward having me, a disabled student, in their class, I would usually refer them to Bruce for some "behavior modification." On the whole, this strategy proved to be remarkably successful.

an interesting perspective on inclusion and segregation

This is an interesting read. It is from a speech Eli Clare made a few years ago, where he tells his experiences with the education system growing up with a disability in the 1960's and talks about his opinions on inclusion.

But what I do know is that the material, social, and emotional conditions of disability and education begin with these questions of segregation and integration. To put it bluntly, who gets in through the front door, who through the freight elevator, and who not at all? Certainly the conversation about integration and segregation in all their possible permutations is a complex one. The former isn’t completely good nor the latter completely bad. What is lost in an integrated, mainstreamed classroom when disability-related needs aren’t being met is huge, and what can be gained in a separate classroom designed to meet specific learning styles, access needs, and peer group dynamics is powerful. Nonetheless, the profound history of exile and segregation disabled people have faced at the hands of educational institutions has far-reaching consequences. Who gets to sit in the classrooms, study in the libraries, work in the labs, paint in the studios of universities and colleges….

This makes me glad that I have the opportunities that I do, so that I can sit in the classrooms and study in the library of my university. Inclusive education is important to me!

this is so cool!!

This is an inspiration!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnEXl_AwIq0&feature=related

Pledge to end the R word

www.r-word.org

Go here and take the pledge... I DID!!

some quotes on ableism and anti ableism

Strongly support the cause of anti-ableism. I think the community needs to embrace each person and the gifts that they have to share.
Talia Ritz

Societies will ultimately be judged by the way they treat all members.
Jordan Majeau

Removing physical boundaries is the first step of course. But removing boundaries within ones self and society as a whole will help with anti-ableism!
Michal B.

I find that Edmonton is already really inclusive in many ways. Although my view is pretty narrow because I am not affected as someone else might be.
(name withheld)

It is surprising the number of schools that are not accessible in this region. I wonder if that will ever happen?

How does this affect me?

What does anti-ableism mean to me

Inclusion
Freedom
A life to live
Hope
Power
Strength
Happiness
Freedom of speech
Friendship
Empowerment

What does ableism mean to me
Segregation
Restriction
No reason to live
Hopeless
Weakness
Sadness
Silence
Loneliness
Worthless

Because I have some physical restrictions some people think that I am unable to do anything. I also communicate in different ways than “normal” and that has made people think that I am also unable to understand the spoken word. When in fact I can indeed understand every word that you are saying to me. My physical restrictions in actuality do not hold me down. Although I am not able to always go to places I want, that is not at my choosing.

I am in power of who I am. I am David. That is how my family and friends see me, and that is how I require you to see me also. I have rights, the right for friends of any race, gender, ability, or disability. I have the right to a relationship. I have the right to go to school, (and not a segregated one) and to learn what everyone else is learning. I have the right to stand up and be my own voice. I own the right to be happy and have continuous hope

What is Ableism?

Ableism is:
a form of discrimination toward people with disabilities either physical or mental. Generally, ableism prevents disabled persons from having the same access to rights and services that average people have no problems obtaining. (urban dictionary)

WE HAVE TO STOP THIS!