There’s one more link on autism here for Autism Acceptance Month, plus a blog post from someone I worked with a bit a long time ago, and another advice column-type piece on how some people respond to disability issues in everyday life.
Here are your three disability-related links for Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
1. 6 ways to become an autism ally
Lily Konyn, Assistve Ware - March 30, 2024
“Ask local organizations how many autistic people gave input on their programs. Find out what changes autistic people want in your community, and help smooth the road to get there. Don’t be shy about how important your cause is or about how much you have to learn still.”
The author describes going through Autism Acceptance Month as “tricky,” and so is giving good advice to non-autistic people who consider themselves to be good allies to autistic people, or who want to be better allies. But this all does seem like sound advice, and not too demanding or complicated either. I can also see a fair amount of advice here that applies nearly as well to being a better ally to people with other kinds of disabilities.
2. Beyond Rhetoric: Navigating the Realities of Inclusion with Anna’s Story
Kerry Wiley, Wiley’s Walk - April 28, 2024
“For instance, imagine a scenario where Anna’s school introduces a new policy to promote inclusive classroom practices but fails to effectively communicate the details to teachers, students, and parents. As a result, some teachers may not fully understand the expectations or how to implement the policy in their classrooms, leading to inconsistent practices across the school. Students and parents may also feel confused or excluded if they are not adequately informed about the changes and how they can contribute to creating an inclusive environment.”
I can’t really argue with any of the suggestions here aimed at improving inclusion of students with disabilities in school. Everything here should be done. But with so much depending on training — on conveying information and best practices — I do wonder how effective it all is in addressing more deeply embedded ableism. What about teachers, administrators, counselors, parents, and even disabled students themselves who still think disabled students belong in their own “special” classrooms, not included in regular ones? Training can help professionals who want to do inclusion but lack the tools. But can it change people’s minds about the teachability, future prospects, and classroom effects of disabled kids? I’m sure training helps. But now especially, we see evidence everywhere, in every field, of growing resistance to this kind of training. It feels like people are digging in their heels more than ever, suspicious of anything they deem to be “woke,” or just tired of having more things added to their daily schedules. Or, is this too pessimistic a view?
3. Woman refuses to make house wheelchair accessible for cousin's wedding; 'Your bridesmaid is not my problem.' AITA? UPDATED
Violet Roth, Someecards.com - April 26, 2024
“The thing is one of their bridesmaids(24/25? F) is wheelchair user and so they want to add a ramp to the platform. Now the conflict is: they asked me to get a ramp there, I’ve talked to the contractor who has done most of the furniture and stuff in that house and he says he can only get to it next month, he’s busy with some personal affairs.”
Well heck. I committed myself to sharing this before reading it. And there is definitely more to it than the headline suggests. Do read the whole thing. I’m still not convinced that it would have been impossible to accommodate the wheelchair using bridesmaid with a ramp closer to what she expects. But the ramp issue was apparently just part of the problem. Still, it’s important to note that accessibility / accommodation issues rarely exist in isolation, especially when they involve family and friends rather than businesses, which have specific requirements that have nothing to do with people’s personalities or interpersonal conflicts. By the way, some of the reader comments use adjectives like “entitled” to describe the people asking for the ramp. I hate that term, because it is so easily used to dismiss any and all requests for assistance, including those that are perfectly reasonable or legally mandated. However in this specific case, I sort of get it.
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Your thought-provoking questions in "Beyond Rhetoric..." were spot-on. Inclusive training is undoubtedly needed, but will it change perceptions, attitudes, ableism, and so forth?
Hopefully, as our world becomes more inclusive and kids grow up in REAL inclusive environments and become teachers, we'll have less of all the issues new inclusive classrooms face today. What gives me hope is that the classroom situation has significantly improved over the past 100 or so years. What will it look like in 100 more?
An autistic person told me last week that I should be referring to myself as allistic rather than non-autistic. As a person who prefers to define myself (and others) by what I am rather than what I’m not this sounded better. Any thoughts?