Disability Thinking Weekday: 4/9/24
Disabled asylum seekers, banning the shock, and accessible vehicles
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Here are your three disability-related links for Tuesday, April 9, 2024.
1. Migrants with disabilities struggle to access the U.S. asylum system, advocates say
Neelam Bohra, The Texas Tribune - March 29, 2024
“‘When we're dealing with asylum seekers that are victims of torture by state governments, by organized crime, they’re coming with significant mental health issues that will make it difficult for them to navigate a complicated app like CBP One,’ Ramos said.”
So this issue appears to be the intersection of immigration and asylum, disability rights, and digital accessibility — as well as the often disabling after-effects of the kinds of violence and oppression so many people are seeking asylum from. But in a way, it’s also simpler than that. Every service or opportunity offered to anyone ought to be accessible for everyone. I am what you might call pro-immigration, and even more so pro-asylum-seeker. But even if you aren’t, the principle of accessibility should still hold. Asylum-seekers with disabilities should not find it even harder than others to apply for asylum, especially not because of a poorly-designed app.
2. FDA Proposes New Ban On Shock Devices For Those With Developmental Disabilities
Michelle Diament, Disability Scoop - March 26, 2024
Paid subscriber recommendation from Franke James
“‘These devices present a number of psychological risks including depression, anxiety, worsening of underlying symptoms, development of post-traumatic stress disorder, and physical risks such as pain, burns, and tissue damage,’ said Owen Faris, acting director of the Office of Product Evaluation and Quality in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, in a statement this week”
In case the idea alone of literally shocking disabled people into compliance isn’t enough in 2024 to convince you, there is at ton of evidence that the practice harms people — even when it’s supposedly only used in very narrow circumstances. And the fact that there is only one facility in the U.S. still known to use electric shocks on developmentally disabled and autistic people should tell us something, too. And while this specific issue only affects a tiny number of people, defenses of the practice are part of a much broader and more widely-used reward / punishment approach to disability-affected “behavioral issues.” It reflects the very common idea that the goal with disabled people is to get them to conform and be low-maintenance, not to help them adapt and achieve their own goals. Using electric shocks to shape disabled people’s behavior is only the worst, most extreme example.
3. How to Fund an Expensive Adaptive Vehicle
mqadmin, New Mobility - March 1, 2024
“Sticker shock doesn’t begin to describe the emotions that come with finding out the accessible van you need may cost a small fortune. We can save the bigger discussion about how broken the system is for another time, because when you get out of rehab or are ready to be out and about, the only question that matters is ‘How do I pay for this?’”
United Spinal Association says it’s their most frequently asked question. The advice here is about as specific and helpful as a general article on buying accessible vehicles probably can be. It offers some good resources and impressions from disabled people who have gone through the process. But every person’s individual situation is different, financially, socially, even geographically. Obviously, if you are financially secure or wealthy, everything about buying an accessible vehicle is easier. And it easier to find better deals and raise funds from donations if you are well-connected socially with people who have the means to help. But it even matters which state you live in. Not every vocational rehabilitation agency will pay for an adapted van, like the one described in the article. In some states it simply won’t happen, as a matter of policy. All of this is why whether or not any given wheelchair user has an accessible vehicle seems less like matter of need and available technology, and more like a function of wealth, privilege, or both.
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Thanks, Andrew, for sharing this "shocking" article, which is even more frightening because: "Officials with the Rotenberg Center said they plan to fight the new proposal."
I'm glad that the FDA is fighting for a ban because most people with developmental disabilities can't defend themselves against this mistreatment (or other coercive measures to make them obey).