Disability Pride Month

July is Disability Pride Month. This year’s theme is “We Belong and We’re Here to Stay”. This message highlights the way that disabled people are often overlooked when providing services, and there needs to be a cultural shift as well as changes in legislation.

People celebrate disability pride in July because it was the month when the United States passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to protect the civil rights of disabled people. Northern Ireland released similar legislation in 1995. England, Wales and Scotland passed disability legislation in 2002. In Canada, each province has disability legislation, introduced from 2005 onwards.

Some key principles of disabled rights are as follows:

Nothing about us without us

This is a general principle adopted by the disability rights movement in the 1990s, which emphasizes that any decision or discussion which affects disabled people should involve them from the outset, not as an afterthought.

In 2004, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated that “no society can claim to be based on justice and equality without persons with disabilities taking decisions as full-fledged members”.

The social model of disability

The social model of disability posits that if all the barriers to access were removed, disabled people could be full participants in society. This model was developed by disability rights activists in the 1970s and 80s.

“If everyone was taught sign language at an early age, a deaf person would no longer be disadvantaged. If towns were built and planned with physical disabilities in mind and there was no social stigma attached to looking or sounding different, then having a physical impairment would no longer be disabling.” 

~ Nancy Doyle (2020), We Have Been Disabled: How The Pandemic Has Proven The Social Model Of Disability

The social model of disability prefers the term “disabled people” because people are disabled by barriers to inclusion. Contrast this with “person with a disability” (also known as “person-first” terminology). Saying “person with a disability” tends to resemble the medical model of disability, which regards the condition as inherently disabling, in need of medical intervention, and something that can be fixed by modifying the person instead of making the environment more accessible.

Person-first terminology is more appropriate when talking about a specific condition (e.g., a person with dyslexia, a person with chronic fatigue). But always be guided by how people describe themselves.

I was shocked to discover that the term “handicapped” is still in use in some contexts in Canada. In most other places, this is regarded as a slur, along with the r-word.

Accessible environments

When considering the accessibility of an environment or an event, best practice is to get disabled people involved in the planning process from the outset.

An activity or resource that is accessible is better for everyone, because everyone has some needs that are not met by inaccessible resources.

If you have training materials, make sure they are provided in both written and audio formats. If you have videos, YouTube and Zoom now provide editable closed captioning, but do check the transcripts for spelling and grammar (the Zoom closed captioning system transcribed my name as “Bonnie Bro” – I suppose at least it sounds vaguely nonbinary).

If your event venue is out-of-doors, the site may not be accessible to wheelchair users. Check out the route to the site beforehand, especially footbridges and stiles. Ensure that the site itself is accessible.

Indoor venues also often have poor accessibility, despite being legally required to provide access routes. Again, it is best to check that the site is accessible and the staff are appropriately trained.

Standing for long periods of time may be difficult for a lot of people, so it is best to provide seating, and ensure that seated people are not excluded by the design of the event – for example, if there is an expectation that people will circulate, provide some means of getting everyone to move on from the conversation they are in, other than just not providing enough chairs.

Allergies to pollen and scent are also a consideration. Many workplaces and venues now have scent-free policies.

If you’re providing food, it’s best to provide alternatives to common allergens, and label any foods that contain them. Various people have food intolerances and allergies: coeliacs cannot eat gluten, and there are many people who are allergic to peanuts. 

Some disabilities are not visible or obvious, and conditions can change over time, so it’s always worth checking with people about mobility issues, specific learning difficulties, and other conditions. Not all disabled people use wheelchairs, either.

Above all, everyone appreciates having as much autonomy and self-determination as possible, so the more information you can give people about the accessibility provisions of your event or building, the more autonomy and sovereignty your attendees, staff, or visitors will have. If in doubt, ask.