WEBVTT 00:00:01.400 --> 00:00:02.650 So, 00:00:02.760 --> 00:00:04.560 My name is Michelle Nario - Redmond 00:00:04.680 --> 00:00:06.320 I am a social psychologist and 00:00:06.370 --> 00:00:08.380 I teach at Hiram College 00:00:08.519 --> 00:00:11.404 in psychology and biomedical humanities program 00:00:11.437 --> 00:00:15.727 and I just wrote a book on ableism the causes and consequences 00:00:15.727 --> 00:00:18.967 of disability prejudice. My first memory 00:00:18.967 --> 00:00:21.267 and I'll just back up and say in 1990, 00:00:21.267 --> 00:00:23.730 when the ADA passed I was in graduate school, 00:00:25.099 --> 00:00:33.134 in Kansas, and disability prejudice, the ADA or anything 00:00:33.134 --> 00:00:38.954 related to disability issues were completely off my radar, 00:00:40.054 --> 00:00:43.578 and I worked at a place where one of the pioneers 00:00:43.578 --> 00:00:46.756 of disability studies worked, Beatrice Wright, 00:00:46.756 --> 00:00:50.396 and I hadn't yet to have a class with her. 00:00:50.396 --> 00:00:53.876 It really wasn't until 1995, which was five years later, 00:00:53.876 --> 00:00:58.566 when my daughter was born, Sierra, with spina bifida, 00:00:58.566 --> 00:01:03.394 that I became aware of disability and found the work 00:01:03.394 --> 00:01:08.862 of Carol Gill and Simi Linton and began to educate myself 00:01:08.862 --> 00:01:15.348 on disability studies and its scope, and the first memory I have of 00:01:15.348 --> 00:01:22.571 confronting inaccessible spaces was a few years later, when we enrolled 00:01:22.571 --> 00:01:26.520 my daughter Sierra in a preschool, at a catholic preschool, 00:01:26.960 --> 00:01:31.915 right down the road; and it just didn't even dawn on me that we would have to 00:01:31.915 --> 00:01:36.388 work so hard for her to be accommodated as a preschooler, 00:01:36.472 --> 00:01:41.209 and it was really a function of the fact that the building was older, 00:01:41.252 --> 00:01:47.109 there were steps, and they really didn't know, nor did they need to legally know, 00:01:47.142 --> 00:01:52.554 about reasonable accommodations and civil rights of their students, 00:01:52.554 --> 00:02:00.755 because they were a private facility and weren't subject to the ADA's rules. 00:02:00.812 --> 00:02:05.303 So... it became clear to me that we needed to find a new preschool, 00:02:05.303 --> 00:02:09.911 and luckily we found a private, another private place. It wasn't 00:02:09.911 --> 00:02:12.946 a public school, but it was a music school settlement 00:02:12.946 --> 00:02:16.407 and they had resources and they were already operating 00:02:16.407 --> 00:02:21.566 under a sort of set of presumptions about the value of diversity 00:02:21.566 --> 00:02:26.928 and diverse perspectives, and we didn't really have to ask for much, 00:02:26.928 --> 00:02:31.654 because they bent over backwards to include my daughter 00:02:31.654 --> 00:02:37.356 in a typical classroom, with her peers, her preschool peers, music classes, 00:02:37.356 --> 00:02:41.947 there were so many eclectic movement classes, 00:02:41.947 --> 00:02:48.049 and they even purchased equipment for their exercise room 00:02:48.049 --> 00:02:52.868 and movement room that would be useful to her among others, NOTE Paragraph 00:02:52.868 --> 00:02:58.063 and she has since grown up to become this teacher and has applied 00:02:58.063 --> 00:03:01.595 to work there as a preschool teacher. So, I think it would be really 00:03:01.595 --> 00:03:08.320 amazing, if she came full circle. But, I guess, to stance the broader 00:03:08.320 --> 00:03:14.915 question about being frustrated and aware of inaccessibility and lack of inclusion, 00:03:14.915 --> 00:03:21.512 we were in a district that, when she then, was about to move to preschool, I 00:03:21.512 --> 00:03:27.059 knew that she wouldn't probably be able to go to a private school, not only because 00:03:27.059 --> 00:03:31.585 of the financial cost, but because they would not have to think about 00:03:31.585 --> 00:03:35.981 best practices and the law when it came to accommodating 00:03:35.981 --> 00:03:39.133 their students with disabilities, and so I knew we would be 00:03:39.133 --> 00:03:43.971 looking at the public school, and the public school in our neighborhood 00:03:43.971 --> 00:03:49.384 was not accessible. We went to visit it, the playground had a little house 00:03:49.384 --> 00:03:52.254 that she wouldn't have been able to get into, 00:03:52.254 --> 00:03:55.876 and it was really disheartening and so it came at a time 00:03:55.876 --> 00:03:58.393 when we were already looking for other opportunities, 00:03:58.393 --> 00:04:01.573 and my husband got an opportunity to move us as a family 00:04:01.573 --> 00:04:04.079 to the West Coast of Portland of Oregon, and 00:04:04.079 --> 00:04:10.507 so the way I...we had to navigate her early educational experiences 00:04:10.574 --> 00:04:17.591 was to only look at spaces and schools that were in districts that were new, 00:04:17.591 --> 00:04:23.109 so that had buildings and had training in terms of 00:04:23.178 --> 00:04:26.369 accommodating their diverse students and their disabled students, 00:04:26.369 --> 00:04:31.262 because just having the brief experiences that I did with the preschool 00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:38.810 and IEP meetings that were going to require me to fight at every juncture 00:04:38.868 --> 00:04:42.941 for her basic rights to show what she knows 00:04:42.976 --> 00:04:47.312 and participate and recognize herself as a valuable contributor 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:50.910 to the school community. We're not going to be forthcoming 00:04:50.943 --> 00:04:54.411 without a fight, and so we narrowed our search 00:04:54.454 --> 00:04:57.194 to a district, and thank God we had the opportunity 00:04:57.221 --> 00:05:02.445 and the resources to do this, that was pretty known for their 00:05:02.513 --> 00:05:04.012 inclusivity. 00:05:04.095 --> 00:05:07.731 We did that also when we came back to the Cleveland, Ohio area. 00:05:07.806 --> 00:05:12.412 We were able to avoid all districts that weren't at the cutting edge 00:05:12.412 --> 00:05:16.514 of full inclusion and proof of excellence and had newer buildings 00:05:16.514 --> 00:05:19.623 that could accommodate those with disabilities, 00:05:19.623 --> 00:05:25.967 but I guess that that was my earliest memory of how, 'Oh, we have a road 00:05:25.967 --> 00:05:32.468 ahead of us and we have to take it upon ourselves to either continue to fight 00:05:32.468 --> 00:05:40.316 battles that had already been won, legislatively or find spaces, places 00:05:40.379 --> 00:05:42.982 and organizations that were ahead of the curve 00:05:42.982 --> 00:05:50.434 in terms of implementing, monitoring and just execute the basic civil rights 00:05:50.484 --> 00:05:53.618 of their various constituents 00:05:53.736 --> 00:05:58.568 The impact that all of that has had on me is to just be able to communicate 00:05:58.640 --> 00:06:02.284 with other parents and students with disabilities 00:06:02.334 --> 00:06:09.035 about not only knowing their rights but knowing how to get those rights 00:06:09.086 --> 00:06:18.638 how to advocate for ensuring that those rights are addressed, are met. 00:06:18.638 --> 00:06:21.099 I think the ADA has made a huge difference 00:06:21.099 --> 00:06:24.755 and the aha moment was even when I was collating information for this book 00:06:24.807 --> 00:06:28.922 on disability prejudice. I realized that when I was a kid, 00:06:28.956 --> 00:06:33.693 when I was growing up in the 60's and 70's, people with disabilities weren't 00:06:33.693 --> 00:06:39.357 able to do any of the things that we took for granted as kids: go to the movies 00:06:39.432 --> 00:06:44.474 go to restaurants, go to visit a friend, at a friend's house, or invite 00:06:44.546 --> 00:06:47.559 others to your birthday parties. 00:06:47.559 --> 00:06:54.992 And, since the ADA passed in 1990, it wasn't an immediate set of changes, 00:06:55.011 --> 00:07:01.662 as, you know, there has been significant progress made, particularly in public 00:07:01.662 --> 00:07:07.910 spaces and in employment settings, where there are even employers 00:07:07.959 --> 00:07:13.827 who are part of an organization of inclusive excellence, who 00:07:13.876 --> 00:07:18.677 recognize that disabled employees are actually more reliable and 00:07:18.724 --> 00:07:23.145 have less turnover and are worth investing in and promoting. 00:07:23.229 --> 00:07:28.810 But, there are still so many places, small businesses, educational institutions 00:07:28.937 --> 00:07:40.893 that are not carrying out the basic, sort of gains and practices that the ADA 00:07:40.893 --> 00:07:45.131 has made possible .There's just way too much variation, and I think part of that 00:07:45.232 --> 00:07:48.983 is just a lack of education in terms of what 00:07:49.135 --> 00:07:54.635 is reasonable and what is necessary 00:07:54.711 --> 00:07:56.933 in terms of accommodating your citizenry 00:07:57.008 --> 00:08:01.185 and lack of resources in some cases but 00:08:01.260 --> 00:08:03.633 also a lot of misinformation about whether 00:08:03.734 --> 00:08:08.236 or not it's worth it. You know, the ADA is going to 00:08:08.293 --> 00:08:12.462 be 30 here in July. We're celebrating around 00:08:12.544 --> 00:08:15.543 the country and we are still fighting 00:08:15.543 --> 00:08:19.813 for businesses to do what they should have 00:08:19.914 --> 00:08:22.316 done 30 years ago, those that have been 00:08:22.392 --> 00:08:25.493 around this long. They have not, they have 00:08:25.563 --> 00:08:27.769 have waited for complaints or they have 00:08:27.846 --> 00:08:31.416 failed to do but the bare minimum in 00:08:31.466 --> 00:08:34.871 terms of recruiting the largest minority 00:08:34.922 --> 00:08:37.693 I work in the education sphere and to me, 00:08:37.792 --> 00:08:40.220 we could be doing so much more with 00:08:40.318 --> 00:08:42.820 advertising and recruiting for those kinds 00:08:42.943 --> 00:08:45.621 of students that we tend to really, at 00:08:45.697 --> 00:08:49.244 least my institution, do well to retain 00:08:49.395 --> 00:08:52.944 because we're a small, intimate college, 00:08:53.019 --> 00:08:55.847 Hiram College. And, and for years I've tried to sort of 00:08:55.922 --> 00:08:59.624 encourage us to consider more universally 00:08:59.723 --> 00:09:02.348 designed approaches, but also approaches 00:09:02.451 --> 00:09:06.949 that do more than the bare minimum when it comes to housing and 00:09:07.022 --> 00:09:09.600 extracurricular accommodations for 00:09:09.678 --> 00:09:12.398 students to who use mobility devices. For 00:09:12.525 --> 00:09:15.424 example, my daughter ended up having to be 00:09:15.577 --> 00:09:18.251 carried in her chair, to various club 00:09:18.449 --> 00:09:20.556 meetings while she was on the Hiram 00:09:20.653 --> 00:09:24.503 College campus. She was told that, during the 00:09:24.554 --> 00:09:28.102 winter, when the ice storms came, that 00:09:28.141 --> 00:09:31.767 they couldn't transport her up the long 00:09:31.767 --> 00:09:33.617 hill, while they were telling everyone 00:09:33.617 --> 00:09:37.324 else to walk like a penguin, and we had 00:09:37.324 --> 00:09:41.271 vans to do this. We had to file with the 00:09:41.271 --> 00:09:45.332 Ohio Disability Rights Commission and 00:09:45.408 --> 00:09:48.242 request that the school thinks about other 00:09:48.242 --> 00:09:50.506 ways of accommodating her, should there 00:09:50.506 --> 00:09:52.558 be a storm, an ice storm, and she can't 00:09:52.558 --> 00:09:55.057 get up to campus. And the solution 00:09:55.057 --> 00:09:57.787 was to have her move to a new dorm. 00:09:57.787 --> 00:10:00.012 You can't just do that over night. 00:10:00.012 --> 00:10:01.862 You can't just move all your bedding 00:10:01.862 --> 00:10:03.923 and all your bathroom supplies 00:10:03.923 --> 00:10:06.787 and your whole... you know at the moment's 00:10:06.787 --> 00:10:09.125 notice, when the weather changes 00:10:09.125 --> 00:10:11.005 and so it has been my experience that 00:10:11.005 --> 00:10:15.474 still a lot of places have done the bare minimum approach 00:10:15.364 --> 00:10:17.815 and think that that's all they need to do 00:10:17.822 --> 00:10:22.162 when instead, they could be following more 00:10:22.162 --> 00:10:26.022 of the latest practices and implementation's science 00:10:26.022 --> 00:10:29.142 and making it easier for people to 00:10:29.142 --> 00:10:31.719 register concerns or complaints. And 00:10:31.719 --> 00:10:33.829 they often don't even need to file a 00:10:33.829 --> 00:10:36.930 formal complaint issue, if you approach a business or 00:10:36.930 --> 00:10:39.856 your educational institution with an issue. 00:10:39.856 --> 00:10:45.131 Often times, progressive thinkers that recognize the value of 00:10:45.131 --> 00:10:49.191 customers with disabilities frequenting their businesses or 00:10:49.155 --> 00:10:52.056 diversifying their faculty or their student body 00:10:52.056 --> 00:11:00.839 will simply not be aware that they have failed to accommodate or 00:11:00.839 --> 00:11:05.113 make accessible various programs and spaces. 00:11:05.113 --> 00:11:09.378 And that can be as simple as asking. But a lot of times a lot more 00:11:09.378 --> 00:11:12.150 has to be done, you have to document you have 00:11:12.150 --> 00:11:14.909 to make sure your emails go to multiple people 00:11:14.909 --> 00:11:21.332 and make the business case of why surveying your policies 00:11:21.332 --> 00:11:23.933 to see whether they are biases or whether 00:11:23.933 --> 00:11:26.205 there is discrimination in filing of 00:11:26.205 --> 00:11:29.038 complaints or even you have a title 00:11:29.038 --> 00:11:33.154 of, you know, an officer on campus or ADA - cooridnator 00:11:33.154 --> 00:11:36.203 so that you can let students with disabilities know 00:11:36.203 --> 00:11:38.603 who may have not proper documentation 00:11:38.603 --> 00:11:40.472 how they can go about making sure that 00:11:40.472 --> 00:11:42.671 they get what they need to show 00:11:42.671 --> 00:11:46.701 what they know, before they fail classes 00:11:46.701 --> 00:11:49.231 because they haven't knocked at the door 00:11:49.142 --> 00:11:52.395 of disability services and provided proof 00:11:52.395 --> 00:11:54.891 that they have a particular condition 00:11:54.891 --> 00:11:57.320 So I know, I am sort of rambling a bit, 00:11:57.320 --> 00:12:01.550 but I just, just wasn't aware of how much 00:12:01.550 --> 00:12:04.958 further we need to go when it comes to 00:12:04.958 --> 00:12:08.958 surveying and making sure that the ADA 00:12:08.958 --> 00:12:12.958 is being implemented and just because 00:12:12.958 --> 00:12:15.740 a law passes doesn't mean again 00:12:15.740 --> 00:12:18.905 that it is just going to happen 00:12:18.905 --> 00:12:22.101 you have to have allies and acitivists 00:12:22.101 --> 00:12:23.697 and insiders working very hard 00:12:23.697 --> 00:12:26.396 to make sure that people are recognizing 00:12:26.396 --> 00:12:28.864 the value of legislation 00:12:28.864 --> 00:12:31.585 which I think, still people are under 00:12:31.585 --> 00:12:34.276 the assumption that it applies to 00:12:34.276 --> 00:12:36.277 people who identify with disabilities but 00:12:36.277 --> 00:12:39.824 I don't think that was even neccesserely 00:12:39.824 --> 00:12:42.371 even the intent of the ADA 00:12:42.371 --> 00:12:45.954 I think it recognizes that people flow 00:12:45.954 --> 00:12:48.194 in and out of abilities and the extent to 00:12:48.194 --> 00:12:51.954 which they are excluded or discriminated 00:12:51.954 --> 00:12:55.408 against, because of their abilities is 00:12:55.408 --> 00:12:58.117 really what this legislation was about 00:12:58.117 --> 00:13:01.077 even having a record of having a 00:13:01.077 --> 00:13:03.272 condition that maybe you no longer have 00:13:03.272 --> 00:13:06.786 or you had it temporarily can mean that 00:13:06.786 --> 00:13:09.933 you might be excluded. If you applied for 00:13:09.933 --> 00:13:12.505 jobs recently, you know, many places 00:13:12.505 --> 00:13:14.770 require a statement. You have to indicate 00:13:14.770 --> 00:13:17.478 based on strict definitions whether you 00:13:17.478 --> 00:13:21.238 have limitations in these major life 00:13:21.238 --> 00:13:23.527 activities that will qualify you as a 00:13:23.527 --> 00:13:27.467 disabled person and I want to believe that 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they are asking these questions, so that 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they can mindfully recruit people with 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 disabilities joining their ranks, their 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 staffing, but sometimes I think what 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 prevents people from using that 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 information to disqualify candidates 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so there has to be checks and balances 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and accountabilities when it comes to 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 making sure your civil rights legislation 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 doesn't put all of the owners on the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 group itself to file and follow through 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and figure out which parts of the ADA are 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 being violated. You know that can be 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 really discouraging when all you want to 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 do is go out and you know, go to the beach 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and find out which beaches are accessible 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 or whether there is, you know, a mobility 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 devices that are availible via the sand or 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 you just want to go camping or you just 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 want to go frequent people who are 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 minorities on businesses or disabilities 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 on businesses and some of this is out 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 there and I tried to promote it through 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 books and activists pages, but there is so 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 much that we can do to leverage more of 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 these ways of monitoring and implementing 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 taking access to the next level whether 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 for the disabled community pro forma or 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 proper or for anyone who uses strollers 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 who might carry a lot of materials in 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 their hands could benefit from a push 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 button. I think we need all to make a 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 better job at making the business and the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 other benefit cases for improving our ADA 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 access. Where my passions lie of late is 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in getting out the votes because we know 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that disabled people have been 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 disenfranchised from the vote and from 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 parenting and from all kind sorts of other 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 basic human rights but this being an election 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 year there is all kinds of folks working 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to crip the vote, #cripthevote Alice Wong 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and others who have been trying to make 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 sure that candidates for president and for 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 congressional offices and even local 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 campaigns are expressing what their stance 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 is on the ADA and on disability rights and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 human rights and hold, for the first 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 time we've seen some traction on that. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But what people don't realize is how many 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 places are not accessible to voters with 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 disabilities either because they use 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 assisted technologies that don't 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 interphase with the electronic equipement 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 or they can't get accessible transportation 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 or the place itself is simply inaccessible 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 or they are institutionalized and barred 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 from voting because of that and so the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 center fro American progress has been 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 publishing some of the numbers, like over 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 60% of polling places are considered 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 inaccessible. That's a problem. So voting 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 by mail may benefit a lot of groups if 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 you think of some of that in the future. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And then the second big issue we should 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 follow up on that not many people know 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 about and that I am not even so clear of 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 how is the ADA serves the population of 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 people who are incarcerated in jails and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in prisons and in institutions. I know the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 ADA amendments have been 2009 done a 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 better job of successfully helping folks 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 litigate when they are isolated and there 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 for not included because of their 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 institutionalized placements, but also 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I am aware that not many people know about 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the number, the sheer number of people 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 with disabilities visible and a lot of 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 invisible who are incarcerated and who are 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 caught up in that system of jailing and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 aren't getting what they need inside or 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 should have never been incarcerated to 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 begin with bacause mayve they experience 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 a condition that was misunderstood from 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the outset and so instead of deescalating 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 a situation. Police need more training, we 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 need to make the public more aware of how 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 many people are languishing in the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 institutions where they are not only not 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 productive, but you know what a waste of 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 human capital. So, as we think about 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the black lives matter movement and the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 opportunities for intersectionality, I 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 think the opportunities for allies of all 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 kinds of civil rights groups need to come 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 together and really leverage their powers 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to begin to think about not necessarily 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 about defunding police or the incarcerating 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 institutions but recognizing how many 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 people of color have disabilities, how many 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 women are how many are incarcerated with 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 disabilities that may not even belong there 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so there is so much to be done on those 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 two funds alone. And, clearly employment 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 people are still way under employed but I 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 know there are folks working to improve 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that and I am trying to work with those 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 organizations to araise awareness about 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 how they can do better in terms of 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 their work force and retaining and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 retaining and recruiting actively 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 professionals who, you know, they may not 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 consider as a valuable resource but gosh 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 people with disabilities are so of the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 most creative folks because they have to 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 figure out how navigate and they do have 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 persepctives that are normally based on 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 maybe their particular impairment experinces 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but having to navigate the world that 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 isn't accessible, how to find the backdoor 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 how to find the policies and so there is a 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 lot of resilience to be found there, too. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 We need to be asking community members to 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 confront ableism when they see it and part 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 of that is educating people on the various 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 forms that disability prejudice and discrimination can take. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 There is an interesting moment right now 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 with regard to anti-racism frameworks 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that are getting a lot of traction and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 people are beginning to, at least educational institutions, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 start teaching circles where many of us 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 are reading Ibram Kenids book how to be an 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 anit-racist, how to first recognize when 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 prejudice and discrimination exist on the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 bases of race, that we could also be doing 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 with books related to disability prejudice 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and abilism but I really think the moment 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 is now to consider some of the things at 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the same time because I think we may loose 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 nuances of people who are confronting 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 multiple oppressions. Though, I am just 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 bringing that up because I know there is a 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 lot of folks at my school now thinking 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 about that we review policies to find out 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (...) discriminatory 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 our policies for recruitment may have 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 things embedded or cooked into the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 algorithms that are unintentionally 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 excluding or failing to retain or promote 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 those with disabilities at our institutions 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and so, when I think about the next steps 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 what people can do I come back to, you know 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 when people say something and they may 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 just not know, they are not familiar 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 perhaps with folks with various disabilities 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and we know that contact with people who 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 experienced disabilities and differences 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 is what makes people less prejudice 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because they come much more aware of the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 whole person and our stereotypes are not 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 generalize-able and how if they listened 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to the voices of disabled people they can 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 hear first hand what is problematic and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we need to be doing by allowing folks with 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 disabilities to speak, to be heard and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 then to support their agendas and not 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 necessarily just take over. So, the confrontation 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 literature is all about not necessarily 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 saying: "Hey, you are a jerk. You just said 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 something racist or ableist" and putting 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 people on their defensive heels. That we 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 can do this in ways that actually open up 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 dialogues and that we should be 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 encouraging difficult dialogues and brave 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 conversations around what we can do 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 locally in our houses, in our communities 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in our schools and organizations to make 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 one change, to make one difference: to ask 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 what is our policy, do we know whether all 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 of our employees know what their rights 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 are, should we be scheduling regular 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 meetings with the ADA coordinator, do 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 folks know how to find information and how 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to request a accommodation. Would it be 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 great if parents went into an IEP Meeting 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 at their schools, knowing what their kids 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 got as accommodations. I think people are 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so non forthcoming at organizations with 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the things that they view as special privileges that are 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 only for those who, quote on quote, need 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 it or deserve it. And when we look at 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 disability rights as special privileges, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we don't see them as civil rights that are 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 required to be met and so we could be much 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 more transparent about making sure our 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 websites are not only accessible to navigate 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 if you have a sensory or other impairments 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but to make explicit what the policy is 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 for requesting a accommodations, how you 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 not be fired for disclosing for example 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 how we can confront things in non-aggressive way. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 To ask people when they say something 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 pejorative or maybe just outdated, you 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 know, the word "handicap" is still out 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 there i call it "handicrap", the word 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 "special"' and we can just ask " what do 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 you mean by that, what do you mean that 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they can't do that or that you curious 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 about that they have sex, can you tell me 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 more about why you think that and it can 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 start a dialogue and that is something we 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 can all do. I am still working hard to 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 make my own home accessible to my 24 year 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 old. We did construction to modify the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 house when we first bought it is a single 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 level so that she feel like she was a part 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 of the family and be able to get to all 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 parts of the kitchen and her bathroom but 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 there you know the laundry room has one 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 step that we are still negotiating how to 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 make sure that she can get into garage but 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 things like where we put things in the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 refrigerator. You know if you have a 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 wheelchair user in your family or someone 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 who is a little person who may have a 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 congenital or an otherwise amputated limb 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and we put things on shelves without even 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 thinking about who can access the shelf 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and my other child who happens to be abled 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 bodied would before dinner, you know, try 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to get a snack and before we could even 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 say "no" he was out the door with the 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 snack. My daughter would have to come in 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and say can I , can you get something of 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the top shelf from me and then we would 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 say, you know, why don't you wait until 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 dinner time and we have to be mindful 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 about which drawers we want to put her 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 things into. She can't feel like a second 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 class citizen in her own family space and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 those are some things that we can remind 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 our peers who have kids with disabilities 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 as we try to go on and educated another 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 parents in our parenting roles and our 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 roles as educators and who are diversity 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 committees. Our diversity committee now is 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 taking on accessibility as part of our 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 mental trying to convince others that we 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 need to be doing ongoing data collection 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to benchmark, I think a lot of people are 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 afraid of data that might say "your campus 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 climate isn't the most accessible" but 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 unless you name the thing, unless you document the thing 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that is perhaps of concern of a less then 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 fully inclusive or accessible, you can't 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 make progress. And, I think people 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 appreciate, you know, the one in four 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 or five people with disabilities and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 their families appreciate when people say 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 "we are not there yet, but this is what we 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 are doing and in a short term we will have 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 reviewed our handbooks so that at least 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 this is done by this year and next year we 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 are going to advertise for positions in 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 places to increase the number of disabled 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 people on our staff, because students need 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 mentors. They need to see people that look 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 like them and then have similar challenges 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so that they know what is possible, so I 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 just sort of conclude by saying my daughter, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 you know, made it through preschool and 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 has been in several different kinds of 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 spaces on college campuses that aren't so 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 accessilble and that are. She is working 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in the education as a preschool teacher 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 herself. But now since the covid-19 outbreak 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 she was laid off, she was furloughed from 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 her brand new job. And, of late she is 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 putting resumes back out and there must be 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 something about the pandemic now where not 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 many people are wanting to go back to work 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in close encounters with kids. She is 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 getting one interview after another and so 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 she may end up with multiple offers now 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and I remind her to tell the folks that 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 preschools when they get someone like her 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 on their staff so many students gravited 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 toward her because she has this visible signs 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 of her disability, her wheelchair and if 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 you can educate the youngs, the preschoolers and show them 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 people of all abilities can be teachers 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and parents and ongoing learners, you know 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they tend to even those kids with behavior 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 problems com to her. They see as this 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 beacon of hope, I think, that is a real 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 cue for employers who ever gets my 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 daughter as a teacher is going to be lucky.