Today is International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and if you struggled to get that out you want to try saying it with brain fog and a condition that makes you stumble over and slur your words.
The day was created by the UN with an aim to “promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities”.
We’re also slap bang in the middle of Disability History Month, the theme of which is disability, health and wellbeing.
The last one is used as a bit of a mental health buzzword, but when you’re disabled it means something very different. Our wellbeing became something that was very easily forgotten about in the pandemic for the sake of others being allowed to go out.
On days of big disability awareness and acceptance you often see big shows of support for disabled people from companies, members of the public and government bodies, but this always rubs me the wrong way, because it’s society that disables me the most.
There are two models of disability, the medical and the social one. The medical model of disability says people are disabled by their impairments or conditions.
It’s believed these disabilities should be fixed or changed to suit the non-disabled world by medical or other treatments, even if the disabilities don’t cause pain or illness.
The social model of disability was developed by disabled people and says that disability is more impacted by the barriers created by an inaccessible world that wasn’t created by or for disabled people.
Therefore when those barrier are removed disabled people can live more independently. It looks more at fixing society than implying that disability is wrong.
As someone who does live with chronic pain, poor mental health, neurodivergent conditions and fatigue, I am affected by my disabilities. These cause me pain on a daily basis, make me think and work differently and attribute to the chronic fatigue that leaves my body exhausted.
However, nothing disables me more than society’s attitude towards disabled people.
For all companies will boast that they are improving inclusivity in workplaces I was still only able to fully embark on the career I’ve always wanted to because the whole world started to work from home.
Although the pandemic was horrific in so many ways for disabled people, it definitely levelled the playing field in terms of work opportunities. I’m confident that most of the meetings and opportunities I’ve had in the last two years wouldn’t have happened if video calls had have been necessary.
However now everyone is “getting back to normal” disabled people are finding themselves locked out of new jobs again as many aren’t allowing applicants to work from home or sorely lacking in awareness of how to work with disabled employees in terms of flexibility.
For all local councils will light up their town halls purple, I and many others still struggle to access public transport safely so have to spend much more a month on taxis.
On days where my pain is so bad that I need to use my walker I suddenly find myself stuck on a pavement because there are no drop kerbs.
In recent years city centres have installed anti terror barriers, but these are often horribly inaccessible. I’ve been told by various councils that wheelchairs can fit through them but they still seem very narrow and they often have steep ramps.
I’ve witnessed wheelchair users struggle to pass through them. They also get quite slippy when wet, my stick slid a couple of times.
I can’t help thinking there’s got to be more inclusive ways to keep everyone safe.
I previously wrote about how brands should be focusing more on loving they care about disabled customers and not just seeing them as an untapped source of profits.
But shops and businesses will also gladly share how much they love disabled customers and but they can’t commit to access either.
Then there’s the way members of the public treat me as a disabled person.
Being neurodivergent means that I react different in social situations. Instead of being more understanding, non-disabled people often think of me as weird. I’m openly made fun of when I drop things or trip.
On social media I’m harassed and told my experiences aren’t real because they aren’t what the majority of the public go through. It’s as if I’m asking for special treatment, when really I’m just asking to be treated the same as everyone else.
Disabled hate crime has also gone up, it’s something I fear every time I leave the house.
I get asked quite often if disability acceptance has gotten better and it’s a toughn one to answer. I think there’s more awareness now and there are alot more good non-disabled people willing to fight for us, but on the other side there are still too many who see us as an inconvenience.
Unfortunately, in society, disability is still seen as less and we’re far from seeing the real commitments that we need to in order for disabled people to live the lives we deserve to.
If the government and companies actually made the commitment they’re always talking about on days like today, I and many others would be significantly less disabled.
