Notes, Notings, and Common Refrains

I called the local-to-me office, and was directed to Congressman McEachin’s government website, to send an email from there, so that my zip code (and thus my constituency status) could be confirmed.

This is what I wrote:

Dear Congressman Donald McEachin:

I am writing today to urge you to vote “No” on H.R. 620 (“ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017) when it comes up for a vote (Scheduled for Febuary [sic – oops] 15, 2018), filed under Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 56.7 million, or 19% of Americans, are disabled and living outside of institutions (source: https://www.disabled-world.com/disability/statistics/cbfff.php), and thus, would be directly and adversely affected by this proposed legislation, not to mention the negative impact it would have on their family members.

The following is an excerpt from a summary of the bill, as written on Congress.gov:

"The bill prohibits civil actions based on the failure to remove an architectural barrier to access into an existing public accommodation unless: (1) the aggrieved person has provided to the owners or operators a written notice specific enough to identify the barrier, and (2) the owners or operators fail to provide the person with a written description outlining improvements that will be made to improve the barrier or they fail to remove the barrier or make substantial progress after providing such a description. The aggrieved person’s notice must specify: (1) the address of the property, (2) the specific ADA sections alleged to have been violated, (3) whether a request for assistance in removing an architectural barrier was made, and (4) whether the barrier was permanent or temporary. ”

The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed into law over 27 years ago, and even at the time, a grace period of 18 months was already written into the law in order to give businesses a chance to come into compliance.

The only legal protection that the Americans with Disabilities Act gives to citizens was the right to seek redress in court, if a business or employer denies them equal access to goods, services or jobs that are available to every other citizen. If The ADA Education and Reform Act were to become law, it would hobble these protections even further. In no other domain of public life is ignorance of the law a valid defense. And to ask the victims of discrimination to bear the sole responsibility for enforcement of the laws meant to protect them is a travesty.

Therefore, I urge you again to vote “no” on this bill. Thank you for your continued support of minorities in your district.

Sincerely,
[My name]

(I'd ordinarily post this behind my "Disability Discussions" access filter, but I'm in a "Shameless Agitator" mood, and want this to be publicly available to search engines)

I first posted this video almost three months ago (July 31), with no other comment than:

"This man is saying all the things I've been [saying] about why "C.P. = 'Retardation'" (unfortunate term still common in medical contexts) is Bullsh--

But because he's the "normal" parent, people believe him. Whenever I've said this, it must be that my C.P. "warps" my perceptions...

---

I left it there, because it was the end of a long, hot, day. I had neither time nor energy to unpack my reactions, and type them up. But summer's passed, and today is still young. So I'm finishing what I started.

The video is roughly 18 minutes long, and I encourage you to watch the whole thing. But if you can't, I want to focus on these two points that Dan Habib made in this speech:

First, at around the ten minute mark:

(Quote)

56% of kids in this country with intellectual and developmental disabilities spend their entire day in self-contained, seprate settings just for kids with disabilities ... whether it's classes or separate schools. Even though we know ... and all the research says ... that that is not going to yield better outcomes for them. Advocate for inclusion. Advocate of inclusive education.

(Unquote)

I can't help but wonder how much of a link there is behind this national statistic and another that I've seen cited around the Web (often verbatim, so I suspect writers of Websites are "copy-and-pasting" each other) that 'between 30% and 50% of children have some level of mental retardation or seizure disorder.' (also note that the presence of intellectual disability and of seizures are often independent of each other, so I find it troubling that the two conditions are lumped together in this way).

Second, at around the eleven minute mark:

(Quote)

I've come to -- to believe that maybe it's really not about [my son and students like him] . . . Maybe it's actually about the other kids. Maybe we need to show that inclusion benefits typical kids without disabilities as much -- or more -- than they benefit [disabled kids].

The truth is that there are all these research studies that are being done at universities that show academic benefits for typical kids who are learning in inclusive settings. And there's one particular study that was done at Vanderbilt where they did two groups of kids they studied. One group were in an inclusive environment alongside their peers with disabilities. The group that worked alongside their peers with disabilites had an average of a 15 point increase in their academic achievement. that happened and it was because when you're working collaboratively with a peer ... with a friend ... with somebody who might need a little extra assistance ... or some coaching ... you're much more engaged in the curriculum. You want to understand it. you want to study it.

(Unquote)

On the one hand, this makes me want to pump my fist in the air and say: "[Durn] Right!" Inclusive societies do better by everyone.

On the other hand, this passage also makes me angry. There's the obvious question of: "Why should the lives of "typical" children be worth more effort and care than the atypical -- especially since it's out of the control of the children and their families?"

But also: The way Mr. Habib explains these demonstrably better outcomes has bothered me since I woke up the morning after I posted this. It's an explanation that sounds to my ear very like the medieval Church's endorsement of alms and of begging: Because being able to offer charity is good for the soul. His son is good for his "typical" classmates, because he is in need of their help -- which frames his role in the class as more of a passive, rather than active participant.

So, here, I would like to offer a few alternate explanations for the improved academic outcomes in inclusive classrooms:

1) Disabled students are role models for their more "typical" peers -- they demonstrate the fact that there is more than one way to solve a problem, and overcome a barrier. Disabled students are in a position to teach as well as receive help in learning -- so that their presence helps other students learn whether or not those other students ever become their "buddies," or take a personal interest in helping them out.

2) Schools that strictly segregate students by some arbitrary metric or piece of paperwork in a student's file,* are also likely sending the subliminal message that difference is taboo, and demonstration of weakness will lead to ostracization within a stigmatized social group. Is it any wonder, then, that kids don't do as well in such a learning environment?

3) And finally, a school that embraces a culture of inclusiveness -- from the teachers to the parents to the administrators, and which encourages peer collaboration in a way that Mr. Habib describes -- is more likely to be creative in its teaching methods, and more likely to look for -- and find -- solutions to unanticipated problems.

There! Now I've got that off my chest. I feel (a little bit) better.

---

*The Chesapeake Public School System, for example, mandates that every student who has an Individual Education Plan (an I.E.P) on file, must ride to school on the dedicated "special" bus -- even if the child is perfectly capable of riding a "regular" bus -- so the special ed students are being segregated even outside the school building.

Today's post is a follow-up to this one, that I posted back in November of last year: Yup... They see us as monsters [. . .]

That news came via a link in Rolling Around in My Head. So does this:

ACLU Blog: Disability no excuse to deprive one of civil liberties

Just thought I'd share some good news.

[ETA: I was so unhappy with the quality of this video (and my singing on it) that I deleted it from my account; the video that I put up in its stead is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lay9MTzFq08 ]

I put the word "video" in quotes, because the only visual are a few introductory titles, and a single still image of the song's musical score (I figure that's no worse than all the videos out there that are nothing but still images of the album covers... at least, I designed it so the score would look nice on a single page).

I'm also posting this as a public service announcement to demonstrate that it's really relatively easy to make a closed-caption (or subtitle) track for your videos. I used the free online program at http://www.overstream.net/ If I can do it, there's little excuse for others....

The tutorials (watch both one and two before you start) are fairly straight forward (at least, if you're a sightie -- it's in flash video format), but they fail to remind you that if you want to attach your subtitles to your video on YouTube, you have to Export your file to your own computer, so you can upload it again, and posting your video there.

... But other than that, it's a really easy process. It took me a couple of hours to finish, but that was just 'cause it was my first time, and I had a cat who was climbing on me like a jungle gym, at the time, and fwapping the top of my head with her paw... And next time, I'll have the words I want to put in open in a word processor ahead of time, so I can just copy/paste, rather than typing out each line by scratch.

Anyway, here (I recommend turning the captions on just so you'll have some variation to look at):


( the Words &cetera )

Here's a link to my original post about it on MudCat (with a low-tech code for hearing a midi of the tune). http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=114688

This last Monday (December 4, 2011) haddayr posted this link to "The Invisible Backpack of Able-Bodied Privilege Checklist" over at the B-tch on Wheels blog:

http://exposingableism.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/the-invisible-backpack-of-able-bodied-privilege-checklist/

I, personally, think it's a fabulous list, and everything on it is true... And you should read it, and think about it, and remember it.

But: a) Its focus is very specific to mobility-based disability (so it misses issues that come up for people with invisible, sensory, or intellectual disabilities) so if I had my druthers, I'd rename it to something like "ambulatory privilege" or "bipedal privilege; and b) while every privilege she lists is important and true, I think that some of the privileges she lists are not quite as important as others (at least, to me).

So, using her list as a template, and keeping the list the same length, here's my take, behind the cut (some of the items on the list are essentially the same, but put into my own words, for clarity, and a few items have been swapped out):

( Invisible Backpack of Bipedal Privilege (21 items) Checklist )

From today's "Rolling around in my head" blog entry: Quo Status:

(quote)

. . . What it took was noticing. Noticing that while I typed on the desk in front of the television, Joe was left with little to do but watch me type. Noticing that I was using 'our' space for 'my' space had me noticing the unfairness of that assumption. So, a few minutes later, we are both using the space, both doing what we want, both happy here together.

. . .

I think that's why many of us as people with disabilities sometimes feel 'hurt' rather than 'angry' or 'annoyed' or 'frustrated' at inaccessibility. I mean like didn't anyone NOTICE that this space is utilized by only one group of people, that the others are left to watch but not participate, look in but not come in, understand but not be understood. It takes NOTICING, noticing privilege and doing something about it. It takes NOTICING that what you expect as a given, isn't given to all. It takes NOTICING that the status quo for many is no status at all.

(unquote)

I'm collecting images from history of physically and mentally disabled, and their struggles against "The Normals" for a project I'm working on. And in my insomnia-driven quest Last Night/This Morning, I came across the following tidbit (from this website: The Sheredes Project: Spitalbrook Hospital):

(Quote)
The Living Dead

In the Middle Ages, if a person developed leprosy, they would be declared legally dead and lose all their possessions. They would have to leave their family, and go to live with other lepers in a place like the hospital at Spitalbrook. In Medieval times, this would have been outside the village of Hoddesdon.

Lepers were given special clothes, a begging bowl, and a bell or wooden clapper, so they could be clearly seen and to warn other people to keep their distance. They were given these in a ceremony that was modelled on the service for the burial of the dead and, in many places, the leper was actually required to stand in an open grave while the ritual, that marked them as outcasts from society, was performed above their head.
(Unquote)

Now, for the record: No, I don't believe the early makers of Grade B Zombie movies realized they were making entertainment based on historical instances of actual human rights violations. They probably thought the idea of "Living Dead" just sounded cool, and let their imaginations run wild.

But, you know. It's something for you to think about, when you're deciding what sort of entertainment to hoot, screech and laugh over, next week.

So -- it's art-making month over in Live-Journal land, and while I went in thinking I'd make a new something for my Chimer(i)gons store (nearly) every day, and really boost my inventory, it hasn't worked out that way.

But, since the start of the month, I now have four (4) new designs, and I thought I'd share them (it's been a while, hasn't it?). Image links are behind the cut, with brief descriptions of the products' mottoes (I've tried to write detailed descriptions on each item's product page, in the store):

( In order from most recent to least: 'Autism Spectrum', 'My Responsibilities', 'Cerebral Palsy statistics', and 'Wishing I could walk is BORING' )

---
Designs I want to do in the future:

• "Cerebral Palsy is a Broad Umbrella" With a picture of a broad umbrella with a whole crowd of differently-postured people underneath (and maybe the word "normal" falling down as if it's rain around them). That was going to be today's daily art. But it turned out to be more complicated than a one-day project.
  
  
• "Dear Pity Junkie: I'm not here to be your fix" I'm not sure what sort of graphic I could put with that that isn't ableist against those who require lots of drugs. Maybe just the words, and no graphic?
  
  
• "Bitter Cripple! (I'm cool with GOD. It's YOU I'm pissed at!)"
  
  
• "I don't 'suffer' from anything (but you, Honey, are getting on my last nerve!)"

-----

In other news, the Virginia State Assembly cut funding for home assistance for the disabled and elderly to 56 hours a week, and now, kids won't be able to have personal aides with them in school past kindergarten (even if they need someone trained in administering, oh, say emergency anti-seizure medication within 90 seconds to save their lives). So Audrey is now having to rethink her livelihood, and J's mother is seriously considering homeschooling him. However, the latter development is mostly because all his teachers and therapists are obsessed with "fixing" his weaknesses rather than developing his strengths. Right now, they're obsessed with getting him to cut paper with scissors, and won't teach him anything else until he masters that -- even though he is now able to finger paint quite well, and that skill could be expanded to writing and using a computer mouse, and heck -- making really nifty art (speaking of art-making month).

And this is why, my friends and readers, when you conduct a survey of "children's" developmental disabilities, their population seems to suddenly explode when you bother to look outside the classroom...

-- Sigh --



So yeah, the disabled are the first to get their rights to life curtailed and the last to get their civil rights protected.

There's going to be a repeat of "Inspector Lewis," where the plot revolves around a family whose teenage daughter becomes paralyzed in a car crash, and the action is driven by the different family members' reaction to same -- including the daughter.

The first time it aired, I got to wondering how the way this is dealt with reflects the difference between Britain's predominantly Social Model of Disability, and America's predominantly medical model.

So... you know, if you have 90 minutes or so to spare sometime this week, maybe you could check it out so I have someone to talk to about this?

(I'll be cross-posting this to crip_crit)

So -- next Monday is Helen Keller's 121st birthday, and so, to celebrate, I want to put up some stuff in Zazzle store with a few juicy quotes from her on rights and activism, with cartoon illustrations. The one I've wanted to do for nearly a year now is this:

"... our old ideas are up a tree ... traditions are scurrying away before the advance of their everlasting enemy, the questioning mind..." The New York Call, October 17, 1913.

Folks who were with me for last year's National Art Making Month (August) might remember how I was puzzling out how to illustrate "old ideas" in a visual way, as they scamper up into the branches of a tree while hounds with question-mark spots are close at their heels. Some ideas I worked with was old men whose heads and faces were personified thought balloons, or personified books with tattered covers, and the words for outdated ideas ("bigotry", "NIMBY", etc.) on their covers.

And then, late last night, the idea came to me: skeletons -- maybe "monster" skeletons (human bodies with bird skulls, maybe) -- dressed in rags. Y/Y?

So I want to start practicing drawing that. But the light in my office has burned out, and it's cloudy, so I don't really have strong natural light, and I slept poorly, and I'm just teetering on the verge of a migraine, and ... and...

Even though I'm happy that I have a good idea, I'm cranky because I don't have the energy to play with it right now. And I want to play! Now! But it's not coming out well, and...

I'm cranky.

Oh, well, the UPS driver was just here... maybe he brought me my new book... I will go check. That might cheer me up.

[ETA: It was not my book, but my apron... which is, yes, long enough to cover my entire front in case there is a surprise!doorbell when I'm not wearing any pants. ... So that's good. Crossposting to LJ failed, last time. I shall try again]