The Access Aisle

Advocacy in Gen Z

On this episode, Julia Hartman and Asha Jones discuss the way young adults in Generation Z approach disability advocacy and what they've learned from the advocates that came before them.

Disclaimer

Able South Carolina is providing this podcast as a public service, but it is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of local, state, or federal legislation or policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Able South Carolina. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an Able South Carolina endorsement of them or any entity they represent. If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact our Director of Advocacy and Community Access at advocacy@able-sc.org

 Transcript

 

Julia Hartman: My name is Julia Hartman.

Asha Jones: My name is Asha Jones.

Together: And you are parked in the access aisle!

 

Julia: So what I do, and what Asha does, is that we are EQUIP leaders, with Able South Carolina. And what that means is that we help run Able’s Youth Leadership Program, “EQUIP” for youth with disabilities, between the ages of 13 and 28, and teach them about how to speak up for themselves, different ways to advocate and their legal rights under disability rights law.

 

A: We also do a lot of public education doing different presentations both to youth and those who work with youth, and we try to educate on disability rights and self-advocacy and multiple topics relating to youth and disability.

 

J: Yeah, we do things like: do school visits at high schools and elementary schools, events for the general public, like any sort of conference, or things like that or any sort of presentation that you could see in a public place. We were thinking a lot about how disability advocacy has changed over the past. 30 to 40 years and it's changed a lot. We don't necessarily do a lot of the same things that people in the past would have done. A lot of what we do with EQUIP is educating people, helping them learn how to speak up for themselves, how to advocate which is speaking up for themselves and just what they need to know about different laws that help people with disabilities in their community.

 

A: And speaking about those laws, coming up here in July is going to be the 29th anniversary of the ADA which is the Americans with Disability Act, and that's kind of like, as Julia to explain it, the Bill of Rights where people with disabilities. And so we're kind of here to talk today about how advocacy has changed since the ADA’s passing. Now me, I was born about seven years after the ADA. I don't know about... You don't have to give you what your age, of course, but you were primarily here during the post-ADA,

 

J: I’m 23, so…

 

A: Yeah, okay,

 

J: So a lot of the ways that we advocate has changed, it's not necessarily doing a lot of big things like big protest a lot of time, although that does happen in present day for some laws or some things that people want passed, whether it be something that happens in someone's town or something on the national level, a lot of the time it can be just encouraging people to write letters to the representatives or even just lending people know, “Hey, these are the laws. So that help you do the things that you want, whether it's to get the things you need in school. Are you be able to go into a store?” These are those laws just having people be aware of them.

 

A: Yes, because, while our forebears definitely have put in the work to get these laws, to be there, we can't necessarily benefit from them unless we enforce them and make others enforce them, and so we need to be aware of what our rights are under these, under these laws and know how to go about them and how to go about advocating for ourselves and others so that we can experience the equity these laws are trying to create that have been put in place by those who came before us.

 

J: It's like a garden. The people that originally advocated for those laws planted all the plants in the garden, but we're the ones in charge of watering the garden. Now, and making sure the plants are still alive

 

A: And chasing out any dear who try to eat them.

 

J: One big thing that we have today, one tool that we have in our advocacy tool box that not necessarily the previous advocates have all the ones that are still alive still will have these tools at their disposal is the internet. I actually found out about Able South Carolina through Googling disability rights organizations in my area and I wouldn't have found out about it if it wasn't for Google. My mom said that when I was first born she had a really hard time finding disability resources when I was born. The internet wasn't exactly, brand new because it was 1996, but still it was hard for her to find resources. But after a quick Google search one day, I found out about Able what they did volunteer for a year, and then I got hired on as an EQUIP leader.

 

A: Google didn't exist in 1996 so…

 

J: There were other search engines.

 

A: Yeah, there were, there were, but I was just like, you know, it would have been harder. So, yeah, I definitely agree about the internet. It's a very useful tool and social media is a very, very important tool that a lot of disability advocates use to kind of get the message out there. One, it's accessible to a wide variety of people who have disabilities for example, if they're not necessarily out, be able to be out there in the streets, they can get their message from their homes out into the world and have a wide audience that listens to them.

 

We even have things like Memes that we could use to kind of spread that message which is just that, an image, maybe a little bit of text and those can go viral, pretty quickly. And within that small image-text combination, you have a lot of people that heard your message.

 

J: They’re like inside jokes of the internet. Like political cartoons, sort of.

 

 

A: One of my favorite tools to use for disability advocacy is, well it used to be Facebook, now it's more Twitter simply because I have a wider audience and you get to interact with, again, other people who have disabilities and those who are one of the biggest people I didn't interact with are parents, parents who have children with disabilities, who are interacting with adults, so the same disabilities their children have to kind get that viewpoint and maybe even advice on what their children could possibly be going through and getting it from that kind of first-hand perspective rather than that of a outside perspective which can sometimes lead to some like patronizing attitudes and behaviors.

 

J: Or them getting the wrong information or information that they don't necessarily need.

 

A: Yes, yes, I definitely agree with that.

 

J: Some ways that I like to be a good advocate is just educating people around me about disability issues that affect the disability community. Often what I do is post videos or other articles, Facebook and explain my personal experiences of how I relate to those articles 'cause a lot of the time, especially with older siblings or older relatives, they might not necessarily quite understand. So putting it on a platform that they often use and break it down into a friendly way so I can meet them one-on-one at their level helps just having conversations every day, with anyone really.

 

A: Yeah, I definitely think that conversation every day is kind of important. I just kind of integrate it into your everyday life. Disability is one of those topics that I've always loved to talk about with people. I also think that, elevating the voices of people around me who have disabilities is always really important especially do it with, well, people who have different disabilities than I, or even some of the same because we all have different experiences and I think one of the most important things that people without disabilities can do for the disability community is to elevate our voices by sharing the things that we have decided to share or put out there.

 

J: It's also really important that I've learned from my personal experiences. Put it in a friendly way, in a friendly calmly. For example, I talking to my brother a few weeks ago and he was saying one of the companies he is now training to work for provide money, so that schools can provide Limos for “students with special needs” going to prom. And I calmly told him, "Hey I wasn't sure if you knew this but actually a lot of people with disabilities consider “special needs” kind of an insult and kind of condescending because that term comes from a time where people with disabilities were considered something you don't talk about and were sent off to places to live, not necessarily in the public eye. So things like... What's the word, “institutions!” things like that. So that's the origin of that word. And people are gradually trying to phase that out. So, please don't use that.

 

And he said, “Okay, I won't use that anymore.”

 

A: Yeah, sometimes it's just as simple as having that conversation, 'cause people sometimes honestly just don't know, or maybe they have some misinformation. And so I definitely think there's an advantage to having open conversations and acknowledging that not everybody knows the same thing or has been exposed to the same thing, and even when it's a more difficult situation I think that a lot of times it's still important for those conversations to be had.

 

J: And also keeping yourself aware if you're not familiar with certain issues like I often come to Asha for questions about disabilities that I necessarily don't have but she has like autism, for example. I will ask her questions about how I should approach issues related to autism or just wanting to learn more? And she has often asked me questions about cerebral palsy as well, so we learn from each other. One of the things that I got involved with when I first figured out about Able, and what they do, after I started volunteering here, was a social media campaign called HireMeSC. It's a social media campaign run by the South Carolina Disability Employment Coalition. And what people can do is post selfies of themselves with the hashtag HireMeSC on any website, like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and talk about their employment experiences, what they want employers to know about employing people with disabilities, their experiences with employment, employment discrimination, their dreams about their careers or dream jobs with that hashtag.

 

I've done it a couple of times, Asha has done it. We even have billboards across the state with our faces and the ire HireMeSC logo.

 

A: I actually got contacted by one of my cousins who almost swerved off the road 'cause they saw my face on one of those billboards.

 

But it shows that the message is getting out there all across South Carolina. And I really think that it's helping breaking down some of those misconceptions that people with disabilities aren't necessarily looking for work or that's not something necessarily attainable for them because it is, and we know that one of the best options for people, the option we should be looking for people with disabilities, just like everyone else is to be able to have gainful employment when they come to that age.

 

And I really think that HireMeSC is doing a great job of getting that message out there. There's even a website.

 

J: It is HireMeSC.org.

(Inspiration) Porn Clip of the Month: Kodi Lee

Not that kind of porn! INSPIRATION porn. This segment responds to the response to Kodi Lee's success on America's Got Talent.

Disclaimer

Able South Carolina is providing this podcast as a public service, but it is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of local, state, or federal legislation or policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Able South Carolina. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an Able South Carolina endorsement of them or any entity they represent. If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact our Director of Advocacy and Community Access at advocacy@able-sc.org

 

Transcript

Boris: If you’re listening to this in the office, it’s time to turn it up because we’re talking about porn. Inspiration porn, specifically. That’s portrayals of people with disabilities as inspirational or exceptional based solely on having a disability. Inspiration porn reinforces harmful concepts and perspectives that keep people with disabilities sidelined and excluded, often from their own stories. To help break down the influence of inspiration porn, we here at the Access Aisle present to you – the Porn Clip of the Month.

 

Clip:

Kodi: “I’m Kodi – I’m Kodi Lee!”

Reporter: It’s a moment that just makes you feel good.

Kodi’s Mom: “He’s blind and autistic”

Reporter: 22 year old Kodi Lee, shocking the nation with his singing on America’s Got Talent.

Doctor: There’s always hope as far as hidden strengths

 

B: Before I get into this I wanna be forthcoming about few things: one, I don’t watch America’s Got Talent. I’m not sure that I agree with its premise. And two, there’s a pretty big chance people are not gonna like my hot take on Kodi Lee. For those listeners I also offer takes in mild and lemon pepper variety. But back to Kodi Lee or really, the response to Kodi Lee. This young man with Autism and a visual disability caused a giant wave of dialogue about how we in America talk about disability thanks to his participation in the America’s Got Talent competition where he used his musical and vocal talents to get Gabrielle Union to use her Golden Buzzer. I don’t care at all about the second half of that last sentence but I care a great deal about how people like the doctor in the clip we just played talk about the talents of people with disabilities. Kodi Lee is not talented in spite of his disability. Kodi Lee is not talented because of his disability. Kodi Lee is talented AND he has a disability. He can be both. We don’t have to cheapen the hard work and talent it takes to develop that kind of skill by bringing it down with that tired trope of “look what the disabled kid can do!” He can do a lot Becky. And if you take your head out of the sand of what he can’t do, you’d get to notice the whole world of things he can. Becky.   

Interview: Service Animals

This month, join Boris, Emily, and Dori as we talk about the similarities and differences between emotional support and service animals as well as the confusion surrounding the laws about the two. 

 Disclaimer

Able South Carolina is providing this podcast as a public service, but it is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of local, state, or federal legislation or policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Able South Carolina. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an Able South Carolina endorsement of them or any entity they represent. If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact our Director of Advocacy and Community Access at advocacy@able-sc.org

Transcript

Boris: It's been 10,539 days since the Americans with Disability Act has passed and you are parked in the Access Aisle.

 

B: Good morning, and welcome to the as my first name is Boris and my last name is hard to say, this month we're gonna be talking about service animals, but before we get to the interview, I'd like to set the scene a little bit, with a quick history lesson. The month was June and the year was 1928, the world was in recovery from the end of the First World War, and still 90 years away from the release of Drake’s fifth studio album. Nashville born, Morris Frank, and his dog Buddy stood on West Street in New York City surrounded by wide-eyed reporters with all eyes fixed on them, they watched in awe as Morris and Buddy stepped into the roadway and made it all the way across the street with not a single misstep: setting the news world on fire with the story of the 20-year-old blind man from Tennessee who regained his independence with the service of a dog. Morris and Buddy would go on to be the founders of the first, and now oldest, guide dog school in the United States: “The Seeing Eye.” Now with that out of the way, let's introduce our guests today.

 

Emily: Hi there, my name's Emily Beasley, I am the Youth Leadership Coordinator here at Able, South Carolina, and my dog's name is Tucker.

 

Dori: Good morning. My name is Dori Tempio and I am the Director of Community Outreach & Consumer Rights for Able South Carolina. And my service dog is Shack.

 

B: Okay, Emily how did you decide or come to the decision that you needed Tucker.

 

E: Yeah, so, Tucker is an emotional support animal, which means he's not a service animal, and the rights are a little bit different. But I needed more support at home than I did out in public, and so I decided to get Tucker when I... My depression got really bad and my anxiety got really bad. And so we looked around and went to a breeder who had several other dogs these as service animals and the ESAs and so we went with her and I picked him up.

 

D: I’ve had four service dogs total and the all four of my service dogs have come from accredited organizations, under Assistance Dogs International. And I spent a lot of time doing research from when I lived in Maryland, and then I moved to South Carolina.

 

It was essential to me that if I was going to get a service dog, I wanted to make sure it was a viable service dog from an organization that had experience working with service animals, and for me, I started to notice that doing the typical everyday things like getting dressed putting my coat on, trying to pick things up from the floor, trying to transfer from my wheelchair to other surfaces (like chairs, bathrooms, etcetera) and really thinking about where I was expending energy. I was expanding energy. It would take me two hours; I would go to work two hours early to take off my coat and that was not energy I needed to expand. If you know me, I'm a very active person, I like to be in the community, I like to work, I like to volunteer and in order to do that, I knew I needed something that would provide me assistance to do that but I wanted it to be in such a way that I wasn't having to be reliant on people but still in a way that demonstrated to others that all of us can use different accommodations to achieve the goals that we want to.

 

B: And, Emily, how is that similar or different to what you went through?

 

E: Yeah, so it's a little different. So with emotional support animals, they do not have to be professionally trained, they don't have the same public access as service animals. So, like I said, I can't take Tucker into public with me but um I did do a lot of research and I did get him trained partially before he started acting as my emotional support animal yeah.

 

B: Do you feel like it's kind of safe to say that people look at emotional support animals in a more negative light, than conventional “service animals?”

 

E: Oh yeah, I most definitely... I think it has to do with people faking their emotional support animals and using the law to get the pet fee waved or to fly with their animal, or things like that. Whereas, I know for me, if I were to try to fly with Tucker that would honestly probably be more stressful than helpful for me, so I would never even think about taking Tucker on a plane with me. The only part of the law really that I take use of is that he's allowed to live with me and I don't have to pay a pet fee, because he's not technically a pet, he is an emotional support animal.

 

B: And that's under the Fair Housing Act right?

 

E: Yes.

 

B: Okay, okay, well, Dori have you ever encountered somebody that that's tried to have a fake service animal or try to tell you that Jack isn’t doi-, isn’t a real service animal?

 

D: I have on several occasions, I can give a couple of examples. One, I was at our local home improvement store and I was shopping and all of a sudden, I was in the line paying for my goods and I hear barking and... the manager comes running out, and he's like, "Why is your dog barking?” And everyone else in the line said, “It isn't her dog, it's the lady with the dog in her purse.” And when the manager said to her, so your dog a service animal, she kind of chuckled and said, “Yes, he is,” and then she looked at me to see if I was going to review her answer. Which under-law cannot because technically, if they ask you that question and you decide to respond that way, that is your choice. The only other thing they could have done in that situation was to ask her, Would tasks the service animal performs for her.

And other situations, I've been on the other end of the spectrum where I was out trying to get access into locations in downtown Columbia, whether it was a federal agency, or a restaurant or local business, and I’ve had people say to me, "Well are you sure that's a service animal? Are you sure he's allowed in here? We serve food, we do such and such business. You can't bring him in here”.

 

And I think what people don't know, are all the dynamics of service animals and emotional support animals and when you don't understand all of that, that can produce a lot of confusion. Yeah, I don't think just confusion for the public. I think it produces a lot of confusion for individuals with disabilities who don't know which law fits which type of service animal in what situation. And so there are really generally a lot of times people don't know that they're misrepresenting their service animal. An example, some people refer to their service animals as therapy dogs because they feel they give them some therapeutic elements of emotional support or physical assistance, like they have physical therapy, and I’ve met with people, with legitimate service animals just refer to their animals as in the wrong way and they've been denied to access too and the laws are so intricate, now, but unless you really know your rights, it can be complex. And so I like to look at it from the perspective that hopefully with more education, we get better with that.

Hopefully, maybe down the line, we have some more guidelines for how to oversee service animals and emotional support animals but you could even go state-to-state and even with the ADA some states have different your regulations as well. So I can see, for the typical person that would be very confusing whether you're a professional, or a person utilizing these animals.

 

B:  Something that we've seen start to happen a lot in the past couple of years is that more and more states are adding additional legislation to crack down on the concept of people faking service animals. What do you think of that as a pandemic? Do you think that there's too many people abusing service animals? Do you think that that the number of people that are faking is outweighing the number of people that actually have or need the support of one?

D:And see I have concern, why we have a federal piece of legislation and most of the time it isn't implemented. If it was implemented in the way it was intended, speaking of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we wouldn’t have some of these concerns, but people aren't implementing it and utilizing it correctly, those in enforcement jobs.

The second part of this is: legislation sounds great on paper. The difficulty with legislation is individuals are just that, people with different needs, people with different abilities, people with different ways of communicating.

And as I said earlier, sometimes people use the wrong wording to talk about their animal. Sometimes people, in stressful situations, can't communicate that it is indeed an animal and what it does for you-, a service animal or emotional support animal, and what it does for you. And the problem with that then becomes that you as the owner who may have a legitimate service or emotional support animal can’t explain what that dog does for you not because you don't want to but because the way your disability impacts you, and therefore, in some states you're being charged with a misdemeanor crime which entails money, it entails a misdemeanor crime being put attached to your name and you will take years and years and years and money to get that off your record.

 

B: So even, it's even more barriers on top of a person who had already was already experiencing barriers. Exactly, so... And they're already recognizing, in Georgia, Colorado and a couple of other states where it’s ended up hurting the individuals it was intended to help. So really thinking about that, thinking of all aspects before we just institute a law that may not actually benefit those that was intended to serve.

B: So I noticed, I wanna speak to the elephant in the room. And by that I mean dogs... So we're talking about about service animals, but both of the examples that we've got here are both dogs we really don't see service animals for physical or visual disabilities outside of dogs and mini horses, due to an interesting asterisk in that law, but on the emotional support animal spectrum you see a lot more diversity in that, which I think kind of lends to that public perception of maybe what is a chicken gonna do for you, that a dog doesn't do. Emily, do you have any thoughts on that?

E: When I was looking at emotional support animals and deciding which kind I should get, I really went with dog just because, you know, they’re Man's Best Friend and everyone loves dogs and that seemed like the best fit for me. But all animals can provide support. I do think that different animals may be taken less seriously but not because they're not providing that emotional support, but that people just don't understand how that support could be provided.

B: So it sounds like it's a lot of just public perception being being worked. What are some things that we can do to help educate the public or show the importance in the legitimacy of emotional support animals.

E: I think people being more open about them I think because of public perception of people with emotional support animals and people that think that we are faking it or just using it to fly for free have their animal fly for free or not have to pay housing fee. I think that people misunderstand, but if more people were open about their animals in general and how they do actually help them, then I think that other people might start to see that it doesn't just have to be dogs.

B: Have any specific skills or actions that he takes when you're feeling a particular anxiety or any kind of symptoms that he can pick up on.

E: Yeah, so, Tucker has, been trained in a couple of different ways. One way is that he alerts me to my anxiety either by coming over and nudging me or jumping up on my leg if I'm standing, and then because he's also, he's pretty small as all of 20 pounds. Then the other tasks that he's been trained to do is called pressure and so that's when he comes over and if I'm sitting he’ll lay on my lap. And, if I'm laying down, he’ll lay on my stomach or my chest and both of those, he knows how to do it on command but he'll also do it if he picks up on me becoming particularly anxious or if I'm crying or if I'm just super depressed. He's really good at picking up on those kind of things, and then of course he does just provide general emotional support in that. I'm really happy when I'm around him and he brings me a lot of joy.

B: So in a real sense, there are certain tasks that he's been trained to do that directly benefit your disability, right?

E: Yes, but that is also kind of unique to my situation, and emotional support animals don't have to be trained in specific tasks to help. I just decided that I did need help and the supports at home but I didn't need a full-blown service animal to take out with me in public, because generally I was around other people in public that could help me fulfill my needs, that I wouldn't otherwise be able to.

B: And, Dori, I'm seen some of the things that Jack's done for you and I know you mentioned earlier, some of the things that you felt like you needed to help with that Shack can give you some additional independence for... So, what are the ways that shack helps you that you feel like a person couldn't? In what ways does having a service animal beat out having a PCA?

D: I think being a person who wants to be as independent as possible... people have their merits in a lot of different areas. But to be honest, I think having a service animal, empowers you, it allows you not to be dependent on somebody who may or may not have other responsibilities that they have to take care of. Also being a person who uses a PCA as well, they're different dynamics to it. Having a PCA who had to pick up my cellphone the 10 times that I drop it usually during a day, having a PCA who had to help me transfer every second of the day when I want a transfer at home from my bed or from the wheelchair to the bathroom toilet to the wheelchair to a chair or sofa, my service dog can take notes back and forth or remote control of things for me and my husband.

There's a lot of essentialness that people forget. People think people are the answer. Not in all cases. Sometimes elements of people are more enabling than animals than empower you. I think it really is dependent on this person. I don't think a service animal or an emotional support animal is right for everybody.

I think you have to have certain dynamics and responsibilities, and I think the animal has to be wanting to be in that job. It isn't something you just take an animal and put it in because that's what you want. They have to have the desire to wanna work for you in either role whether it's a certain more emotional support animal, and that is not every animal, so you have to look at it from that aspect, as well. It is much less money too to have a service animal, then a PCA to have a PCA also in South Carolina and other states, you have to meet certain qualifications for Medicaid, Medicare, and other entities from which you receive these services. And so, I really think when you look at the global perspective, of why do you choose a service animal or an emotional support animal, it’s very individualized. What's gonna be right for one person is not gonna be right for the other, and whether I choose I want an individual to assist me or whether I choose I wanna service animal to assist me is also individual wants and needs based as well.  I don't think one is any better than the other to say that to someone personally, that's for me, one is a better choice, but for somebody else, just like the independent living philosophy says, it's really the choice of you works best for you.

B: Well then, just for my own personal amusement and possibly the amusement of our listeners, tell me and be as detailed or as un-detailed as you like what it was like the moment you met Shack.

D: Oh, that's a big story. When I first met Shack, when you go through a service dog organization, and I can only speak from this reference, I got a check from Palmetto Animal-Assisted Life Services, which is also called PAALS, out of Columbia, South Catalina. They go through an extensive process where you meet with a lot of different dogs, over the course of a year, they are accepted and they look at the different dogs and how they interact with you. You get to have input. They also have a client committee that gives input. You are interviewed in your home, you are also evaluated by your medical doctor and they give input too, and then when you go through that, you weigh out the pros and cons. So you’re asked your opinion but they also have a training team that looks at that too. Well, the first time I met Shack, he ran up to me, he jumped on my foot rest on my wheelchair turned his body around. And he did a pose like we were on the catwalk. He just sat there and he wanted to go along. In it, did pose. We want the car, and I was rolling my wheelchair anybody to just sit there and go, I love. And it was very interesting because none of the other dogs at that time, really had any interest in being around a wheelchair and you could tell by their physical demeanor and they were a little hesitant. But he was like, "I’m down for this, let’s go! And for those who know me, know I have a lot of energy. Well, when people tell me he's the canine form of you, I guess that says it all!

B: And Emily, what was it like the moment you met Tucker?

E: The moment I met Tucker wasn’t as entertaining as the moment Dori met Shack, but when I took him home, we got him from a breeder out in Georgia and when I took him home, I felt at peace and I felt like I made the right decision. There was a lot of testing that went into picking the right dog, it was down between two puppies and just something about Tucker’s. demeanor just seemed perfect for me and I took him home, and he was still this little fuzz ball, and I set him in the grass and all he wanted to do was follow me around, and be right next to me and that really was… I mean… he has become my best friend and I knew that that day that he would be my best friend and that even if I don't wanna give him all of my attention because I'm feeling like particularly depressed or anxious, all he wants to do is make me happy and be right by me and I don't have to be giving him direct attention and he's still just chilling right by me and he has my back. So yeah, I'd say "peaceful” describes the moment I met him.

B: That's awesome. I struggle, to think of what more you can want from an animal.

 

(Inspiration) Porn Clip of the Month: Special Needs Proms

Not that kind of porn! INSPIRATION porn. This segment tackles the concept of special needs proms as a form of inspiration porn that hurts more than it helps.

 Disclaimer

Able South Carolina is providing this podcast as a public service, but it is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of local, state, or federal legislation or policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Able South Carolina. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an Able South Carolina endorsement of them or any entity they represent. If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact our Director of Advocacy and Community Access at advocacy@able-sc.org

Transcript

 

Intro/Boris: And now I wanna talk to you about inspiration porn, and no, I don’t mean adult videos with a heartfelt message about loving yourself – I mean portrayals of people with disabilities as inspirational or exceptional based solely on having a disability. People with disabilities face a number of barriers in our society and inspiration porn does little more than reinforce harmful concepts and perspectives that keep these barriers in place. People with disabilities don’t exist just to make you feel better about yourself – they just exist. Same as you. Same as me. To help dismantle the influence of inspiration porn, all of us at the Access Aisle present to you – our Porn Clip of the Month

News Clip Anchor #1: It’s prom season and high school students are swept up in the excitement of getting dressed up for the special dance, however, students with special needs can’t always attend but today, as Korina Flores shows us, they were able to enjoy a dance organized just for them.

News Clip Anchor #2: These students can enjoy a day of pampering and a prom, just like other high school students. During the special needs proms, students from 11 different school districts – 

Boris: I’m gonna stop you right there Ms. News Lady – you’re right about one thing, people with disabilities are often excluded from community activities and this definitely includes school functions like proms. But special needs proms are NOT the solution. In this story, you’ve got eleven entire school districts that would rather keep students with disabilities completely segregated than put even the slightest effort into examining what it is about their own practices that keeps these students from attending proms at their own schools. How is this something we celebrate? If you can’t get into your house because the door is locked, does it make more sense to buy a completely new house down the block or just unlock the freaking door? Now I’ll admit that special needs proms are a very popular, Tim Tebow’s Night to Shine foundation organized hundreds of church based events world wide this year to give students with disabilities a prom. Except these proms didn’t even happen during prom season. They happened during one night in February. Because nothing says equal access like being completely excluded from not only the event but the entire event season.

Interview: Employment for People with Disabilities

To discuss the ins and outs of the job seeking process for people with disabilities we have interviews about interviewing! Our guests include Cali Sandel, Able South Carolina's Employment Service Specialist, and Asha Jones, a college student with a disability looking to start her career. 

 Disclaimer

Able South Carolina is providing this podcast as a public service, but it is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of local, state, or federal legislation or policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Able South Carolina. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an Able South Carolina endorsement of them or any entity they represent. If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact our Director of Advocacy and Community Access at advocacy@able-sc.org

Transcript

 

Intro/Boris: It's been 10,511 days since the American Disability Act was passed and you are parked in the Access Aisle.

 

Boris: Good morning everybody, and thanks for joining us, my name is Boris Klarić and you’re listening to the Access Aisle! Here with me today is Able South Carolina's Employment Services Specialist miss Cali Sandel. Good morning! So tell us a little bit about what it is that you do. What's your position where do you work?

 

Cali: So I work here at Able South Carolina, I am an employment services coordinator, which means that I partner with our consumers, I like to call them job seekers, I partner with job seekers and we work on the skills that will build up to their ultimate successful entering into an employment situation, advancing an employment situation, and then a little bit of job retention, to helping them keep jobs where things might be going a little rocky.

 

B: Okay, and what brought you to this position, what else have you done?

 

C: So this is employment services for the last eight years. That's all I have ever done. I used to work at a PR agency where I did some more work on the employer side of the house, but through networking and hopefully, being good at my job. Able South Carolina hired me, and so now I'm doing more of a consumer focused I only work with job seekers, I don't go and speak on people's behalf because people are capable of speaking for themselves oftentimes, and so we empower them to do that.

 

B: And this takes on a special connotation with you, because you're not just helping people with disabilities, you are a person with a disability.

 

C: Yes, yes there's some instant credit that happens here. I have been blind since birth. I'm not totally blind. Like anything else, blindness falls on the spectrum, but I don't see very well. I use a lot of technology and so often times I'll get somebody on the phone and they'll say, "Well I I can't work because I'm blind and I kind of check in and then have to have a little education moment, but yeah, I do have a disability, and I work most of the...

 

B: So let's start... Let's start with just a little bit about you. What has been your experience and trying to find and maintain employment as a person with a disability?

 

C: I went to a small university, and that's where my first job was. The IT department and the disabled student office had circled up around me in a really beautiful way, without me fully realizing how awesome they were until later, so when it came time for me to get my first job I applied like everybody else, I had networked within my department. The IT department got my assistant technology set up and I got to start just like anybody else would. And I was the person who would call you at dinner. “I am Cali and I'm calling from with the university on behalf of educational television. We're calling people denied to ask them some questions about the upcoming election. Do you have a few minutes?” Click and you do it again. So you develop a pretty thick skin and some de-escalation and some negotiating, and some persuasion telephone skills, still use in your job do that absolutely, it seems like a funny first job, but I learned a lot of valuable skills by doing cold political calls.

 

B: Kind of building on that experience, what do you hear from job seekers that are coming to you looking for their first job in a lot of cases? What do you hear, how does that story kind of mirror mimic your own?

 

C: I think everybody's story is different. I know that getting experience when a lot of positions require experience, where do you get experience if all the jobs require experience? We run into that a lot. I think for a lot of people, with people with disabilities myself included, a lot of people's first jobs are waiter or pizza delivery driver. And those are things that I was never going to be very good at or excel at. So the opportunity for this first jobs becomes a partnership of sorts, networking being connected to the right service providers. I think if your job is to use the office equipment, but that office equipment is above your head, for people who use wheelchairs that becomes a barrier. So I think having a, a community, a network, whether that be a natural network of people just that you know and our friends with that work of service providers as a... Sometimes we need a little bit of help and everybody needs help every now and again.

 

B: And so a lot of times, this help comes in the form of reasonable accommodation.

 

C: Yes, yes, that's a much better way of putting it, yes. I was very fortunate that the reasonable accommodations that I needed were in place and happened really quickly and naturally, but I knew what to ask for, I knew what I had used coming up through a school E-A and A... And a self-advocate, which is again something that I took for granted that I was able to do that I knew what I needed. Sometimes people just don't know what they need to be successful.

 

B: But yeah, not a combination, a really "portneuf a better word ignorance about what to request or the availability of reasonable accommodation. Is that something that's kind of common place that you found with a first time job, seekers with disabilities?

 

C: Yeah, assuming Ignorance is just a lack of education then yeah, people don't know what they don't know or their internal network. If you're the only person in your family and your school, and your community with the disability and you haven't gone and met other people are done research to see...”Oh, I can do this thing, if I do it this way.” Then you might have been told your whole life You can't do this thing, you can't use a computer, you can't use a copy machine, you can't do a laundry list of jobs. There's very few things I can't do. I'm never gonna be a school bus driver, I'm never going to be an air traffic controller. I probably wouldn't make a great firefighter for a variety of reasons, but there's a much longer list of things that I can do most of which were a reasonable accommodation, and I have to know what to ask for. I have to know that that thing exists.

 

B: Okay, and how big of a boost do you think that the presence of a reasonable accommodation makes and helping someone maintain and gain employment?

 

C: It'll make or break a situation just hands down. There's no question about it. I could not do my job without reasonable accommodations, I couldn't live independently without some alternative techniques at technology or even non-technology things. I'm sure there's a better word for that. Somewhere. Low-tech, there's high tech, and there's low tech, low tech is the box that I have my computer stay in sitting on. It was a 20 box on Amazon, but it allows me to not go home with a neck ache and allows me to be more productive. It's a box all the way up to the super expensive software that goes on my computer that reads and magnifies for me. There's a spectrum, but sometimes something as simple as a box 20 with of a box, can make or break a situation.

 

B: Have you experienced or encountered any kind of resistance to those requests for reasonable commendation from employers?

 

C: No, no, my early jobs were in a university setting, where I had a great network of professors who saw what I was capable of with the right tools, and then an internship where I had partnered with the Commission for the Blind and they were on the ball and delivered my technology so I didn't really have to make an ask, VR provided that for me. And then I went to work on for a VR agency where accommodations came naturally and now I'm here at Able. So I don't, but now so not a whole lot of resistance. Sometimes you get assistance from it. I've worked with some funny IT departments, where the third party guy, who doesn't work in the office who doesn't know me who hasn't seen what the technology does when it doesn't play nicely with their systems. I've gotten some resistance from it, but it's always been something we can navigate.

 

B: What's one piece of professional advice that you'd give to a first time job seeker with a disability who's trying to navigate the process from beginning to end, from hiring from trying to apply? What's one piece of advice that you would give to them?

 

C: Oh, that's a big one. I find myself repeating two things. It's a big question. I'm allowed to give you two answers. Yeah, okay, so the first one when you are on the job search people get jobs because they know other people. And I actually have made in turns repeat this repeat after me. People get jobs because they know other people. You can apply online and certainly, yes, that that is something worth doing but historically, networking is where it's at. Whether it be social networking... Or networking in person. People get jobs because they know other people. The other one is that competence with the P competence looks good on everybody and confidence with an F. looks good on everybody. And when you're interacting with potential employers and even once you're on the job you should always strive to be competent. The world's definition of competent not whatever bar has been set for you, but the bar that's been set for your peers and confidence looks good on everybody. If I'm comfortable with my disability, if I'm comfortable with my knowledge skills and abilities, I can show you better than I can tell you. Confidence looks good on everybody in a job interview and advancing and retaining employment. A lot of times it's being part of the team and being friendly. And do people believe that you're an asset? And did they like coming and asking you questions? So competence looks good on everybody and confidence looks good on everybody. People get jobs because they know other people.

 

Transition music plays

 

Asha: Hi, my name is Asha, I'm 22 years old, and I'm looking for an internship to start my career. The first real, real job I worked was a belt years ago at Subway and it was an interesting experience. The application process was interesting. I think, I over thought, a lot of it, they were asking me questions about how I interacted with people and was the life of the party and what I really wanted to say I was like, "Well I don't tend to go to parties, 'cause I get over simulated and I can't handle them”. Qualified to see if they would hire me. I have no idea. It seemed to me that I didn't think I'd be asking me so much of so many personal questions for a job where I didn't think it really mattered if I was the life at the party, but I did okay, I apparently I actually found some tips in an online support group for people to developmental disabilities, and I guess a lot of them felt they're kind to questions because maybe other people would know not to answer them a certain way and a lot of us would kind of... I don't wanna say fall for it at least the first time and... 'cause I got some fair warning. I was like, "Oh okay, I know how to answer this. I don't think it was on purpose, but it's still a... Something that I guess a lot of us would struggle with at the interview process was fine. They were group interviews, and I had too on how to the terming I guess, for lack of a better word, I did not disclose about my disabilities the, I guess, I was afraid too, I didn't want... This is before I was really taking pride and I so I... And I didn't feel like I needed any accommodations even though the only reason I kind of selected to work there is because I knew that there are a lot of times before I knew that the environment was okay and the lighting was low, and I wouldn't be able to handle it, if I were in a place with more lighting etcetera. I probably have to ask to do something like... Where sunglasses or something like that. And so, I had purposely picked a place that I was already somewhat I guess accommodating for my needs, I was glad that I had seen someone post about their careful employment before so that I had some idea of what to expect and that I wasn't caught completely off God. Or then the same mistake that the people who make the post made made the same mistake day that they spared me from making that mistake by sharing their experience.

 

B: So if you could give one piece of advice to somebody that was in your position and just looking for a job for the first time, what would you tell them?

 

Asha: I would definitely say to definitely look for those resources where people have gone through it themselves, and then listen to them. Your advice and kind of incorporate that into your job search if they had success with what they're doing and it vibes with you, then I would definitely say I do some research, seek out people who've done it before Go for it, but go for it, with confidence.