Which Kinds Of Ableism Do You See Most?
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It’s a fun survey! Which kinds of ableism do you see most? At the risk of reinventing the wheel, I've come up with my own categories, which I hope covers all the necessary bases. See some explanations below the survey.
Why am I asking? Because I'm curious to see if there are any interesting patterns in the responses. Also, frequency of Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook references can only tell you so much about what people are really feeling and experiencing.
Please feel free to share this with others. The more people respond, the better. I'll post results after about a month.
Added note: In response to a question on Twitter, I ask that you report things you have either experienced yourself or witnessed happening to others ... but not things you've only heard about or read about. Thanks!
Use of outdated terminology
- Handicapped, differently-abled, special needs … or whichever terms you don’t like.
Insulting jokes on disability themes or using disability language
- “I’m telling you, that guy is a total moron, a real mental defective!"
Snubbing, freezing out, shying away from social engagement
- When it’s obvious someone is avoiding dealing with you because your disability makes them uncomfortable.
Condescending attitudes, speaking to disabled adults as if they are children
- “Heeey buuuddy! That’s a pretty snazzy hat you’ve got there!"
Physical barriers that shouldn’t be there, could be removed
- When you can’t even enter because of the way a place is constructed.
Explicit exclusion based on disability
- “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to leave.” “We’ll need to see a doctor’s note if you want to participate."
Refusing to accommodate
- “I don’t have time to deal with you … why don’t you bring someone to help you?” “But the policy says …” “If we let you do it that way it’s not fair to everyone else."
Assumed to be incompetent, unreliable, immature
- When people ask the person with us instead of us. When we say what happened and people just don’t believe us; we must have misunderstood. Most employment discrimination.
Unsolicited advice
- When someone we don’t know graces us with their brilliant idea about how to cope with a disability they know nothing about.
Held to a higher standard of polite behavior than most non-disabled people
- It’s very important for us to be patient, civil. There’s no call to get mad; people just don’t know.
Administrative rules and procedures that impede our progress and independence
- Nobody actually wants us to end up in a nursing home, dropped from college, denied benefits. It’s just policy.