Saving the world, one crowd-sourcing question at a time

[trouble]

ismith asked a question on Chatterday at FWD that I thought was interesting. [Read the whole question here - I've edited it below.]

My university has a pre-orientation program that focuses on “leadership skills” ... A lot of it is just bonding with each other, but one thing that this particular pre-orientation program tries to do is talk about diversity;...

... I was able to provide a number of topics for discussion about student life with a disability, but one thing they’re looking for is an activity. They do various physical activities around, e.g., privilege ... and are looking for something similar to do that could lead into a discussion of disability. I tried to steer them away from doing the usual “blindfold half the kids” type simulations, but the only suggestion I’ve come up with is acting out the Spoon Theory article. That would maybe be a tangible thing – yay props – but isn’t quite as participatory as we’d like, though I think we’ll go with it if we don’t come up with something better.

Any suggestions on how to get people participating and talking about disability?

This is my response, which I think has the germ of a not-horrible idea, but is still problematic on so many levels. Your thoughts, either here or at FWD, would be appreciated!

ismith, I have a lot of thoughts about your question, although some of them are unkind (how do they know that none of the students participating have a disability? Have they decided they know what disability looks like, so no students with a disability are coming on this retreat? *sigh*).

But, an activity that may be useful if one is focusing on the "big three" "real" disabilities: Deaf, Blind, Uses a Wheelchair. And, of course, if one assumes that no one has any disabled family members of friends already.

Pull students into small groups and give the following introduction:

"You make a new friend at university! This new friend has many similar interests to you! You want to invite your new friend to your house / your apartment / your favourite coffee shop / whatever."

Each group gets one of the following scenarios. I'm sure people can think of more, and more appropriate ones. I'm just brainstorming.

1) Your friend is a full-time wheelchair user. Describe any difficulties they may have in getting into your chosen space, and how you and your friend might work together to eliminate these barriers.

2) Your friend is blind. How are you going to give directions to your chosen location when your friend can't drive? How comfortable or uncomfortable with giving directions that don't rely on "watch for the red house" or similar visual cues?

3) Your friend is Deaf and uses Sign Language. What student events have you attended that would include Sign Language-users? What student events have you attended that would not?

Afterwards bring students back together into the larger group. Discuss the answers. Ask them explicitly if they think the event they're at would be accessible to students with disabilities. Ask how they would work together as Student Leaders to ensure more accessible options for students.

Ask them as well what other sorts of barriers people with disabilities would face in attending university. As leaders of the exercise, I would explicitly talk about non-visible disabilities. I would also discuss barriers that students face when people have decided "what disability looks like," especially in a classroom setting.

This isn't a disability simulation, it's a thinking about disability simulation.

Comments

[jackandahat]

I think that's great because it's not about appropriating other people's problems or claiming a false level of understanding like most do.

It's not going "You've spent an hour (of playtime, not having to go to work/look after your kids/navigate Real Life) in a wheelchair and now you know what it's like to be disabled!", but it is opening their awareness to make them think about actual obstacles that might be faced by actual disabled people.

[staranise]

That is an awesome, awesome idea.

[jesse_the_k]

Excellent approach: focusing on inclusion, not "suffering"!

There's an outstanding video called How Difficult Can This Be. It's particularly focused on learning disabilities, which are actually more common than the "big three" you cite combined.

Richard Lavoie runs a dozen teachers through an impairment simulation with a difference. He creates an environment in which the teachers' perfectly typical skills and capacities are no longer functional. In other world, he imposes disability upon them via explicit social construction.

Then they debrief. The teachers are astounded at how quickly they learn to show shame, to hang back, to pile on each other, and other nasty stuff which happens in an oppressive environment. Here's an essay about what he's up to.

[ironed_orchid]

I like your idea a lot, and think it would be even better if it included some invisible disabilities.

I know I had to adjust some of my expectations when dating a guy with severe ADHD, and having a mother and a BFF who are gluten intolerant meant I can list all the local places where they can safely order food to eat.

[sami]

I was thinking about the ADHD factor, too - that and other learning-affecting disabilities could be very important in an academic environment.

[dpfesh]

I really liked your suggested exercises!

Gosh, now i'm pondering them and have little clue how i'd go about doing Stuff with a disabled friend. eek! Normally i just tend to plan for Other Fat Grrlz - big seats, enough room, etc..

thinking is good, your proposed situations create thinking. Go You!

[firynze.livejournal.com]

Have I mentioned lately that you're awesome?

Because that's exactly what we need more of. Not simulating disabilities and walking away going "oh, I'm so glad I'm not disabled," but thinking about disabilities, and how they affect every aspect of life and doing things, and thinking about how to work around or with that...and how the very conference they're in might not be doing that...

[danelover18.livejournal.com]

I agree, I think this is a great way to get the group to think outside the box and about the world around them. I know as I read through the scenarios, I began to think how I would act in each situation ((the directions one is still stumping me))

[shehasathree]

hooray for thinking; you're awesome!

[automaticdoor]

This is an awesome, awesome way to go about it. ♥

[georgiaclaire.livejournal.com]

I like it. Just thinking about it now has made it more real.

[(Anonymous)]

A suggested followup exercise: After discussing the answers, discuss how the solutions provided either encouraged autonomy or encouraged reliance for the disabled party.

For example, I can certainly see groups proposing things like "Oh, no worries! I'll just pick up my blind friend and drive them to the party/event/shop." Which falls into the same trap that many 'solutions' fall into: assuming "I'll do it for you" is the same as "Here is how you can do it".

James
(of the BrokenID)