trouble | Entries tagged with ticky boxes are love

So this is a thing that happened.

Sign Language Ban Imposed on N.J. Girl

School officials have threatened a hearing-impaired girl with suspension if she uses sign language to talk to her friends on the school bus, the girl's parents say.

Danica Lesko and her parents say sign language is the only way to for the 12-year-old to communicate, especially while riding to school on a noisy bus.

But officials at Stonybrook School — which is not a school for the hearing-impaired — and district officials in Branchburg, N.J., apparently believe signing is a safety hazard. They have sent a letter to the Lesko family ordering Danica to stop using sign language on the school bus or risk a three-day suspension.

...

"The Board is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to all students with disabilities, and is satisfied that there has been no violation of that policy in this case," officials said in the statement. "The Board is also committed to assuring the safety of all students who travel on District buses, and will continue to take appropriate steps to accomplish that goal."

LET'S PLAY A FUN GAME.

How do you think Sign Language is a SAFETY HAZARD?

Poll #10707 I Am Anna's Sarcasm Voice

Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 59

View Respondents

How are students signing on the bus a safety hazard?

View Answers

They are just so fast that sparks fling from their fingers and might cause a small fire.
28 (50.0%)

Students learning that signed languages exist as real languages in this world might make them question whether English is really the Supreme Language of All Things.
31 (55.4%)

Students who don't know ASL are demanding to learn it because ASL is cool, and the school can't find a qualified teacher.
28 (50.0%)

Something something something Québec Protests.
10 (17.9%)

I HAVE A THEORY that it's none of the above.
20 (35.7%)

What is your alternate theory about ASL on the bus?

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On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is Totally Not Evil and 10 is Way More Evil Than Don, how evil are the people who ban Sign Language on school buses?

View Answers
Mean: 9.63 Median: 10 Std. Dev 1.31

Not Evil 1	1 (1.8%)
2	0 (0.0%)
3	0 (0.0%)
4	0 (0.0%)
5	0 (0.0%)
6	0 (0.0%)
7	1 (1.8%)
8	3 (5.3%)
9	3 (5.3%)
Way More Evil Than Don 10	49 (86.0%)

Obligatory Melle Question

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Kittens
34 (60.7%)

Puppies
17 (30.4%)

Ponies
19 (33.9%)

Cows
11 (19.6%)

Camels
17 (30.4%)

Via a friend in a locked post: Five Things You Can Learn From Ventilator Assisted Children, or the latest round of "G-d created people with disabilities so that Good Christians could learn about piety".

(And seriously, the message is often not religious right anymore, but so much of the pity and "I learned so much from these sightless children!" is still present. One day, we'll be beyond Victorian stereotypes of disability and on that day, my friends, on that day... I will probably be dead already.)

What can you, gentle reader (because, of course, none of you are Ventilator Assisted, because people with disabilities exist only as empty vessels, not as people who surf the web), learn from Ventilator Assisted Children?

Poll #6409 Very Special Lessons!

Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 39

What of the many stereotypical lessons one can learn from disabled children did the author learn? Pick no more than 5!

Patience!
10 (31.2%)

Humility!
12 (37.5%)

It's weird to be the only non-disabled person in a group!
12 (37.5%)

Disability is hard, but gosh darn it, disabled kids are cute! (There are no disabled adults)
24 (75.0%)

That Someone or Something has a Higher Plan for us!
15 (46.9%)

Some people really do care about something other than themselves!
13 (40.6%)

That life can be so much worse!
17 (53.1%)

When life throws you lemons, make lemonade!
7 (21.9%)

Don't stop believin' -- no, wait, that's Glee. Be a little engine that could!
7 (21.9%)

Volunteering makes you feel good about yourself!
18 (56.2%)

That one should enjoy the little things in life!
9 (28.1%)

Some other life lesson that non-disabled people learn from PWD all the time!
6 (18.8%)

What other life lessons do non-disabled people learn from disabled children all the time!

What life lessons do you wish non-disabled people would learn from people with disabilities?

My life/the lives of people with disabilities is/are not a tragedy.
26 (76.5%)

My life/the lives of disabled people is/are not a pity pr0n for your tears.
28 (82.4%)

I am not/disabled people are not (a) poster child(ren).
21 (61.8%)

There are disabled adults in the world, and they need accessibility as much as disabled children do.
29 (85.3%)

The lives of PWD are not very special lessons at all so stop making overwrought metaphors about it!
30 (88.2%)

Something else
6 (17.6%)

What other life lessons do you wish non-disabled people would *actually* learn from the lives of people with disabilities?

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is "not very" and 10 is "Oh deary my, quite", how sarcastic is this entry?

Mean: 8.59 Median: 9 Std. Dev 1.85

1	0 (0.0%)
2	0 (0.0%)
3	2 (5.4%)
4	0 (0.0%)
5	1 (2.7%)
6	0 (0.0%)
7	5 (13.5%)
8	7 (18.9%)
9	4 (10.8%)
10	18 (48.6%)

Pick only one! (Or none at all)

Coffee
3 (7.7%)

Tea
12 (30.8%)

Hot Chocolate
12 (30.8%)

Hot Water
1 (2.6%)

Steamed/Warmed up Milk
0 (0.0%)

So, it's kinda cold in your house, huh?
11 (28.2%)

This dude is a film maker. I wonder if it would blow his mind to learn how many films about their own experiences people with disabilities have made?

I would, if I may, recommend against engaging with the author, because he seems to have made several of these pity-pr0n movies and will no doubt wish to inform you about how incredibly brave he is or threaten to take his toys and go home or, even better, have people tell you how they won't care about disability anymore if you're not nice to him, so, you know. Leave that be. There are other uses of our time! Good uses! Like going out to tea with a book, which is what I am going to do right now.

I'm in the middle of a thingy (compiling up that huge list of YA-ish books that feature characters with disabilities), which made me wonder, again, whether or not there's much interest in a disability-related reading community on DW. (Which I will apparently determine by asking you, gentle reader, to vote anonymously and give me your thoughts.)

Poll #4933 Community?

This poll is anonymous.
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 46

Interest in a community to read/discuss books about disability?

View Answers

I would be interested in such a community!
22 (50.0%)

I would be interested in it as a reading challenge type thing but not a community.
2 (4.5%)

I have so many many many books to read that another potential reading list makes me feel tired. :(
5 (11.4%)

I would support such a thing! but probably can't participate.
15 (34.1%)

This could be tied in better to an existing community
0 (0.0%)

If you voted "tied in to an existing community", which community would you suggest?

View Answers

I've never done a drop-down box question. Please pick something from the box

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Tea
10 (23.8%)

Coffee
12 (28.6%)

Hot Chocolate
12 (28.6%)

Liquor
3 (7.1%)

Water
5 (11.9%)

Obligatory Melle Question

View Answers

Purple
19 (44.2%)

Black
5 (11.6%)

Clear
5 (11.6%)

Tan
2 (4.7%)

Maroon
5 (11.6%)

Blue
7 (16.3%)

Green
11 (25.6%)

Camel
5 (11.6%)

Piggy
7 (16.3%)

Sheep
17 (39.5%)

So, let's say you've created the Platonic Ideal of Internet Something. You've made the most awesome vid ever, your artwork is so awesome it's making grown Annas weep, you've written the most awesome blog post ever on an important subject, your fic is the best thing since sliced bread and maybe even before... You know, the sort of stuff that people link, comment on, and discuss.

Noting, of course, that every Awesome Thing is going to get negative as well as positive commentary, what do you think about people who just link with 'Go see this, it's awesome' (or even lengthy additional commentary) versus people who comment to say "This was awesome, thank you!". Or do you prefer people to do both? And what about people who think what you've created is awful and you should feel awful? Comment? Link? Both? Neither?

I'm genuinely curious what people think and feel about it in regards to themselves.

Poll #4287 SRS BSN

Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 44

View Respondents

Assuming Positive: Linking vs Commenting: Fight!

View Answers

Linking is awesomer than Commenting!
6 (13.6%)

Commenting is better than Linking!
1 (2.3%)

Link AND Comment! Two great tastes that taste great together
34 (77.3%)

I am deep in Not Caring Country and I'm not coming back
3 (6.8%)

Assuming Negative: Linking vs Commenting

View Answers

Linking is better.
10 (23.3%)

Commenting is better.
12 (27.9%)

Link & Comment.
15 (34.9%)

Keep your negative commentary to yourself, thank you.
6 (14.0%)

Obligatory Melle question

View Answers

Maple
9 (22.5%)

Vanilla Bean
16 (40.0%)

Cinnamon Kiss
16 (40.0%)

It's like deja vu all over again....
9 (22.5%)

Other
8 (20.0%)

Turnabout being fair play, I sometimes feel woeful when something I worked really hard on gets very few comments, even if it ends up getting a lot of hits that seem to be from "positive" responses (like a recent post I did that I can see doing the rounds of twitter links, but has garnered all of three comments). And yet, I rarely comment anywhere anymore, I mostly link, and I'm not sure that all spaces are generating discussion so much as they are generating back-patting. I don't know. It's very fraught, isn't it?

In more positive news, school starts soon and I am so excited I could dance. Late night openings at the library!!!!!

Current Location: Coffee Shop with coffee flavours of coffe
Crossposts: http://troubleinchina.livejournal.com/569140.html

It never occurred to me that "Sally Anne" might be a Canadian thing. Huh.

Poll #4030 Curiosity

Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 76

View Respondents

Sally Anne is

View Answers

a person's name.
40 (52.6%)

the Salvation Army nickname.
28 (36.8%)

a doll's name.
7 (9.2%)

something else, that's for sure.
1 (1.3%)

I am from/grew up in

View Answers

a commonwealth country or the UK.
36 (48.0%)

the US.
35 (46.7%)

somewhere else.
4 (5.3%)

Obligatory Melle question

View Answers

Green
20 (31.2%)

Yellow
8 (12.5%)

White
9 (14.1%)

Camel
21 (32.8%)

Cow
24 (37.5%)

Current Mood: hot
Current Location: the hot muggy apartment of doom
Crossposts: http://troubleinchina.livejournal.com/560626.html

So, a coffee shop moved in to my beloved tea shop. I miss my tea shop, deeply, but I also like having a place to drink hot drinks that's air conditioned and has tables and stuff, and thus, here I am.

And I got used to being around people who though "Accessibility matters!". I'm really missing that especially right now.

Noting that I've already asked people to stop putting the table out front so it blocks the only way for a wheelchair to get into this building (both this store and the one next door) twice, and both times people have said "Oh, yeah, that's important" and then not moved it until I've said "Look, my husband will be here soon, and he'd like to get in your shop, kk?", I ask this question:

Poll #3406 Wheelchair Accessibility: Is it optional?

Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 60

View Respondents

How many times will I need to ask the coffee shop to stop putting a table in front of the accessible entrance?

View Answers

3
1 (1.7%)

4
1 (1.7%)

5
2 (3.3%)

6-10
1 (1.7%)

11-15
7 (11.7%)

You will stop going before they stop doing that
48 (80.0%)

*sigh*