National Ad Campaign Promotes Common Sense by Using Humor: My Take

Ever since I became an individual with a disability one thing is sure, I am being labeled daily.  By people I know and those that I don’t.  I am stared at by strangers and can hear their wheels turning.  Their brain is going at hyper-speed to put me in a box and slap a “Label” on it.  They see a man in a power wheelchair with a service dog.  Sometimes, they see me driving my specially equipped van from my wheelchair.  Then other times they spy me at work or going to a meeting, the truth is I am hard to miss.  More importantly, I do not want to be missed!  I go through life (hopefully) dispelling one myth or another about people with disabilities.  That is why am so excited by a national ad campaign called “Think Beyond the Label,” launched this month, by the Chicago-based organization Health & Disability Advocates with 30 state vocational agencies and State Medicaid Infrastructure Grantees.  The funny, edgy $4 million campaign designed is designed to challenge attitudes about people with disabilities in the workplace.  This campaign is exactly what we need to educate employers and others about the destructiveness of “Labels”.  Because, it not only points out “shortcomings” which everyone has, but exploits the ridiculousness of pointing each one out.  The campaign basically says, “if you are labeling me-then I will label you”.

I am of the mind that people cannot help labeling others; because it helps them to place who they are in a given situation.  We are thought to label people and things since the day of our birth.  We have it ingrained in our brains that we “must” put people into a context.  We are hardwired as human beings to judge others, on appearance, verbal skills, dress, and conduct just to name a few.  You might say it is in our DNA to label everyone and everything in our purview.

Here are some examples of “Labels” I have had slapped on my back (Box)

The “Hero”, this is not necessarily a bad label (if you saved kids from burning building) unless one takes into account the context.  If you think I am a hero because as a person with a disability, I wake-up, go to work, and live my life, then you are wrong.  Wrong label, Wrong box! Labels like “Hero” can be destructive, when they purport to treat me different, while I am trying to be like everybody else.  In the workplace, this label is “killer” and not in a good way.  If an employer hires someone on account of them being perceived as a “Hero”, things not go so well.  This new employee is going to eventually have to do the job, if they cannot it may close a door for someone else.   The perception by the employer in this instance can have a rippling effect.

The “non-believer” a person in need of heavenly salvation.  Why else would I be in a wheelchair?  If I believed more, prayed more, and asked to be saved I would “get-up and walk”.  Yes, I have had someone say that to me.  The religious label is hard on those who take it to heart; it could be devastating on those who believe it.

The “pitiful person”, someone that everyone should feel sorry for. This is especially true in instances where other cultures are involved.  Also, when I travel.

The “beggar”, someone in need of money just waiting for a dime to drop on his lap.  First time it happened in Times Square, NY, I was sitting outside, Duane Read pharmacy in my penny loafers, dress pants and tie.  Then, a middle age woman walks by a puts a dollar on my lap.  I was dumbfounded!  Five seconds later, a “well dressed” man drop three dimes on my lap.  Holy crap! I have been turned into my “Label”.  This happens almost every time I am in the city.  The first time I had enough for a cup of coffee-really.

The “unable” , a person who does not by their mere appearance look like they can contribute anything to anyone.

These are just a few examples of labels people like myself muddle through on a daily basis.  There are probably hundreds or thousands which are thrust upon us as we navigate the waters of employment, health care, relationships, and just plain living.   People with disabilities boil in a cauldron of myth, lies, and innuendo as society continues “the labeling game”.  In reality, everyone does it to one extent or another.  However, when those being labeled are affected economically and socially there is a problem.  Not at all dissimilar to the way racial, ethnic, or religious groups were labeled; in some cases literally.  The bottom line is that the lost of participation by people with disabilities in the workplace and other areas is detrimental to the Nation.  The increase in employment and decrease of State and Federal benefits by individuals with disabilities can only improve our economic standing.

The campaign to educate employers through the use of humor is ingenious in the age of political correctness. Because, “Think Beyond the Label”, is about more than realizing how silly our views about certain people can be.  It is about the limitless boundary to which anyone (disabled or not) could be labeled.  In the end it does not matter if you are “footwear fumbled”, “keister deficient” or “vocally enthusiastic”.  What matters is the ability of each and every one of us to see the potential in others, and recognize our own internal biases.

For more information on this campaign visit: thinkbeyondthelabel.com

Javier Robles

ROLLING PROUD by Andrew Levinson

Who’s David Cameron and Why Should We Care?

In the past, I posted about Australia’s efforts to reform its long-term care system for people with disabilities via a proposal called the NDIS. It got me to thinking: What about Australia’s former colonial master in the United Kingdom?

It turns out that Britain has been making headlines in the area of disability rights as well. First of all, David Cameron, and the Conservative Party that he leads, is ahead of incumbent Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Labour Party going into a parliamentary election due to happen by June.

All right. So…who cares?

Well, Cameron recently lost his six-year old son to multiple disabilities, in the forms of epilepsy and cerebral palsy. (Remember Bruce Bonyhady of Australia and his sons with cerebral palsy)? Does this mean that disability rights advocates could have a strong ally in a new British prime minister next year?

Cameron would not only be inheriting a country with major economic problems that are similar to the U.S., but will also be taking the helm at a time when his political opponents in the Labour Party , in another British parallel to Australia, have been discussing long-term care reform in Britain. Britain’s universal health care system, the NHS (National Health Service), does not include provisions for home care for the elderly and people with disabilities. Would Cameron advocate for such reforms as well, with present budgetary constraints in Britain? This remains to be seen, although Cameron has already gone against members of his own party to oppose cuts to the NHS in memory of his son.

We also shouldn’t forget that Britain will be hosting the Summer Paralympics in 2012. What might a Prime Minister Cameron do to prepare and celebrate this event in the run-up to it? This also remains to be seen.  Stay tuned…

Start By Educating the Educators

In my work, I am often invited to high schools to speak to students on career day. I always invite an associate who is visually impaired because, too often well intentioned professionals (like me) consider themselves authorities but, I believe if you want to know about how somebody thinks, feels and lives, you need to ask them.

We always encourage the students to ask anything – we want to dispel stereotypes and to also answer questions that people usually consider politically incorrect.

I call what we do – sensitivity and awareness presentations.

The kids are always open and eager to understand. The teachers and the school administrators? Not so much.

Recently my colleague and I were invited to a high school in Union County. We were introduced to the hundreds of students in the assembly by the principal, who’d introduced herself to us as Dr. (name withheld to protect the ignorant).

Although we’d spoken with her and provided our bios, she introduced us as follows:

“Ladies and gentlemen, we will now hear from Ms. Gaston who is going to tell you about her career helping the blind. I think it is wonderful that she has also brought one of the blind that she teaches to live in society. You know we all must be considerate of the handicapped because they are God’s special people. The gentleman here today was trained to live like normal people and he’ll tell you how he learned to take care of himself. It’s important to accept handicaps because it isn’t their fault that they have an illness. They can’t help being different. Having so many challenges is not easy, not at all. So, I want you to promise that you will pay attention and make our guests feel welcome at our school.”

I looked at my colleague – my friend and the expression on his face spoke volumes. First, I told her I am a Public Information Officer not a teacher. Second – After speaking to him, discussing his credentials, and reading his bio! He and I both could not believe that she came out of her face like that! Nothing about this guy presents as anywhere near pitiful.

He is an educated world class athlete, husband, and father. The man is the founder and CEO of a successful business. He sells computers not pencils out of a tin cup on the corner of Broad & Market!

To lighten the moment, I leaned over and whispered, “Is it me, or do you hear violins?”

As, I addressed the students, I noticed a familiar face. A young man who is part of a group of visually impaired teens who are mentored by – guess who? My colleague.

The poor kid was chewing his nails, tapping his foot and fidgeting nervously in his seat. He looked terrified. I felt him. I knew immediately, he was afraid we were going to “out” him. He was doing something a lot of people who are legally blind do. We call it “passing” – pretending that their visual impairment does not exist.

But think about it – if the Principal, the leader of both the faculty and students has that perception of people with disabilities – do you blame him?

Peace,
Ujazi

Quad Mitts

  I read Kelly Rouba latest blog with great interest. I have been trying to encourage people to think outside the box and telling them that there is more than one way to solve a problem. After looking at the “gloves” Kelly’s friend made for her it just demonstrates what I have been encourage others to do. She found an inexpensive way to solve the challenge confronting her. I was faced with a similar situation and came up with a slightly different solution. My problem was trying to keep my hands warm when I was outside.  My fingers are always clenched in a loose fist position.  It was very difficult for my wife or nurse to put regular gloves on my hands.  It quickly became evident that mittens would work best.  Unfortunately, mittens created problems of their own.  It was impossible to keep my thumb in the thumb of the mitten.  The major problem with mittens however, was that once I took them off I was unable to get them back on by myself.  So I designed what I like to call Quad Mitts. They have an opening at each end with the front one tighter. I was able to get my wife’s friend to knit a trial pair and they worked extremely well.  The picture below shows the pattern that we used.  Note that the cuff is extra long and can be folded over what I am wearing so I don’t have to worry about them coming off. When I need to use my bare hand I just push it though the hole in the front end and then pull the end back over my hand when I am finished. I am a big man so you may need to adjust the measurements according to your own size. If you know someone who will knit for you maybe you want to think about a pair of sleeves (my arms are always cold) and/or leg warmers. Often in the morning I will have my nurse put my sleeves on with a tee-shirt and then I will take them off when the day warms up.