Disability Accommodations

Intro~

This episode of RAW-tism is about the misuse of disability accommodations and how they add to the stigma against disabled people and makes it harder to make accommodations available to those who genuinely need them.

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Explanation

Everyone, or at least everyone I know, has had the experience where one person ruins a privilege for everyone else. Your sibling looks up something inappropriate on the family computer, and then, suddenly, there are parental controls that block your favorite harmless gaming website. Some kids vandalize the bathrooms, and now there’s a limit to how long bathroom breaks can be, or they need to be escorted. People abuse the honor system, making it necessary for rigid policies to be tracked. There will always be people who take advantage of their liberties and ruin a good thing for everyone else.

“And just one mistakeIs all it will take”“Centuries,” Fall Out Boy, American Beauty / American Psycho

This is a ginormous issue, and no, I’m not exaggerating or being dramatic. I can be dramatic about things that aren’t so serious. From falling to the ground and faking my death when the kid I nanny is rude to me to falsely crying that my fiancé doesn’t love me when he doesn’t want to buy me the newest Disney Dreamlight Valley expansion pack when I have already made the adult decision to purchase stuffies with my spending money that week. (For clarification, I have my budget mapped out to allow me to spend money on frivolities; my fiancé does not control my finances.)

Disability advocacy is something I am never overly dramatic about. This is a severe matter. You don’t go to the ICU and start flailing about like an old soap opera actress and monologue about your lost love. There is a time and a place for being fabulously overdramatic, and my podcast is not it. Okay, fine, I’ll always have a tinge of dramatic flair in my voice when recording. I will admit that, but I am trying to emphasize that this is no joke. I am not being whiny about something that barely matters. This isn’t getting the wrong color car for your sixteenth birthday or your sibling getting a slightly larger slice of cake. This is a life-altering topic. I genuinely believe that we can make it for the better, and not in a wistful or daydreaming way. This is an achievable goal that can happen within the next few years.

Misuse of Disability Accommodations

I fit the qualifications for many government-provided disability accommodations that I do not necessarily need. I could apply for a disabled parking placard, fight for disability payments, or even get an assigned caretaker if I really wanted to. These are options for me. I don’t use them because I am not in a position where they are necessary for my quality of life. Unfortunately, not everyone sees it this way.

People who don’t need these accommodations take advantage of the system for the convenience of it. Parking lots make me anxious with all the noise and movement, but I wear my headphones and follow common sense, and I’m fine. Using a disabled parking spot would be deceitful because my headphones are a better accommodation for my needs. People who get a placard simply to “get the good parking” abuse the system and make life harder for those who really need it. You’re not going to remove a splinter surgically. It would get the job done, but it’s vastly beyond the requirements of the situation. While you’re on the operating table, getting that tiny sliver of non-toxic wood out of your ouchy finger, someone could be dying in the emergency room with a bullet in their chest. If you don’t need it, don’t use it.

I will admit that the bullet analogy was a bit dramatic, and I should have chosen a more reasonable surgery to get my point across, but I wrote that in the heat of the moment so that I will keep it. This podcast isn’t called RAW-tism just because I thought it was a cool rhyme to autism; it really encapsulates the vulnerability I want to spill into this podcast. I hope that my passion will help you dig deep into your mind and help you think about these issues than you would hearing them casually on the news.

It would be very annoying to get ready for work only to see that no shoes are available, so you’d have to walk barefoot. It hurts and makes your day harder, but, oh well, someone else took all the shoes. Again, this is an example that’s not really going to happen, but it’s a great analogy for handicapped parking. Sure, it’s more convenient to park at the front of the store. Trust me, I get it, but five minutes of exercise walking to the door from your parking space is less of a burden than the distress and even physical pain of someone with a disability forced to walk that distance. It upsets the whole rest of their day.

If I couldn’t wear my headphones in a store, I would get overstimulated quicker and would barely make it to checkout before losing my sh!t. With my headphones, I can go to several stores, even hit up karaoke afterward, and have a much easier time. Someone with a prosthetic leg could have a very different day depending on how far they have to go to get into a store. It could be the difference between debilitating pain and a slight ache. It seems like a stretch, but that’s the reality some people live with every day. If you don’t need the accommodations, please don’t take it from those who do.

It’s common knowledge to avoid the bigger stalls in bathrooms because those are designated for wheelchair users, even if there is no signage. I’m glad this is a universally-known thing, but that’s not the full truth. It is for all disabilities. If you have trouble sitting and need the extra hand bars they have on the wall, that stall is for you, regardless of wheelchair usage. I personally use them when my anxiety exacerbates my claustrophobia and I’m terrified to close the stall door. It helps me stay calm long enough to pee and get out of there. Some parents with small children with them will use that stall to avoid the kid crawling under the door to get more space. It should be reserved for those that need it, but that definition isn’t set in stone. There is some leeway in the necessity of accommodations; if there is only a handicapped stall left in the bathroom and you are about to have an accident, you need it so use it. A handicapped person would (hopefully) rather wait a few minutes longer to use the toilet rather than you peeing your pants.

I’m not here advocating for strict laws that dictate who “deserves” to use disability accommodation. I am advocating for better education on these accommodations. Education is the most significant point of what I do as the founder of Archlink LLC. From a young age, students need to be taught about disabilities and accommodations. This will help prevent casual misuse from those who don’t need them, and to help people who need them know they are available for their use.

There is too much imposter syndrome in the disabled community, and I’m not even talking about the deep issues of mental illness. I’m just saying that within people who need these accommodations, there is a deep mentality of feeling like they’re taking something that doesn’t belong to them.

I’ve seen so many stories of teenagers or younger children needing canes to walk but can’t go out in public in fear that an older person will judge them for taking a walking aid from a senior citizen. There is too much stigma around mobility aids and other disability accommodations and that it makes it hard for anyone to feel fully confident using their accommodations if they don’t fit the stereotype.

There are mobile wheelchair users. When they stand up from their chair for a moment, they can be accused of faking their disability, and that is sometimes seen as socially acceptable. If you don’t need a wheelchair, don’t use it. Some people can walk, but for one reason or another, they may need a wheelchair to function in the long run. Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Ad Break~

Proper Use of Disability Accommodations

Everyone has the option to do what is right. It isn’t always easy or straightforward. Sometimes, there is more than one correct or okay answer that won’t make anyone happy, but it also works out the best for most people. Unfortunately, not every situation has a Disney happily-ever-after ending. Disability accommodations may be controversial, but there is a demographic need for them and another demographic that abuses them. These groups sometimes overlap; someone who needs one thing could be abusing another accommodation that they don’t need.

“It’s not always black and white.”“Black and White,” Joe Phillips and Erin Bowman, Pokémon: Black and White 

There aren’t enough disability accommodations. Most bathrooms only have one handicapped stall, stores have a limited number of electric scooters, and some medications are constantly on backorder. I would be insane to ask my listeners to fix all the world’s problems when it comes to disability accommodations. Thankfully, that is not the result I am looking for. All I am asking is for y’all to think about the consequences of your actions.

Life’s not fair. Life is tough. Let’s do our best not to make it more challenging for those with disabilities. I won’t get a disabled placard because I don’t need the parking space. If you need those parking spaces, please use them. That’s what they are for. But don’t be afraid to stand up for what’s right. If someone is parked in a disabled parking spot without a placard, report them. Tell a manager if a bunch of ignorant teenagers are racing electric scooters down store aisles. Stand up for disabled people as much as you can. Sometimes, you might be wrong. The disability placard could have fallen, or the teenagers all need mobility aids. This is why you need to address the issue with the proper authorities. Report to the city, the store manager, or the non-emergency police number. Do the right thing.

Outro~