Language guide

This is an article I came across on language and disability. I think this is a great article and relates to my work. I have included the web address for you all, but I have also copied the information here for you to read.

Language guide

http://www.dontdismyability.com.au/language_guide

What's Hot & What's Not

This useful list of common courtesies and tips is an extract from our handy pocket guide, What's Hot & What's Not, specially designed for Don't DIS my ABILITY.

People with a disability lead everyday lives. They go to school, go to work, get married, have children and excel in society like everyone else. Here are some A-Z tips and common courtesies to think about next time you are talking to, writing about or socialising with a person with a disability.
Remember the person always comes first!

If you would like copies of the handy pocket guide please contact us. Or you can download What's Hot & What's Not here.

Ability

When communicating with or about people with a disability remember they may have only one disability—but they have many abilities.

A paraplegic, a haemophiliac

The use of ‘A' before the noun categorises the person based on their disability. Use person with haemophilia, man who has paraplegia.

Abnormal or sub-normal

Not acceptable. Use people or person with a disability.

Afflicted with or suffering from

Most people with a disability do not see themselves as afflicted or suffering.

Assistance

Always ask a person with a disability if they need help before rushing in.

Blind

Use only to describe a person who really is blind. In other cases use person with vision impairment.

Confined to a wheelchair

A wheelchair is not confining, it provides mobility to those who can't walk.

Cripple

Only to be used as part of a direct quote or an organisation's name.

Deaf

Only use if a person really is Deaf. In other cases use person with a hearing impairment.

Defect

Not acceptable. Use congenital disability, blind from birth.

Disabled

Use people or person with a disability, not disabled person. The person always comes first.

Disabled toilet or disabled parking space

The toilet or car park is not disabled! Use accessible toilet or accessible parking space.

Fits

The preferred term is seizures.

Guide dogs

Never pat or touch a guide dog while the dog is working or when the dog is in its harness. Always ask permission and remember that sometimes the owner may say no.

Handicap

This word should only be used to describe the obstacles that restrict an individual's participation, e.g. a person is handicapped by the lack of accessible transport.

Intellectual disability

Terms such as mongol, retard or mentally retarded are outdated. Use people with an intellectual disability.

Mental illness

Do not use insane, lunatic, mad or crazy. Use mental illness or the appropriate clinical name. e.g. person with schizophrenia.

Mongolism

Use person with Down syndrome.

Normal

This is a statistical term. Use person without a disability or terms such as sighted or hearing.

Patient

Should only be used when a person is actually receiving medical care. Use the same adjective as you would for a person without a disability.

Patronising language

Don't describe people as brave, special or suffering. Disability is part of
everyday life.

People with disabilities

Can imply that people have more than one disability. Use people with a disability.

Psychiatric disability

Can be used to describe a mental illness. Don't use insane, lunatic, mad or crazy.

Retarded

Derogatory, outdated and unacceptable—instead use people with an intellectual disability.

Spastic

Derogatory, outdated and unacceptable, unless used as part of an organisation's name. In most cases person with cerebral palsy is the acceptable alternative.

Sufferer

People don't suffer just because they have a disability.

The blind, the deaf

Avoid using ‘the' in this manner as it unconsciously eliminates the person and creates a generalisation based purely on disability.

Vegetables

Are what you cook and eat—not people who are unconscious or in a coma.

Victim

People are victims of war, crime or exploitative wages. People with a disability prefer not to be referred to as victims.

Visual impairment

Implies a person is unattractive to look at! Use vision impairment or sight
impairment.

Wheelchair user

When talking to a person who uses a wheelchair place yourself at eye level. Do not push anyone who uses a wheelchair unless you are asked.

DADHC would like to thank Link Disability Magazine (linkonline.com.au) for developing this list.

Found this article in the November issue of Link Magazine. It is on language which reminded me of my work for my upcoming exhibition. I just had to share it with all of you.
Enjoy

(Click on image to enlarge and then you should be able to zoom in and reed it.)

Now this article reminds me of every time I go shopping...
Here is the link to the article, but I have also posted the whole thing bellow for you to read...
http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/living/up-close-personal/people-say-the-strangest-things

People say the strangest things

Fed up of the odd, personal, random, annoying or just plain rude questions total strangers feel able to ask her, Emma Crees has decided to take retaliatory action

This may sound bizarre, but I’m giving serious thought to going up to strangers on the street and asking them very personal questions! I don’t know why but people see my wheelchair and ask me all sorts of personal questions. I figured I should take advantage of this new craze to ask questions of strangers.

Questions about why I’m in a wheelchair are common. People have wondered, “what happened to you?” and I’ve not realised what they meant.

I was checking if my clothes were done up, did I have food round my mouth when they clarified “the wheelchair” as if it was obvious.

A man on holiday asked me “from what point down don’t you work?” I sat there staring at him, then eventually told him that I couldn’t really say. He was surprised by that, but I was shocked by the question.

When I’m out people stop me to ask if I know where Shopmobility is. I understand that a powerchair-user is an obvious person to ask. Or where my chair is from – I’ve done the same to other disabled people as I’m always on the look out for cool wheelchairs. The man who then went on to ask, “as you’re by yourself how will you manage if you need the loo?” went too far though! I snapped “perfectly well” then took off.

It’s not just me either. A friend was asked how she had sex in a wheelchair. She said she didn’t. We’re still not sure if the person got what she meant.

I’ve heard of disabled people being told they should wear black armbands so they stand out, and of others who were told not to have children “in case they’re like you.”

One of the bad things about all the things people say is the way it takes an ordinary day and makes it all about my disability. I’m doing my shopping and it’s all fine until I suddenly have to deal with a staff member saying, “I hope you get better soon.”

Personally, I don’t want a cure. There’s nothing wrong with my being in a wheelchair!

The worst thing is the way I always think of the good response ages afterwards. Once on a train with my dad he was asked about me. One of the questions was “can she hear and speak?” I wish I’d replied, “I did just hear how rude you were.”

I answer most people but sometimes I’d prefer not to. I don’t know how to stop it and that makes me mad! Hopefully one day it’ll stop but in the meantime if you see a wheelchair-user going up to people asking if they need help, when they last had sex or such like, it’s probably me. Come say hi (just don’t ask silly questions!)

..................................
The only thing I have personally to add is when strangers or sometimes people I know pat me on the head.... like WTF.... I am not your pet I am a person...

I think for me personally because I only use my wheelchair for longer distances there is lot of our family and friends who have not seen me using it. And then when I suddenly turn up with it they seam stumped...lol
But patting me on the head to say hello or good bye is not exceptable because of this.

Also because I am a little person... or as I like to put it a Midget which most little people hate being called. I often get mistaken as a child and people talk to me in that high pitched voice you use when talking to children... its so annoying.
One time I was out with my mum at a car show and I was taking photos with my big Digital SLR and this lady said "who would give there child such an expensive camera" so I turned around and said 'this child saved and bought this expensive camera herself'... she looked so shocked... People should not judge or at least do it quietly so I can not overhear...
Now though I have more tattoos and 3 piercings in my face, so most people now start treating me like a child then while looking at me realise they have made a mistake...lol
Its sad that it takes tattoos and piercings to get people to treat me like and adult... but I did not get them because of that I got them because I like them and wanted them I have always been the one to try and stand out...

Acsessability Is So Much More Then Ramps

I can not take credit for this article either but I think it it great and had to shear it with all of you...

Acsessability Is So Much More Then Ramps

By s.e. smith on 12 October, 2010

There’s a common idea I encounter among nondisabled people when it comes to discussing accessibility and making spaces accessible to all users. That idea is that as long as there’s a ramp, a space is accessible. That accessibility is solely about ramps, and nothing else, so once you’ve got a ramp in place, you’re covered.

This is, as we know, not true. Not even for wheelchair users; a ramp is only the beginning of accessibility and it’s useless if, for example, all the doorways in a space are too narrow to allow a chair to pass. It’s not helpful if the front entrance is ramped, but as soon as you get inside, there are steps up or down to another area of a building. Or if the bathroom in a space is too small and cramped to use safely. Or if, hey, someone decided to put all the light switches ridiculously high up on the wall.

The universal symbol of accessibility is our old friend wheelie blue:

This symbol reinforces the idea that accessibility is primarily about wheelchairs. Now, granted, it would be functionally impossible to come up with a symbol representing all disabilities and all accommodation needs. The goal with symbols like this is to keep them simple, clear, and communicative.

But contrast that with this:

This icon shows the familiar wheelchair user, but also hands Signing, representing the d/Deaf community. And Braille. And a brain, which to my mind (ha ha) reads as a representation of neuroatypicality, for people with intellectual disabilities, for people with mental illness. Suddenly, the concept of accessibility is widened and the concept of different bodies and minds is represented here, reminding the viewer that accessibility goes beyond the ramp.

Wiscon’s accessibility policy is something we often point to here as an illustration of expanding the definition of ‘access’ and trying to work with people with many different kinds of disabilities to make a space comfortable and welcoming for them. It addresses issues ranging from wheelchair-accessible hotel rooms to the need for a quiet space to allergies. It also expands the conversation to talk not just about how spaces can be made accessible, but how people in those spaces can contribute to accessibility:

Offer help–don’t assume it’s needed. Most of us are taught to “help the handicapped” but not “does this person want or need help?” If you think someone needs assistance, just ask. If they say yes, don’t make assumptions; instead listen to the details of what the person with disabilities wants. If they say “no thanks” don’t be offended. What might look overly complicated or inefficient can be what that disabled person finds works best.

Wiscon also thinks about how the programming, the structure of the event, can be adjusted to create accommodations. Making more space between panels, for example, and providing information to attendees about which rooms have florescent lighting. Three facets of accessibility are being considered here: The physicalities of the space, the people in it, and how the programming inside that space is organized. That goes far beyond the way most people conceptualise ‘accessibility.’

Getting people to expand their minds when it comes to accessibility is more complicated than just getting them to think about the fact that there are issues beyond wheelchair accessibility. It also requires people to think about, discuss, and acknowledge conflicting accommodations and how to balance the needs of multiple people with disabilities. Some accommodations automatically exclude people from spaces. Conversations about conflicting accommodations are uncomfortable because we want to make spaces welcome to everyone, but sometimes there’s a fundamental conflict; take, for example, people who need to use essential oils to manage their conditions, and people who can’t be around strong odors or alcohol-based compounds.

Wiscon’s policy includes a statement and discussion about conflicting accommodations, something rather unusual. I haven’t encountered many discussions about conflicting accommodations in the mainstream, although one place I do spot them is online, where some sites have options like switching between a light on dark/dark on light theme or have other configurable options designed to address various disabilities.

Making spaces accessible requires thinking about a lot of things; about how people with a variety of disabilities will interact with a space, about how people will interact with each other in that space, and, often, how to manage accessibility with limited budget options. Many people trying to design accessible spaces may also not really know how to go about it, and they’re not sure about who to turn to. As a result, we end up with situations where spaces are not accessible because no one bothered to ask for input, instead trying to anticipate needs and failing. Often, the burden falls on people with disabilities to demand access and to provide education about how to make spaces accessible, even when that information is already available, with a little bit of searching.

Accommodation should also be provided automatically, without needing to be something that people specifically have to request and ask for. And people need to be provided with information about available accommodations, as this story Anna linked me to recently points out:

One barrier PCR finds is that access officers in universities tend to ask students to tell them what services they require rather than telling the students what is available. The student is at a disadvantage before the first lecture even begins, as they may not know about all the services available.

Considerations about accessibility and accessible spaces should be on the forefront of the mind of anyone tasked with building, arranging, or coordinating a space, not just people who need accommodations, and people need to expand the way they think about accessibility, actively seek out and solicit information to make the spaces they control better. People often seem to think that accessibility is something you add when someone asks for it, which presumes that people with disabilities will always ask for it, when instead, more commonly, we go ‘oh, that space isn’t accessible or there’s not clear information about accessibility, so I won’t bother attending that event.’

This is where is article came from:
http://disabledfeminists.com/2010/10/12/accessibility-is-so-much-more-than-ramps/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Difference and Discomfort

This is an article I came across when setting up my redbubble account.... it makes such a great point I had to share it with you all...


OPDD, Difference and Discomfort

What follows is a talk I gave on January 20, 2005 at a disability and rehabilitation conference. While parts of what I spoke of are not new concepts, it is in how I presented them, and made several links that caught the interest of some of those present… Sadly, what I say in this talk is understatement.
.......

I was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome when I was 39 years old.

Even though I was diagnosed with a condition that I had lived with all my life, and the effects of my difference had been noticed and acted upon, I can stand here and say with total confidence – I have never suffered from Asperger syndrome.

I have never suffered directly from its effects on my behaviour, I have never once experienced pain nor spontaneously bled at the moment when saying anything or doing anything inappropriately. I have not needed hospitalisation at the moment of reacting in a way that I thought was appropriate for the situation.

I have never suffered from Asperger syndrome, because Asperger syndrome itself does not cause suffering… I suffer grievously, and have suffered for more than 35 years, from OPD.

OPD is an insidious thing to experience,

it affects everything we do,

it effects what we think of everything we do,

it robs many of us of ambition,

and it inevitably affects how we think of ourselves.

OPD causes great suffering, often including physical pain and injury. It causes rejection, isolation, depression, sometimes even suicide.

OPD can lead the most brilliant people to doubt their abilities, qualities, even their basic worth as people.

OPD can cause systems to work against sufferers.

Systems like education systems – where the sufferers are penalised for being themselves.

Welfare systems – where the suffering is downplayed,

family systems – where the sufferers find more pain where they ought find solace.

OPD can affect families; it can cause rejection by siblings and parents.

The only known cure for OPD is education…

So what is this scourge?

What is this thing that some must endure a ceaseless battle against?

What is this thing called OPD???

OPD is – Other People’s Discomfort.

We (aspies) may not feel the discomfort, but we certainly suffer its consequences…

Let me put it like this:

Being uncomfortable about other people for one reason or another may be seen as part of the human experience; but when that discomfort leads that person to purposefully act against the person he or she fees uncomfortable about then we enter a different realm.

A definition of the word ‘disorder’ is – a condition in which there is a disturbance of normal functioning. If a person changes their usual pattern of life to purposefully act against a person as a result of his or her discomfort over them, then this person is experiencing a disturbance of normal functioning, of normal social functioning.

When the level of discomfort felt reaches the point of acting against another in response to that discomfort, then I argue that the discomfort becomes a disorder… But I think all that goes without saying – we know that, but we don’t break it down in such a way. We do not call OPDD (Other People’s Discomfort Disorder) by that name, we take groups of people with a particular difference that make others uncomfortable, and sectionalise OPDD, hiding its common basis. Hatred may be seen as an emotional manifestation of OPDD.

We call the discomfort over people of different races or skin colours RACISM

We call the discomfort over people from different countries XENOPHOBIA

We call the discomfort over people who are (or may be) homosexual HOMOPHOBIA

BUT

We seem to call the discomfort over people with a disability NORMAL

Each a different weed, but all from the same seed (discomfort of difference).

Can you see the link? Can you see how discomfort over someone else’s difference is the basis for so much unnecessary pain?

ONLY through education, only through learning about the qualities different people have irrespective of what colour their skin is, or where they came from, who they love, or how their brain works, or anything can we hope to eradicate OPDD…

OPD occurs only as a result of encountering a person with OPDD…

If being uncomfortable about other people for one reason or another is part of the human experience, then we are all subject to OPDD…

WHO MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE??

This is the link to the original article...
http://www.redbubble.com/people/mekat/writing/3604387-opdd-difference-and-discomfort#comment-34420039

Hello and Welcome

Male Female Disabled Exhibition

An exhibition of work by emerging artist Evangelia Karageorgos

Official Opening: Sunday 20th February 2pm to 5pm
To be opened by: Kelly Vincent
MP, Dignity for Disability Member

Venue: Carclew Youth Arts Center
11 Jeffcott Street
North Adelaide
SA 5006
www.carclew.com.au

Exhibition dates:
February 18th to March 13th 2011

Language is a tool that is used to separate people with disabilities from ‘normal’ society, and to negatively characterise their experiences as being different and separate. Language plays an important role in removing disability from everyday human experience, and treating it as radically ‘other’.

My pieces are designed to challenge societies perception of people with disabilities and to challenge the wide spread use of ‘disabilist’ language. I chose to present them of recyclable bags because it exposes them to a larger audience and creates a greater impact in society. I believe more people will see them this way then if they were just framed and exhibited in a gallery. People will get a quick look at them as they pass by rather then having time to stand in front of them and consider their meaning. Immediately forming a reaction either being amused or disgusted agreeing or disagreeing with the message presented before them.

I also have A4 and A3 laminated versions of each image available.

$1 out of every $10 made from the sale of items from this exhibition will be donated to a Disability service in South Australia

Please visit my official Web page: www.mfdisabled.weebly.com
and join my facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000488329671#!/group.php?gid=150815358292519