Why Are We All Afraid Of Disability?
What is it about disability and illness which scares us? There is a group of people, who because they are disabled are being seen as being different- less than, less able. But it wasn’t always that way. In Ancient Greece, people suffering from psychosis and other mental diseases such as schizophrenia were lauded as prophets and eccentric, to be loved, listened too and most importantly- looked after.
Disability through the ages has changed to a point where an entire group was erased from history. Even in living memory, asylums were thought to be the answer. Put people who can’t fight for themselves (no instant media and no voting rights to make politicians listen, no income or financial support.) A group of people so forgotten that their living conditions and treatment were so poor, so awful, that it became a national crisis, repeated in countries throughout the world.
Photo: Tim Mossholder, Unsplash A photograph of a brown rustic-looking wall. Painted on the wall in white paint and towards the left of the photograph is the international symbol of access: a side profile of a stick person sat in a wheelchair.
In our time, disability has become something to fear. Our friends get ill and we stay away because we don’t know how to process it. We don’t want to say the wrong thing- so better to say nothing at all.
It’s scary, watching someone become sick through absolutely no fault of their own. No amount of ‘lifestyle changes’ or ‘mental positivity’ able to change the situation. So people hide, and say stupid things like ‘stop taking your medication and try these essential oils.’ Believing in the rhetoric of green juice and essential oils gives people control, a self-assurance that if they are the ones to fall ill next, they won’t possibly actually become ill, because they know how to ‘cure’ it.
Why do people feel the need to have this control? What makes the process so scary? Disability is a bad word. Being disabled is a bad thing, in our society, disabled people are second citizens.
As a disabled person, you are told not to include your disability on your CV otherwise you won’t even make it to the interview stage. You’re twice as likely to be unemployed as a non-disabled person, and even in the UK with the NHS, it costs on average £570 a month more to be disabled.
A photograph with a plain grey background of a person’s hand holding up 5 one hundred dollar bills which are burning from the top, creating a large collective flame.
As a disabled person, you are catered for by businesses only to meet legal requirements, and beyond that as an afterthought. A legal tick in the box. With 1 out of 3 of the population thinking that having a disability makes you less productive than non-disabled people, it is easy to see how the prejudice surrounding being disabled is something to be scared of. And if you can become disabled at any time, for reasons outside of your control, then you cling to as much control as you can.
At the moment It is more important to make the outside of a building look pretty and stick the ramp around the back next to the bins than incorporate access design as a standard into every new building. What message does that give to disabled people? And what message is that telling the rest of the world?
I recently enquired about booking a table at a restaurant, who was unable to accommodate a wheelchair because their ramp was broken. Accessible and inclusive design needs to shift from bringing out a ramp, often an inconvenience to the staff and an unnecessary focus on the disabled person, to evolving design to the point where there is no such thing as being disabled, no need for adaptations to the existing design, no need for help to overcome a hurdle which an able-bodied person walks through without realising it was there in the first place.
Photo: Daniel Ali Unsplash On a multi-coloured painted brick wall is a metal sign. The top half of the sign is purple and has the text ‘Accessible Entry’ in white. The bottom half of the sign is a pale yellow, and has the disability symbol on the left, and the text ‘Chicago Park District’ in purple on the right.
Accessible and inclusive design needs to start by making large print menus available and clearer descriptions on websites and business information, including lighting and noise levels the customers can expect, so we can make an informed choice about whether we will be comfortable there. Both easy fixes for businesses!
There has been a wave of allergy training and information in every food establishment in the UK in the past 2 years- we know it can be done. In a world full of growing intelligent design and possible adaptations, disabled people need to be recognised for the power that they have- both as part of the workforce, and their spending power.
22% of the UK population is disabled. That’s 13.9 million people. UK businesses are missing out on the spending power of over 250 billion pounds a year by not selling to disabled customers- and their family and friends!- because who decides which restaurant to eat at? That’s right, the one with the mobility aid/ visual or hearing impairment who knows that the facilities meet their needs and is actually a fun place for them to go.
There is absolutely no reason why disability needs to mean less than anymore. We don’t need to go back to Ancient Greece, but we do need to start redesigning and realising as a society that wants continuous progression, leaving behind one-fifth of the entire world’s population isn’t an option anymore.
First Published on City Girl Magazine, 9 August 2019. You can find the article here.
