My Own Ableism
What is able-ist? Has my “plain vanilla” blindness enabled me to devalue people with “Neapolitan” blindness or blind people with additional needs? I’m not sure where to begin unravelling this important and heavy topic, but let’s take it all the way back to "Source of All Knowledge", Google.
Not Guiding, Just Walking Together
As someone who has grown up with a disability and who spends a lot of time discussing both the positive and challenging aspects of living as someone blind from birth to my friends, I often dream of what it would be like to have a friend who just gets it. “But why,” you may ask. “Don’t you have sighted friends who treat you normally?” Well, the answer is a complicated one. Yes and no.
Why Is My Difference So Different?
A couple of years ago I joined a Leadership working group made up of a diverse group of individuals who wanted to learn how to be more inclusive and practice celebrating diversity. At the first on-line group meeting, there were 8 of us from different locations in Canada, and even one person calling from England. There were a couple of grandparents, one male, one person who uses a wheelchair, somebody who disclosed they deal with severe anxiety, and myself - a person who is blind.
Blind is Not a Bad Word
The use of certain language is a complicated issue, not just in the blind community but the disability community in general. Do we use person first or disability first language? Should we not use certain words in order to prevent drawing attention to the disability? Are there any words we shouldn’t say at all? To put it simply, it’s a nuanced issue with no straightforward answer.
A Conversation About Blindness
It's the first week of Blindness Awareness Month and we are kicking off our month's worth of content with a version of a conversation that could very well be happening somewhere right now as you read this.
A Word Worth A Thousand Pictures
With each passing generation, our society has become increasingly visual. And now, there is hardly a millennial or Gen Z who doesn’t go through the process of taking a photo and sharing it at least a few times a day. Cellular phones with cameras are now common, almost essential, rather than the novelty devices they used to be. And being in the information age, where things move at lightning speeds, it means that people no longer feel they have the time to send detailed messages about what they may be doing.
Diagnosing Doctor's Visits
When one is a child, their parents are mostly the ones who are speaking upon their behalf. One example of this would be at a doctor’s office. As a child, we rely on our parents in these circumstances to advocate for our medical needs. They hold on to important paperwork such as your health care card or forms for their kids, and for those of us with disabilities like blindness, this often can continue on into our older years.
Accessible Graming
As many people know, Instagram is a very popular social media platform. Especially in today’s generation, Instagram is very “in”, particularly amongst people our age. Because of this reason, many blind or partially sighted teens and young adults also wish to hop onto the Instagram bandwagon.