Throughout my life, I have heard
people say the following:
"I don't think he needs (insert
accommodation). Why does he need (insert accommodation) since he is
normal?"
"I don't see disabilities. I
see human beings."
"I don't see her as a deaf
person. She is just like everyone else."
"You would not know he is deaf.
He speaks so well. I don't see why he needs an interpreter."
"I don't see why he needs to
use an FM system. Can't he be treated the same as everyone else?"
"You don't need captions. You
have your hearing aid. I'll turn up the volume. This should help with your
listening skills."
I am sure some of you reading
this have encountered people saying the above and the following about
race:
“I don’t see color when I look at
people.”
"I don't see him as a [insert
race] person."
I was discussing interesting
issues with my brother at lunch one day. He is in school studying
Sociology. He always has fascinating ideas and theories to share. One
of them is called "colorblind racism." This relates to people,
usually white people, who claim to not be racists because they don't
see color or race. They attempt to ignore the fact that someone is of a
different race than them. My brother gave an example of this: When a white
woman dating a black man states, "When I first started dating him I saw
him as a black man. But now, I don't see him as a black man, he is just
George." If race is not an issue for this woman, why did she feel the need
to make this statement?
From a Psychology Today
article, Colorblind Ideology is a Form of Racism:
"Colorblindness is the racial
ideology that posits the best way to end discrimination
is by treating individuals as equally as possible, without regard to race,
culture, or ethnicity."
The article discusses why this
ideology can be perceived as racist or not helping in the least bit when
dealing with race issues.
"Colorblindness creates a
society that denies their negative racial experiences, rejects their cultural
heritage, and invalidates their unique perspectives."
The author of this article discussed
how white people, who are unlikely to experience disadvantages due to their
race, can effectively ignore racism. It is not a problem for them, so it is
easy to ignore it.
As a side note, I personally do
not like the term "colorblind" to describe this ideology because
colorblind is
an actual term used to describe people who have difficulty with perceiving
certain colors.
From learning more about this
ideology, I can relate it to how some people react to people with disabilities
in similar ways. For some able-bodied or "normal" people, it is
easier to ignore the fact that someone has a disability since it is not a
problem for them. In some ways they intentionally make themselves blind to the
disability as someone would become blind to race. Of course ignoring the
issue will not make it go away. They unknowingly practice 'ableism' with
the intent of not being an 'ableist.' This idea can do more harm than
good, especially when it comes to effectively providing accommodations.
Merriam-Webster defines ableism as discrimination
or prejudice against individuals with disabilities
From http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/ableist:
"Ableism is a form of discrimination or prejudice against individuals with
physical, mental, or developmental disabilities that is characterized by the
belief that these individuals need to be fixed or cannot function as full
members of society (Castañeda &; Peters, 2000). As a result of these
assumptions, individuals with disabilities are commonly viewed as being
abnormal rather than as members of a distinct minority community (Olkin
& Pledger, 2003; Reid & Knight, 2006). Because disability
status has been viewed as a defect rather than a dimension of difference,
disability has not been widely recognized as a multicultural concern by the
general public as well as by counselor educators and practitioners."
I believe the opposite can happen.
People can pretend that they don't see disabilities or people with disabilities
as abnormal. They may be intent on treating the person as if they are
"normal." They may go so far as to not provide certain accommodations for
the person with disabilities in order for them to be treated like everyone
else. Not providing them the accommodations they need in order to participate
or perform certain duties with everyone else is a form of discrimination. When
someone refuses to provide certain accommodations because they don't want
to acknowledge the disability, they exclude or make it impossible for the
person to participate with everyone else. Perhaps there are many people
out there who think that by treating people with disabilities the same as
everyone else by claiming to not see their disabilities think they are
doing good; not discriminatory or ableist.
I have had a few well-meaning
teachers tell me that they were concerned about embarrassing or making a deaf
or hard of hearing student stand out by putting on closed captions or
asking them where they would like to sit to suit their hearing needs. Sometimes,
if the student is not comfortable with advocating for him or herself, their
teachers would not attempt to accommodate for their hearing needs in order to
not make them feel bad. They figured that if they needed the accommodations,
the student will ask for them. I have to explain to them that it is in their IEP (Individualized Education Plan; a legal
document) and they must follow it. They thought they were helping their student
by not pointing out that they are deaf or hard of hearing and making them feel
different from everyone else in the class who do not require the same
accommodations. One teacher told me, "But, I don't see the student as
having a disability. He is like everyone else so why shouldn't we treat him the
same? He seems to be doing well without the accommodations."
It seems as if these teachers wanted
these students to be "normal" and fit in; so they don't have to feel
as if they are different. They were not acknowledging the disability and the
student. It was if the disability did not exist. I have to wonder
if teachers do this because it makes them feel more comfortable when they
don't have to deal with the disability and the awkward situations that come with
it. If they see the students as everyone else, why should they
bother following the IEP and accommodating the student? It is easier to
simply ignore the disability.
I told these teachers that I
did not expect them to make an announcement to everyone in the classroom that
they will turn on the captions or that John will sit on this side of the
classroom because of his hearing loss. There are many discreet ways of dealing
with these issues. I have to explain to them why these students have IEPs. Eventually,
they understood and worked on following and carrying out the IEPs,
especially after we met a few times and talked with the school lead
or special education coordinator.
Do I think these teachers are
"ableists" or bad people? No. They were trying their best to deal
with a situation that they are not familiar with. I think that they
honestly thought they were helping the students by ignoring their disabilities.
If it is a sensitive issue for the
student and he or she refuses to take advantage of the accommodations, the
teachers will need to contact me and we can meet with the student to discuss
this. We cannot force students to do things they do not want to do, but we can
at least discuss it with them and their parents and come up with solutions to
the problems.
If someone were to tell me that they
don't see me as hard of hearing and will treat me as if I am hearing, this
would make me think that my disability is something I should be ashamed of.
This tells me that I should not talk about it and act as if I have typical
hearing. This also tells me that being hard of hearing should not be an issue or problem, which is easy for them to say because it is not something they personally have to deal with.
If a parent tells their deaf or hard
of hearing child that they are like everyone else and will treat them as
so by mainstreaming them with a few inconspicuous accommodations, help hide
their hearing aids or devices, and encourage them to not openly talk about
being deaf or hard of hearing while at school, what kind of message are they
sending them? That it is not okay to be deaf or hard of hearing? That they must
do their best to hide their disability and be like everyone else? That they
must fit in or risk being treated or seen as an abnormality?
Disability issues can be complicated
and uncomfortable. But, ignoring the disability will not make it go away, no
matter how hard someone tries. We have to acknowledge it and talk about
it.
I believe we all have, at one
point, awkwardly tried to figure out how to talk to and act around people
with disabilities. We may ask ourselves, "Do I talk to them like I
would anyone else?" "Do I acknowledge the fact that they are
[insert disability]?" Just because I am hard of hearing, does not mean I
will know exactly how to act around others with disabilities different from
mine. But, I know better than to not acknowledge the fact that someone has a
disability (whether it is obvious or not) and to refuse to ask questions and
accommodate their needs.
Before I sign off, I have a question
for *Deaf people who predominately use sign language, share a unique culture
(Deaf culture), and do not see themselves as having a disability. I
understand that this group of people often faces discrimination against their
language and culture, largely due to ignorance or lack of awareness. Some may
call this act of discrimination 'audism' while others may prefer to use
'linguistic discrimination.' Have any of you encountered people who choose to
not acknowledge your culture and language with good intentions (similar to how
people choose to not see race)? Would this type of ideology apply to Deaf
people?
(e
*"Big D" Deaf people
identify themselves as culturally deaf, and have a strong deaf identity (from About.com).
