The Culture of Disability
Independent Living
Disability Rights
Disability Justice
A little hx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWDaR
N490BI&feature=related
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There are approximately ____ people in
the U.S. with disabilities.
1.
2.
3.
43,000
430,000
43,000,000
The disability rights movement
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asserts that people with disabilities are human
beings with inalienable rights and that these
rights can only be secured through collective
political action. It arises out of the realization
that, as historian Paul Longmore has written,
"whatever the social setting and whatever the
disability, people with disabilities share a
common experience of social oppression."
 Legal equality
 Goal: Independence
Paul Longmore- 20th Anniv ADA- what's
it all mean?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O6wQ
oIFz2Q
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What is an Independent Living
Center
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Independent Living Centers are typically non-residential, private,
non-profit, consumer-controlled, community-based
organizations providing services and advocacy by and for
persons with all types of disabilities.
Their goal is to assist individuals with disabilities to achieve their
maximum potential within their families and communities.
Independent Living Centers serve as a strong advocacy voice on
a wide range of national, state and local issues. They work to
assure physical and programmatic access to housing,
employment, transportation, communities, recreational facilities,
and health and social services.
There are nearly 500 ILC’s in the USA
Nearby CILs
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Center for Independence of the Disabled in NY
(CIDNY)
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Harlem ILC
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5-15 125th St
Queens ILC
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841 Broadway, rm 205
NY, NY
140-40 Queens Blvd
Staten Island CIL
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470 Castleton Ave
What is the Independent Living
Movement?
The
Movement
Began in
Berkeley, CA
 Began approx
1971
 Grassroots effort
 Effort for people
with disabilities
to be in charge
of their lives
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We believe there’s nothing more disabling
than pity
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Ed Roberts- Independent
Living http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=eW15TQrqBag
I Living
Consumer
control
 Peer support
 Self-help
 Selfdetermination
 Equal access
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We believe everyone has the right to be heard
Individual and
system
advocacy
 Leadership
 Empowerment
 Independence
 Productivity
 Shift away from
Medical Model
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We believe a spinal cord injury can’t paralyze
the human spirit
Judy Heumann
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOrgK
3Ym1-s
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Diversity includes all the similarities and
differences between individuals:
age, gender, race, ethnicity and culture,
language, sexual orientation,
 physical abilities, appearance, education
and life experience, family
 situation, socio/economic background,
religious beliefs, and personal values
 and styles.
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Disability Justice
Goal: Social Interdependence
 Points out and argues against ableism
 Admits intersectionality with other
identifying features- gender and
sexuality, ethnicity, race, etc
 Disability Justice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONxb
e0j0K6s
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Disability
Awareness
Language
 Words
 Etiquette
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We believe the corporate ladder needs
a wheelchair ramp
Ten Commandments for Communicating
With People With Disabilities
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Speak directly to a person with a disability rather than through a
companion or sign language interpreter who may be present.
Offer to shake hands when introduced. People with limited hand use
or an artificial limb can usually shake hands and offering the left hand
is an acceptable greeting.
Always identify yourself and others who may be with you when
meeting someone with a visual impairment. When conversing in a
group, remember to identify the person to whom you are speaking.
If you offer assistance, wait until the offer is accepted. Then listen or
ask for instructions.
Treat adults as adults. Address people who have disabilities by their
first name only when extending that same familiarity to all others.
Never patronize people in wheelchairs by patting them in the head or
shoulder.
Do not lean against or hang on someone’s wheelchair. You wouldn’t
want someone leaning or hanging on you.
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Listen attentively when talking with people who have difficulty
speaking and wait for them to finish. If necessary, ask short questions
that require short answers, a nod or shake of the head. Never pretend
to understand if you are having difficulty doing so. Instead repeat what
you have understood and allow the person to respond.
Place yourself at eye level when speaking with someone in a
wheelchair.
Tap a hearing-impaired person on the shoulder or wave your hand to
get his or her attention. Look directly at the person and speak clearly,
slowly and expressively to establish if the person can read your lips. If
so, try to face the light source and keep hands, cigarettes, and food
away from your mouth when speaking.
Relax. Don’t be embarrassed if you happen to use common
expressions such as “see you later”, or “did you hear about this?” that
seem to relate to a person’s disability.
Books and Movies
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Albom, M. Tuesdays with Morrie:
Axline, V. M. Dibs in search of self.
Bauby, J. The driving bell and the butterfly.
Bombeck, E.. I want to grow hair, I want to grow up, I want
to go to Boise.
Broyard, A. Intoxicated by my illness.
Callahan, J. Don't worry, he won't get far on foot.
Cooper Sinykin, S. Alison walks the wire.
Dorris, M. The broken cord.
Duncan, B. and Woods, D. (eds). Ethical issues in disability and rehabilitation.
Eiesland, N.L. (1994). The disabled God: Toward a liberatory theology of
disability.
Featherstone, H. A difference in the family: Living with a disabled child.
Fiffer, S. (1999). Three quarters, two dimes and a nickel: A memoir of becoming
whole.
Finger, A. Past due: A story of disability, pregnancy and birth.
Fleming, L. F. Releasing arthritis: The seven year plan.
Grandin, T. Thinking in pictures: And other reports from my life with autism.
Greenfield, J. (1972). A child called Noah.
Hockenberry, J. (1995). Moving violations.
Karp, G. Life on wheels.
Kaufman, M. Easy for you to say: Q & A's for teens living With chronic illness or
disability.
Kovic, R. Born on the forth of July.
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Lamb, W. I know this much is true.
MacCracken, M. Lovely, A Very Special Child.
Malloff, C. & Wood, S. Business & social etiquette with disabled people: A guide
to getting along with persons who have impairments of vision, hearing or
speech.
Milam, Lorenzo Wilson. Crip Zen, A Manual for Survival.
Monette, P. Borrowed time: An AIDS memoir.
Newborn, B. Return to Ithaca: A woman's triumph over the disabilities of a
severe stroke.
Norden, M.F. The cinema of isolation: A History of physical disability in the
movies.
North, C. Welcome, silence.
Oe, K. A healing family.
Papazian, S. Growing up with Joey: A mother's story of her son's disability and
her family's triumph.
Pitzele, S. K. We are not alone.
Rapoport, J. L. The boy who couldn't stop washing..
Reeve, Christopher. Still me.
Roy, T. Eleven Seconds: A Story of Tragedy, Courage, & Triumph.
Rubin, T. Jordi.
Russell, M. Beyond ramps: Disability at the end of the social
contract.
Sacks, O. Seeing voices: A journey into the world of the deaf.
Sacks, O.The island of the color blind and Cycad Island.
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Sacks, O. Awakenings.
Sacks, O. The man who mistook his wife for a hat.
Sarton, M. As We Are Now.
Seigel, B. S. Love, medicine & miracles.
Shapiro, J.P. No pity.
Simons, R. After the tears: Parents talk about raising a
child with a disability.
Smith, J. Senses and sensibilities.
Stone, G. Start the conversation.
Stone, K. Awakening to disability.
Styron, W. Darkness visible: A memoir of madness.
Tavalaro, J. and Tayson, R. Look up for yes.
Thomson, R. G. Extraordinary bodies: Figuring physical disability in
American culture and literature.
Werner, D. Disabled village children: a guide for community health
workers, rehabilitation workers and families.
Werner, D. Where there is no doctor: A village health care handbook.
Winchester, S. (1999). The professor and the madman.
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As Good as it Gets
At First Sight
Blue Skies are a Lie
Born on the 4th of July
Children of a Lesser God
Coming Home
Deconstructing Harry
The Elephant Man
Fuzz
Gaby- A True Story
Go Now
Hillary and Jackie
Hunchback of Notre Dame
Mask
Monkey Shines
My Left Foot
One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest
The Other Side of the Mountain
The Other Sister
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Passion Fish
Patch Adams
Places in the Heart
The Prince of Tides
Rain Man
Regarding Henry
Scent of a Woman
See No Evil, Hear No Evil
Silver Bullet
Simon Birch
Sybil
Tell Me You Love Me, Junie
Moon
The Three Faces of Eve
Voices
The Waterdance
West of Zanzibar
When a Man Loves a Woman
Whose Life is it Anyway?
Gimp Project Heidi Latsky Dancers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMM7lkPJ90&feature=fvwrel
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