Reconstructing Truth: The Impact of Centuries of Stereotypes

about Disability

Kaela Parks - Director, Disability Services at PCCJen Dugger - Director, Disability Resource Center at PSU

This presentation by Kaela Parks and Jen Dugger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 international license. Some materials used have more restrictive licenses. Please note those licenses when you use our presentation.

Let us take you on a journey...

● First a tour – historical trends in broad strokes

● Then some connections – impacts on current narratives

● Finally looking forward – learning more and doing better

Major Themes over Time

Societal Response to Disability

Ancient Greece:Abandonment and Death by Exposure

Disability is a Curse

The Dark Ages: Surviving as BeggarsChurches provided charity and

reduced infanticide but disability was a reflection of sin - people

were treated as outcasts

The Beggars, by Pieter Bruegel (1568)

Renaissance: Disabled People are Patients to be CuredThe focus on identifying problems in the body led to practices such as lobotomies, in which brain damage was inflicted to control behavior.

Industrialization: From offering Training to InstitutionalizingAs the size of schools increased, focus shifted from education and training to using inmates to perform labor.

1882 - the US passed the “Undesirables Act” (in place until 1965)

Eugenics:Social Darwinism

People with disabilities were depicted in the media as monsters to be feared.

Forced sterilization and infanticide were themes in American culture.

Nazi Germany targeted disabled people and the elderly as a drain on public resources - citing US science.

Parents UniteThe term “Developmental

Disability” is coined as parents demand institutional reform,

better services, and education

Disability Rights are Civil RightsAdvocacy and Protest leads to passage of Section 504...but it

takes years more for regulations

Disability Art and Study

From advocacy comes a demand for recognition

Recognizing Stereotypes

Themes that Persist

piss on pit y

Present-Day Impact of Historical Marginalization

Impact of Centuries of AbleismBuildings built without accessible entrances, restrooms, elevators, and other features

Physical classrooms designed for the “average learner”, without regard to visual, hearing, physical, or cognitive differences or learning styles

Transportation options that are either not accessible at all or require significant modification in order to be accessible for a person with a disability

Curricula designed for the “average learner” without regard to visual, hearing, physical, or cognitive differences or learning styles

Housing choices that are substantially limited due to inaccessibility for people with physical and other disabilities

Online information that is completely inaccessible to blind, deaf, and/or cognitively disabled community members

“Without accommodations and the DRC I would never have been able to graduate”

-PSU Student, 2014

Portland Community College Case Study: How Are Our Students Performing: Does Use of Accommodations

Make a Difference? Retrieved from page 7 of the 2015 DS Program Review

http://www.pcc.edu/resources/academic/program-

review/documents/PCCDisabilityServicesProgramReview2015.pdf

Individualized accommodations provide accessibility through a segregation

model.

Accommodations Do Not Lead to

Equity

Many aspects of life for disabled folks are chronically affected by societal marginalization:

Health

Reproductive Health care

Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault

Employment

Economy

HealthSmoking - Nondisabled: 15.3%

Smoking - Disabled: 24.5%

Obesity - Nondisabled: 25.2%Obesity - Disabled: 41.1%

Report of NOT seeing a doctor when needed- Nondisabled: 6%

Report of NOT seeing a doctor when needed- Disabled: 15%

Reproductive HealthcareWomen with disabilities are 50-70% less likely to receive a pap smear due to accessibility and coverage issues.

Women with mobility disabilities are 70% less likely to be asked about contraceptive methods by their doctors.

Domestic Violence andSexual Assault

Experience abuse - Disabled: 1.5 - 2 times more likely than Nondisabled

Physical/Sexual assault - Adults with Developmental Disabilities: 4 - 10 times more likely than Nondisabled

EmploymentEmployment Rate for Nondisabled: 75.4%

Employment Rate for Disabled: 34.4%

Employment Rate for Men with Disabilities: 52.8%Employment Rate for Women with Disabilities: 19.6%

Worldwide, the most significant indicator of unemployment is disability

EconomyPercentage of Nondisabled living in poverty 13.3%

Percentage of Disabled living in poverty 28.1%

Earnings for Nondisabled workers: $31,324 (in OR: $25,515 to $28,657)

Earnings for Disabled workers: $21,232(in OR: $16,322-$19,551)

“The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones”

-John Maynard Keynes (British economist, 1883-1946)

Equal Access vs. Equity

Time to Take Action

1.Examine your personal attitudes and beliefs about disabled people, where they come from, and how they may influence your behavior.

2. Create curricula that are flexible and offer multiple means of engagement, expression, and representation.

3. Create and maintain spaces, products, and environments that are accessible to a wide variety of users.

4. Ensure all electronic materials, media files, and websites are proactively accessible.

5. Advocate to enhance practices that build equity within your department and at the university.

Links to Data and Media Used During the PresentationReading of Cheryl Marie Wade’s poem Cripple Lullaby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5qJ6JSGutM&feature=youtu.be&t=1m55sMuch of the data was collected from the recently released 2015 Disability Compendium http://disabilitycompendium.org/

Reproductive Health data: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/10/health-care-disparities-for-disabled/

Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Data: http://www.equalrightscenter.org/site/DocServer/Serving_Survivors_of_Domestic_Violence_who_have_a_Disabi.pdf?docID=261

Global Disability Statistics: http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/events/1July2011_economics_panel_nexus.pdf

Links to Other Great ResourcesImplicit Bias Test (Disability is one of many tests available) https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/selectatest.html

Inclusive Strategies Reflection document (University of Michigan) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QXOsiu5aDsbksadPpt0HqwNLXdLYfQayHa4miQ6PPpM/edit

PCC’s Web Accessibility Handbook http://www.pcc.edu/resources/instructional-support/access/documents/pcc-a11y-hb-lores-tagged.pdf

Project Shift-Refocus (Viewing the work of Disability Services Differently): http://www.projectshift-refocus.org/

7 Principles of Universal Design: http://access.ecs.soton.ac.uk/blog/training/files/2011/07/principles1.jpgAND http://www.washington.edu/doit/universal-design-process-principles-and-applications

Universal Design for Learning: http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/udlguidelines_graphicorganizer

Thank youKaela Parkskaela.parks@pcc.edu

Jen Duggerjen.dugger@pdx.edu

More information on the Disability History exhibit and accessible online versions at: guides.pcc.edu/disability/history