Each month Laurie offers readers a lesson on an important topic from her unique perspective in our “Learn from Me” feature, written with support from the staff of The College VOICE.
The word “ableism” means when people treat those with disabilities as if they are inferior and not worth as much in society. Like other “isms” including racism and sexism, ableism is harmful to our communities.
You can find ableism in plain sight, such as the way that people with disabilities are portrayed on TV. According to statistics from Shift, a group organized to change perspectives and stigmas, “63% of references to mental health in TV soap operas and drama are pejorative flippant or unsympathetic.”
In the article “Rethinking disability: the social model of disability and chronic disease” by Sara Goering, she explains that often times, people view non-disabled individuals as the standard of normal living. This results in building public and private places, education opportunities and social work programs to serve “standard” people, and excluding those with various disabilities. (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ).
It is true that there are laws that protect against overt discrimination in the workplace and in schools. Those laws came as a result of many people fighting in the Civil Rights movement.
But laws by themselves are not enough. Having one or two people in TV shows who have Down Syndrome like me, or use a wheelchair is not enough to change how people view us. That change has to come by people making the effort to look into themselves and see the human value in all of us.
