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Module 5: Nondisabled Power and Language

“[Ableism is] a system that places value on people’s bodies and minds based on societally constructed ideas of normalcy, intelligence and excellence. These constructed ideas of normalcy, intelligence and excellence are deeply rooted in anti-Blackness, eugenics and capitalism. This form of systemic oppression leads to people and society determining who is valuable or worthy based on people’s appearance and/or their ability to satisfactorily produce, excel & “behave.” Importantly, you do not have to be disabled to experience ableism.” (Lewis, 2020, n.p.)  

Overview

A Message From Shaheen

Ableism, like other forms of systemic oppression (e.g., racism, sexism, classism), is baked into society. Because these forms of oppression are everywhere around us, they foster implicit bias. To further complicate things, our brains have developed over centuries to look for patterns and to use patterns and categorization to get things done more efficiently. The power structures in our society combined with our brain’s natural inclination to look for patterns and to categorize things leads to implicit bias.

No one is immune to implicit bias. Understanding what implicit bias is and how to spot its impact on our beliefs, thoughts, words, and actions is a big step towards mitigating its harmful effects. This module focuses on how implicit bias and ableism impact language.

Musical Moment

BATTS – Call It What It Is

Component

Estimated Time to Complete

Engage

50 mins-1 hr 20 mins

Reflect

1 hr

Chat

1 hr

Self-Assess

10-15 mins

Engage

Required

Source 

Summary 

Estimated Time 

This video explains what implicit bias is and where it comes from.

2-3 mins

In this TedTalk, Stella Young discusses the issue of inspiration porn, and the objectification of disabled people.

6-12 mins

Is This Thing On? Excerpt from The Pretty One, Pages 51-69, By Keah Brown 

 

In this book excerpt, Keah Brown explores the power and pride in identifying as disabled.

11-19 mins

Ableism 101 By Ashley Eisenmenger 

This article defines and provides multiple examples of ableism in society today. It also discusses how to combat ableism.

2-4 mins

In this article, Jamie Davis Smith, mother of a disabled child, discusses her rationale for referring to her child as disabled.

4-6 mins

John Lee Clark outlines the history and evolution of the term DeafBlind in this article.

7-14 mins

This blog post explains what audism is and some common examples of this form of ableism.

2-3.5 mins

Demystifying Disability: Ch. 4 Ableism & Accessibility By Emily Ladau 

Ladau describes ableism in its many forms, and ways that society can be more accessible.

18-22 mins

Optional

Source 

Summary 

Estimated Time 

Casual Ableist Language By Annie Elainey 

In this video, disability activist Annie Elainey discusses the history, and connotation of some of the most commonly used ableist words and phrases.

3-6 mins

This podcast discusses important elements of disability related language and history and how these elements have impacted or contributed to the identity and culture of disabled people in society, as well as their political participation.

18-36 mins

Reflect

Use the prompts below as a jumping off point. Do not let the prompts confine your reflection. 

  1. Examining your beliefs, thoughts, words, and actions through a critical lens, where do you see your implicit bias about disability show up?
  2. Write a definition of ableism using your words.

Chat

Use the prompts below as a jumping off point for a conversation with others in your class or community. 

  1. How do views of disability differ between people who advocate identity-first language (IFL) and those who advocate person-first language (PFL)?
  2. Coming into this class did you use IFL or PFL? Why? Have your thoughts about the other convention changed any since the semester started?

Self-Assess

  1. What idea/concept from this module was the CLEAREST to you?
  2. What idea/concept from this module was the MUDDIEST to you?
  3. Rate your knowledge on the ideas discussed in this module
    • Expert
    • Mastered
    • Competent
    • Still Developing
    • Undeveloped

FAQ

Q1: What is the “right way” to talk about disability?

A1: There is no one “right way.” Language is complex. It takes time to learn the various ways communities talk about a topic that is new to you. It takes additional time to decide how you will talk about that new topic. So, first, be patient with yourself and your peers.

As you are learning, if you are unsure about the proper terminology to use, you can preface your comments with something like “I’m not sure if this is a respectful/appropriate way to word this; I would appreciate any guidance others have.”

While there is no one “right way,” there are several wrong ways to talk about disability. For example, you should not use slurs (e.g., the r-word) or hate speech.

You will explore language in-depth in the next module. I also encourage you to review pages 24-27 of Demystifying Disability for Ladau’s guidance about disability language.

Q2: If we should not say people with disabilities have limitations, what should we say when a person can’t do something independently?

A2: Fascinating question. All beings have limitations. Having limitations is not good or bad, it is just part of being human. What I think is interesting is that the limitations that disabled people have are often categorized as “bad” or “problematic,” but the limitations that nondisabled people have are rarely discussed. For example, in a loud environment hearing people, myself included, have a hard time communicating because they cannot hear one another and their method of communicating relies on oral language (a limitation). But Deaf people can have a full conversation in the middle of a loud concert because their language is visual—not oral.

Similarly, the fact that disabled people need support to do some things is often categorized as “bad” or “dependent.” If you stop and think about it, however, every human needs support to accomplish tasks. The difference is that the supports nondisabled humans need are viewed as “normal” and thus are not categorized as supports. What supports do you need to read this web page? You need a device, you need the internet, you need a web browser, and if you are sighted you probably need your device to have a visual display of some kind. A visual display is a support that blind people do not need, does that mean blind people are more independent than sighted people at reading web pages? No, it means blind and sighted people need different supports to read web pages.

So, when you think about the limitations disabled people have remember nondisabled humans also have limitations. And when you think about the supports a disabled person needs to accomplish a task consider the supports nondisabled people need to accomplish that same task. And, if you want to go a step further, wonder why the supports nondisabled humans need are already built in but the supports disabled humans need are missing.

License

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Disability, Learning, and Education: A Guidebook Copyright © by Natalie L. Shaheen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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