On Sunday Feb 10th I am being
interviewed by Jill Konopka on WNYT channel 13 at 7:20 in the morning. We are going
to be chatting about one of my favorite topics- how to include people with disabilities
into your community and your life. I thought I would talk about it here too.
One of the first thins you need to
know, is I mean people with disabilities in the broadest sense of the word.
Whether they have physical limitations, chronic diseases, mental illness or the
inability to connect to others socially, we need to exhibit grace and a love
for all.
So let’s start with those who have
trouble walking- whether they are in a wheelchair, use a walker, or need a
cane. This is where most people start and stop in their view of those with
disabilities. I think it’s a result of the handicapped parking signs showing
people in wheelchairs. (I love the new signs showing the person in a racing chair,
but that is for another blog post.) Whether you run a business or a faith
community, it’s so much more than a ramp and a handicapped parking spot. A curb
ramp or cut out, needs to be smooth with no jolting spaces and cracks at the
top or bottom of the ramp. Larger ramps into buildings need to end level with
the doorway. There cannot be a two-inch difference between the inside floor and
the outside ramp. It is too hard to push a wheelchair over the bump. If it is winter,
snow needs to be adequately removed and ice needs to be cleared. It’s scary
enough for your foot to slide on the ice, let alone feel your wheelchair
sliding down the icy ramp.
Additionally, interior floors need
to be level and smooth. No transition bumps from one flooring to another or one
room to another. Bathrooms need be large enough to move around in and while many
start out that way, interior decorators will fill that space with shelving and
tables and eliminate the extra room. All doors, exterior and interior, need to
open automatically or have a button to push to open. People who have trouble
standing, cannot stand, pull a heavy door, maneuver around the door and go
through.
Which leads to my next discussion,
those with arthritis. Arthritis damages the joints in the body. For those with
rheumatoid arthritis the fingers often become curled up and twisted. This
person may not have the ability to open the door either. If you have a restaurant,
that customer may not be able to get the ketchup bottle open, let alone tear
open the packets of ketchup. Lifting a large glass full of ice and a drink may
be hard as well. Or using unsharp knives to cut their food can be difficult.
And while we are picking on restaurants,
let’s talk about the menus. Dark lighting may make it hard for people with low
vision to read the menu. Additionally, the print may not be well contrasted
with the background making it harder for someone with color blindness to read
your menu. Fancy fonts and squiggly letters may be hard for those with learning
disabilities or children to read the menus. And this doesn’t apply to just menus.
Sign boards, faded street signs, and directional boards in the malls can all
have these issues. Many churches use overhead projectors to put the words of
songs and outlines of sermons on the walls. But the font is often too small,
and the contrast between the letter coloring and the background is too close
for easy reading. And this can be made so much worse when the background has multicolored
pictures or moving video in the background of the words.
We often judge people for the way
they interact with us. We may view them as snobby, rude and unfriendly. But
they could be simply hard of hearing, autistic, struggling with social anxiety
or depressed. Giving someone a few minutes to process what we have said to them
can help them respond better. Repeating ourselves slightly louder and slower
may help. (Note I said slightly louder, not screaming at them!) Catch their eye
and know you have their attention before you talk to them. Be aware of the background
noises that may be making it harder for someone to hear you. Lower the tone of
your voice, as people usually lose hearing in the higher pitches first.
Those with autism or epilepsy may have
trouble with florescent or flashing lights. Bright colors and loud noises can
disturb those with traumatic brain injuries. Just last week I was in Shop Rite.
They were doing sales and every 2 to 3 feet they had little “Shop Rite Saves”
signs sticking off the shelves. There were so many it made it hard for me to
find what I wanted. I couldn’t easily scan the shelves for the items I was
looking for. Someone with a brain injury, ptsd, or Asperger’s might not have been
able to handle the intensity of the bright signs.
And finally let’s talk about food.
With the incredible level of obesity in this country, we continue to celebrate
life with low nutrition, calorie dense foods. Churches hold pot-luck suppers
and joke (I hope their joking!) that calories don’t count when eaten in a
church. Parties aren’t parties without fried food, dips and chips, and desserts.
Thanksgiving is an ode to how much unhealthy food can we stuff in our mouths. The
otherwise health veggies like green beans are smothered in cream soup and the
cranberries are covered in sugared jelly. We must learn to celebrate life
without ingesting food that doesn’t add to our lives.
And then there are those with
dietary restrictions. Thousands of people each year chose to limit certain foods
because of medical reasons (diabetes, high blood pressure), for weight loss, or
because of food allergies and sensitivities. While restaurants are beginning to
make adjustments, catering companies, and those church pot lucks are often filled
with no-no’s. And the worst part is not the lack of appropriate choices, but
the friends and love ones who bully people into eating things they shouldn’t
eat. “It’s a party, eat a piece of cake!” “You used to love my chicken, go
ahead and try it.” “You don’t know what your missing, this_______ is so
fabulous!” This is not helpful, not loving, and not inclusive.
So I hope the next time you are
asked if your company, building or church is handicapped accessible, you will
think beyond the answer, “Yes we have a wheelchair ramp.” You will consider all
the kinds of issues that can put limitations on a person and will seek to make
sure you are addressing as many of them as possible. As my friend Denise says, “My
body doesn’t make me feel disabled, the way the world reacts to my wheelchair
often does!” Let’s treat everyone with respect, with kindness, and remove from
our world those things that can make someone feel disabled.
If you are looking for more ideas and how to make those living with disabilities, check out my book Spiritually Abled: Help Your Place of Worship Integrate the Disabled with Ease. You can find it on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1978252757/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1
