You’ve got to be kidding, I say to my husband, my voice drenched with resentment. How is any of this fair, I wonder as I struggle to gain control of my emotions. He’s just finished telling me how he completed his entire undergraduate degree without independently looking up a single academic database for supplementary materials whatsoever. I’ve recently begun my PhD. I’m sitting on the lounge scrolling through academic articles on my phone when he comes into the room utterly miffed by the discovery that academic information has to be bought like a hand of bananas or loaf of bread. He always thought it was freely available, and is curious as to how the system works. I explain it according to my very limited understanding, but am distracted by something immediately unravelling in my mind, and unbeknownst to him, I cannot possibly have this discussion right now. I’m too busy reeling back in horror at the fundamental shifting of my universe. […]
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An Open Letter To University
Dear University, Much has been researched and written regarding the disadvantage and inequity experienced by people with disability in the university system. There are entire academic disciplines, departments and databases devoted to the topic. To explain how it has effected me as a person who is well within the realm of legal blindness is difficult. It is difficult because somehow I am the one who carries the shame and burden of not measuring up to an impossible standard, set by a structure and history of exclusion and invalidation of my needs, wants and rights. I try not to think about it too deeply, but I know I would be even less likely to succeed without opportunities within the university system to present my case, justify my academic performance, and explain why I am not nearly as accomplished as I would be if I were not navigating the very real barriers that come with having a severe sensory disability, and all the […]
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A Braille Menu Please
I think we live in a society that does not value diversity, difference or disability. If anything, our society sees anything other than sameness as a burden, bother or threat, unless it is temporarily convenient to view it as otherwise to meet an ableist objective. We don’t seem to realise that it is our cultural, community and communication values, as well as the systems and structures we continue to put in place that are the real problem. We continue to overlook the untapped potential and unused resources of our vast and creative population. But for what purpose? It is our intricacies that necessitate the drive for innovation, and it is our need to belong that brings us together and pulls humanity into the future. But what happens when we continue to create barriers to participation? Not only does it hold people with disability to ransom, and ensures they remain beholden to a society that is intent on punishing them for it, […]
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Accessible Information – The Thin Edge Of The Wedge
Everyone has a secret stash of something. Oh come on, don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. We all do it. Some stash chocolate, shoes, paper clips, or money. In my case, it happens to be accessible information. Unfortunately, there is nothing secret about my not so secret stash of chocolate. I am pretty open about my habit. I’ve been known to put the call out on social media requesting a re-stock of said secret chocolate stash. And as for shoes, I’ve declared “shoe lover” as a part of my LinkedIn headline for quite a while. Therefore, nothing secret about that either. Although, paper clips have never been of interest to me. Sure, there had been the minor obsession with stationery in my younger years, but that wasn’t practical. It’s now filed in the things I would do if I were sighted basket, along with driving, sky diving, and catching a tennis ball. Accessible Information When it comes to […]
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