Writing Sample

An Interdisciplinary Portrait of Ableism:

& how disability drives innovation

“Ableism” refers to the suggestion that people with disabilities are inferior, broken, and need to be fixed. The term “ableism” came into wider use in the 1960’s and 1970’s during the civil rights movement, and 504 sit-in in the United States. Ableism is difficult to clearly define even among disabled people, as all disabled people have unique experiences that are curated by additional identities, differing abilities, and other environmental factors and nuances. Working to diminish societal ableism benefits society as a whole.

Personal narratives are effective means of demonstrating our commonalities and removing the mysteries around less common human experiences.  Through first-person narratives from the Disability Community, we can draw parallels with other marginalized groups to explore the intricacies of ableism. While racism and ableism are not the same, the framework of Critical Race Theory can be applied somewhat to exploring ableism.   Similar to racism, ableism is a politicized term that is used in reference to discrimination and barriers towards a specific group.  Ableism should be explored through an intersectional  framework because disability is experienced in every possible identity combination.  For example, a librarian who is simultaneously Black, Senegalese, Queer, and Disabled living in the United States experiences an intersection of identities, which in turn influence one another, creating a curated experience.

Ideologies are crafted by the media, resulting in social issues such as sexism, racism, and ableism. We subconsciously gain information about different groups from the media we consume, allowing it to reinforce and construct identities and stereotypes, categorizing them as inferior or superior.  “Race and disability morph into one another to construct the perfect criminal who is perceived as requiring the use of disciplinary force and punishment. “ (Camille Nelson in “Frontlines: Policing at the Nexus of Race and Mental Health”) In this statement, Nelson highlights the disproportionate amount of Disabled Black and Indigenous people who experience police brutality. In the universal access approach, better access for one group trickles down into other groups, resulting in a more user friendly and productive society. Deaf people, for example, often experience communication issues with police. In this case, more thorough training for police forces, helps police communicate with those who are impaired by external forces such as drugs or language fluency.

Innovation for and by people with disabilities has led to keyboards, curb cuts, ramps, vegetable peelers, segways, speech recognition, and other tools for efficiency regardless of ability. Sometimes, disabilities themselves can lead to revolutions and changes. Climate change activist Greta Thunberg is just one of many autistic people who credit their autism in helping to lead change, despite pushbacks from ableist societal views.  Thunberg explains that she considers her autism to be her “superpower” in fighting climate change.  She believes associated characteristics of her condition lend her to be hyper focused on her special interest of fighting climate change, which aligns with thoughts from Tony Attwood, a world authority on Asperger’s.  Autistics are “usually renowned for being direct, speaking their mind and being honest and determined and having a strong sense of social justice.” (Atwood)  

The social model of disability argues that societal barriers are what truly disables an individual.  In working to dismantle internalized ableism and eliminate these barriers, we benefit from disability as a society driven by innovation.  After all, Haben Girma, a Deaf-Blind lawyer points out that “Disability drives innovation, love also drives innovation.”

--Abigail Nambiar