Unseen Barriers: Addressing Daily Challenges And Accessibility Solutions For Disabled Individuals

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The Invisible Struggles: Daily Life Challenges Faced by Disabled People

Table of Contents

Our world is designed for the non-disabled; this is simply a known fact. For millennia, accessibility solutions were a pipe dream. If you had a disability, you were expected to disappear from society. In early 20th century America, if you were disabled, you were shunned at best and, at worst, put into an “asylum.” That word would be a misnomer, as asylums were never respite. They were horrendous places that thought human rights were only for those abled of body and mind.

Mahatma Gandhi is credited as saying, “A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.” And in the US, at least, this nation is failing. I could write a treatise on the injustices built into the government system of “support” and on how American society belittles, demeans, and infantilizes disabled people across the spectrum. I won’t.

In this article, I will focus on presenting real-world issues and providing solutions. I believe that if you see the problem, you need to offer a solution, not just complain about it.

A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.
Mahatma Gandhi

Accessible News and Information Media

ASL video: Thank you

Access to information is a basic fundamental right; I feel like most would agree. Yet, many news outlets and information media fail to provide accessible formatting. Hard-of-hearing individuals often struggle with videos that lack captions, while those with neurodivergent conditions might find cluttered websites or complex language overwhelming to process.

Solution: Mandate captions on all video content, create easy-to-read versions of articles and design websites with accessibility in mind, including options for different text sizes and contrasting colors. For example, my website has a grey background to make it less glaring to the eyes while maintaining high-contrast text, and there is an accessibility tab to change the contrasts, text sizes, and more. My goal is accessibility for all, and I live that example.

Accessible Communication with Businesses and People

Communication barriers are significant issues. Hard-of-hearing individuals often find phone calls challenging, and many businesses need to offer alternative communication methods like mail, interpreters, or text messaging. 911 does not offer text communication across the nation. Even today, there are areas of this country without reliable internet, cell networks, and access to reliable emergency services, much less text-able 9-1-1. Neurodiverse individuals may struggle with social cues and require clear, direct, open communication.

Solution: All businesses should, as required as a provision of their license to operate, have multiple communication channels, including text, email, and video calls with captioning options. Training staff on how to effectively communicate with neurodiverse and disabled individuals is crucial.

Amazon Affiliate Image Hamilton CapTel 2400i Captioned Telephone Large Touch-Screen Captioned Telephone with 40dB Amplification — Amazon Affiliate Image: Click Image to Follow. Hamilton CapTel 2400I captioned telephone large touch screen captioned telephone with 40dc amplification.

I strongly believe that schools should be required to teach ASL ( American Sign Language) alongside English. After all, it was developed in the United States and is more American than English itself. If every American used ASL, the world would be much more accessible to everyone, not only hard-of-hearing individuals but also those with an auditory processing disorder, mutism, speech difficulties, and more.

I cannot count the number of times that my husband and I have utilized ASL signs in traffic during cross-country moves, across parties or gatherings to communicate our plans, or even to signal it’s time to leave when overwhelmed and talking is just too much. ASL has so many uses, and every citizen deserves to have equal access; until we all use ASL, true equality can never happen.

Accessible Grocery and Goods Shopping

Shopping for groceries and other goods can be a daunting task for so many. Too many stores lack seating areas, which is critical for those with POTS or other dysautonomia conditions who need frequent rest. High shelves and narrow aisles can be challenging for us with mobility difficulties like wheelchair users, cane users, crutch users, and others.

Solution: Complement online shopping options with delivery services at no additional cost, covered by disability benefits through the government. Ensure physical stores have wider enough aisles to accommodate two wheelchairs side by side, low shelves, and accessible seating. Companies should train staff to assist shoppers with disabilities with respect, not attitude. Take the advice and criticism from disabled people to heart. I don’t know about others, but businesses that take criticism and use it to strengthen their policies and procedures to be accessible to me gain my loyalty.

Accessible Jobs

Finding and maintaining employment is another enormous challenge. Many workplaces are not designed with accessibility in mind, and more than a few times, I have heard business owners complain about “fucking cripples” making their lives harder because we want to access their stores or jobs. Hmm, it’s interesting what people say when they do not know they are talking to a member of that community.

Many workplaces are rife with covert discrimination that often prevents disabled individuals from being hired or promoted. Flexible working conditions are essential for those with fluctuating conditions like mine (EDS, MCAS, POTS).

Anecdotally, many of my neurodiverse friends regret informing their employers of their disabilities because they don’t get promoted anymore. Neurodiverse and disabled people are often passed up for promotion and frequently targeted for discrimination, covert harassment, and scapegoating.

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Solution: Promote work opportunities, rigorously enforce anti-discrimination laws, and educate employers and employees on the benefits of a diverse and inclusive workspace. Accommodations such as flexible schedules, flexible work locations, and ergonomic workstations are also needed. Also, stop monitoring your employees’ bathroom breaks; that’s just weird.

Covert Discrimination in Society

Beyond the workplace, societal attitudes often reflect ableism, where disabled people are either pitied or seen as less capable. Let’s also not forget “#inspiration” porn. This can manifest in numerous ways, from being spoken to condescendingly to being ignored altogether to being labeled as “dramatic, aggressive, or argumentative” just for passionate communication.

Solution: Public awareness campaigns to educate society about the capabilities and rights of disabled individuals, promoting inclusive practices in all public spaces and media and requiring media representation of disabled people to be diverse, accurate, and empowered. Stop promoting tropes like “Rainman.” That is so offensive.

Ableism Built into Social Interactions and Social Function

Social interactions can be a cesspool of challenges, discrimination, ableism, and more. Neurodiverse individuals may find social cues difficult to interpret, leading to misunderstanding. How about we normalize being blunt and not talking in circles?

Those with hearing loss may feel isolated in group conversations, and people with physical disabilities may be excluded from activities that have not been made accessible. Accommodations need to be made, even if that means the non-disabled are “inconvenienced.” I know that if “friends” or “family” plan activities that I simply can not partake in, I feel like I am unwanted. So, I stopped talking to those people because I wont go where I do not feel wanted or like my existence is inconvenient.

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At my husband’s graduation ceremony, we had no warning that a brass band would be playing, and there was no preferential access for disabled and burdened people(strollers, car seats, etc.) to enter first. No ear muffs were offered to combat overwhelm, and no outside seating to retreat to a quiet setting. We had to sit on the dirty ground outside to calm down. That’s just lovely for someone with immune compromise.

Solution: Encourage inclusive social practices such as using microphones in group settings, providing quiet spaces for those easily overwhelmed, and ensuring that social events are held in accessible locations. Every event center should have disabled seating areas in multiple locations, sensory kids including ear muffs, and quiet retreat spaces to escape overwhelm without having to leave the venue.

Ableism Built into Government Services

Government services often fail to consider the unique needs of disabled individuals. Whether it’s applying for benefits, accessing healthcare, or utilizing public transportation options, the systems in place are rarely user-friendly for those with disabilities.

Solution: Reform government services to be more inclusive by involving disabled people in the planning and implementation stages, simplifying processes, and providing comprehensive support services to help navigate bureaucratic systems. Require Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at all levels of government.

Real-World Situations and Applications

Situation 1: Shopping with POTS

Image from a POTS patient point of view, the image is a persons point of view looking down on leaves while dizzy with a vignette of darkness creeping into the edges of their vision. This is often what I as a pots patient see when having a dizzy spell right before becoming weakneed.

A person with POTS might experience severe dizziness while grocery shopping. Stores without seating areas or the option for online ordering with pickup at no additional fee can make this simple task accessible. I am fairly certain that businesses don’t want customers fainting in the store that opens them up to liability. The dreaded word. Having seating options scattered throughout the store could help immeasurably.

Situation 2: Attending Meetings with Hearing Loss

Without proper accommodations, such as captioning or sign language interpreters, a hard-of-hearing individual might miss crucial information during a work meeting.

Solution: Employers should ensure that meetings are accessible by providing captioning services or sign language interpreters and using tech that amplifies sound as needed.

Situation 3: Socializing and Working with Neurodiverse Conditions

A neurodiverse individual might hear their boss complain about “x, y, and z” issues in the company and lament that they don’t have solutions. The neurodiverse employee might offer “A, B, and C” solutions, thinking they are helping their boss make the company better. The neurotypical employer takes the volunteered solutions as a direct insult and states that the neurodiverse employee is complaining and overstepping. The neurodiverse person is left confused and hurt. Didn’t he just complain that he needed solutions?

Solution: Neurodiverse people are problem solvers. If you don’t actually want help, don’t ask. Don’t complain, and don’t lament. We are hard-wired to fix things to be efficient. This exact situation is one I have personal experience with and is one of those situations with neurotypicals that confound us.

Why complain if you aren’t going to fix it?

Socializing at work is often fraught with peril for neurodiverse employees. neurotypical communication is unclear and not linear. This leads to repeated misunderstandings and most often the neurodivergent person is blamed for the unclear communication.

Conclusion:

The daily life challenges faced by disabled individuals are numerous and complex; often, they are invisible to those without disabilities. By raising awareness and implementing some practical solutions, we can create a more inclusive world where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

DjinniWhispers

DjinniWhispers

Mosaics Within My Mind