TL;DR: They internalize the dominant paradigm: abled is good, disabled is bad. Exhibit #1: Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott Greg Abbott is a wheelchair user, only the third wheelchair-using governor in United States history. What happened that caused him to…
Ten basic accessibility facts
All accessibility managers should be comfortable communicating the following facts and the reasons behind them. Fact #1: All accessibility (digital and physical) is a civil right. The Americans with Disabilities Act is a civil rights law for people with disabilities.…
Performative Disability Allyship
Are messengers seeking to disrupt ableism or just seeking praise for “taking a stand” that will never result in substantive change? Performative followed by any word implies that the messenger is acting in a performance. The messenger might think they…
Why ERG volunteer work is both important and masochistic
ERG roles can contribute to the fatigue/burnout that *every* underrepresented minority experiences at least once (and sometimes continually) in their lives It’s July. And if you aren’t in the US or don’t eat, live, breathe, and sleep disability as I…
What one wheelchair user thinks about being called “wheelchair-bound”
The phrase is still in widespread use and needs to be banished, just like the “r” word If you’re not disabled and you don’t have the lived experiences of your colleagues with disabilities, there’s a non-zero chance you’re going to…
ADA 30 Report Card
The ADA turns 30 on July 25th. In some areas, people with disabilities have made significant advances. In others, not so much. Unless you are someone with a disability or work in the disability/diversity/ inclusion/equality/belonging/accessibility space, you probably don’t think…
Post-COVID employment changes that will benefit everyone, but especially people with disabilities
Who wants to “go back to normal” when “normal” wasn’t so hot anyway? I’ve been accused of being a glass half-empty kind of person, but I have a good reason for how my personality was shaped. I spent 25 years…
Measuring Accessibility Outcomes
Peter Drucker said “you can’t manage what you can’t measure”. Here’s how to gauge the success of disability inclusion / accessibility initiatives utcome is frequently quantitatively measured using benchmarks. Let’s say you need to get somewhere. You need four pieces of information…
Disability inclusive workplaces
Most diversity / inclusion articles don’t include disability. Here are things you need to consider to succeed at disability-related inclusion HBR recently published an article called 5 Strategies for Creating an Inclusive Workspace. And while the article is brilliant for addressing…
Disability Pronouns
Yeah, it’s a long introduction, but what a conversation starter ! Hi, my name is Sheri Byrne-Haber my gender pronouns are she/her, and my disability pronouns are disabled and determined person When referring to personal pronouns, we mean that they…