Just because YOU don’t see the pervasive discrimination we experience, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist!
Just because WE can’t hear, doesn’t make us any less capable. You don’t get to decide what is in OUR best interest!
Just because many of us are disempowered into silence, doesn’t mean you can discriminate against us freely!
Check out this video of my little one using baby sign 🙂 He has been signing for booby since about 5 months old. It started with squeezing my finger or boob and progressed to making fists, and then finally to the opening and closing repeatedly of his fist to...
So my sister in law came across a deaf blog ranting about some dude from The Voice, Andy Dexterity doing Auslan when he is not deaf. There was a lot of anger about cultural appropriation and comments about Andy signing badly. It prompted my interest because obvious...
https://youtu.be/qFcFpWzIQNk First, this is an excellent and well done video, everybody needs to watch it! I'd like to touch on my first experience of this video as it completely slammed me. It was used as an educational tool in a support coordination course I was...
People keep calling my phone and I've finally worked it out! Deaf people can't possibly own phones, and this must be common knowledge! Of course!! This totally explains why there will be difficulty explaining to a caller why the deaf phone owner cannot come to the...
No really. I've removed names for privacy as this isn't about any of these individuals personally, but rather the social/cultural context of this discourse. Here are the highlights for those of you without the ability to see the image posted below: "I wonder how...
I’ve been pondering on this particular judgmental view lately – that it is always a choice where you live. Let’s look at this in context of disability:
Neighbours
Supportive and understanding neighbours are important. Bonus if they share some similar views or interests.
In reality though, getting neighbours like that is like one of these million dollar jackpots you strive to win. I have moved house many times as an adult and in all that time I’ve had one kickass awesome neighbour that remains my friend to this day. However I’ve moved house six times due to the stress and conflict of judgmental, interfering arsehole neighbours.
When communication is a barrier related to having a disability, living near neighbours is a hardship more often than it is not, and can present several risks from system involvement to escalation of difficulty in everyday life.
Rural living is a very effective safeguard against interfering, judgmental and ignorant people and systems. Most country people keep to themselves and respect others desire to keep to themselves while being supportive and drawing together as needed as they know what it is like living in the country.
Check out this letter from a neighbour which was recently posted online.
Bustle & Busyness
Town living or city living has a different energy to a rural community. There is an atmosphere of hurried pressure from traffic and activity that some people with disabilities are especially sensitive to.
This can result in additional environmental stimulus which results in the PWD becoming overwhelmed, agitated or unwell and this can result in escalated behaviours or meltdowns. Socially inappropriate or unusual behaviours always draw attention and judgmental attention is a risk.
Check this article out from Better Mental Health on city living.
Isolation
It is possible to be surrounded by people, yet be isolated. In my experience, I’ve been more isolated in bigger towns and cities because it is much harder to get to know people or build casual relationships than it is in a smaller town or region where everyone knows everyone.
It is much easier because in just getting to know one or two people in a rural or remote area makes it easier to link to others via the person you know.
With less people in the area others get to know you on sight and acknowledge you. This reduces the feeling of isolation and outsideness even though communication remains as a barrier.
There is also generally more time for chit chat in rural areas as that hurried busy energy isn’t prevalent like it is in metropolitan areas.
Check this paper out on social isolation and its relation to urban areas.
Poverty
People with disabilities are more likely to be living in poverty compared to these without. “While the overall poverty rate in Australia was just over 13%, people with disability had a poverty rate of 17%“. Disability related expenses on top of the daily living expenses often puts PWD and their families in a weaker financial position. Even with the NDIS attempting to fund supports there still remain disability specific needs which fall through the gaps of the systems that are meant to cover them.
Poverty limits choice in where someone with a disability might live and also limits their ability to work to afford higher rents in metro areas. If money is going to be available for disability related expenses as well then lower rent becomes a necessity and this is increasingly only found in rural or remote areas.
Discrimination against PWD for “choice” in where they live
People with disabilities should not have to justify where they are living any more than someone without a disability does. Calling on PWD to account for living in the locality that they are, is blatant discrimination.
People with disabilities have the right to choose where they live! If their choice is personal and not a matter of their disability, that is their right – the same right that is afforded to other people who don’t have disabilities.
However if PWD are saying they have chosen to live in a rural and remote location due to their disability, this should not be seen as a personal choice but rather as a wise safeguarding decision. Supports should support and reflect this decision.
– deaf in Society
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