It's disability pride month so here's a list of some of the ableist practices I hear in the academy all the time/have dealt with:
My grad school wouldn't postpone my enrollment for a year even though I was having brain surgery. So I enrolled in my PhD program 6 mo after (1/14)
My grad school wouldn't postpone my enrollment for a year even though I was having brain surgery. So I enrolled in my PhD program 6 mo after (1/14)
My family moved me to school knowing I was still ridiculously sick and not fully independent after a decompression and a fusion. When I got there I had no stipend and no access to Grounds bc the uni forgot I was coming. (2/14)
I wrote the only guide to accessible teaching and pedagogy available to TAs at my uni. It was supposed to empower TAs to guarantee ADA accommodations. In it I explicitly stated it's a legal obligation to provide these (3/14)
I was told by a disabled faculty member that such a statement was too divisive and wouldn't gain me allies. Instead I should say it's an "opportunity" for academics to follow the ADA. That I should engage in hand holding and not demand anything (4/14)
I was denied parking passes, told that ADA parking was first come first serve, and given inaccessible routes to navigate between the sections of students I taught (5/14)
I have routinely spent over 1/3 of my stipend year on medical costs, bc grad students get student health care which is terrible at covering specialists, ER visits, and routine medical procedures. It assumes you're a healthy 17 yr old. I am not (6/14)
I taught the same day I went to the cardiac ICU for palpitations and blood pressure disregulation. Because as a first gen disabled student I always feel pressure to handle it myself, and there's no one to ask for help except your profs. I didn't want to be a liability (7/14)
Colleagues talk all the time about being productive, publishing, attending conferences. I do that too, but I also keep myself alive. And manage a second job to pay for my medical bills. People have uselessly pointed out I "look tired." I am (8/14)
I've repeatedly said that norms like conferences are inaccessible. Im told that they're necessary and I should ask for accommodations. I always do, and they're always implemented piecemeal. But you're stuck once you're there. (9/14)
I've been forced to travel to give talks and papers that surprise now that we're in covid we've found can all easily be done digitally. I've been told that's an unreasonable accommodation. Glad y'all like it now that it applies to you. (10/14)
I've been told not to mention my disability on diversity statements for jobs, while at the same time I'm the token disabled person asked to serve on every diversity panel (11/14)
The hardest thing I deal with in the academy is ableism. It's not work, it's not research, it's not teaching, it's not writing. The biggest problem is the colleagues who say nothing. Who exploit my labor (12/14)
The hardest thing is dealing w those who want to claim me as diversity but then tell me I should be ashamed of my dis. Who warn me it's a stigma on my CV. Who tell me I should focus on productivity. That advocacy work isn't real labor (13/14)
I say all this to say no I won't be ashamed. My research is novel. My teaching is amazing. I make my disabled students feel safe. I'm disabled. I'm proud. (14/14) #DisabilityPrideMonth #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter #DisabilityVisibility #DisabilityTwitter
Wow this is by far my most popular tweet ever thanks everyone - sad it resonates w so many. Please be an ally, dismantle stigma, and offer support. If you don't know disabled colleagues, it's bc they're too scared to disclose they're dis. Changing academic culture can fix that.
