Thread by @vix_the_star

Really disappointing to see more ‘disability activists’ using disability simulation. An ‘able bodied’ person sitting in a wheelchair for a few hours is not going to understand accessibility or promote change/inclusion. How have we moved so far back? /1

I get that it’s easy to think if someone could just sit in a chair they’d get it, but it’s not that simple. Most people have more to deal with than using a wheelchair, eg limited strength/movement or pain. An enabled person sitting in a chair still is ‘able bodied’. /2

Coupled with a few hours of being sat down does not even start to show people what attitudinal and structural barriers mean. And how difficult it is to manage some activities whilst having reduced strength or increased fatigue. /3

What I’ve found more helpful is showing people what inaccessibility is like. This can still be experiential without people cropping up. Have 2 teams for example to document the saw journey. 1 does the journey as they are. 1 team comes with disabled person. /4

Then when you meet, for return journey swap the teams. Afterwards reviewing the videos or however you documented the journeys together and discuss. It also demonstrates time difference and more.
When people take the time to observe and understand from our perspective it helps /5

I’m often seen taking videos or photos out and about to use to show people what everyday situations are like when I’m training and presenting. We can get our messages across without reducing ourselves to a gimmick to try. /6

If people are able to learn about other identities without simulating them and walking about trying to see what it’s like in society, then why is this thought to be the way for disabled people. It would actually be highly offensive to use this as a learning tool. /7

I really hope that this is a short lived trend. But the damage I can see being done could take a while to undo. When we can understand our experiences are more than not having the paths smooth and flat, we can start to dismantle the structural and attitudinal barriers we face /8

And work to get access improved not just in the built environment, but a more inclusive society everywhere. Let’s work towards that with increasing allies who can understand our different experiences, and realise disability is much more than wheelchair use. /9

Accessibility is where a disabled person can do what they need to in a similar amount of time and effort as a nondisabled person.

#DisabilityAwareness #DisabilityEquality #DisabilityInclusion #NoMoreCrippingUp

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