Ableism doesn’t have to be conscious. Like racism, homophobia, misogyny, it works from a set of assumptions. The first is that disability is someone else’s problem—a holdover from Victorian society which created specialized hospitals and asylums for the disabled. In higher education they still believe there should be a sequestered office that “handles” disability which in turn means most deans, faculty, and administrators have a collective view that the disabled are both a problem and they belong to someone else. Professor Jay Dolmage’s book “Academic Ableism” provides a clear overview of how this dynamic works.
Another assumption is that all disabled people are singular—they’re all medical problems—defective patients who couldn’t be cured. This medical model of disability creates a set of cascading metaphors, the most insidious of which is the idea that a student, staff member, even a visitor with with a disability needing an accommodation is a solitary, individual “problem” which in turn means they’re not respected and valued. We hate problem people in America.
I’ve been asking for accessible websites and digital teaching platforms at Syracuse University for well over a decade. Imagine! Asking for accommodations that are required under the Americans with Disabilities Act and getting nowhere! And yes, rather than fix the problems, many in the administration have labeled me as a malcontent.
This is when ableism becomes a conscious thing. When you say that the disabled who are true advocates for inclusion are problematic you’re making a choice.
I am hereby shaming faculty everywhere who make such choices.
Planet of the Blind 