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Persons with disabilities
Thursday March 27, 2003 - Breakout
Cameron Crawford, President of the Roeher Institute in Toronto, gave several vignettes that related attempts by persons with disabilities (PWD) to seek more fulfilling and independent lives. He also spoke of a family and their attempts to raise their disabled daughter at home. These efforts failed, and a common factor was the lack of necessary community support.
Crawford outlined the difficulties facing persons with disabilities, noting that the disability community consistently fares worse than the rest of society when it comes to employment, salaries and violence. He proposed a system of measurement to help analyse social inclusion and the factors involved. The model makes it easier to spot any shortfalls or shortcomings, by breaking down support into component elements.
Participants raised the following issues and concerns:
Despite a great deal of discussion for many years, there hasn’t been much improvement in social inclusion for persons with disabilities. Crawford agreed that good intentions and effort will get nowhere without political and financial backing. A participant asked how many persons with disabilities are unable to enter the work force. Crawford said recent studies placed the proportion at 25 to 43%, with one source identifying about 250,000 PWD who had reported a long-term inability to work. He stressed that the survey made no reference to respondents’ reason for staying out of the work force—an important distinction, since some people simply feel frustrated and unemployable. There is also a fair degree of movement from disabled to non-disabled status. In reply to a question, he said the study excluded factors like illness and drug addiction. Part of the problem is the way we think of work. The number of people who are performing meaningful work is not recognized in our commodity-based society. The parent of a disabled youth expressed frustration at the direction of the day’s discussion. Having practical means to participate in society is important, the parent said, but it doesn’t mean that one is going to be valued as a citizen. Access, support and success can be measured, but the way we are valued dictates the quality of our life in a participatory community. Persons with disabilities are not valued because they do not generate money. They are seen as a drain on resources and not as contributors. Those who hand out resources, such as the province, do not distribute according to need, but according to an economic formula. It would be useful to look at various sectors of society, such as the business community, and see what they are actually doing to accommodate PWD. - We must not be afraid to be utopian in our thinking. As long as we use terms like “human capital”, we will not get far.
The definition of work should be expanded to include meaningful labours that are not financially rewarded.
Provocateur Richard Shillington, an Ottawa-based research consultant, stressed the importance of allowing people to address and represent their own needs at the level of policy. When programs are designed by an educated minority, they tend to neglect the real interests of those they are designed to help: “To what extent is the low-income population represented?” he asked.
Shillington compared MBAs designing anti-poverty programs to his attempts to buy a dress for his 15-year-old daughter: The intention might be there, but the necessary knowledge is lacking. “We have to be exceptional to be aware of our blinders,” he said.
Participants stated that:
Many income support programs, as currently cast, are unsuccessful. They are more suited to people who are working or have the potential to enter the work force, rather than those who face extra difficulties. Many persons with disabilities have been unaware of the tax credits available to them. It may be that fear of persons with disabilities is a factor in their exclusion. Several older studies found that people with developmental and intellectual disabilities were the groups with whom others in society were most uncomfortable. The group considered whether research can play a role in measuring public fears, thereby supporting the development of programs to combat prejudices around disability. A participant noted that HIV/AIDS education has done much to erase fears and increase acceptance. HRDC has been running the Community Inclusion Initiative for several years. Experience shows that as people get involved with the disabled community, they become far more accepting. Starting with creative programs for the young is a successful method. We are about to witness teachers entering the work force who attended mixed ability classrooms. This early experience with inclusion should influence their response to students with disabilities. Indicators of inclusion are good, but there must always be fora to allow PWD to speak in their own voices about their hopes, needs and concerns.
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For more information about the conference, contact:
Sarah Zgraggen
The Willow Group
Tel: (613) 722-8796;
Fax: (613) 729-6206;
e-mail: szgraggen@thewillowgroup.com
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