Distractions of the disabled sort…

We definitely had a busy weekend around here and I hope to make an exciting announcement in the next couple of days related to what’s happening, but don’t want to jinx us yet so I’ll hold off for now! I’m in another frenzy as I prepare for yet another trip out of town. This time I’m off to DC from Wednesday to Friday to present a workshop at the National Council on Independent Living Annual Conference. It’s my first time at one of these events, so I’m pumped to meet some new friends and several of my friends from NYLN are going to be there as well!

Right about now I should be putting the final touches on my presentation and making sure my materials are accessible and ready for printing tomorrow..but alas the goings on of our world have once again distracted me! First, I was struck this morning by the new airplane! Have ya heard? The Boeing 787 was unveiled today and among it’s touted features…a wheelchair accessible bathroom! Before I proclaimed “Hallelujah!” at this news, I did stop to ponder the fact that my wheelchair has to be loaded in cargo after I board the plane, so how would I get to this lovely lavatory? The blogger for Wheelchair Diffusion agrees and there’s a cool pic of the actual bathroom if you’re interested. Before we regress to full walker bashing, I must say that according to this picture below, the aisles do look large enough to fit some chairs-so maybe JUST maybe, the airlines have (or are quickly pulling together) a plan for some sort of loaner onboard chair. Either way, I’m happy with the extra room. For some reason, my smallness seems to make others feel that they can take up whatever excess room in MY seat I don’t seem to be using at the moment!

After all that plane pondering, I then got back to being productive UNTIL I suddenly fell upon the site Play Date Buddy where you arrange play dates with other dogs in your area by looking at their profiles! Bailey and Obie are a bit pickyselective about who they befriend, but if all parties are friendly then it’s a blast! My excitement on this came to a bit of a halt when I saw the only dogs listed in Miami right now are Chihuahuas (one of which is namedParis Hilton). So without further offending dogs that wear pink dresses, I’ll just leave it at the point: It wouldn’t work out! So-BACK to the presentation!

UNTIL…I came upon this dog because I have this dream that ONE day I’ll find a Boston Bulldog around my mom’s area (and then convince her to go fetch it!). This is Bonnie and she has Spina  Bifida. She can walk (in other pictures) but has limited control of her bladder and bowels. She’s mighty cute so I hope she’s adopted soon!

After that detour it was once again…back to the work at hand! UNTIL one more detour..and this one is pretty important. I found an article in the Opinion section of the USA Today titled “A Mother’s View of a Word that Wounds: The R Word” by Theresa Howard. Just last week I wrote a similarly titled article (The C-Word) and I’ve felt the pangs of annoyance, anger, hurt, and frustration with the excessive use of retarded in almost every sector of society. No one even blinks when it’s thrown around by preschoolers! Rather than recant the article, I’ll say..first, you should read it. Feel empowered by her words and wishes for change. THEN, scroll down to the comments and experience the frustration of the ignorant majority…

“Words can never offend”  Really? I wonder how this person would respond to being differentiated in a job interview from other candidates with the pleasant coin phrase of “the handicapped girl”. I think being offended is actually a pretty healthy reaction to this and other language insults.

“When people like the author first started insisting that the r3tarded be referred to as “special people”, the consequence was that a new obloquy was invented. It became fashionable to call a person who just committed some feat of stupidity as a “special person”.” Hmm…that’s a hideous unique interpretation of the history of people with intellectual disabilities. Basically-blame the victim. If this weird logic failed, then we should also call the late Mr. Rodgers to the carpet for his indecency to tell children across the country, “YOU are special.”

“I will NOT be told what words I can or cannot use.
You are free to be offended… you are free to shun me, not hire me, or to refuse to do business with me.” This person became so enraged by their paranoia that someone is legislating this word’s use that they totally missed the point AND it’s much easier to open the door for isolated incidents of shunning when you’ve never experienced the blanket effect over a lifetime.

I’ll stop there, but I hope you do stop by and read the article…For some reason, the comments get MUCH better after the first page so if you need a pick-me-up after the depressing nature of the few mentioned above, check those out. AND I need to get back to that presentation:-) See you tomorrow before I head off on another cross-country adventure.