This Needs to be Read.
Hat tip to Chad at Uncertain Principles, who offered his own version of this story:
A security guard tried to take some luggage from a disabled person in a wheelchair because "some body" was not in possession of it. Read it yourself. The ADA meets Homeland Security.
Totally outrageous, yet not surprising given how disabled people are often treated. Now imagine that the person involved was the Iraq war vet, a triple amp, who attends the CC where I teach. (Welcome home, vet, and thank you for your service, but you are no longer a person without your legs.)
2 comments:
I've been reading your blog intermittently for awhile, but this was a surprise. (I guess I haven't been reading enough.)
Most people don't get that sort of thing at all. "Well, you have to understand ...."
Thanks.
But you'll still never see me in one of your classes: CC administrators have been pretty consistent in telling me I am not "otherwise qualified" to attend even open-enrollment schools. Because, you know, I can type but I can't speak. That means I can't think, right?
It's too bad: science was one of those disciplines that didn't interest me when I was in college (I was in love with philosophy), and I could use some help fixing that. (And I know there are plenty of faculty who would be happy to put up with someone who writes even in realtime communication, as long as I showed up and kept up.)
Still, thanks. I really needed a reminder today that there are people who get that I'm a person too.
This surprises me. A quick search of the relevant web sites says speech impairment is covered by the ADA, and that educational institutions are required to make reasonable accommodations:
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/dislanguage.html
Our CC provides support for persons with more severe limitations than you appear to have.
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