Excuses for Lack of Access

People don’t always recognize how inaccessible their businesses can be and how that discriminates against persons with disabilities. I know they don’t understand when they give excuses that don’t make sense.  Some of these excuses make me laugh until it hurts and others just make me shake my head.   Here are some examples:

During a survey of business owners, the question of accessibility was posed.  One business owner actually said that his business was accessible since the building only had one step to get into it!  Talk about no clue.  For someone in a wheelchair, that one step was as good as a steep cliff.  Access is denied. 

Another business owner said he wasn’t concerned since no one had come in to say he couldn’t get in.  Yes, that’s right.  (Read it again if you don’t get it.)  He somehow felt that if people could not get into the building, they would come in and tell him.  How?  Do people even think about what they say?

Another interesting response from a business owner was that he was not required to be accessible since he never said he was accessible.  How about if we apply that to other laws?  Suppose a policeman stops you for speeding.  Do you think that excuse would fly?  Try telling the officer that you were not required to obey speed limits since you never said you would.  While the officer may have difficulty writing that ticket at first because he would be laughing so hard, you can be sure there would be a ticket with a fine attached.  The same goes for any other law you break.  This is not a response that will benefit you.

When I recently complained to a business owner that I couldn’t attend several events that were held at his facility, he replied that two out of three of their facilities were accessible.  He then invited me to visit the accessible ones.  Somehow the fact that two facilities are accessible does not help when the event is at the inaccessible one got lost on the business owner.  Access to the events I was trying to attend was denied. 

When you fail to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, you are effectively putting up a “Keep Out” sign.  Actually, a sign can be ignored when the barrier cannot be.  Is keeping people out of your business what you really want to do?  Persons with disabilities make up the third largest market segment in the U.S.  I think that’s a lot of business to turn away.

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

Twitter:  @AccessInclude

Federal judge rules in favor of more accessible taxis

Hurray!  Advocates for persons with disabilities have been fighting with the city of New York regarding accessible taxis.  Now, a federal judge has ruled in their favor.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/24/nyregion/taxi-fleet-in-new-york-is-inadequate-for-wheelchair-users-judge-rules.html

The resistance on the part of the city and its Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has been both puzzling and annoying.  With the population of persons with disabilities growing, and a new fleet of taxis being commissioned, the city administration, led by Mayor Bloomberg, fought against making the new taxis accessible.  The new taxis were to have all sorts of amenities, including televisions, but it was deemed that they should not be accessible.

Advocates did not give up the fight and this decision was recently handed down.  Additionally, Governor Cuomo signed a bill that asks for a plan for more taxis to be accessible. 

Persons with disabilities comprise the third largest market segment in the United States.  Additionally, accommodations for persons with disabilities are frequently adopted by the general population as innovations.  So, it’s time to retire the argument regarding costs.  It’s an investment, people!

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

Twitter:  @AccessInclude

Reviewing the System Is Only Part of the Answer

Reviewing the system for awarding disability benefits is necessary but it will not solve the real problem.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204844504577098810070396878.html?mod=rss_Health

It is true that the trust fund for Social Security Disability benefits is running out of money and will not survive another decade.  It is important that this system get reviewed.  However, just reviewing this aspect of the system will not even come close to resolving the issues both the government systems and persons with disabilities face.

One problem we have is that we keep trying to fix pieces of the system.  Our disability policy has more Band-Aids than substance at this time.  But, it appears that we will keep on adding more.  It is a system that is based on the fact that, in the past, persons with disabilities were totally incapable of substantial gainful employment and were likely to die in a few short years.  That is no longer true, but the policy has not changed.

If we had a disability policy and system that reflected today’s reality, we could save the government a great deal of money and, at the same time, make life better for persons with disabilities. 

As things stand now, most people who receive disability benefits live in poverty and are forced to remain in that state in order to receive critical services.  At the same time, persons with disabilities are viewed as lazy (just check the comments at the end of the article) and unwilling to work.  This perception is perpetuated by the lawyers who advertise that people are entitled to these benefits, as though a life of poverty were something to strive for.

It is really time to look at the big picture.

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

Twitter:  @AccessInclude

Are Charter Schools Discriminating Against Persons with Disabilities?

Charter schools in Florida and elsewhere are not admitting students with disabilities.  http://www.npr.org/2011/12/14/143659449/florida-charter-schools-failing-disabled-students.

While they claim they do not turn away students because of their disabilities, they do say they are not equipped to meet their needs.  Of course, then, one has to ask why they are not so equipped.  They are publicly supported.  Of course, not every public school is equipped for every student either, but students are more likely to have their needs met at most public schools. 

Part of the problem is that students with disabilities most often have Individualized Education Plans (IEP’s) and those IEP’s will not send a child to a school that cannot meet their needs. 

Some charter schools specialize in children with disabilities, but that is just another form of segregation and, unless it is really impossible to meet the needs of these students elsewhere, special schools are a giant step backwards. 

How widespread is this problem?  What are the solutions?

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

access-ability.verizon.net

Twitter:  @AccessInclude

Is Managed Care the Answer for Dual Eligibles?

Is managed care the answer for dual eligibles?

More and more persons with disabilities are among the growing number of dual eligibles, i.e. people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid coverage.  Persons with disabilities are eligible for Medicare either because of age or their disability and are eligible for Medicaid because of the poverty that has been forced upon them. 

There are good arguments both for and against managed care for this population, as can be seen from this article in the LA Times:  http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-healthcare-duals-20111114,0,3197520.story.

Whatever we do to make healthcare better for this population now, we need to be realistic about how this problem came about and decide how to prevent this in the future.  What we do now is focus on one aspect of policy at a time and try to put a bandaid on it.  What we end up with is an unwieldy and unworkable system. 

A disability policy that is based on current reality, that does not force persons with disabilities to live in poverty in order to obtain critical services is needed soon.  Current policy is so expensive the system is about to implode.  It is possible to have a policy that saves government many dollars and still improve the lives of persons with disabilities. 

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

401-846-1960

Fax:  401-846-1944

Twitter:  @AccessInclude

Using iPads for Voting

Oregon has begun implementing the use of iPads to assist voters with disabilities. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/us/oregon-tries-out-voting-by-ipad-for-disabled.html?_r=1 Election workers bring the iPads to the voters’ homes or nursing homes, along with a portable printer.  Because there is the ability to enlarge the view for persons with visual impairments and because there is no need to be able to grasp a pen for marking the ballot, this use of technology has the potential to solve a number of problems for voters with disabilities.  Once the ballot is completed, it can be printed out and approved by the voter before mailing or being brought to election stations.  Screen readers can read back the ballot before printing for those who cannot see it to review it.

As more counties and states try this out, it is likely they will look at it as a way for other voters to cast their ballots as well.  Once again, an accommodation will become an innovation.

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

401-846-1960

Fax:  401-846-1944

Twitter:  @AccessInclude

Proposed New Rules for Federal Contractors

The Obama Administration has proposed new guidelines for hiring workers with disabilities that would require all federal contractors to set goals of having 7% of their workforce composed of persons with disabilities.

Certainly, this will add some muscle to the Americans with Disabilities Act, since it requires action which is stronger than the passive of not discriminating.  Of course, there will be the ever-present paperwork needed to document this effort and businesses will object to that, as they have objected to paperwork requirements of Affirmative Action and the ADA. 

Some other concerns include how to document this 7% since the ADA does not allow you to ask about disability.  That’s not quite true, though, is it?  AFTER a person is hired, it is allowed to ask disability related questions and, if the response is voluntary, this documentation can be accomplished. 

What I find exciting about these new guidelines is that federal contractors will have to document their efforts to recruit individuals with disabilities.  This outreach is crucial to all successful employment programs and needing to document it will ultimately lead to workforces that are more inclusive of persons with disabilities.

This will not resolve all the employment issues of persons with disabilities, but it is a giant step in the right direction.

You can read the notice of proposed rule-making or submit a comment at http://www.regulations.gov.  Comments will be accepted until February 7, 2012.

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

401-846-1960

Fax:  401-846-1944

Twitter:  @AccessInclude