Internalized Ableism
When I was a child I hated being disabled.
Being disabled meant I was bullied. Being disabled meant I had to have a ton of surgeries. Being disabled meant I saw nobody who looked like me on TV or in advertisements. And being disabled meant I was pulled out of classes for my IEP (individualized education plan - a form of special ed).
Whenever I’d hear someone refer to my disability - whether directly or through a misnomer like “special needs” - I’d immediately clap back with a statement about how “I’m not disabled, I can do anything everyone else can.” I was dealing with internalized ableism.
Internalized ableism is when ableist implicit bias - AKA the negative beliefs surrounding disability that are formed from the society we live in - manifests itself in a disabled person themselves. I was born in the early 90s, just after disabled people had won the fight for the ADA, and society still looked at the disabled community through a lens of pity or dread. This led me to view my own disability as something that I wanted to hide and separate myself from as far as I could.
The reality is that I was (and still am) disabled. I couldn’t do everything that all of the other kids my age could do - learning to write, type, and do anything with fine motor skills in my hands was extremely difficult and required years of physical and occupational therapy. I couldn’t participate in many of the activities in recess or gym class. When I’d get pulled from my classes to have IEP specialists work with me, I resented it - and them. Even back then, I was a stubborn spitfire and internalized ableism had me convinced that I didn’t need their help. I’d often cross my arms and refuse to participate because “I could figure it out on my own.”
As an adult, I’m grateful that I eventually did have to cave and accept help from those OTs and PTs because the exact things that I needed an IEP for are how I’ve built my career. I started my career in marketing as a copywriter, which led to more strategy focused work and eventually to DEIB. I’m also a personal trainer and have built an online “fun business” where I coach others online. Without the external intervention and accommodations that I needed, I wouldn’t have the success I have today.
The issue of internal ableism and the need for accommodations are things that affect every workplace. Our culture was built by individuals with ableist implicit bias, so our entire systems are built without disabled people in mind. Many workplaces view accommodations just as bureaucratic structures to put into place, but the reality is that you likely have individuals in your workplace who do have disabilities and aren’t able or willing to come forward and advocate for adaptations that they need. Let’s look at four potential reasons that your team members might not be asking for accommodations that they need:
Internalized Ableism: Like myself growing up, many disabled people deal with internal battles with their own disability and don’t want to identify as disabled because of the connotations the word has. Everyone is on their own journey when it comes to accepting themselves, and the addition of disability in the mix makes that even more nuanced. While they may not be ready to identify as someone who has a disability, they still may need accommodations to help them be more successful in the workplace. By prioritizing creating spaces that offer accommodations for people in general, those who don’t identify as disabled but do have disabilities can receive the accommodations they need as they come to terms with their disabilities.
Fear of Retaliation: You’re probably thinking - but that’s illegal right? The ADA bans discrimination based on the status of disability. While technically this is true, the ADA is not a self enforcing law, and therefore, it’s not a very effective law. When an ADA violation is made, a report has to be filed and when it comes to discrimination on the basis of disability the disabled person has to obtain legal representation. Legal fees are extremely expensive, disabled people have unemployment rates of 79.9% and it is legal to pay disabled people less than minimum wage - so we don’t necessarily have the funds to do this. Additionally, most lawyers won’t work on contingency fees when it comes to workplace discrimination cases unless it is an undeniable form of discrimination or retaliation due to the fact that the Labor Bureau reports that only 13% of disability discrimination cases are settled.
Invisible Disabilities: While 25% of the world has a disability, the majority of those are invisible disabilities so they may not be obvious. Most often we see disability signage focusing on wheelchairs, ramps, or other visual aids to communicate to viewers that disability is represented, but in reality only 6% of people who have disabilities use an external tool such as a cane, wheelchair or other assistive device. When people have invisible disabilities the temptation to mask or hide their disabilities is very common.
Undiagnosed Disabilities: It’s estimated that 2 out of 5 people who have a learning disability go undiagnosed. There are multiple reasons that contribute to this - including lack of affordable health care and medical ableism.
So, if you have disabled people in your company but you don’t know you have disabled people in your company what can you do?
Educate yourself and your team about implicit bias: You can’t fix a problem within your company that you don’t understand yourself. Learn about ableism, implicit bias, and how those manifest themselves in our everyday lives. Be diligent about recognizing these things in yourself and your community.
Bring in accessibility specialists: The status quo when it comes to accommodations is to wait until someone requests an accommodation, then decide if it brings undue hardship on your company, and then obtain it. This model puts significant emotional labor on the disabled person. Work with accessibility specialists to make a list of available accommodations to your workforce for any reason - disability or not - if it would make their workplace more comfortable and increase productivity
Listen to disabled people: When someone points out that something is inaccessible, take it with merit and look for ways to apply company wide changes.
If you’re ready to take the next steps towards creating a truly accessible workplace, we have a free tool to help you generate a plan that fits your specific needs.