Enabling Accessible Healthcare Delivery

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The Truth About Stories

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Treaty belts

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Accessible Ontario

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Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion

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Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion

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On Our Own

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Appendix

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This is where you can add appendices or other back matter.

Sample Syllabus

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Instructor Information

Instructors should add their own contact details here. Email and Communication Policy Instructors should add their own policies here.

Course Description

This course foregrounds the expertise of disabled, Deaf, and mad people themselves in educating future professionals about delivering accessible, inclusive healthcare. Through visits with Community Hosts, students will directly engage with the day-to-day realities of these communities. Class lectures will provide introductory information on disability justice, decolonizing healthcare theories and practices, critical access theories and practice, upcoming AODA Standards for Healthcare legislation, and offer space for further collaborative reflection and guidance. The curriculum emphasizes the intersectionality of healthcare experiences with disability, madness, and Deafhood, and their interrelationships with Indigeneity, Blackness, race, gender, 2SLGBTQ+ identities, class, age, and other power dynamics.

Teaching Methods

This course follows a blended delivery model, combining asynchronous online modules with community-based engagement. It consists of seven (7) core modules, followed by a final module featuring a documentary and podcasts.

Students will also participate in small group discussions, facilitated by community leaders and faculty, to prepare for real-time visits with community hosts. Special arrangements can be made for students who are unable to participate in in-person visits.

Further details on course activities and expectations will be provided at the start of the course.

Course Materials

This Open Educational Resource (OER) provides open-access readings within this Pressbook, ensuring that all learners can engage with core course concepts regardless of institutional access.

For those with institutional access to academic databases and libraries, additional readings are listed below. These materials can be accessed through university libraries, research portals, or other academic repositories.

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

Identify Ableism, Saneism, and Audism, explore their relationship with other forms of power, and identify some ways they manifest in healthcare education and delivery.
Practice critical self-reflection as well as positioning oneself with respect to disability, madness, and Deafhood.
Navigate tools to support centering disability experience and expertise in a variety of healthcare environments and encounters.
Define and distinguish among accommodation, accessibility, and critical access as relevant to healthcare.
Identify different frameworks for understanding disability, including disability rights and justice, attending to how rights and justice in healthcare are responsive to one another while holding space for tensions and specificity.

Accessibility

This course takes place in a world shaped by ongoing uncertainty and systemic barriers to access. Access is not one-size-fits-all, as everyone experiences learning in different physical, intellectual, sensory, and emotional ways. This course aims to foster an accessible and inclusive learning environment grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and anti-oppressive space-making (i.e., respecting people’s choice of personal pronoun,providing flexibility with deadlines, supporting students in finding food security or student care resources and other strategies).

However, access is also a collective and evolving process. We encourage open dialogue about how we can make this course more accessible. Our shared commitment to accessibility should reflect the broader goals of equity and disability justice that frame this course. Please keep this in mind in all interactions with fellow students, instructors, and community members. This course is organized in such a way that anticipates and welcomes disabled, mad, and Deaf students. This classroom will be a disability, mad, and Deaf positive space. As your instructors, we commit to making all of the course material, lectures, activities, and assignments fully accessible. If there are ways that we could make this course more accessible to you, please bring them up with us. If you are a student who registers with the Academic Accommodation Support, please feel free to contact us at any time before or during the course. Below is their information if you wish to register.

Instructors may wish to add Academic Accommodation Support contact information and policies here, in addition to other institutional policies.

Topics and Course Schedule

Module	Week	Topic	Readings
Module 1	Week 1	Acknowledging How We're Starting	Burghardt, M., Edelist, T., Schormans, A. F., & Yoshida, K. (2021). Coming to critical disability studies: Critical reflections on disability in health and social work professions. Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, 10(1), 23–53. https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v10i1.743 Lovern, L. (2021). Indigenous concepts of disability: An alternative to Western disability labeling. Disability Studies Quarterly, 41(4). https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v41i4.8468
Module 2	Week 2	Medicalization and Reframing Expertise	Clare, E. (2017). Brilliant imperfection: Grappling with cure. Duke University Press. Bailey, M., & Peoples, W. (2017). Articulating Black feminist health science studies. Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.28968/cftt.v3i2.28844 Oliver, M. (1990, July 23). The individual and social models of disability [Workshop presentation]. Joint Workshop of the Living Options Group and the Research Unit of the Royal College of Physicians on People with Established Locomotor Disabilities in Hospitals. https://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/library/Oliver-in-soc-dis.pdf
Module 3	Week 3	Reframing Disability	Eisenmenger, A. (2019). Ableism 101: What it is, what it looks like, and how to become a better ally. Access Living.
Module 4	Week 4	Access, Accommodation, Rights, and Justice	Chadha, E., & Rogers, E. (2023). Does the Supreme Court of Canada give a “freak” about disability dignity?: The inclusion fallacy 25 years after Eldridge. The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference, 108. https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/sclr/vol108/iss1/5/ Tarasoff, L. A., et al. (2023). Prenatal care experiences of childbearing people with disabilities in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 52(3), 235–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2023.02.001 Jodoin, S., et al. (2023). Nothing about us without us: The urgent need for disability-inclusive climate research. PLOS Climate, 2(3), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000153 McIvor, A. (2024, Sep. 19). Halifax woman asks for MAID after long fight for out-of-province care; one woman’s war secrets; and Iraq on the cusp of change. CBC, The Current. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-63-the-current/clip/16095632-halifax-woman-asks-maid-long-fight-out-of-province-care Simon, R. (2024, May 31). First Person: A disabled person in the age of MAiD. The Big Story. https://thebigstorypodcast.ca/2024/05/31/first-person-a-disabled-person-in-the-age-of-maid/
	Week 5	Facilitation Session: Preparing for Community Visits	No assigned readings.
	Week 6	Community Visits with Community Hosts	No assigned readings.
	Week 7	Community Visits with Community Hosts	No assigned readings.
	Week 8	Community Visit Debrief	No assigned readings.
Module 5	Week 9	Accessing Care	Kittay, E. F. (2011). The Ethics of Care, Dependence, and Disability. Ratio Juris, 24(1), 49–58. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9337.2010.00473.x Additional readings as assigned.
Module 6	Week 10	Cripping Health Promotion	Watch: Fixed: The Science and Fiction of Human Enhancement. Janz, H. (2023). Plagued to Death by Ableism: What the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Expansion of Eligibility for MAID Reveal About the Lethal Dangers of Medical and Systemic Ableism in Canada. Canadian Journal of Bioethics, 6(3–4), 137–141. https://doi.org/10.7202/1108012ar
Module 7	Week 11	Disability Justice and the Good Human Life	Berthelot-Raffard, A. (2022). Disability justice and public health. In A. Dawson & M. Verweij (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Public Health (pp. 362–375). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315675411
	Week 12

Module

Week

Topic

Readings

Module 1

Week 1

Acknowledging How We're Starting

Burghardt, M., Edelist, T., Schormans, A. F., & Yoshida, K. (2021). Coming to critical disability studies: Critical reflections on disability in health and social work professions. Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, 10(1), 23–53. https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v10i1.743 Lovern, L. (2021). Indigenous concepts of disability: An alternative to Western disability labeling. Disability Studies Quarterly, 41(4). https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v41i4.8468

Module 2

Week 2

Medicalization and Reframing Expertise

Clare, E. (2017). Brilliant imperfection: Grappling with cure. Duke University Press. Bailey, M., & Peoples, W. (2017). Articulating Black feminist health science studies. Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.28968/cftt.v3i2.28844 Oliver, M. (1990, July 23). The individual and social models of disability [Workshop presentation]. Joint Workshop of the Living Options Group and the Research Unit of the Royal College of Physicians on People with Established Locomotor Disabilities in Hospitals. https://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/library/Oliver-in-soc-dis.pdf

Module 3

Week 3

Reframing Disability

Eisenmenger, A. (2019). Ableism 101: What it is, what it looks like, and how to become a better ally. Access Living.

Module 4

Week 4

Access, Accommodation, Rights, and Justice

Chadha, E., & Rogers, E. (2023). Does the Supreme Court of Canada give a “freak” about disability dignity?: The inclusion fallacy 25 years after Eldridge. The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference, 108. https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/sclr/vol108/iss1/5/ Tarasoff, L. A., et al. (2023). Prenatal care experiences of childbearing people with disabilities in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 52(3), 235–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2023.02.001 Jodoin, S., et al. (2023). Nothing about us without us: The urgent need for disability-inclusive climate research. PLOS Climate, 2(3), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000153 McIvor, A. (2024, Sep. 19). Halifax woman asks for MAID after long fight for out-of-province care; one woman’s war secrets; and Iraq on the cusp of change. CBC, The Current. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-63-the-current/clip/16095632-halifax-woman-asks-maid-long-fight-out-of-province-care Simon, R. (2024, May 31). First Person: A disabled person in the age of MAiD. The Big Story. https://thebigstorypodcast.ca/2024/05/31/first-person-a-disabled-person-in-the-age-of-maid/

Week 5

Facilitation Session: Preparing for Community Visits

No assigned readings.

Week 6

Community Visits with Community Hosts

No assigned readings.

Week 7

Community Visits with Community Hosts

No assigned readings.

Week 8

Community Visit Debrief

No assigned readings.

Module 5

Week 9

Accessing Care

Kittay, E. F. (2011). The Ethics of Care, Dependence, and Disability. Ratio Juris, 24(1), 49–58. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9337.2010.00473.x Additional readings as assigned.

Module 6

Week 10

Cripping Health Promotion

Watch: Fixed: The Science and Fiction of Human Enhancement. Janz, H. (2023). Plagued to Death by Ableism: What the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Expansion of Eligibility for MAID Reveal About the Lethal Dangers of Medical and Systemic Ableism in Canada. Canadian Journal of Bioethics, 6(3–4), 137–141. https://doi.org/10.7202/1108012ar

Module 7

Week 11

Disability Justice and the Good Human Life

Berthelot-Raffard, A. (2022). Disability justice and public health. In A. Dawson & M. Verweij (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Public Health (pp. 362–375). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315675411

Week 12

Evaluation

Assessment

Weight

Due Date

Assignment 1: Ephemera Exercise

25%

Instructor to specify

Assignment 2: Mapping Health Access (can be completed with a partner)

30%

Instructor to specify

Assignment 3: Community Visit Reflection

25%

Instructor to specify

Participation: Instructor to Specify

20%

Throughout course

Total

100%

Sample Class Schedule

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Sample Assignment Descriptions

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Intro [TEMPLATE]

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For a recap of the previous module, use this block. Be sure to copy over the icon as well. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Headings [TEMPLATE]

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Heading Level 2

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Reflection and Key Takeaway [TEMPLATE]

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Key Takeaway

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Reflection Moment

Take a moment to reflect on [the topic of your choosing]. Consider the following questions:

Insert your questions here as bullets.
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Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
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Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

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Notes for Instructor

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Include notes for Instructors.

Glossary

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Acknowledgements

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This project is funded by the Government of Ontario through the EnAbling Change Program, administered by the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility. The EnAbling Change Program supports projects that promote accessibility and inclusion in Ontario by increasing awareness and compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

The views expressed in this resource are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Ontario.

This project builds on the work of Dr. Karen Yoshida at the University of Toronto, whose community-based teaching model engaged physiotherapy students in disability-led learning experiences (Yoshida, Willis, & Self, 2017).

Pilot Students

We extend our gratitude to the students of DST 503: Enabling Accessible Healthcare Delivery (Fall 2024) for their participation and feedback, which helped shape this resource.

Advisory Committee Members

We thank the Advisory Committee for their invaluable guidance and contributions:
Karen Yoshida, Sabina Chatterjee, Pat Seed, Raihanna Khalfan, Melanie Marsden, Fran Odette, Marie Francis, Tracy Odell, and Linda Hunt.

Community Hosts

We are deeply grateful to the Community Hosts who generously shared their experiences and expertise:
Adam Cohoon, Alessia Di Virgilio, Kirk Ashman, Kate Welsh, Kayleigh Kennedy, Crystal Chin, Danielle Ferreira, and Rebecca Wood.

Community Facilitators

We extend our sincere appreciation to the Community Facilitators who supported student learning and engagement throughout the community visit process:
Yvonne Simpson, Sydney Elaine Butler, Bernard (Ben) Akuoko, Elizabeth Mohler, and Elizabeth Straus.

Interview Subjects

We acknowledge and thank the disabled, Deaf, and mad individuals who shared their experiences through interviews for the multimedia resources. Their insights and perspectives have been invaluable in shaping this resource.

How to Use This Pressbook

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This Pressbook has been developed as a platform for hosting an introductory course educating future professionals about delivering accessible, inclusive healthcare. The course content has been piloted first as an asynchronous, online course. The sample course outline and assignment instructions can be found in the back matter of the Pressbook or at the following links:

Throughout the Pressbook, exercises are primarily developed as if users are working independently. In this preface, we have included ‘Instructor notes‘ corresponding to module exercises, offering suggestions and collaborative documents to adapt these exercises into a more dialogical form. Included in the Pressbook back matter are Youtube tutorials for some of the digital tools needed to carry out module exercises. At the time of the Pressbook preparation, these tools are widely available and free for use. We recognize this may change over time and encourage users to substitute alternatives as needed. Where possible, links have been PermaCC’d. This means that the content on these sites has been archived for future access, regardless of whether the original site is still operating. However, there are many live links to YouTube videos, digital galleries, and podcasts; please notify us at eignagni@ryerson.ca if these become unavailable in the future. All links throughout the course will open in a new tab when selected.

Accessibility Statement

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General Project Statement on Accessibility

This book was designed with accessibility in mind so that it can be accessed by the widest possible audience, including those who use assistive technologies. The web version of this book has been designed to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, level AA. While we aim to ensure that this book is as accessible as possible, we may not always get it right. There may be some supplementary third-party materials, or content not created by the authors of this book, which are not fully accessible. This may include videos that do not have closed captioning or accurate closed captioning, inaccessible PDFs, etc. If you are having problems accessing any content within the book, please contact: eignagni@ryerson.ca. Please let us know which page you are having difficulty with and include which browser, operating system, and assistive technology you are using

Starting with Standard Access

We encourage the users of this Pressbook to start from the standard accessibility and accommodation text and policies in their institutions and to let us know where we could be doing better. For all of us, standard access and accommodation texts are an important starting point for critical discussion.

Our Access Principles

An ethos and set of practices have developed around accessibility, enacted and adapted by instructors and learners in the context of Disability Studies courses offered through the School of Disability Studies.

General Accessibility Terms

Access is collectively and interdependently created as students, guests, and faculty are invited to share what they need for an accessible learning environment As such, access is understood to be an interdependent practice that is created by all those who participate in a course. Negotiation and flexibility are crucial to access and accommodation, as it is understood that our bodies and minds are dynamic and that what we may need in terms of access can change over time and with circumstance and context. Access check-ins are conducted regularly throughout a course. Access is always intersectional. As part of our commitments to honour the recommendation from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we work to unsettle access and the course content. In conversations about access, we consider how access often privileges the white-settler colonial practice of seeking equal access to all spaces. This unsettling is a key component of disability studies but one that requires critical reflection. Another way we acknowledge the intersectionality of access is through its generous framing. In a course on digital methods, we are aware that students are always making choices about digital access against other questions about the barriers to learning: ‘do you have enough to eat?’, ‘do you feel safe coming to campus?’, ‘do you have housing?’, ‘does campus security represent a threat to you?’. This Pressbook has made every effort to follow principles of universal design in learning within the course materials (e.g. lecture transcripts, open-captioned videos, image descriptions). While these practices are logistical, they work symbolically for students, serving as an invitation for those who may have few opportunities to witness accessible curriculum design.

Notes for Learners

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Include notes for learners.

How to Do Community Visits

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Our Bodies

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noun-picture-7390883

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What Can Happen to Your Hands and How to protect Them

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What Can Happen to Your Hands and How to Protect Them

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ON_POS_LOGO_RGB

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New Relationships

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Relationality to Disability

In the modules that follow, we will be thinking about the relationship between disability and healthcare. In this material, we aim to challenge the conventional separation between patients and providers, with the latter being positioned as the sole “legitimate” experts in healthcare. Instead, we emphasize the importance of bringing together many forms of experience and expertise to promote access to healthcare and health itself. As you will see in this module, one form of expertise that promotes wellbeing is through Indigenous ways of knowing. One way to expand the range of experience and expertise utilized in healthcare is to acknowledge Indigenous sovereignty of the land. We begin to shift relationships by thinking with Indigenous ways of knowing and understanding difference, as Lovanna L. Lovern (2021) suggests in her reading for this module. This also means that we must acknowledge and address [pb_glossary id="757"]white supremacy[/pb_glossary] in the systems that shape our lives and futures (Inneesh-Nash, 2021).

Activity 1: Ephemera

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Activity Learning Objectives

Explore the historical and contemporary forces shaping disability experience.
Introduce strategies disabled, Mad and Deaf people create to access their environments.

Activity Instructions

Below you will find an array of images. Each image has significance for the understandings and experiences of disability, primarily in a global north context. Your task is to consider and explore the connection to the items and terms reflected in these images. Before selecting the icon on each item to learn more, consider the item and the following reflection questions:

What do you know about this object or term? What was its original purpose and for whom?
What do you think the significance of this object or term has for disability experience? In your response consider how the object relates to access, individual agency, autonomy, well-being, legacies of health inequities, equity and/or justice. Keep in mind the complexity of disability experience - the ways in which it relates to social relationships of race, colonization, class, gender, sexuality, migration, age.

After reflecting on these questions, select the icons on each image to access resources and learn more about each item. Select the button in the top right corner to expand the image to your full screen.

[h5p id="8"]	[h5p id="10"]	[h5p id="11"]
[h5p id="13"]	[h5p id="12"]	[h5p id="14"]
[h5p id="15"]	[h5p id="16"]	[h5p id="17"]
[h5p id="18"]	[h5p id="19"]	[h5p id="20"]
[h5p id="21"]	[h5p id="22"]	[h5p id="24"]
[h5p id="23"]	[h5p id="25"]	[h5p id="26"]

After exploring, consider the following question:

How do you imagine using this knowledge in future practice?

Activity 2: Mapping Health Access

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Activity Learning Objectives

Survey resources according to their compliance with legislated accessibility standards.
Identify and critically reflect upon cross-disability and intersectional access in healthcare resources/recommendations.
Develop multi-modal and other ‘[pb_glossary id="171"]access gestures[/pb_glossary]’ to support the creation of a collective digital map of healthcare resources.
Critically reflect on the process of producing collective access.

Activity Preparation

Before you begin this activity:

Read: Hamraie, A. (2018). Mapping Access: Digital Humanities, Disability Justice, and Sociospatial Practice. American quarterly 70 (3), 455-482. Retrieved from: http://ezproxy.lib.torontomu.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/mapping-access-digital-humanities-disability/docview/2184228899/se-2?accountid=13631
Watch: Mapping Access documentary (captioned)

Background

Over the past few years, the critical design lab has established participatory mapping projects, drawing on collective knowledge to uncover accessible spaces that disabled people may be able to visit and occupy. In the mapping access project, geographical information systems and crowdsourcing come together to document sites of inclusion and exclusion while critically redefining how we think about accessibility. Key to this work is centering the knowledges of those who are doing the mapping (disabled, sick, mad, Deaf, neurodiverse, trans, Black, Indigenous, and racialized people). In their paper, Hamraie (2018) acknowledges that these disability surveys can provide useful information. Yet this compliance-based approach does little to reveal the fullness of disability inclusion and its disruptive potential to the normative able-bodied expectations built into our physical and social organization. Mapping Access starts with a survey of the physical space around us to document its compliance with accessibility legislation, as a way to tangibly demarcate disability exclusion and inclusion. The next step in mapping is to share stories and histories of surveyed places and spaces to reveal the social relationships and cultural assumptions therein. Through these stories, the limits of codified compliance are surfaced. A sense of cross-disability access is developed as well as the tensions produced in moments of access friction - where access requirements and experiences of inclusion and exclusion come into conflict. Stories also allow us to explore the intersectional complexity of access: how does physical access via a ramp, an automatic door or great audio-description inadvertently lead us to other forms of exclusion such as racism, Islamophobia, sexism, transphobia, ageism… Hamraie notes that critical mapping allows us to “treat access as an open-ended process, a negotiation, and an intersectional and multimodal issue, rather than an easily achievable end point…it recognizes marginalized experts; redefines data, crowdsourcing, and public participation; offers new stories about disability and public belonging; and materializes the principles of disability justice” (456).

Activity Instructions

In this exercise, students will identify and map health resources in their communities, critically reflecting on the meanings of access, health and care. You will be contributing to a disability survey of health resources in your area. Start by assembling the the following information on this Google Form for two health resources:

Name
Address
Compliance with the AODA (students will be given a checklist of accessibility features to consider)

Consider the following questions about these health resources:

How is the resource attentive to cross-disability access?
Develop a thick description of access. If the space appears to meet the legislative guidelines, look more closely and consider the following:
- Is it accessible to all disabled people?
- What languages are spoken?
- Are there gestures toward welcoming newcomers (e.g. info addressing newcomer groups, resource group contacts on bulletin boards, ESL supports)?
- Are there spaces that allow disabled people of different faiths and religions to observe religious practices? Would a parent of an infant find a space to nurse?
If possible, upload photos, weblinks, videos, or audio clips so that others can learn about this space? Please make sure that you are attending to universal design and include access gestures.
What access frictions do you observe, and what do these tell us about the disability relations/experience produced in this place?
How does this space construct the patient - or who is considered to deserve health care? How does it complicate (or oversimplify) the ideal patient?
How does mapping access help us reimagine access, health and care?

Beginning with Land Acknowledgments

feven.araya — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:17:39 +0000

We acknowledge that the School of Disability Studies, Faculty of Community Services, is on Treaty 13 Territory. This treaty was established between the Mississauga of the Credit River and the British Crown. We are surrounded by Treaty 13A, Treaty 20 (also known as the Williams Treaty), and Treaty 19. We come to you today from Toronto Metropolitan University in the city currently called Toronto, which is in the Dish With One Spoon Treaty Territory. The Dish With One Spoon is a treaty between the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Anishinaabek, including allied nations, to peacefully share and protect the resources around the Great Lakes. We acknowledge that we are also on Treaty 13 Territory. This treaty was established between the Mississauga of the Credit River and the British Crown. We are surrounded by Treaty 13A, Treaty 20 (also known as the Williams Treaty), and Treaty 19. While those of us who are not Indigenous have arrived as settlers on Indigenous territory in different ways—and we acknowledge that some of our ancestors and elders were forcibly settled on this land, particularly those brought here as a result of the transatlantic slave trade—we recognize that we are all treaty people, and we are grateful to be living and working on this land. To learn more about land and treaties, visit A Treaty Guide for Torontonians. Land acknowledgments are Indigenous protocols to express gratitude and appreciation to those whose territory you are on. They are also an imperfect way for settlers to recognize and respect Indigenous people who have been living, loving, and working on and with the land for generations. If you find yourself somewhere other than Toronto right now, we hope you are able to acknowledge both the history and the present of the Indigenous community in the place you call home. It is important to keep this practice active. We need to understand the longstanding history of this territory and our roles within it. Land acknowledgements also offer a moment to reflect on what has brought you to this land and your relationship to it. They are not merely reflections on the past. [pb_glossary id="755"]Colonialism[/pb_glossary] is an ongoing process, and thus we must approach [pb_glossary id="652"]decolonization[/pb_glossary] as an ongoing process, one led by Indigenous peoples. The ancestral caretakers of this land (Tkaronto) are the Wendat, Anishinaabe, Seneca, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Métis, and Mississaugas of the Credit. Land acknowledgments should also amplify the voices of Indigenous people whose territory you are on.

Media Moment Time: 3 minutes, 41 seconds

Watch the following video here, access it at the link below, or the transcript. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voXySM-knRc Land acknowledgements: uncovering an oral history of Tkaronto [h5p id="30"] This is a land acknowledgment for Tkaronto, illustrated by Chief Lady Bird, narrated by Sara Roque, and directed by Selena Mills. If you are engaging with this content from another territory, we invite you to visit Native Land to begin or continue learning about the land you are living on.

TRC Calls to Action

In the Faculty of Community Services, we also work to be responsive to the calls for action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Call to Action 10 most directly informs our teaching and learning practices as it relates to barriers and concerns within the sphere of education in the context of white settler colonialism. Call to Action 10 begins:

“We call on the federal government to draft new Aboriginal education legislation with the full participation and informed consent of Aboriginal peoples,” and outlines seven principles to enact this call.

Take a moment to read Calls to Action 9 and 10 regarding education as well as 18 to 24, which are specifically related to health: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada - NCTR.

Thomas King: The Truth About Stories

In his book, The Truth about Stories: A Native Narrative (2003), writer Thomas King (Cherokee and Greek) works with Indigenous narratives to introduce us to the power of storytelling.

Media Moment Time: 36 minutes, 52 seconds

Access the following podcast or transcript wherein King reads the first chapter of The Truth About Stories. Start listening at 17:30 where King begins to share creation stories. You are invited to stretch your understanding by listening to all 50 minutes of the podcast:

As you listen, note how King places his version of the Haudenosaunee creation story of Turtle Island into conversation with the King James Bible genesis creation story. One creation story emphasizes cooperation, balance, and diversity, the other hierarchy (creation is an individual act by an all-powerful creator), punishment, and competition. King muses about the dominance of the King James creation story and asks: “do the stories we tell reflect the world as it truly is, or did we simply start off with the wrong story?” (2003, p. 26). Engaging with King’s work, we see that beginnings are important. We invite you to begin your learning journey by being attentive to this relational decolonizing framework as we carry out the work of learning and unlearning. Take time to gain wisdom from the land as well as human and nonhuman life. We need to question how white settler colonialism has taught us to see only a narrow range of knowledge holders as experts and how it has marginalized and silenced other voices. This course asks us to centre the decentred. This includes the land, nonhuman life, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) communities, disabled communities (sick/chronically ill, mad, Deaf and disabled people), queer and trans communities, and people without status. After listening to the podcast or reading the transcript, reflect on the following questions:

What stories have you been told about disability experience?
Whose perspectives were centred in these stories?
Whose stories are missing? Whose perspectives are subsumed or hidden?

Media Moment Time: 18 minutes, 35 seconds

Watch the following video here, access it at the link below, or the transcript. [embed]https://youtu.be/IpKjtujtEYI[/embed] Indigenous Knowledge to Close Gaps in Indigenous Health | Marcia Anderson-DeCoteau | TEDxUManitoba [h5p id="33"] After listening to the podcast or reading the transcript, reflect on the following questions:

How does the talk address racism and colonialism? What are some of the examples raised?
How is expertise framed in this video? What knowledges are upheld and what knowledges are subsumed?
Disability experience is not explicitly referenced in this video; why do you think this is? (Note: We’ll come back to this question in Module 3).
What new language did you learn through this video, or anywhere in this module?

More to Explore

feven.araya — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 03:37:09 +0000

Works Cited

Burghardt, M., Edelist, T., Schormans, A. F., & Yoshida, K. (2021). Coming to critical disability studies: Critical reflections on disability in health and social work professions. Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, 10(1), 23-53. Ineese-Nash, Nicole. (2021). Ontologies of Welcoming: Anishinaabe Narratives of Relationality and Practices for Educators. Occasional Paper Series, 2021 (45). DOI: https://doi.org/10.58295/2375-3668.1388 Lovern, L. (2021). Indigenous concepts of disability: An alternative to Western disability labeling. Disability Studies Quarterly, 4(4).

Read Indigenous Concepts of Difference: An alternative to Western disability labeling by Lovanna L. Lovern where Indigenous understandings of difference are introduced. Read the sections “Indigenous Constructs of Difference Foundations” and “Patterns in Indigenous Difference Understandings”. You may also read the entire article if you wish.

Other Models of Disability

feven.araya — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 04:18:30 +0000

At the end of Module 1, we were introduced to Indigenous understandings of body-mind difference. These understandings revolved around values of diversity, spirit, collaboration, and interdependence. Lovern (2021) cautions against valourizing any one way of knowing and understanding disability over others. Instead, she encourages openness and generosity in starting our conversations about disability differently.

There are many different models for thinking about and with disability. Some, such as the medical and charity models, are broadly categorized as individual deficit or defect models. They define the problem of disability within the individual as an inherent functional failing or limitation that results from disease or injury. In response to the dominance of these models within mainstream society, disabled activists and scholars have proposed frameworks like the [pb_glossary id="659"]social model[/pb_glossary] (Oliver, 1990) and [pb_glossary id="760"]Black feminist health science studies[/pb_glossary] (Bailey & Peoples, 2017; Bailey & Mobley, 2016) or [pb_glossary id="761"]transnational disability theories[/pb_glossary] (Kim, 2017; Nguyen, 2015; Grech & Soldatic, 2016). These critical alternative frameworks of disability emphasize how body-mind differences are shaped by a range of social forces/[pb_glossary id="612"]power relations[/pb_glossary]. For example, the social model would identify a wheelchair as an access device rather than a piece of medical equipment. How do these differing perspectives expand or transform how we think about wheelchairs and the people who use them? We will go into these kinds of questions in more depth later in this and subsequent modules.

Medicine and Healthcare

Medicine and healthcare shape almost every aspect of our lives in the Global North, even when access to formal medical and health care is precarious. For many Ontarians, access to consistent and acceptable health care is insecure, yet governments and health care providers continually implicitly and explicitly reinforce through various forms of communications that one’s health and well-being is the responsibility of individuals and their family.

Reflection Moment

Take a moment to reflect on your relationship to healthcare and medicine. Consider the following questions:

Describe your health routine.
What technologies does this include (e.g., think fitness trackers or diet apps)?
Where have you sought information about health and well-being?
Do you feel you have appropriate access to healthcare? What barriers do you navigate, and how do these barriers impact your sense of well-being?
How do you make decisions around medical treatments and interventions for yourself and loved ones?
What concerns do you have about medicine and medical interventions, personally and more broadly?

The Medical Model

feven.araya — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 04:58:23 +0000

The medical model is a “find it and fix it approach to disability” (Elliott & Dreer, 2014, p. 80). Adherents to the model assume that there is an ideal body and mind that meets standards of functioning, regulation, capacity, acuity, comportment, reason, and so forth. The [pb_glossary id="874"]body-minds[/pb_glossary] that deviate from these standards are understood by the medical model as abnormal, "disabled," and need to be addressed by medical intervention.

Key Assumptions of the Medical Model

Disability is an individual problem located in the body due to genetic or life event causes;
Disability is incompatible with health, well-being and flourishing;
The problems faced by disabled people are a direct consequence of an individual impairment.

One of the significant concerns with the medical model is that it operates from what Kafer (2013) refers to as a “curative imaginary.” A curative imaginary is “an understanding of disability that not only expects and assumes intervention but also cannot imagine or comprehend anything other than intervention” (Kafer, 2013, p. 27). Under this model, everything that falls outside of what is considered normal or [pb_glossary id="696"]normative[/pb_glossary] is viewed as pathological or tragic problems that require intervention by medical experts. “The touchstone of the medical model is that by deploying medical intervention, physiological or psychological irregularities can be corrected and cured or, in the worst case, contained and controlled through [pb_glossary id="698"]institutionalization[/pb_glossary]” (Chadha & Rogers, 2023, p. 237). Because the medical model frames disability as a problem that exists within individual bodies and/or minds rather than as a [pb_glossary id="876"]socially constructed[/pb_glossary] category, it follows that all solutions to this problem reside within individual bodies and minds.

Media Moment Time: 11 minutes, 29 seconds

Medicalization and Its Impact

Medicine, and the medical model, has a profound impact on disabled people’s lives and stretches beyond the doctor’s office or hospital. Abby Wilkerson shares the story of a young woman with an intellectual disability who felt the need to ask her doctor’s approval before getting married. “Her experience reflects the widespread social reliance on [pb_glossary id="703"]medical discourse[/pb_glossary] as a source of moral, not merely scientific information. The challenge to the medical profession and to related institutions is to become self-critical of discursive practices in the field that undermine the status and the self-regard of particular groups” (Wilkerson, 2002, p. 35). We navigate messages, architecture, and policies that reinforce the assumptions inherent in the medical model in an everyday way. Medicine’s powerful influence is pervasive, operating from the threshold of life itself (e.g., which pregnancies are fit to carry to term, who is deserving of ventilator support, who is eligible for medical assistance in dying).

Reflection Moment

Take a moment to reflect on your relationship to medicalization. Name some examples of activities or resources you sought that required medical approval or legitimation.

Canadian Immigration Policy and Medicine

One example of how medicine infiltrates many areas of life is in Canadian immigration policy. Already critiqued as institutionalizing racism and classism (see for example Abu-Laban et al., 2022), Canadian immigration policy screens applicants in terms of their medical status. Potential migrants to Canada require a medical examination to secure a visa. As a result of this process, applicants may be refused entry based on their posing an “excessive demand.” Disabled, [pb_glossary id="765"]psychiatrized[/pb_glossary], and chronically ill applicants are deemed to pose an excessive demand on medical and health care resources or as posing a potential public health risk (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 2024). It’s noteworthy that this impacts families with disabled children as well. Access the following resources to read more:

This interaction of medicine and government priorities constructs disabled people not as citizens or members of the general public but as a drain on Canada’s health care system and a danger to the public. Similarly, consider how medicine shapes common meanings of gender, childhood, aging, and body size. More immediately, consider how medicine influences what we understand about our own or others’ capacities to meet deadlines, stay focused, and be compliant.

Naturalizing and Depoliticizing Disability

In addition to framing disability as a deficit to be addressed through medical intervention, many disability scholars have written about how the medical model understands the categories of disability and health as knowable facts that are readily observable, objective, and separate from wider social relations. By contrast, Bailey and Peoples’ (2017) scholarship presents health as “both a desired state of being and a social construct necessary of interrogation because race, gender, ablebodiedness, and other aspects of cultural production profoundly shape our notions of what is healthy” (p. 3). Alison Kafer (2013) shows how framing disability, health, and medicine as indisputable facts depoliticizes them. When something is depoliticized, it is stripped of important social and political context and complexity. Recognizing disability as being socially constructed means that disability is fluid – its meaning shifts over time and in different situations or spaces. Yet, how we experience disability is relational; it is “experienced in and through relationships; it does not occur in isolation” (Kafer, 2013, p. 8). This means disability is connected to our culture and environments as well as other social relations which shape our lives, such as race, gender, and class. This approach to disability also acknowledges that there is no one disability experience. It allows for an analysis that grapples with complexity and asks important questions to recognize relations of power and challenge taken-for-granted assumptions about success, effort, productivity, merit, and humanity itself.

Key Takeaways

The “able body”: Just as the medical model defines disability in specific ways, it also tacitly and overtly defines an able body as adhering to specific standards of functioning, fitness, appearance, strength, energy, capacity, reason, and competence, among other factors.

Reflection Moment

Take a moment to reflect on naturalizing disability. Consider the following questions:

Who tells us disability exists?
Who decides what counts as disability?
Identify illnesses or impairments that are or have been contested (e.g., chronic fatigue syndrome).
Similarly, identify new “disabilities” that have been legitimated by the medical establishment (e.g., shyness).
What or whose interests are served by asserting that some “conditions” exist and others do not?

Medicalization and Control

feven.araya — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 05:36:28 +0000

Medicalization assigns medical meaning to certain behaviours and conditions and then positions medical practices as the method of treatment and resolution. Because disability tends to be identified as a “medical” issue, disabled people find that everything in our lives becomes imbued with medical meanings. As Oliver notes, all our problems become defined as medical problems and are therefore best resolved by medicine. More significantly, medicalization is socially and politically useful, offering powerful stakeholders, like [pb_glossary id="666"]neoliberal[/pb_glossary] governments and insurance and pharmaceutical companies, the means to establish interventions and practices that appear neutral, and even benevolent, while consolidating their own interests. A.J. Withers (2024) highlights how “medicalization works to identify new categories of deviance from the norm, and as new disabilities are created and disability is individualized, the social phenomena involved in the process of medicalization are erased” (p. 98).

Key Assumptions of Medicalization

All problems are, by definition, medical issues
The most appropriate response to disability is to erase it or return the individual as close to “normal” as possible
That living with disability means living a life of suffering

The readings for this module by Clare (2017) and Bailey and Peoples (2017) trace the threads of dehumanizing and controlling practices of diagnosis starting in the 1850s with conditions like Drapetomania and dysaesthesia aethiopica, through to the “protest psychosis” diagnoses of the 1960s to “suicide by police” in the past decade (see also Meerai et al., 2016; Jackson, 2003; Metzi, 2020; and Schalk, 2023). Consider how medicine works together with systems of slavery, [pb_glossary id="755"]colonialism[/pb_glossary], policing, [pb_glossary id="771"]heteropatriarchy[/pb_glossary], immigration, and transnational [pb_glossary id="772"]capitalism[/pb_glossary] to control populations and maintain powerful, primarily white, [pb_glossary id="707"]Eurocentric[/pb_glossary] settler interests.

Media Moment Time: 47 minutes, 48 seconds

Access the following podcast or transcript for an example of medicalization and de-medicalization:

This is part of a terrific podcast series examining 2SLGBTQI from the early part of the 20th century onwards called “Making Gay History,” narrated by historian Eric Marcus. The early episodes focus on the consequences of homosexuality’s inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), a compendium of psychiatric and mental health conditions, and its eventual removal in 1973.

Media Moment Time: 13 minutes, 5 seconds

Watch the following video here, access it at the link below, or the transcript. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AslN704qQCo[/embed]

INTERVIEW: Canadian health care and Truth and Reconciliation [h5p id="35"] This shorter YouTube video features Dr. Alika LaFontaine (Metis, Anishinaabe, Cree, and Pacific Islander), the 2022 president of the Canadian Medical Association. The interview, in observance of National Truth and Reconciliation Day, explores the continuing legacy of colonization on Indigenous health. Take note of the different ways the Canadian settler colonial state used medicine to meet the aims of white nation-building. How did the impacts of Eurocentrism on Dr. LaFontaine as a school child become medicalized?

Access the following resource to read more:

She was sterilized without her consent at 14. Now she wants the practice made a crime

Anti-Black Racism and Medicalization

“Black youth face barriers in mental health care access: experts”: This article affirms psychiatry and the healthcare system but points to how anti-Black racism directed towards Black male youth is medicalized. Consider how the disproportionate diagnosis of young Black males with behavioural and oppositional defiant disorders results in them not being given accommodations or helpful resources, and traps them in “the sticky web of criminalization” (e.g., Nanda, 2019). Read here: Black youth face barriers in mental health care access: experts.

Media Moment Time: 8 minutes, 49 seconds

Watch the following video here, access it at the link below, or the transcript. [embed]https://youtu.be/IfYRzxeMdGs?si=IRAZ5CxyEX0iyMwF[/embed] The US medical system is still haunted by slavery [h5p id="36"] After watching the video or reading the transcript, reflect on the following questions:

What do you notice about how Black women are treated both historically and currently by healthcare/research? Pay special attention to the disparate experiences of Black women.
What is the function of the medical belief that Black people experience less pain?
What evidence of this myth and others mentioned in the video can still be seen in contemporary healthcare and beyond?

Profits Over Patients

One of the excerpts by Eli Clare introduces “the medical industrial complex.” Disability justice activist Mia Mingus elaborates on this idea:

The Medical Industrial Complex is an enormous system with tentacles that reach beyond simply doctors, nurses, clinics, and hospitals. It is a system about profit, first and foremost, rather than “health,” wellbeing and care. Its roots run deep and its history and present are connected to everything including eugenics, capitalism, colonization, slavery, immigration, war, prisons, and reproductive oppression. It is not just a major piece of the history of ableism, but all systems of oppression” (Mingus, 2015, para. 3).

Media Moment Time: 51 minutes, 18 seconds

Access the following podcast or transcript for an example of the medical industrial complex at work:

After listening to the podcast or reading the transcript, reflect on the following questions:

What priorities informed the BC government’s decision to replace methadone with Methadose?
What were the consequences for methadone users? Health care providers (e.g., pharmacists)?
What does this podcast teach us about the “tentacles” of the medical industrial complex? How do we work to resist the entanglement of medicine, markets, the state, and community services?

More to Explore

feven.araya — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 06:45:48 +0000

Access these resources if you’d like to explore more:

Works Cited

Bailey, M., & Peoples, W. (2017). Articulating Black feminist health science studies. Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience, 3(2). Bailey, M., & Mobley, I. A. (2019). Work in the intersections: A black feminist disability framework. Gender & Society, 33(1), 19-40. Clare, E. (2017). Brilliant imperfection: Grappling with cure. Duke University Press. Chadha, E., & Rogers, E. (2023). Does the Supreme Court of Canada Give a “Freak” About Disability Dignity?: The Inclusion Fallacy 25 Years After Eldridge. In The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference (Vol. 108, No. 1, p. 11). Elliott, T. R., & Dreer, L. (2014). Disability. In S. Ayers, A. Baum, C. McManus, S. Newman, K. Wallston, J. Weinman, & R. West (Eds.), Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine (2nd ed., pp. 80–83). Cambridge University Press. Grech, S., & Soldatic, K. (Eds.) (2016). Disability in the global south. Cham: Springer. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. (n.d.). Medical inadmissibility. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/inadmissibility/reasons/medical-inadmissibility.html Jackson, V. (2003). In Our Own Voice: African-American Stories of Oppression, Survival and Recovery in Mental Health Systems. Off Our Backs 33(7/8), 19-21. Kafer, A. (2013). Feminist, queer, crip. Indiana University Press. Kim, E. (2017). Curative violence: Rehabilitating disability, gender, and sexuality in modern Korea. Duke University Press. Meerai, S., Abdillahi, I., & Poole, J. (2016). An introduction to anti-Black sanism. Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Polity, and Practice, 5(3), 18-35. Metzl, J. M. (2019). Dying of whiteness: How the politics of racial resentment is killing America's heartland. Hachette UK. Mingus, M. (2015, February 6). Medical industrial complex visual. Leaving Evidence. https://leavingevidence.wordpress.com/2015/02/06/medical-industrial-complex-visual/ Nanda, J. (2019). The construction and criminalization of disability in school incarceration. Colum. J. Race & L., 9, 265. Nguyen, X. T. (2015). Genealogies of disability in global governance: A Foucauldian critique of disability and development. Foucault Studies, 19, 67-83. Oliver, M. (1990, July 23). The individual and social models of disability [Workshop presentation]. Joint Workshop of the Living Options Group and the Research Unit of the Royal College of Physicians on People with Established Locomotor Disabilities in Hospitals. https://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/library/Oliver-in-soc-dis.pdf

Schalk, S. D. (2022). Black disability politics. Duke University Press.

Wilkerson, A. (2002). Disability, sex radicalism, and political agency. NWSa Journal, 33-57. Withers, A. J. (2024). Disability politics and theory: Revised and expanded edition. Fernwood Publishing.

Next Time...

In the next module, we’ll dive deeper into models and frameworks of disability, exploring how these perspectives inform health and social justice.

Documentary [OUTLINE]

feven.araya — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 06:14:07 +0000

Insert your text here about the documentary. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Copying this whole part is helpful to maintain formatting.

Documentary

Time: X minutes, X seconds

Watch the documentary here, access it at the link below, or the transcript. [embed]https://youtu.be/6HIQnM0n76U?si=hgS0Q1LgOB-SMejP[/embed] Documentary Title Video Transcript

Reflection Moment

Take a moment to reflect on the documentary. Consider the following questions:

Insert your questions here as bullets.
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Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Media Moment [TEMPLATE]

feven.araya — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 07:15:35 +0000

Here are the video media moment templates. Replace the links to the videos by clicking on the thumbnail and changing the link. Change the time, the video link, and the transcript link. Use this template for a video. Copying this whole part is helpful to maintain formatting.

Media Moment

Time: X minutes, X seconds

Watch the following video here, access it at the link below, or the transcript. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYdP6JMvHTs[/embed] Living in an inaccessible world | Jessica Smith | TEDxGEMSNewMillenniumSchool Video Transcript If there is a video description, add it here. If not, remove this line. After watching the video or reading the transcript, reflect on the following questions:

If there is a question about the video, add it here? If not, remove this part.
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua?

Here is the podcast media moment template. Replace the links to the videos by clicking on the thumbnail and changing the link. Change the time, the video link, and the transcript link. Use this template for a podcast. Copying this whole part is helpful to maintain formatting.

Media Moment

Time: X minutes, 48 seconds

Access the following podcast or transcript for an example of [your topic]:

If there is a podcast description, add it here. If not, remove this line. After listening to the podcast or reading the transcript, reflect on the following questions:

If there is a question about the video, add it here? If not, remove this part.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua?

Copying this whole part is helpful to maintain formatting.

Community Visit Podcast [TEMPLATE]

feven.araya — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 07:52:34 +0000

Use this template for a podcast clip. Replace all highlighted text and the audio file. Feel free to use a youtube link instead of an audio file. Copying this whole part is helpful to maintain formatting.

In Community

Insert a description of the clip and the speaker. Listen to the following clip about [insert topic] or access the transcript below. [audio mp3="https://pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca/accessiblehealthcare/wp-content/uploads/sites/422/2025/01/0001-Block_Insert-your-audio-here_48K_MONO.mp3"][/audio] [REMEMBER TO CREATE INDIVIDUAL H5Ps FOR EVERY TRANSCRIPT AND ADD THE CODE HERE] [h5p id="27"] Reflect on the following questions:

If there is a question about the clip, add it here? If not, remove this part.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua?

Copying this whole part is helpful to maintain formatting.

Podcast [OUTLINE]

feven.araya — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 07:59:53 +0000

Insert your text here about the podcast. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Use this template for a podcast clip. Replace all highlighted text and the audio file. Feel free to use a youtube link instead of an audio file. Copying this whole part is helpful to maintain formatting.

Podcast

Time: X minutes, 48 seconds

Access the following podcast or transcript for an example of [your topic]: [audio mp3="https://pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca/accessiblehealthcare/wp-content/uploads/sites/422/2025/01/0001-Block_Insert-your-audio-here_48K_MONO.mp3"][/audio] [REMEMBER TO CREATE INDIVIDUAL H5Ps FOR EVERY TRANSCRIPT AND ADD THE CODE HERE] [h5p id="27"]

Reflection Moment

Take a moment to reflect on the documentary. Consider the following questions:

Insert your questions here as bullets.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

More to Explore [TEMPLATE]

feven.araya — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 08:20:37 +0000

Replace highlighted text. Access these resources if you’d like to explore more:

Works Cited

Clare, E. (2017). Brilliant imperfection: Grappling with cure. Duke University Press. Bailey, M., & Peoples, W. (2017). Articulating Black feminist health science studies. Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience, 3(2). Oliver, M. (1990, July 23). The individual and social models of disability [Workshop presentation]. Joint Workshop of the Living Options Group and the Research Unit of the Royal College of Physicians on People with Established Locomotor Disabilities in Hospitals. https://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/library/Oliver-in-soc-dis.pdf

Next Time...

In the next module, we’ll dive deeper into models and frameworks of disability, exploring how these perspectives inform health and social justice.

More to Explore

feven.araya — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 19:29:33 +0000

Replace highlighted text. Access these resources if you’d like to explore more:

Works Cited

Ableism and Disableism

feven.araya — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 04:45:59 +0000

In Module 2, we were introduced to ideas about able-bodiedness and ableism. Take a look at the following short resource: Ableism 101 - What is Ableism? What Does it Look Like?

Ableism

Take about 10 minutes to listen to Dr. Fiona Kumari-Campbell on “ability studies.” Her talk touches on several themes; pay attention to her discussion of the [pb_glossary id="768"]able body[/pb_glossary], ableism, and her references to the intersection of disability and race. More nuanced still are her ideas about the conceptualization of “ability” at the heart of many systems of hierarchical power and what constitutes good theory.

Media Moment Time: 9 minutes, 34 seconds

Watch the following video here, access it at the link below, or the transcript. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rypmOk8rHRs[/embed] Prof Fiona Kumari Campbell - What the Devil are Studies in Ableism? 2021 Discovery Lecture [h5p id="37"]

Dr. Kumari-Campbell’s points about “ableism”:

"The term references a powerful form of social oppression based on the assumption that there is a socially desired, ideal body and mind, and this assumed ideal is set as the standard against which all bodies and minds are compared and evaluated. Ableism deems bodies and minds that deviate from this ideal standard as deficient and disabled, fueling and informing many interlocking power relations including racism, colonialism, and classism."

Here’s an everyday example of ableism not targeted at disabled people: Vietnam: Outrage at student height requirement. Read the article about the decision by the School of Management and Business at Vietnam National University to place height requirements for entry into some of its programs. What does this tell us about the relationship between ableism and [pb_glossary id="755"]colonialism[/pb_glossary]? In other words, how might [pb_glossary id="707"]Eurocentric[/pb_glossary] ideals about the body inform this policy? For those of you who are so inclined, you might consider how the height requirement ties together assumptions around height, capacity, business and management acumen, and economic prosperity.

Key Takeaway

Understanding ableism helps us to better understand the vast range of everyday practices, beliefs, and interactions that cohere to maintain overgeneralized and exclusionary ideas about disability.

Disableism

Kumari-Campbell and other disability leaders from outside Canada and the US draw a distinction between ableism and disablism. Disableism refers to discrimination or negative treatment directed towards disabled people (e.g., stereotypes, infantilizing policies, or professional or occupational regulations barring the employment of disabled people). Ableism references the exclusionary valourizing of “species-typical” standards that dictate how bodies function, appear, regulate, and so forth. Like the dominance of the [pb_glossary id="661"]medical model[/pb_glossary], Kumari-Campbell describes ableism as pervasive. Mia Mingus (2010, para. 5) extends this analysis to the intersectionality of oppressive social relations, such as racism, heterosexism, and ableism in our societies, writing “It’s in the air we breathe; it’s how the machine rolls; it’s the default.” The pervasiveness lies in how these oppressive relations are sustained by a system of power and privilege that benefits many. In Mingus’ words, “We live in an ableist society and we all have a responsibility to actively work against it.”

Reflection Moment

Take a moment to reflect on your relationship to ableism. Can you think about how dis/ableism permeates your own profession and/or the educational pathway you’ve followed?

In this module, we’ll be picking up some ideas and terms briefly raised in previous modules. Responding to ableism, particularly as reflected in the narrow approach of the [pb_glossary id="661"]medical model[/pb_glossary], disability scholars and activists have offered a number of critical frameworks, each broadening our ways of understanding disability. As Kumari-Campbell notes in the video above, these frameworks are always in continual elaboration and refinement.

The Frameworks

feven.araya — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 07:43:37 +0000

Charity Model

Like the [pb_glossary id="661"]medical model[/pb_glossary], the charity model positions disability as an individual problem and is based on the dichotomy of fit and unfit. Disability is understood to be the consequence of a personal, tragic misfortune. By extension, disabled people are deserving of special support and resources, both private and public. Sometimes, the charity model is also oriented towards the cure or repair of disability, as in the case of [pb_glossary id="709"]medical philanthropy[/pb_glossary]. For example, charities seeking support to end diseases leading to visual impairments, mobility impairments, and limb amputation garner crucial scientific research funds. In doing so, however, funding pitches rely on the promise of cure or restoration of the [pb_glossary id="768"]“able” body[/pb_glossary]. Philanthropic organizations also rely on tragic and medicalized depictions of disability to inspire charitable giving, inadvertently deepening disabled people’s marginalized social and material conditions.

Reflection Moment

Take a moment to reflect on the charity model. Find an example of the charity model of disability as it relates to health and medical care.

Social Model of Disability

The social model framework arose from the experience and analysis of disabled people. An analysis that “relocated” the problem of disability from bodies and minds to the social, political, cultural, and physical contexts or environments in which people lived was articulated first by the [pb_glossary id="822"]Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation[/pb_glossary] (UPIAS) in 1972. Growing awareness of the poor social conditions of disabled people, coupled with inspiration from the international civil rights and protest movements of the 1960s and 70s, the social model provided a powerful articulation of everyday and structural disabling conditions. A key tenet of the social model is the distinction it draws between impairment and disability. Impairment refers to functional differences (seeing differently, moving differently, etc.). Disability refers to processes of disablement – literal or figurative barriers in the world that prevent people living with impairments from enacting their desires, participating fully in and taking ownership of their lives. Advocacy, activism, service and policy were reoriented to focus on removing and dismantling disabling barriers, rather than fixing people. In this way, disability oppression would be mitigated. Locating the problems faced by disabled people in disabling contextual conditions rather than medical conditions was a necessary shift of worldview. The social model’s simplicity and remarkable effectiveness upon implementation led to its widespread adoption. Since its inception, we have seen its broad application in fields such as architecture, employment legislation, cultural production, classrooms, healthcare, and in the [pb_glossary id="775"]World Health Organization[/pb_glossary] definitions of disability (2011). Take a moment to read the World Health Organization’s World Report on Disability to learn more about how different frameworks of disability come together.

“The emergence of the social model in critical disability theory represented the idea that disability is not an impairment in need of repair, but rather is the byproduct of a collection of disadvantages manufactured by social norms and regulations, policies and practices, and economic and political actors. Essential to the social model is the duty to accommodate disability by removing societal barriers that impede access and propagate prejudice” (Chadha & Rogers, 2023, p. 237).

Media Moment Time: 10 minutes, 48 seconds

Take a moment to engage with this episode of TALK and its depictions of the social model of disability. Jonathan Kerrigan, of BBC’s “Casualty” fame, plays a business executive whose negative preconceptions of disability are dramatically shattered. Watch the following video here, access it at the links below. There is a subtitled and signed version, and an audio described version. [embed]https://youtu.be/jZ-WjPTj9nM?si=acyaJVnMox2Nxyrc[/embed] Talk DVD: with Subtitles and British Sign Language (BSL) Talk DVD: Audio Described Version

The [pb_glossary id="659"]social model[/pb_glossary] paved the way for foundational concepts like accessibility and accommodation, independent living, barrier removal, and disability rights legislation. No model can adequately address the complexity of disabled people’s lives; through critical engagement with its limitations, the social model has supported more nuanced understandings of disability, particularly those that hold space for chronic pain, chronic and episodic illness, and neurodiversity.

Media Moment Time: 5 minutes, 8 seconds

Take a moment to engage with Patty Berne and Stacey Milburn, the co-founders of the disability justice group Sins Invalid, as they describe the social model. Watch the following video here, access it at the link below, or the transcript. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r0MiGWQY2g[/embed] My Body Doesn't Oppress Me, Society Does [h5p id="38"]

Media Moment Time: 1 minutes, 29 seconds

Please engage with this YouTube video from the UK-based organization Whizz Kidz, which speaks to the impact of the social model. Watch the following video here, access it at the link below, or the transcript. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-rEnKcZ5w0[/embed] The Social Model of Disability [h5p id="39"]

Disability Rights Framework

Aligned with the social model, this framework strives to uphold the equal humanity and dignity of all persons. The disability rights framework contends that disability/impairment status is the basis for historical mistreatment and disadvantage. The remedy for discriminatory treatment is directed at the legislative context. Legal interventions strive to:

articulate and uphold equal human rights and equitable opportunities
identify and protect against discrimination at the interpersonal, organizational, and [pb_glossary id="878"]systemic[/pb_glossary] levels
intervene through legal frameworks, policies, and practices

Media Moment Time: 27 minutes, 09 seconds

Take a moment to engage with Carol Haywood of Northwestern University and her discussion of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its impact on doctor-patient relationships. Watch the following video here, access it at the link below, or the transcript. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9Fu2mG7zJI[/embed] Doctors, Disabled Patients & Ableism | The Pulse Video Transcript

Reflection Moment

Take a moment to reflect on medical ableism in Canada. Can you find a Canadian resource that discusses the issue of medical ableism? Consider, for instance, that in Canada we do not have an equivalent to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, but we do have a comparable provincial legislation with Ontario’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Can you find a resource (video, podcast, news article, etc.) that discusses Ontario physicians’ views of this legislation as it relates to their practices?

Disability Justice

feven.araya — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 08:34:37 +0000

Distinct from disability rights, [pb_glossary id="684"]disability justice[/pb_glossary] is a [pb_glossary id="715"]grassroots practice[/pb_glossary] led by and directed towards those at the margins of previous disability movements and scholarship. Disability justice resonates with [pb_glossary id="716"]critical race theory[/pb_glossary], [pb_glossary id="717"]queer theory[/pb_glossary], [pb_glossary id="718"]feminist ethics of care[/pb_glossary], and [pb_glossary id="719"]Marxism[/pb_glossary], but remains grounded in the lives of those most impacted by injustice. In centring marginalized communities that have nevertheless survived and thrived, disability justice positions their expertise through experience, which provides principles for living, thinking, and being. Take a moment to review the Ten Principles of Disability Justice. There is text and an ASL video of these principles.

Media Moment Time: 7 minutes, 20 seconds

Take a moment to engage with this video which discusses systemic racism experienced by Black healthcare professionals from Spectrum Health Beat. Watch the following video here, access it at the link below, or the transcript. [embed]https://youtu.be/sEch1AKl8sM?si=j2xqJ97BFhzfdMPG[/embed] Black health care professionals experience racism [h5p id="40"]

Media Moment Time: 2 minutes, 48 seconds

Take a moment to engage with this video which discusses systemic racism in healthcare from City News Montréal. Watch the following video here, access it at the link below, or the transcript. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFzKFdyZtcE[/embed] Black health care professionals experience racism [h5p id="41"]

More to Explore

feven.araya — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 08:48:36 +0000

Works Cited

Eisenmenger, A. (2019). Ableism 101: What it is, what it looks like, and how to become a better ally. Access Living. https://www.accessliving.org/newsroom/blog/ableism-101/

Next Time...

In the next module, we’ll explore access, accommodation, justice, and the right to health care.

Unpacking Intersectionality

feven.araya — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 08:57:47 +0000

Intersectionality, like other frameworks, is also informed by people’s lived experiences. This analytic framework emerges from the frustrations experienced by Black, working class women, who did not feel that the complexity of their material and social life conditions were adequately reflected in the civil rights and other social justice movements of the day (Hill-Collins & Bilge, 2016). Intersectionality attempts to account for how people’s experiences are shaped by multiple axes of power relationships that afford both privilege and disadvantage. Disability experience within the healthcare system is not only characterized by disability, but also by race, class, gender and other [pb_glossary id="612"]power relations[/pb_glossary]. The treatment of and subsequent responses by disabled people within health care always involve a complex interplay of intersecting forms of power that inform and hold one another in place and are difficult to consider separately (Hill-Collins & Bilge, 2016; Hancock, 2018; Valentine, 2022). To demonstrate how intersectionality involves the interplay of power, privilege, and disadvantage, we can look to Parin Dossa’s narrative research on the experience of racialized disabled women in Canada (Dossa, 2005; 2009). Dossa introduces a participant’s narrative, Mehrun, a disabled South Asian Muslim woman who grew up in Uganda before moving to Canada as a refugee when she was nineteen. Growing up in Uganda the 1950s and 60s, the intersection of disability, gender, ethnicity, and economic privilege afforded Mehrun both disadvantage and unanticipated opportunity. As a disabled young girl she was not understood by her parents and her wider social circle as having a future as a wife and mother (Dossa 2005, p. 2535). Her family leveraged their economic privilege to ensure she had an education, not typically available to other girls. As a young migrant woman in Toronto in the 1970s, Mehrun was able to access university education, employment opportunities as a social worker, and eligibility for direct funding and independent living. While these are all opportunities associated with the privilege and material resources of class, Mehrun continued to experience both [pb_glossary id="674"]ableism[/pb_glossary] and newfound racism in housing, education and employment. Intersectionality as a lens allows us to see how social positions come together in different contexts of lived experiences. Intersectionality is not additive. It’s not as simple as saying that a greater number of marginalized identities leads to greater oppression. As for Mehrun, there are times when different systems of oppression can come together to create opportunity. In other instances, ableism can fuel forms of oppression like racialized disablement. Desiree Valentine defines racialized disablement as an intersectional lens for understanding and taking account of how racism and ableism interact to produce health inequities (Valentine, 2022, p. 342).

In Community

Listen to Ben talk about visiting an eye specialist as a Black man with a visual impairment. Listen to the following clip or access the transcript below. [audio mp3="https://pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca/accessiblehealthcare/wp-content/uploads/sites/422/2025/01/0001-Block_Insert-your-audio-here_48K_MONO.mp3"][/audio] [h5p id="28"] In Ben’s case, his complex lived experience and social positioning can impact not only his interpersonal treatment in the healthcare system, but his opportunities for health. This has resulted in reluctance to go to the doctor, and to get his healthcare needs met. Intersectionality pushes healthcare to consider how it can be more responsive to the complexity of lived experience, and how healthcare providers reproduce these complex relations of power, even through something as simple as an interaction with a patient. Racialized disablement affects Canadians in their everyday healthcare encounters. Listen to Sydney talk about their experiences navigating the Canadian healthcare system as a Black person with chronic pain. Listen to the following clip or access the transcript below. [audio mp3="https://pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca/accessiblehealthcare/wp-content/uploads/sites/422/2025/01/0001-Block_Insert-your-audio-here_48K_MONO.mp3"][/audio] [h5p id="29"] For more on this, listen to the Black Pain podcast [will be linked]. Some of Sydney’s treatment could be understood as a form of everyday medicalized racism. Medicalized racism refers to the historical and contemporary forms of [pb_glossary id="880"]structural violence[/pb_glossary] directed towards Indigenous, Black and other racialized people through the institution, policy and practice of medicine. Medicalized racism contributes to the extractive use of racialized bodies to generate medical science, the inequitable distribution of social determinants of health including housing, income and employment; lack of access to the healthcare system and discriminatory treatment by healthcare providers.

Review the two CBC news reports for recent Canadian examples of medical racism.

How do these news stories demonstrate facets of medicalized racism? Consider the interpersonal, procedural and structural contributors within the healthcare system itself. How did apparently neutral practices enact and reinforce racism and colonialism? For some further insights, visit Module 1: Acknowledging How We’re Starting. To read about medicalized racism in the US context, review this article: Reckoning with histories of medical racism and violence in the USA - The Lancet.

About

tali.cherniawsky — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 17:05:45 +0000

The views expressed in this resource are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Ontario.

About

This Pressbook is a free, open-access resource for learning about accessible and inclusive healthcare, centering the expertise of disabled, Deaf, and mad people. Developed in collaboration with researchers, educators, disability networks, and community members, it brings together curriculum and multimedia resources to support learning in classroom settings and independent study.

Many of the materials in this Pressbook were first piloted in Fall 2024 in the School of Disability Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University, where 51 students participated in lectures and facilitated community visits with disabled, Deaf, and mad people across the Greater Toronto Area. This resource includes recordings, interviews, and other multimedia content produced during that pilot.

Using This Resource

This Pressbook can be used in multiple ways:

As a standalone learning resource for students and independent learners
As curriculum for instructors integrating accessible healthcare content into their courses
As a guide for running a course that includes community visits, or as an alternative for those unable to facilitate them

For more details on how to use this resource, see How to Use This Pressbook.

We encourage you to use this resource and would love to hear if you have integrated it into your curriculum. Please consider notifying Dr. Ignagni if you are using part of this Pressbook, identifying the learning focus and the number of learners.

Dr. Esther Ignagni Toronto Metropolitan University eignagni@torontomu.ca 350 Victoria St. Toronto, ON M5B 2K3

Licence

feven.araya — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 22:04:10 +0000

This open textbook, Enabling Accessible Healthcare Delivery, has been published openly using a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. This means you are free to:

Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially

Under the following conditions:

Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

View the full Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This book is offered in various e-book formats free of charge, and a printed version is available at cost through the Toronto Metropolitan University Campus Store or Copyrite.

Module 2 Transcripts

feven.araya — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 06:24:17 +0000

Transcript 1: Living in an inaccessible world | Jessica Smith | TEDxGEMSNewMillenniumSchool

Good morning. I want you to imagine, once upon a time, a world so beautiful in its colours, aromas, sounds and vibrations. But not everyone could see it, hear it, smell it or touch it. I want you to imagine, once upon a time, a world where eight billion people lived side by side, but more than one billion of those people had less rights, less access and less dignity. Of course, you don’t actually have to imagine. It’s not once upon a time; it’s right now. According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 1.3 billion people living in this world with disability. That’s more than 16 percent of the global population. But actually, everyone will experience disability at some stage in their life, either temporarily or permanently. Disability is part of being human. And yet, this world has created one of the most unjust and unacceptable divisions between those who are disabled and those who are not. People with disability have less access to employment, poorer health outcomes, lower life expectancy and the rhetoric that we're a burden on society is, sadly, something that transcends cultures and continents. But I put it to you that I’m actually more disabled by my environment and the lack of accessibility, grouped with the unfair way society treats me, than anything my body can or can't do. I spent my entire life trying to make sense of the inequalities of this world. I’ve dreamed of a world that practices tolerance, acceptance, and inclusivity. A world that surely I and the other 1.3 billion people deserve. Stereotypes, stigmas, discrimination are all enduring challenges that people with a disability face every single day. The idea of disability exclusion has stemmed from this notion that disability is lessened. But we're also bombarded with overly positive slogans such as “The only disability is a bad attitude.” Now, you might see this, and think it’s actually encouraging and empowering, but the underlying messaging is that people with a disability are the ones who need to change in order to fit within society. You want us to always be positive and upbeat, because you gain inspiration from our disability. Seeing us struggle or challenge makes you feel uncomfortable and nervous. But actually, the barriers that people with disability face are societal, and no amount of positivity can break those barriers. No amount of positive thinking has ever turned a flight of stairs into a ramp, nor has it turned books into Braille, and no amount of positive thinking will make my arm grow. In order to live in an all-inclusive, accessible society, we need to shift the way we view disability, and we need to ensure that disability is included at every stage of thought, creation, design and implementation from an industry perspective but also socially. I was born missing my left arm. I’ve learned how to adapt. I found my own way of doing things. But you see, that's the thing about people with a disability, we’re some of the most resourceful, creative minds, design thinkers with growth mindsets, because we have to be in order to fit in to society. I’m proud of my disability, and I want you to see me as I am. But one of the biggest challenges that I face is when people say, “Well, you’re not really disabled. You can do pretty much everything.” And yes, if you looked at my disability, purely physical, on a spectrum with other disabilities, mine would be considered mild. However, it is things, and these sorts of statements that force me to hide the struggles that I do have. For example, when I'm using a public restroom and the tap is the one that you have to hold down in order for the water to flow. Or the anxiety I get at a buffet event or a networking event. Most people get quite excited because they can eat as much as they want, but I have to try and balance a plate here between my elbow and the rest of my body, and try to successfully put food on my plate. I get about two items, I’m pretty happy. I’m hungry, but I’m pretty happy. Or when I need to try and steer and navigate a heavy grocery trolley across a parking lot. I have to strain so much with my right arm I end up leant over with my left side to try and move it across the parking toward the car. Now you might see me doing these things and you think, “Wow, it’s really inspiring.” But what you don’t see and what I don’t talk about is the chiro and the physio bills, because I now need to realign my hips and my spine after years of overcompensating. But it's also, you might be thinking, kind of trivial in comparison to some other disabilities. And that’s OK, because I’ve been told my entire life that I need to be grateful because my disability could be so much worse. But it’s the intimate things that you don’t see. Like the fact that I couldn’t safely bathe my children when they were newborns. You have to hold them here and then wash them. Or the time my daughter asked me to braid her hair. You see, it’s the trivial things and the intimate things that you take for granted. Because often, when we talk about disability, we think of somebody who uses a wheelchair. But of the 1.3 billion people living with disability, only eight percent are wheelchair users. So this limited and narrow view of disability impacts how we establish accessibility, inclusion and diversity. Disability itself is so wonderfully diverse, from the physical, visible disabilities like mine to all the disabilities that we can’t see, which are the majority. Disability is everything from cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism, diabetes, anxiety and depression. So I think it’s safe to say that I’m not the only one in this room. But for those who don’t live with disability, let’s imagine for a moment, you’re in your favourite clothing store. Now imagine you live with achondroplasia, which is a form of short-limb dwarfism. You can’t reach any of the clothing garments on the racks. Or imagine you've been invited to be a guest speaker at a prestigious event. Now imagine that you use a wheelchair, and you arrive to realise that there’s no ramp access to the stage. Imagine you live in a war zone and the sirens blare, telling everyone to evacuate. Now imagine that you’re deaf. You can’t hear it. Thankfully, there are procedures that we need to adhere to when it comes to the universal design of building infrastructure as well as a universal design of information and content. But there’s also a lot of work being done by organisations in regards to how we look at employment of people with a disability, how we retain people in an organisation, and the pathway to promotion. We're seeing a lot of changes when it comes to digital accessibility. Did you know that websites need to adhere to standards for accessibility? There are things that are being done, but we still have a long way to go, and that’s part of my day job. But what can you do? Because even with the best infrastructure and even with the most sustainable, inclusive policies and procedures, I will never see disability inclusion in my lifetime. Dare I say it, none of us will. Because the reality is that not enough of the seven billion people really care or see the collective benefit. But the irony in that is that we all benefit from disability. Every single one of you use technology and devices that were originally created for people with disability. In 1608, Italian man Pellegrino Turri invented the typewriter after watching his friend struggle to write a handwritten note because she was blind. Now, of course, her typewriter has morphed into the computer keyboard. And hands up if you use an electric toothbrush, or if you sent a text message or an SMS, or if you listen to audiobooks, or if you've ever pushed a trolley or a pram up and down a ramp. All of these innovations and designs were created to restore the dignity and independence of people living with disability. But you all benefit too. You go about your day, blissfully unaware that disability has actually made your life a little bit easier. But intentionally or unintentionally, you all make our lives just that little bit harder. The pointing, the staring, the whispering, the giggling, the mocking, and the sneaky photographs that we know will become the next meme sensation. Yes, historically, once upon a time, we were all told that disability was lessened. But it's simply not true. To my three children, I am their everything. And so I think I've found the solution. It’s not going to cost you anything except perhaps a little bit of time and effort. With my lived experience and my personal opinion, the answer or part of the solution, is kindness and respect. But if you’re sitting there thinking, “Hang on, it’s not just up to those without a disability to be part of this solution, people with disability need to contribute too. And you’d be right. So part of the other work that I do is to spread a message of kindness and inclusion to children all around the world. I've written a series of children's books, and it's my mission to share those books with more than a million children. You see, people with disability are actually doing all that we can to try to convince you to welcome us into your world. We are artists, activists, authors, politicians, teachers, CEOs. Sometimes you don't see us because you choose not to see us. But imagine if the seven billion were just a little more educated, a little more aware, and if those seven billion people were just a little more kinder, a little more patient, and a lot more excited about redesigning a world that included the eight billion people. So today, I’m here to ask for your kindness and for your respect, but also for your help. Let’s socially together, collectively create a reality where people with disability are no longer an afterthought. Let’s not create another once-upon-a-time fairy tale feel-good idea. Something that we talk about but never implement. So today I ask you to please kindly consider inviting disability to your table, invite disability to the dance, to the movies, to the meetings and to the boardrooms. Not because you want to have a photo opportunity to tick a box, but because you genuinely want to listen and learn. Because the reality is, we just want your world to be our world too. Thank you.

Transcript 2: INTERVIEW: Canadian health care and Truth and Reconciliation

Carly Robinson: I want to ask you what you're reflecting on today, on this first Truth and Reconciliation Day, as the first president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association who is Indigenous. What are some of the big things going through your mind? Dr. Alika Lafontaine: I think that we've definitely shifted forward in the conversation about truth and reconciliation. Whether or not we've had the impact that we wanted, I think can be questioned. But we’ve definitely shifted from the initial Truth and Reconciliation Commission, where people were questioning whether or not this even happened, to a normalization that this is a part of our history. Now, we’re at this point where we’ve talked a lot about what we want to do but are only starting to do it right now. As the incoming president of the Canadian Medical Association next summer, and the president-elect this year, today is really meaningful to me. I look around and see other colleagues who’ve moved forward in their own leadership journeys, trying to make an impact for the places we came from, the people we love, and our own families in a healthcare system that, at times, can be very hostile and not helpful in the way that your average canadian would expect to experience. Finally, there’s a space where we can not only have our voices heard but also amplify the voices we bring into the spaces we now sit in. Robinson: For you, your personal journey of getting here wasn’t easy. You faced roadblocks and discrimination. Can you share a little more about that? Dr. Lafontaine: When I was in elementary school, I was labeled with a learning disability. Looking back, racialization probably played a part in how they communicated with my parents, even suggesting that I wouldn’t graduate high school. My parents worked hard with me to overcome those barriers, but along the way, you realize your experiences are very different from others in the same spaces. You learn how to act and how to talk, and you start to see that systems aren’t really set up for you. Now, we’re finally in a space where we can acknowledge that. Talking about racism is something I couldn’t have said out loud 10 years ago. We should be proud as a society and a nation. But especially on this day, reflecting on the experiences of those who went to residential schools, as well as the other tools of colonization—like Indian hospitals, the Sixties Scoop, and the justice system—it’s clear we have a long way to go. Still, we’re at least moving in the right direction, and that gives me hope. Robinson: You’re an anesthesiologist in Grande Prairie, working in the North Zone, where we’ve heard a lot about healthcare shortages and an overwhelmed system. But you’ve mentioned this isn’t new for Indigenous communities. Can you elaborate on that? Dr. Lafontaine: Historically, there were decisions not to create healthcare infrastructure in places where Indigenous peoples could easily access it. That’s had long-term consequences. If you don’t have access to a physician, nurse, or other healthcare providers, emergencies and chronic conditions like diabetes or pregnancy become much harder to manage. Additionally, Indian hospitals, which Canadians will learn more about, were deeply impactful. For example, the Caswell Hospital in Edmonton was one of the busiest Indian hospitals. Patients were transported thousands of miles, sometimes admitted for years, away from their families and culture. The stories coming out—like children tied to beds for nearly 10 years in some cases—are horrific. We’ve learned from truth and reconciliation that words without action don’t solve problems. We’ve also learned that government doesn’t always protect us, so we have to protect each other. Those lessons can guide us forward. Robinson: You’ve also talked about how work camps in remote areas often have better healthcare access than the Indigenous communities nearby. Could you expand on that? Dr. Lafontaine: Work camps have policies ensuring 24/7 access to physicians or nurses, evacuation plans, and medical emergency training. In contrast, Indigenous communities nearby may have a physician available only one day a week, if that. These are choices we’ve made as a society, and they have both short- and long-term consequences. The pandemic has accelerated the realization of how critical it is to build infrastructure and set up thresholds of care. Applying those lessons to Indigenous communities could lead to a more equitable and effective healthcare system for everyone. Robinson: What’s next? How do we start solving these issues now that we’re talking about them? Dr. Lafontaine: The great thing about Truth and Reconciliation Day is that it creates moments to reflect. September 30th is a time to sit back and really listen. As we were taught about residential schools, we realized these are core parts of Canadian history. I think healthcare inequities will reach that point too. When we deal with the same set of facts, we can find common solutions. Improving communication, building trust, and properly funding services—these lessons apply universally. While Indigenous communities face magnified challenges, the solutions are largely the same. Robinson: You and your brother developed the Safe Space app. Can you tell us about that and other hopeful initiatives? Dr. Lafontaine: The Safe Space app allows people to share lived experiences anonymously, reducing risks for those reporting unsafe practices or discrimination. It’s about creating relationships and trust. There’s a saying that "the truth sets us free," but in truth and reconciliation, the truth binds us together. That’s what helps us solve problems. The Canadian Medical Association has also provided grants to the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada and amplified Indigenous voices in healthcare. These efforts give me hope. Robinson: Is there anything else you’d like Canadians to hear today? Dr. Lafontaine: As Canadians learn about Indigenous peoples, the real change will happen within themselves. Learning about this history helps you reflect on your beliefs and how you approach problems. As the truth changes us, that’s what will bring us together and create the Canada we’re striving for.

Transcript 3: The US medical system is still haunted by slavery

Intro

At the edge of Central Park in Manhattan, there's a bronze statue of a doctor named James Marion Sims. His “brilliant achievement carried the fame of American surgery throughout the entire world.” He’s the guy who created the vaginal speculum, an instrument gynecologists use for examination. He pioneered the surgical repair for fistula, a complication from childbirth, and became known as the “father of modern gynecology.” But that brilliant achievement was the result of a series of excruciating experimental surgeries that he conducted on enslaved women. In many ways, Sims epitomizes the story of American medicine for Black women. It’s a system that’s failing them to this day. From infant mortality to life expectancy, the racial disparities in health care are staggering. The gulf between Black and white might be widest when we look at maternal mortality, with Black women 3 to 4 times more likely to die in connection with pregnancy or birth than white women. That divide can be traced back to doctors like Sims, who contributed to a long, largely overlooked history of institutional racism in medicine. "Trying to understand a historical problem without knowing its history is like trying to treat a patient without eliciting a thorough medical history. You're doomed to failure." That’s Harriet Washington, a medical ethicist and author who chronicled the intersection of race and medicine in her book, Medical Apartheid. While many stark racial disparities in health care can be attributed to environmental and economic factors, like access to good health care, studies show that minority patients tend to receive lower quality care than non-minorities, even when they have the same health insurance or ability to pay. "As African-Americans, we've been abused for so long consistently by the system. Why should we trust it? Why should we go to it when ill? And that's iatrophobia—a fear of the healer, inculcated by the behavior of those healers, unfortunately."

Slavery and Medicine

It starts with slavery. Doctors relied on slave owners for financial stability. They accompanied plantation masters to auctions to verify the fitness of slaves and were called in to treat sick slaves to protect their owners’ investments. In 1807, Congress abolished the importation of slaves, which pushed Black women to have more children to essentially "breed" slaves. Founding father Thomas Jefferson later wrote: Around the 1830s, the abolitionist movement led to the rise of what was called “Negro medicine,” efforts to identify Black “inferiority” to justify slavery. Polygenists tried to use both “science” and the Bible to find proof that races evolved from different origins. The 1830s also marked the beginning of recorded experimentation on Black women’s bodies. One doctor performed experimental c-sections on slaves. Another perfected the dangerous ovariotomy—or removal of an ovary—by testing the procedure on slave women. Half the original articles in the 1836 Southern Medical and Surgical Journal dealt with experiments on Black people. And then, of course, there was James Marion Sims, whose reputation is etched in history and on that statue in Central Park.

James Marion Sims

Between 1845 and 1849, Sims began performing experimental surgeries on a 17-year-old slave named Anarcha. He eventually performed 30 operations on Anarcha and more surgeries on about 11 other female slaves. When his male colleagues could no longer bear to assist him in inflicting pain on the women, the slaves took turns restraining one another. Yet paintings depicting Sims, Anarcha, and other slave women presented a subdued version of his experiments. Even though anesthesia was introduced in 1846, Sims chose not to use it for his experimentation with slaves. His practices echoed one of the most prevalent and dangerous beliefs in medicine at the time: that Black people did not feel pain or anxiety.

Pain

Studies released as recently as last year demonstrate that Black people are less likely to be treated for pain—particularly in the ER. There’s even a study from a children’s hospital that found the same to be true for kids. "Well, what does it mean when you say that someone doesn't feel pain? Among other things, you're speaking about their humanity." These beliefs, deeply ingrained, are part of that suite of ideas emanating from the 19th century that we still have not shaken off.

Sterilization

After the Civil War ended, the 1900s brought a wave of immigrants to the US, sparking a race “panic” and coinciding with the birth of the American eugenics movement. One key objective was to reduce the childbearing potential of the poor and disabled. Leaders included birth control pioneer and Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger, who eventually devised the controversial “Negro Project.” This initiative pushed birth control in the Black South and garnered support from figures like W.E.B. DuBois. By the mid-1930s, over half the states passed pro-sterilization laws, often resulting in forced sterilization. In 1961, future civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer went to the hospital to have a tumor removed but was subjected to a hysterectomy without consent. This procedure, common in the South, was dubbed the “Mississippi appendectomy.” In June 1973, the SPLC uncovered 100,000 to 150,000 cases of women sterilized with federal funds in Alabama. Half the women were Black. Today, as we continue to lose Black mothers at alarming rates, a deeper look at the past may be a good step toward creating a more equitable health care system.

Module 1 Transcripts

feven.araya — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 06:25:28 +0000

Transcript: Land acknowledgements: uncovering an oral history of Tkaronto

Aahnii, Boozho. Sara Roque n-dish-ni-kaaz. Shebahonaning n-don-jibaa, Tkaronto in-day. Tkaronto, a Mohawk word: The place in the water where the trees are standing. The place where the fish weirs are. My dog and I spend a lot of time walking. It's my favourite way to move through this city. For me, it's the meditative action that isn't about negotiating bike lanes or public transit, but a time to slow down and really try to see the world around me. Concrete sidewalks, parking lots, now covering the rivers and trails that once flowed freely. The Petun, the Huron Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, the Anishnaabeg, the Métis, the Mississaugas, all made their homes here and many other nations expanding beyond these groups travelled through for commerce and trade for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. I think of the other First Peoples' languages and the names they had for this place. I think of the ancient trails covered by the pressures of settlement. The waterways and the moderate climate of the Great Lakes made it a perfect place to fish, hunt, grow food, gather medicines and seeds for horticultural development. Rich, fertile and abundant: Turtle Island's Mesopotamia. Many First Peoples and their goods traveled from here all the way to the Mississippi and back. Whenever I travel somewhere new, I try to find out whose land I'm on and I ask "who are the original occupants here?" So, for Indigenous peoples land acknowledgments are not only to assert our sovereignty and treaty rights of today but it's also a way for all peoples to feel more connected to a place. Davenport might be a street now, one I walk down regularly in my neighbourhood, but it's not just another thoroughfare. For me, it's an ancient portage trail that holds Indigenous knowledge. They say the animals made the first trails that led them to water, and the people followed. I imagine the deer and the moose once made this trail followed by the people carrying their birch bark canoes, carrying their goods to trade and bringing stories to tell. Nations from all over Turtle Island met and traveled through this land. Many languages were spoken. Alliances and decisions were made. People from different nations met and intermarried. The Dish With One Spoon Treaty was made. Tkaronto was a meeting place and land made up of sophisticated and cosmopolitan peoples and cultures that I see reflected in the city today. I wonder, is it something in the land, in the water? Land acknowledgments might seem like a small and simple gesture, but like many of our ways, they are intended to have more impact and to hold more meaning than the words alone. If we pride ourselves on diversity and equality, shouldn't our story include Indigenous peoples? In this era of reconciliation, we need to share the truth first. And reimagine the narrative of this land and this city, together.

Module 3 Transcripts

feven.araya — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 06:43:19 +0000

Transcript 1: Prof Fiona Kumari Campbell - What the Devil are Studies in Ableism? 2021 Discovery Lecture

G'day, my name is Fiona Kumari Campbell. I am a professor of disability and ableism studies in the School of Education and Social Work at the University of Dundee. As the world’s first professor in disability and ableism studies, I'm really proud that myself and the University of Dundee has an opportunity to be a centre and a place of excellence in undertaking research, having debates and discussions in studies in ableism which is a growing and flourishing field. I think it's also significant that the first professor in ableism studies is a disabled person from a biracial background. I believe that's significant in terms of historical power relations, that is institutional ableism, so I'm grateful that the University of Dundee has put their trust in me, and I look forward to the future. Throughout my life, in fact even as an early child, I've often pondered about the nature of human difference: why certain individuals or groups suffer, why life is harder for them, and significantly, the origin of hatred and prejudice. These thoughts were shaped by my own experience of being biracial, having the first nine years of my life framed by the White Australia Policy. Then I became severely disabled in 1981. Ironically, that was the International Year of Disabled People, which had the slogan of ‘breaking down the barriers’. After nearly twenty years of working in the community sector and government, I accidentally fell into academia, and as they say, the rest is history. I've worked in three countries and have been based in different disciplines - community development, sociology, social work and law school. Now I'm back in social work. Sometimes knowledge formation, that is establishing a new way of thinking can happen by accident. There was nothing deliberative about my journey into Studies in Ableism. I was teaching and researching in the field of disability studies which has been around since the 1980s and was very much influenced by what is known as the ‘social model of disability’. But, social theory needs to constantly be updated and reflect the lived experiences of real people on the ground. Abstract theory that has little relationship to the lived experience of people is extremely problematic. Good theory is critical for social analysis, for guiding change and indeed acting as an explanatory framework to help us work out what's going on. That's what theory should be about. bell hooks once remarked (and I'm paraphrasing) that for her theory was a place of healing, theory helped her make sense of her lived experience. In 2001, whilst doing my PhD, I inadvertently, developed the definition of ableism which I'll talk about in a minute. At the time I'd been examining the narrative's of disabled people used by lawyers in the courtroom. I realized that disabled people had been and are a profoundly studied group; in fact, there's actually no shortage of research at all. Of course, there are areas that require further investigation; but on the whole we already know what the situation is and what needs to be done. The problem is not a lack of research, but a lack of action. So, I started thinking about about why nothing changes. What was the nature of the resistance to disabled people taking their rightful place in society? Why was it when disabled people seem to have one issue addressed, another issue emerged? It was this time then I also realized that there was no stable definition of disability. In fact, disability is very hard to pin down. Why is this the case? Well, the notion of a disabled person has changed throughout history. It even changes depending on the context. Indeed, one piece of legislation may have different definitions of disability within it. Then, there's the issue of different understandings of the body, the mind, emotions across different cultures. Who decides who is a disabled person? When I was thinking about these things, I realized in fact that what was not being looked at, was the vexed question of what it means to be able-bodied. What does being abled what does ableness mean? What do we mean by the word ability? These are everyday words and concepts. Then we need to understand well who are the disabled? The poor, the remnants of society, the people we call deviants or castaways. Those ideas are very much dependent upon this fluid idea of ableness. They conjure up ideas of fitness, ideas of health, ideas of perfection, and in the workplace even the very idea of what we understand to be a productive employee, who is a contributory citizen. I think more significantly then, how does this great fiction of perfection of ableness keep get maintained? Why do we buy into? Well the fact is very few of us reach that endpoint that we can truly say we've made it - we are perfected, we have a dynamic and par excellent body and mind. Most of us, actually, surprisingly begin to wonder how do average people, and not so average people, get seduced and caught up and enrolled in this quest for perfection or at least a desire to arrest what might be seen as deficiencies in ourself due to ageing and other factors like body physique, race, and sex. There is then this idea, and it comes in different shapes and forms, this idea of ableness. For example, governments and society might have programs about fitness of populations groups that become exemplars of the citizen. Groups that are then seen as threats either because these groups are seen as burdens or they're suspicious, or malingerers, or deviants, so on and so forth. You get my meaning. So this thinking prompted what has been a two decade journey into developing a theory of ableism. A new theory of inquiry now known as studies in ableism. Recently I've been working on also developing research methodologies based on the insights of Studies in Ableism in order for us to develop strategies so that we can intervene in the processes and practises of ableism so we don't feel kind of despondent that nothing will change. It is possible to intervene. What is ableism? Now this is an interesting story too. Be careful what you write, that's my first warning to folks. In 2001, in an article when I was a PhD student I wrote a footnote. Now, a footnote is a little comment at the end of a page. In that footnote, I came up with a definition of ableism and in the two decades that footnote basically became the anchor for studying and thinking and developing studies in ableism. At that time, I suggested that ableism was “… a network of beliefs, processes and practises that produce a particular kind of self and body that becomes the normative standard, becomes species typical”. Basically, anyone or anything that does Basically, anyone that does not measure up to that standard are cast off is less than human, as disabled or some other nasty category. So, Studies in Ableism is really a family of ideas that examine what it means to be human and the processes of dehumanisation, the categorisation of human differences. In fact, Studies in Ableism, goes beyond a mere concern with disability and looks at other forms of dehumanised difference. We might look at other forms of human rankings such as caste, race and sex and explore points of similarity and points difference between kinds of diminished groups. It's important to say that Studies in Ableism does not necessarily see common experiences as equivalent. Ableist relations, in that sense is quite clever in the forms of stigmatisation and dehumanisation of particular groups through various processes of ranking, prioritising and differentiating between different groups. We've seen this happen during the time of COVID-19 where different groups have received different priorities. Finally, Studies in Ableism has been picked up globally, and that's the most exciting bit, by scholars studying immigration, caste, parenting, education, even computer studies. So it’s capacity to engage and multiple levels in different spaces is one of the strengths of this new field of knowledge.

Transcript 2: My Body Doesn't Oppress Me, Society Does

STACEY MILBERN: So if you and I go to a building and there's no ramp typically people think the problem is that we use wheelchairs. Whereas a social model of disability would say the problem is that the building is not accessible. And it doesn't seem like a radical concept, but it changes the fundamental way we think about disability, and the work that we need to do to include people with disabilities. PATTY BERNE: People often don't understand ability to be within this kind of context and access to adaptive devices, and where we are located economically. You know when I have my access needs met I'm functionally not disabled, you know? But when places have stairs and everything is built for people that stand so I can't see anything, and you know, it's a really dark environment so I can't see anything... because you know, as you get older your vision changes so now I need a lot of light to see things. An environment like that, of course I'm disabled. STACEY MILBERN: I really like separating out impairment from disability. So impairment as, you know, like physical or neurological manifestation - like what's real. I have a physical impairment. And then disability is like what society creates as barriers because of the impairment. So like as you're saying, if we're in a place where my access needs are getting met then my impairment isn't so significant. But when it's not because society doesn't want to, then that's the problem. So I think it's important to really think about disability and the context of what is disabling, like the environment. The last building I worked in it was really cool because it was universally designed, so all the doors had push buttons or they like magically open, you know, as you walk up, or everything is like automatically at my height. And in that place I didn't need a lot of accommodations. But then in an environment where it's not universally accessible, where people with disabilities and parents and all types of folks weren't thought of in the design process, that's when there's problems. PATTY BERNE: I'm not saying it's easy to live with an impairment. It's not easy to live, you know, when you have like four kids, it's not easy to live when it's like 20 degrees outside. And you know, for those of us in the Bay Area, 55 is freezing... but you know. I mean there are times when it's just not convenient to have a body. But that's not what oppresses us. What oppresses us is living in a system which disregards us, is violent towards us, essentially wants to subjugate our bodies or kill us. That's oppressive. My body doesn't oppress me - my body... my body's fun! But society - that can be incredibly oppressive. STACEY MILBERN: I think when we focus on a person's individual impairment or diagnosis, as you said, it kind of like lets society off the hook. It makes all the focus on that individual circumstance, when really ableism and exclusion and violence happen because of systems of oppression. So we know it's not like an individual person with a disability that's the issue, but we can look at the way, for example with policing - victims of police violence are 50 percent people with disabilities, if not more. Or if we look at the special education system, it's not the individual special education student, but we can see how special education becomes continued segregation for so many black and brown students. So when we focus on like the individual impairment, it kind of takes away from that bigger picture. PATTY BERNE: We're seen as disposable. Because for those of us that are not going to have like a treatment or a cure with our bodies, we kind of fly in the face of this idea of medicine as God. So we're seen as less than. And you're awesome! You're fabulous and you are beautiful! And you're... how could... the idea that some one would think that you're less than is just absurd. Yet that's the framework that we're in. And it's incredibly painful. There are always going to be crips. There are always going to be, you know, people in pain - it's just the nature of being in a body. But the social body we can change! And that's... I think it requires a power analysis.

Transcript 3: The Social Model of Disability

I don’t want to fit in. I want society to change and accommodate and encourage difference and variance in human existence. I think it’s pretty awesome for a lot of people when they learn about the social model of disability because up until then, I think it’s quite normal for people to be socialized into the medical model which is the idea that there’s something wrong with your body, and you’re the one that needs to be fixed, and it’s your responsibility to fit into society. But when you realize that it’s actually society that’s in the wrong, and it’s society that has the responsibility to change, it takes the weight off your shoulders and you’re like “Oh! There’s not actually anything wrong with me and it’s not up to me to make all the changes. It’s actually up to society and those in power to include me and include my body.” We can build towards alternative visions if we become more aware—more conscious—of the levels of exclusion and intolerance that are experienced. And, that we have a level of enthusiasm when it comes to saying, “We don’t want to continue with the way things are.”

Transcript 4: Black health care professionals experience racism

Kenyatta Curry, RN – Limb Care and Wound Healing Clinic: We just want to take care of people. We don’t care what you look like, what you do in your own personal time, in your own four walls. We just want to take care of people. Charles Gibson, MD – Critical Care Surgeon: I had a patient that was very, very ill. Had a perforated stomach and needed surgery emergently to save her life. She was going to die if we didn’t do surgery. I went in to meet with her with my residents, and we kind of explained the plan and said, "You know, if you don’t have surgery, you’re not going to make it, so we need to go right now." In the midst of all her pain and distress, she said, "Well, I don’t really want a Black doctor. Is there anyone else?" And at that point, my skin is six inches thick, and I said, "Ma’am, I’m perfectly happy to walk out of this room right now. Just know that I’m the only surgeon that’s on call right now. There is no such thing as a second opinion tonight. I’m the one that’s going to be here. I’m happy to save your life, but if it’s your choice that you don’t want me to provide my services, then that’s your choice." And I walked out of the room. I got a call back about 30 minutes later from the nurse saying, "She changed her mind, she wants to go to surgery." And I took her to surgery all the same. All that notwithstanding, because it’s the right thing. It’s my job. I don’t judge people based on their beliefs, what they want to do. I don’t care about any of that. If you come into the hospital, I’ll give you the same care that I would give my own mother because that’s the oath that I took to take care of my patients. Nastaciea Robert – Director, Contact Services & Access: I actually had an employee at the time. She was supporting our area. She came up to me on a day that I wore a very nice new dress, and she said, "You look really nice today, but from here down," which then—she excluded my natural hair. And it was pretty traumatic at first. I really had to take a step back and say, "Okay, is this coming from a place of ignorance? Is it coming from a place of, I just need to understand? Is it just being malicious?" I didn’t know. Kandace Ward, PA-C – Physician Assistant, Urology: When I reflect on my experiences, the majority of the aggressions have probably been from patients and/or their advocates. I have been told once before that, as the physician assistant in my team, the patient did not want to see me because of my color. Hankondo Sibalwa, RN – Orthopedic Total Joint Replacement: And so you’re always checking yourself—with our day-to-day lives, what you’re doing, how you carry yourself, how you speak, your approaches and everything. Because especially being African, I have also to... I have—I'm a, they call it, a double minority. We call it a double minority, a minority of a minority. So you’re always just checking yourself, making sure that you are presenting yourself well enough that you’ll be accepted. You always have to go above and beyond just to be at the basic level. So I think, as a nurse of color, it’s always been a challenge. Going through nursing school, it’s been a challenge on the job. Like I said, there’s not a lot of people who look like me in areas that I’ve worked in, and so you do feel that you have to work a little bit harder. Candace Smith-King, MD – Pediatrician, VP Academic Affairs: Not too many kids—when I go to my kids’ elementary school—will just assume I’m a doctor. That’s typically not the first response. If I tell somebody I work at the hospital, the initial assumption is not that I’m a doctor. In the world. In 2020. In the United States of America. It just should not be that way. It is exceptionally hard to have to do everything that my colleagues do—and be Black. I have to do all the stuff, take all the risks, worry about getting sued if I mess up. Being late to work, being tired, just not feeling like doing something some days. And then on top of all that, you see all the things that happen on TV and social media and in print, and you just have to read that and say, "You know, yeah, that could be me today. Hopefully, it’s not." And still go be excellent at your job. The George Floyd video—that, you know, kind of really set off everything else that’s going on right now—I think, you know, the callous indifference of those officers as this man begged for his life was something that transcended race. Frankly, I mean, I don’t know that anybody can really watch that video and not feel something. I have gotten so used to putting a cap or lid on my feelings. It has been difficult to come to work on a day after watching a video of another person who I see reflected in the mirror. Or my husband. Or my brother. Or even my father. And I come to work, and everybody else is fine. Everyone else is in the hallway asking me, "Oh hey, Candace, how you doing?" And I’m like, I am hurting on the inside. Because I just saw another reflection of the same systemic oppression of people who look like me. Since I’ve been on this planet. And everybody else is okay. And I’m not okay. So I’ve had friends, especially in the last couple of weeks, who have reached out and said, "Hey, I know that the world is not a fair place for you and that maybe it’s hard to come to work. I just want you to know that I want to be an ally. I’m sorry that I haven’t been the best one in the past. I don’t know how, or I want to learn more. Can you just share more of your story with me?" That’s been beautiful. Renee Jordan, MD – Pediatrician: I think taking care of patients that look like you—seeing the relief and the gratitude that’s on their faces when they realize that you are making... I’m gonna cry. When you realize that you’re making a difference in health disparities for people who look like you—when you realize that, oh wow, because of me, because I was here today, I was able to help someone who looked just like my mom, or my sister, or my brother—it makes all of it worth it. But it also just highlights how important this journey is.

Transcript 4: Black nurses speak out about systemic racism in healthcare

Nurse 1: Keep it low, don't talk too loud, try to make yourself almost invisible so they don't try to pick on you. Reporter: Systemic racism in healthcare. Black nurses and hospital staff working in fields largely dominated by women know this all too well. Now, Black nurses are sharing their experiences and demanding change. Nurse 1: Experiences with patients, a lot of patients. I'm young, I'm Black, I'm a woman, and they don't like that. I've been told, 'I don't want you to take care of me because you're Black.' Literally. I've been called the N-word. I've been—some patients have been violent towards me because I am Black. Nurse 2: A resident will say things such as, 'I don't like your hair, I don't like your skin, don't touch me.' Nurse 3: "We talk about the opportunities that we've missed, the double work that we have to do just to get to the level of someone who's non-Black. Reporter: Advocates are encouraging Black women and men to speak up, but the burden of educating can't only be placed on the backs of Black people. Allies are needed. Nurse 3: We're as good as anybody else, even though they try to make us believe we're not. Nurse1 : If we're not taking care of the healthcare system, there's a lot of underlying issues that are not taken care of. Reporter: Policies and education reform are primordial, they say. Nurse 1: We should review education in nursing schools because we need to evolve our practices. Reporter: These nurses claim stereotypes and false information have been taught in school, such as Black people having thicker skin and tolerating more pain. Nurse 3: If someone that is Black is complaining about pain, they're not going to take it seriously. Reporter: One nurse recounts how she witnessed Black patients being treated differently than white patients. Nurse 3: She had to go in for an emergency C-section, but it took them like a good 16 hours to understand that she was not going to give birth naturally. She had to go to a C-section, and the woman died. But had they taken her pain seriously earlier, she might—I'm not saying she would have survived, but maybe she could have been alive. Nurse 2: Until lately, people had to suffer in silence. They were not able to express and share their experiences, and when they did, they were dismissed. So they had to suffer in silence. They had no one who took action and sanctioned the people.

Module 4 Transcripts

feven.araya — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 06:43:28 +0000

Module 5 Transcripts

feven.araya — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 06:45:43 +0000

Transcript 1: How collective care can change society | Janey Starling & Seyi Falodun-Liburd | TEDxLondonWomen

SEYI FALODUN-LIBURD: I used to hate Sundays. Every Sunday, around late morning, I get this wave of nausea in the pit of my stomach because it was Monday, and Monday meant work. Work meant feeling overwhelmed and undervalued. It meant crying in the toilets. It meant yet another week of pushing down my feelings for the sake of working somewhere that was doing such important work, it didn't matter the impact it had on me or my team.

JANEY STARLING: For me, five years ago, I suddenly got this stabbing sensation around one of my ovaries, and I couldn’t walk without extreme pain. I was rushed to the hospital, and as I was undergoing tests, I got more and more anxious. But not because of what was happening in my body; because the press release I was drafting for a protest the next day still wasn’t finished.

SEYI FALODUN-LIBURD: We know it’s not just us. We understand that everyone, whether they work inside the home or outside the home, ignores what their body needs in order to get the job done. We also understand the toll this takes—not just on us as individuals but on those who love and depend on us. But are these ways of working and living sustainable? More importantly, will they liberate us? I don't think they will. I think they'll continue to keep us more exhausted and more disconnected from each other.

JANEY STARLING: Now both the experiences that we just described happened while we were working at feminist organizations. These were spaces where, all the time, we were talking about challenging and dismantling the violent structures that are hurting so many of us. But actually, through the ways that we were working, we were just reinforcing those structures.

The revolution is not some magical event that we’ll wake up to one day. It’s something that we all play a part in building every day, because whatever you’re practicing every day is what you’re building.

SEYI FALODUN-LIBURD: So we’re here to talk about care—more specifically, how the practice of collective care is our strongest tool for building a world without violence. Now when we say violence, we mean both systemic and bodily violence, like the way black children are regularly subjected to traumatizing body searches by the police, or the fact that women are killed by their partners in their own homes every single week. By collective care, we’re talking about our shared responsibility to provide and receive the emotional, physical, and structural support we all need to live more loving and liberated lives.

JANEY STARLING: Now, people talk a lot about self-care, but often that just means each of us individually doing what we can outside of work, while the bigger structures that reproduce inequalities stay firmly in place. Together, Seyi and I co-direct a feminist campaigning organization called Level Up. Level Up was founded by a group of brilliant women six years ago, and since then, we have run and won some amazing campaigns. We’ve changed the way the media reports fatal domestic abuse.

SEYI FALODUN-LIBURD: We’ve flown planes over football matches to force the Premier League to implement gender consent training.

JANEY STARLING: We’ve held breastfeeding protests outside the Ministry of Justice to demand an end to prison for pregnant women.

SEYI FALODUN-LIBURD: And right now, we’re working on getting beauty brands to remove cancerous chemicals from black women’s hair products.

JANEY STARLING: We are really proud of what we do, but the part we’re most proud of is the part the public doesn’t get to see. It’s the way we’ve done all of this while prioritizing care for ourselves and the people we work with. Because when Seyi and I started to co-direct Level Up together, we decided that every day we would try to build a tiny bit more of the world we dream of through the ways we relate to each other.

SEYI FALODUN-LIBURD: By prioritizing care, we’ve been able to nurture a community that doesn’t require us to erase parts of ourselves, but instead makes space for us to show up as human beings, not just outputs. We’ve all worked in places that have left us feeling disposable, and although it’s unprofessional to be human, we knew it would be contradictory to replicate those ways of working while striving for liberation externally. It didn’t really make sense.

JANEY STARLING: Words like "care" are often dismissed as weak or feminine in favor of words like "discipline" and "rigor." But the reality is, we care rigorously. Care is not a nice-to-have that happens outside of work. Care is the work. Care is our strategy.

SEYI FALODUN-LIBURD: Care is being strategic and having a razor-sharp analysis on how we can most effectively focus our energy so we don’t waste time.

JANEY STARLING: Care is prioritizing so we don’t get swept up in this false sense of urgency that might make us feel important but actually just exhausts us.

SEYI FALODUN-LIBURD: Care is valuing our bodies, our labor, and our humanity, and not feeling guilty for prioritizing the rest or hands-on care we all need at different times in our lives.

JANEY STARLING: And it’s also about having a shared understanding of just how important it is to take time off when life happens. We take time off when our periods are heavy. We take naps when we need to. And if anyone is experiencing chronic illness or has had a bereavement, we all understand that care is the number one priority.

SEYI FALODUN-LIBURD And let’s be clear, it’s not about naps or period leave. It’s about nurturing workspaces and working relationships that are rooted in mutual, high trust and compassion so that people can take the time when they need it.

JANEY STARLING: Some people think that the crises we face are too urgent for us to take a day off. But the reality is, the battles we fight are too important for any of us to burn out.

SEYI FALODUN-LIBURD: Yeah, but don’t mistake care for comfort. It’s also about confronting our differences and being honest when we harm each other. Without actively challenging the structural and individual dynamics we all play a part in upholding, no one is exempt from contributing to structural violence, like white supremacy, transphobia, or capitalist cultures of disposability.

JANEY STARLING: And we didn’t invent these practices. So much of what we’re talking about is rooted in black and disabled feminist theory and practice that has always emphasized that our liberation is collective. Nobody is free until we all are. Where violence manifests through dehumanization, coercion, and control, the direct antidote to that is care.

SEYI FALODUN-LIBURD: I remember when I was about 16, my mum and I were driving home through a rainstorm. The sky was a really dark gray, and I could barely see through the windscreen because it was raining so heavily. We were about three doors down from our home in East London when my mum abruptly stopped the car, ran out into the rain using a newspaper as an umbrella. I watched as she spoke to an elderly woman who was struggling with her shopping in the rain, and 10 seconds later, my mum was helping that woman into our car. After dropping her home nearby, I asked my mum why she’d done that, and she said, “This is where I live, so I help when I can.”

Now, I’d seen my mum do kind things for random strangers and neighbors my whole life, but I think this was the first time I understood that community was a doing word. Caring for each other is a shared responsibility that has to be practiced every day, in the big ways and the small ways.

JANEY STARLING: And acts of care are acts of resistance in a society that is designed to dehumanize and divide us. Two years ago in Glasgow, two men were taken from their home by immigration enforcement at nine in the morning and bundled into a van outside. Their neighbors came out into the street and stood in front of the van to block its path. Word spread, and after two hours, hundreds of people had joined the protest.

After an eight-hour standoff between the neighbors and the police, during which time one guy even crawled underneath the van to stop it from moving, the neighbors won. The men were released. That day, hundreds of people left their homes and used their bodies to disrupt a violent policing and immigration system. And it's examples like this that remind us how powerful collective care is.

Because we live in this society that loves to reinforce this myth of the individual change maker—the superwoman who has to do it all by herself—but the reality is, there is just no way one single person could have stopped that van.

SEYI FALODUN-LIBURD: And humans are actually quite caring by nature, but the systems that we exist in often force us to focus on our own survival and leave us very little time to look up and see what's happening in the communities around us.

But prioritizing care is a refusal to abandon ourselves and each other. It’s reclaiming our humanity within systems that seek to strip us of that and coerce us to discard and exploit each other in the pursuit of individual success. But our survival and our ability to thrive is collective. Poet and teacher Gwendolyn Brooks said, “We are each other's harvest. We are each other's business. We are each other's magnitude and bond.” So, whether it's a labor strike or a protest or neighbors blocking a van, collective action is collective care.

JANEY STARLING: We all have the power to prioritize care in our everyday environments. The revolution is relational. It’s not something that we have to wait for; it’s in our hands right now.

SEYI FALODUN-LIBURD: Care isn’t a nice add-on while the real work is being done. Care is the strategy. Care is the work.

JANEY STARLING: Think of it like the muscle we need to use to build the world we dream of. You need to exercise a muscle in order for it to grow stronger, and in the same way, it’s not always easy or comfortable to go up against the systems that we are so deeply embedded within.

SEYI FALODUN-LIBURD: Muscles, as they grow, rip but they repair. In the same way, dismantling the systems that dehumanize us and building alternative ones is the only way we grow back stronger together.

JANEY STARLING: Care is the muscle we need to use every day to build a world where everyone is loved and liberated. Thank you.

Module 6 Transcripts

feven.araya — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 06:47:07 +0000

Transcript 1: First Nations in Canada Leading Climate Change Resistance - Point of no return

If those trees could talk, what do you think they would say to you? I could hear them—"Help me! Help me! They're cutting me down. Come and help me!" That was just three months ago. And what are they putting there? The LG plant. We said no to this location, so they moved it a couple of hundred yards, but it's still happening. That plant would have been disastrous for the fish habitat. We are fish people; we live off the land. It would have destroyed our way of life. So together, we stopped it. But this pipeline has divided families—husbands and wives, friends—some agree, some disagree. Tension lingers. We are not against industry. We are not against progress. But can it be done safely? They brought in the RCMP, offered money, thinking it would silence us. They offered over a billion dollars, but we said no. They believe money always talks, but not to our people—not this time. And yet, they wonder why there's global warming, why there are floods. If you listen, you will hear the trees speaking, you will hear the fish saying, "Protect me." Even the animals bear witness. That is a sign. Drive along the Coquihalla Highway from Vancouver to the interior, and you will see the destruction caused by the Trans Mountain pipeline. It cuts under the South Thompson River and then continues on, scarring the land. The impacts are vast—heavy oil polluting water, harming the environment, the animals, the people. But the government and big industry, fueled by foreign investors, don’t seem to care. We are defending our land against extractivism, against this man-made crisis. That is what it means to be a land defender. And it is not easy. It means standing against the one-percent agenda, against a system designed to take and exploit without end. The climate crisis is here. Look out from this cabin—you see how the Earth has been scorched. The land stripped, left sterile. They took away our land, our rights, our children—to residential schools. They took our language, our culture, our way of knowing. They severed us from our families, utterly destroying us from the inside out. And when you break a people, it becomes easier for governments and corporations to take advantage. Our ancestors warned us: one day, our fish, our food, our way of life would begin to disappear. That day is here. The water levels are dropping. Salmon struggle to make it upriver. It is hotter now, the land drier. Fires burn behind our reserve. They almost called an evacuation last week. In the distance, if you look at the tree line, it seems like warriors on horseback stand watch. As a child, I imagined they were our ancestors, protecting us. Now, the world has changed so much. The warmth that once nourished us now fuels devastation. They say we are impeding progress. But this is not progress. It is destruction. And people need to realize—it is their tax dollars funding this. These were living beings, and now they are discarded, like casualties of war. Our elders told us: first, they will come for the animals (fur trade), then for the trees (forestry), then for the minerals beneath the ground. And they will not stop until everything is ruined. It is our job—as humans, as Chiefs, as Indigenous people—to stop it. The RCMP’s retirement fund is tied to this project. Their job is to ensure it succeeds. This pipeline is backed by major banks, global investors. Over 60% is owned by KKR, a company with a security arm run by David Petraeus—the former CIA director. This is not just a pipeline; it is a deeply entrenched system of power and profit. We have never agreed to this pipeline. All our hereditary Chiefs, all our clans, have said no. Their version of consultation is force—buying people off, pushing through projects with police intimidation. We know this pattern. It is the same system that took our children to residential schools, and now, it takes our land. The pipeline construction continues. The repression continues. They harass and intimidate daily. But we are still here. We continue to resist in whatever ways we can. The cost is high. Many have suffered. But I think of my ancestors—the sacrifices they made so we could stand here today. And so, we must also make sacrifices for future generations. We train our people to be out on the land, to engage in our cultural ways, to document and map what is happening. We are identifying the critical places that must be protected. To win in the long run, we must build capacity, spread across our territories, and teach others to do the same. We are heading out to do trail work, to build new paths. It is a natural process—young people witnessing, participating, learning the traditions of hunting and trapping. My grandfather, my father, my uncles taught me, and now my children follow. The tradition continues. It is the way it is meant to be. But when the helicopters hear we are out here, they come. They circle above us, trying to intimidate us. But we are still here. We will always be here. They will not scare us away from our land. I was arrested once. The police came in, militarized, guns drawn. They made disgusting jokes. They tried to break us. But they failed. My charges were dropped, and I returned. Because we do not resist—we exist. That is our power. People ask, what are we going to do next? We feel the changes, we see the destruction. But our people will survive. Others may not—because they have forgotten how to live off the land. When I attend climate conferences, they talk, but they do not act. So it is up to the people. We must act. This is not over. We have never surrendered. We meet every week, we plan, we act. This is just the beginning. We must defend our Mother Earth. We must keep speaking. If we stop, governments will believe we no longer care. But we do. We always will. We will speak for the trees, the land, the rivers, the oceans. We will fight. At the next election, vote wisely. Do not support those who back oil and pipelines. Because when we stop one, another emerges. We must make a choice for our future. When you have the chance to speak, do it. When you have the chance to stand together, do it. Industry and elected officials fear unity. They invest billions to keep us divided. Do not be bought. Your heart should not be bought. Your mind should not be bought. We all need clean water, fresh air, food. We all share this Earth. And to the leaders of the world—I have news for you. You cannot leave Earth. You are here to stay. You are here to die. You are here to be buried in this soil. There is no undoing the toxins, no reversing the damage once we cross the point of no return. But we are stronger now. Wiser. More strategic. We have learned from our experiences. We were born with warrior spirits. And when you are connected to the land, to your ancestors, there is no room for defeat.

Transcript 2: Indigeneity and Disability

VIE JONES: I think the greatest weapon that the colonizing powers of Canada have used against Indigenous people has been their power to erase them, to make them invisible. MICHEL DUMONT: When I get asked this question, what role does my indigeneity play in my artwork, it's almost akin to the same question, how does my intersections play-- my disability, my Franco-Ontario heritage, my indigeneity. They're all ever-present. APRIL HUBBARD: This week we're talking about indigeneity and disability. NARRATOR: Deep conversations, real, honest stories, and complex, relevant issues all examined through a disability lens. This is In Focus. APRIL HUBBARD: Hello, I'm April Hubbard. Welcome to In Focus. We're going to kick this episode off by introducing you to a talented disabled Métis artist whose art is bright, full of meaning, and reflects his many identities. MICHEL DUMONT: So this hot glue is on the hottest temperature possible, so it kind of melts the packing tape and cellophane. APRIL HUBBARD: Michel Dumont is working on his latest wearable art piece, Gagosh-that's "porcupine" in Ojibwe-- as part of a runway collection for the Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival. MICHEL DUMONT: So it's taking me several weeks to make this. APRIL HUBBARD: Using a glue gun and packing tape, he's fastening a protective layer of beautiful and brightly-coloured cellophane porcupine spikes over a Red Riding Hood-style cape made in tribute to the murdered and missing Indigenous women. MICHEL DUMONT: I am a queer Métis, two-spirited, disabled artist from Thunder Bay, Ontario, so descendant from the Robinson Superior Treaty Area, the Lake Nipigon area. That's where my mother went to school, the Indian Day School at the Lake Helen Reserve. And I grew up just on the North Shore of Lake Superior and moved to Thunder Bay APRIL HUBBARD: Michel works with non-toxic and unconventional materials out of necessity. MICHEL DUMONT: About eight years ago, I became a multiple chemical sensitive, and I already had a back injury. So I was dealing with chronic pain from the age of 29. And so, I had to start thinking about art projects that were lightweight. But then, when I became a multiple chemical sensitive about eight years ago, I had to start thinking in low toxicity. And then I started playing with lightweight packing tape because the adhesive is fairly non-toxic, and then I realized that I could turn it into a textile. And then I watched Project Runway for the first time. I watched all 14 seasons. I binge watched it all, and the unconventional materials challenge was my laneway. I was just blown open by the concept that you don't necessarily have to use materials that are problematic for yourself. And so I discovered packing tape and cellophane and that you could shoot light through it, that it had low toxicity. I could breathe with it in my work environment and I could live with it. And now I'm doing Indigenous fashion arts at the Harbourfront Centre next week. APRIL HUBBARD: In addition to wearable art, Michel also makes ceramic art pieces, like these stunning taxidermy bear headforms, covered in colorful mosaic tiles. MICHEL DUMONT: Early on, I thought, well, I should just make art that's pretty. And then I realized that I had to get personal to become universal. And I had to share my perspective. When I get asked this question, what role does my indigeneity city play in my artwork, it's almost akin to the same question, how does my intersections play-- my disability, my Franco-Ontario heritage, my indigeneity. They're all ever-present. I am a person of French descent, of Ojibwe descent through my mother. And the two were intermixed, right? So the tourtiere that I grew up making was from moose meat. And so, it was-my mother made moose meat tourtiere for her French husband. So it was this intermingling of two cultures that formed my childhood. My Ojibwe grandmother taught me legends and myths. So I carry all of that with me when I make my artwork. APRIL HUBBARD: In 2019, Michel performed a piece at Tangled Art and Disability Gallery in Toronto, which centered a photograph from his mother's residential school days. MICHEL DUMONT: And so there are children, you know, my mother's age, in grade one, all going to grade eight. And so my aunts and uncles are all in this one-room photo. And in the photo, the children's hair are all cut off, and there's no one smiling. I recognized the pain in that photograph. I realized that I could take that photograph, I could put it on a decal, and I could cook it onto the tiles that I made. And I realized that I could break the tile with a hammer because it's like a second nature to me. And then I could read out the names of the children while I'm using the hammer blows and breaking the image. Mariah Adala. Eddie Wallyea. One of the major themes in my mosaics is making art with a hammer. And living with chronic pain and intergenerational trauma, I found it very cathartic to take my anger and aggression out with a hammer and physically break ceramic tile and then lovingly put it back together and making something beautiful out of something broken. Beverly Wallyea. It took me three years to do that piece because it was emotionally incredibly difficult to see the image of my mother at the age of six in this difficult environment. APRIL HUBBARD: The themes behind some of Michel's work may be based in trauma, but his finished pieces are filled with beauty, brightness, celebration, and joy. MICHEL DUMONT: When I was 29, I got sober. And I had to take a lot of therapy and I had to learn to live with intergenerational trauma, even though I didn't know that term when I was younger. And I needed to live with light and love. And my artwork can frequently show the darkness and the light. And it is important to me to acknowledge both. So I like making queer, happy artwork, but it has to be something based on something serious or it's informed by trauma. I found my way through it, and I just hope that other people see that and appreciate it. NARRATOR: Coming up, Indigenous perspectives on disability. VIE JONES: It wasn't until I started moving off-reserve and into the city, into urban centers, that I started experiencing more of, I think, that colonial corrections, like, this is not how to be. NARRATOR: In focus will return. You're watching in focus. APRIL HUBBARD: Welcome back to In Focus. Vie Jones is an Anishinaabe two-spirit artist, educator, and storyteller, originally from Garden River First Nation, just outside colonial Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. They currently live and operate out of Chebucto, Halifax, and are finishing their second year in the Master of Art in Arts Education program at NSCAD University. They join me virtually. Welcome, Vie. VIE JONES: Thank you, April, for having me. APRIL HUBBARD: So I recently started research into my connections to my Mi'kmaq ancestors and discovered that the colonialist, ablest, capitalist way of understanding disability is very different than what my Mi'kmaq ancestors understood as wellness, ability, and how a person is valued. Can we take a moment to discuss those two perspectives? VIE JONES: I'm not Mi'kmaq but I'm so lucky to be hosted in Mi'kma'ki. I am Anishinaabe from the territory of Bowating, which is the rapids between the lakes of Superior and Huron. So that is my ancestral home and where I pull my grounded normativity and knowledge from. And from my experience, and based around the research that I've done around my Masters with community, but also the ways I've experienced, sort of, growing up within that community, disability is really a colonial context because it presumes that the natural state is human and that human is central to experience. And that human must be able to produce and must be able to work in some way. And so, when you have an Indigenous worldview that answers that says, you were born into this world of so many others, share this space; you now have human and non-human kin; you have animals and plants that you are encouraged to relate to, then disability becomes a part of just accommodating difference and accommodating other, which we can already do when we incorporate, I guess, those ways of thinking. Because it's disrespectful to expect a deer or bear or fish or a tree to be able to do the same things that we, as people, do. So we need to be able to accommodate the ways that they access space. And then if we bring that purely on a human level, it's the ways that difference is generative, and the way that difference as it makes us more interesting, better people because it fleshes out all of our aspects of society, as opposed to a colonial model, which is largely punitive, that idealizes the structure of a cisgender, largely white, largely able-bodied man. And then everything else that doesn't match that is sort of a punitive oppression against it, versus a holistic world being that centers on your relational state and not necessarily the idea of human that you don't match up to. APRIL HUBBARD: Yeah. I was really excited when I started this research, to have permission from my ancestors to just be who I am and to not need to pretend to be productive on days when I'm not feeling well, to just be in a space and in a time that my body needs. Is that something that you experienced in your early years? VIE JONES: Yes, I was raised with it early on in my life. And for a large part of my life, I didn't question it because I was surrounded by that structure that supported it. But it wasn't until I started moving off-reserve and into the city, into urban centers, that I started experiencing more of, I think, that colonial correction. Like, this is not how to be this. Is not how we do things. And every time you push against that you get immediately corrected back on the spot, like, this is-no, you can't do that. And so for those of us who have a worldview that centers around the way that we engage and relate with the world, now we're being told that is not how we do things as humans. As humans, we are masters of our environments, and we are not people who need care. We only need care when we are infants and we are elderly. No, I used to be a baby, and hopefully, I will be elderly and I will have always needed care. And I will always need care. I'm never not going to be in a position where I'm ever independent, no matter how able I am. APRIL HUBBARD: Yeah, that's so beautifully put, and a wish that we can all have. In doing my research, I discovered that in Anishinaabe culture, children are often named for the unique gifts that they carry and the responsibilities that they have within their community. How does this set up a culture that focuses on strengths? VIE JONES: If we look at the legacies in which Canada has made permissible, or which Canada defines itself, it defines itself by the idea that this land wasn't being used or wasn't being used well by the people before, or that there was no one here, or that the Indigenous people here were deficient in some way in structuring their own societies and their own ethics of engagement and their own ways of seeing and engaging with the world. This was based around the world we were literally born into. And that goes back to naming. So when I got my name, I was very young at the time. And they told me that this was my gift, and to go out and to learn it. I was very lucky to be named after a time of day. And so this is-an Indigenous concept of time is completely different, where we engage in cycles, restoring cycles, and that the time of day that I was named after would come every day at a specific time. And when you break down the word that I was named after, it literally breaks down into the past and the present colliding when the sun rises over the horizon. And that is an opportunity for me to find gifts in that and relate to that and make meaning from that in my own way, and provide significant self-centring in the world-this is who I am. This is my gift. These are my purpose. And it also lets you know that you were born into a network of care because these are gifts from the spirit world. These are gifts from our ancestors. It sets up unknowable others that we are intricately connected and responsible to. And you're encouraged to think about that because you're named after them. APRIL HUBBARD: I'm listening to you talk, and it's so exciting to imagine the world in a more expansive way. So thanks for sharing that. We need to take a short break, but there's still lots more to come. My conversation with Vie will continue when we return. NARRATOR: In Focus will be right back. This is In Focus. APRIL HUBBARD: Welcome back. I'm talking with Vie Jones about understanding disability through an Indigenous lens. Vie, one thing that I was surprised to learn was that a lot of Indigenous languages don't even have a word for disability because they don't see disability as a concept that needs to be explored. Instead, they focus on a person's strengths, rather than their weaknesses. VIE JONES: And the idea of mindful accommodation of difference is that there's no expectation of what or who people are, that people are varied, and people are very diverse. Like, you don't have an expectation for you, as a human, to be able to do the same things across your lifetime. Why would you do that for anybody else? APRIL HUBBARD: Very true. So Vie, Indigenous and disabled folks have historically, and still today, been forced into sterilization as a form of eugenics. Why do we still allow this to happen in Canada? VIE JONES: I mean, I think the greatest weapon that the colonizing powers of Canada have used against Indigenous people has been their power to erase them, to make them invisible. The idea that there was nobody here before colonizers showed up, the idea that we're still not here, or that colonization has, in fact, taken over and we're not connected to those languages, those ways of being, as we always have been and have been evolving alongside Canadian citizens, in our own ways, still connected to those practises. Like, residential school is horrible. Yes, it didn't work. And there's a reason for that. And that reason is because of the strengths we know within our own communities and the ways that we are unrecognizable to the settler days. Those are our strengths. APRIL HUBBARD: That's so important to realize. Now, I want to take a moment to recognize the people who have lost their lives as a result of being forced to interact with these Canadian systems. For example, Joyce Echaquan, the 37-year-old Atikamekw mother of seven, who live streamed herself being insulted and mocked by staff not long before she died at a hospital northeast of Montreal in 2020. Or Chantel Moore, who was shot to death by Edmundston police while responding to her wellness check in that same year. How can Indigenous people feel safe? VIE JONES: I don't think they can feel safe as long as Canada doesn't care about Indigenous people. Full stop. Like, there's no way that we can be safe if we're constantly under attack, and that's been the legacy since Canadians first self-identified as such. In order for Canada to exist, the land has to be non-Indigenous, and that's the point of a land acknowledgement, right? It's recognizing that this land is Indigenous. It's hosted us since time immemorial. There are fish out there that are well over 160 years old. So what is Canada? It's the idea of people. It's not the land. And so, you can find your heart in the land that's not Canada, and that's where you can be safe. But with Canada, you can never be because Indigenous identity is a threat to Canadian existence. As long as Indigenous people exist, it will remind Canadians that we were here first. We lived here in harmony-- not complete harmony, but we lived here. We had full-we had 500 recognized tribes across the US. We had our own customs, languages. And Canada and the US determined that they were not good enough. APRIL HUBBARD: Vie, what is your hope for the future? VIE JONES: So I guess my hope for a future that I may be a part of, if we're thinking about my lifetime, is one that builds on an idea that we, as people, are valuable as we are born and looks and moves towards, I think, a way that addresses and acknowledges what has happened and how we got to where we are. Because we are not here by accident, and we are not here by this circumstances of fate. We are here by very deliberate choices for very deliberate reasons. And we cannot undo those choices without first talking about them, so we need to acknowledge how we've come to be in the state that we are and what our responsibilities are to each other to move forward in a way that harms the least. APRIL HUBBARD: We're going to have to end it there. Thanks for joining me, Vie. I enjoyed speaking with you today. VIE JONES: Thank you for having me. APRIL HUBBARD: Indigenous peoples were here long before the settler perspective came along and unsuccessfully attempted to silence their voices by making their existence illegal. These same structures also tried to silence the voice of disabled people through the eugenics movement. It is time we recognize the trauma that these colonial structures continue to cause and shift back to Indigenous ways of understanding the world that celebrates the strengths and beauty that each person brings to our community. That's it for In Focus this week. Thanks for watching.

Module 7 Transcripts

feven.araya — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 06:49:26 +0000

The Right to Health Care

feven.araya — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 09:10:41 +0000

In Module 3, we discussed how people with disabilities encounter significant problems with the health care system in Canada. However, most of us, or someone we care about, will need health care services at some point in life – including health care professionals themselves. This may be for a minor infection or illness, major surgery, or a need that falls between these two extremes. Ideally the services we receive as patients and provide as health care professionals would be timely, respectful, and effective.

International Covenants, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and Human Rights Laws

As we live in a country with a publicly insured health care system, most of us expect to receive services without charge. We have a right to those services, after all, we pay a lot for health care through the tax system! Unfortunately, we may have rights but not be able to enact them. At the end of this section you will find a video that considers the American approach to healthcare. Take some time to reflect on what you have read about the right to healthcare in Canada and consider the different approaches taken in the two nations.

International Covenants

Given the importance of health care services to general health and well-being, access to health care has been enshrined in the [pb_glossary id="882"]United Nations’ (UN)[/pb_glossary] International Declaration of Human Rights since it was proclaimed in 1948 (UN General Assembly, 1948, Article 25.1). Later UN Conventions and interpretive Comments have further specified this right. Key among these is Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (UN General Assembly, 1966, Article 12). The UN Economic and Social Council (2000) has provided interpretive guidelines for that Article. In addition, Article 25 and related articles (e.g., 16, 22, 26, and 27) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities spell out in further detail some basic requirements for health-related rights that apply to people with disabilities. While Canada has signed these international agreements, they do not have the same status in Canadian law as laws passed by the national and provincial legislatures.

The Charter

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Canada, 1982) guarantees broad equality rights as well as fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, mobility rights, legal rights, and language rights. All levels of government must take the Charter into account to ensure their laws, policies, and programs are in line with it. Section 15.1 of the Charter states that “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age, or mental or physical disability.”

Publicly Funded Health Care: The Canada Health Act

The Canada Health Act (CHA) provides for publicly funded health care insurance to support the primary objective of Canadian health care policy, which is “to protect, promote and restore the physical and mental well-being of residents of Canada and to facilitate reasonable access to health services without financial or other barriers” (Canada, 1985: s.3). The CHA aims to ensure that all eligible residents of Canada have reasonable access to insured health services on a prepaid basis, without direct charges at the point of service. To meet its objective, the CHA sets out basic criteria and conditions the provinces must meet in exchange for a full federal cash contribution through the Canada Health Transfer (CHT – see Canada, Department of Finance, 2022). The CHT supplements the funding of provincial healthcare systems. To qualify for the federal contribution the provinces must uphold five key principles in their publicly insured systems: (a) public (non-profit) administration, (b) comprehensiveness, (c) universality, (d) portability, and (e) accessibility. Sections 8 – 12 of the CHA explain what these terms mean. Universality and accessibility mean that all insured persons of the province (S.10) must be able to receive its insured health services on uniform terms and conditions, without charge or other barriers (S.12.1). All residents of a province are to be insured. Exceptions are people in federal penitentiaries or the Canadian Forces, which have their own healthcare service arrangements, and people who have not yet resided in a province for three months and were not previously a resident of another province, e.g., tourists, visitors, transient persons. Although the federal government provides funding for healthcare services under the CHA and CHT, the administration and provision of healthcare is mainly a provincial/territorial responsibility.

Human Rights Laws

Human rights laws, such as the federal Canadian Human Rights Act, Ontario’s Human Rights Code, and other provincial/territorial human rights acts, provide safeguards against discrimination in jobs, housing, and services. These laws pertain only to the government and entities in the respective jurisdiction. For instance, Ontario’s Code and not the Canadian Human Rights Act has jurisdiction in Ontario, unless some matter in Ontario (e.g., employment discrimination in a federally regulated bank) falls within the scope of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Ontario’s Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination in access to commonly used services, which would include publicly insured healthcare, on the basis of disability, citizenship, race, place of origin, ethnic origin, colour, ancestry, age, creed, sex/pregnancy, family status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, receipt of public assistance (in housing) and record of offences (in employment) (Ontario, 1990). All human rights acts at the federal and provincial/territorial levels impose a “duty to accommodate”. This means that the needs of people with disabilities (and others covered by the legislation) who are adversely affected by a requirement, rule or standard must be accommodated so people with disabilities have equal opportunities, access and benefits. The duty to accommodate extends up to the point of “[pb_glossary id="691"]undue hardship[/pb_glossary]” for the person or organization providing the accommodation. Accordingly, to anticipate and prevent potential problems, services and facilities should be designed inclusively and must be adapted to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities in ways that promote integration and full participation (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2016: Sections 8–9).

Disability-Specific Human Rights Legislation: The AODA

The human rights process is driven by individual complaints. As such it is time consuming, costly, and produces results that may address individual complaints but seldom translate to systemic solutions for others experiencing similar difficulties. Relatively new human rights legislation with a focus on people with disabilities aims to address such shortcomings by more clearly articulating expectations for accessibility and inclusion, which if met could help stem the number of individual complaints. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and its regulations is such a piece of legislation. The regulations for the AODA constitute accessibility standards that cover information and communications, employment, transportation, the design of public spaces, and customer services. Until recently the accessibility standards covered hospitals and other regulated health facilities and services, but did so in a fragmentary way. The standards did not provide specific guidelines for hospitals, clinics, doctors’ offices, or other health care spaces, and did not cover the built environments of older hospitals and health care facilities (e.g., Kovac, 2019a, 2019b). A new standard is being developed to address such issues. The final recommendations report of the Health Care Standards Development Committee (Ontario, Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility, 2022) outlined many areas that require attention. The Committee’s full report begins with sections on barriers to accessible health care in hospital settings, guiding principles for recommendations, reflections on COVID‑19 experiences, and a statement of the vision and long-term objectives of the health care standard. The report then provides twenty recommendations and some additional considerations based on the COVID-19 pandemic. Access the Easy Read Health Care Standards Final Report or Health Care Standards Final Recommendations Report. The recommendations in the full report address the following subjects:

the need for an accessibility lead/consultant at each hospital
engagement with persons with disabilities in hospital accessibility planning and design
procurement of services and equipment, and consideration of the design of public spaces/built environment to ensure accessibility
access to accessibility equipment
funding for accessibility and accommodations for hospitals
documenting and sharing an individual’s accessibility accommodations in hospital
accessible and inclusive person-centred care philosophy: support for persons with disabilities including accommodations
effective patient-provider communication in all health care services, and provision of informed consent
access to third-party supports for people with disabilities
development of mandatory education for health care providers and other health care workers or related staff
mandatory core competencies
implementation of education and training in hospitals
education and training for regulated health care professionals
hospital declaration of values
patient relations and complaints process
independent accreditation for putting accessibility policies into practice
compliance enforcement
enforcement strategy and framework – hospital accessibility standards
public education and outreach
access to health services for persons with disabilities during a declared provincial emergency

Media Moment Time: 47 minutes, 21 seconds

Now that you have read through the Canadian context, watch this video by disability studies professor Dr. Aimi Hamraie. This video discusses the American context, so it is interesting to attend to the differences between the two nations. We would advise reading through the module and then coming back to this video as a way to review some of the material presented in the previous modules and to think about how accommodation and access plays out in people’s everyday lives. Watch the following video here, access it at the link below, or the transcript. [embed]https://youtu.be/yplo4m1vw7U[/embed] Aimi Hamraie on "Making Access Critical: Disability, Race, and Gender in Environmental Design" Video Transcript

Gaps in Service and Rights Unfulfilled

feven.araya — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 09:20:11 +0000

Basic Situation

According to the [pb_glossary id="792"]Canadian Institute for Health Information[/pb_glossary] (CIHI), most Ontarians have a regular health care provider (90.6% compared with 85.6% nationally). However, in 2019-2020, only four in ten people in Canada (41%) were able to see their doctor on the same day they needed service (compared with 76% in Germany, 71% in the Netherlands, and 52% in the United States). In Canada, poorer women are considerably less likely to have a family doctor than wealthy women (82% vs 92%, respectively), as are poorer versus wealthier men (73% vs 86%) (Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2024). Unfortunately, similar details are not available by Indigeneity, racialization, or disability. However, it is well established that people with disabilities are more likely than people without disabilities to be living below the poverty line. See, for example, Wall (2017) and details on working-aged people (15 to 64 years) from Statistics Canada. The Canadian Senate (e.g., 2002), Parliamentary Standing Committee (e.g., 2018), private members of the Canadian Parliament, and individual court cases have pointed out many gaps between what the CHA covers and the health-related items and services people need. Tiedemann (2019) provides a helpful overview of some of the more recent controversies. The criticisms of the CHA tend to boil down to a range of system features that result in barriers to timely, equal access to insured health care services.

Billing

It was recently reported that a general practitioner in Ontario is typically paid $37.95 for the most commonly billed patient visit (Crawley, 2024). McColl et al. (2010) have identified that the basis of payment for physicians tends to result in them according less financial value to people with disabilities than others. For example, a patient with a complex health profile may require more time on average than others from a family physician. It may seem to make more financial sense to a doctor to attend to more patients who require relatively little time than fewer people who require more time.

Other Delivery Arrangements

Many disabled people have a heightened need for healthcare services because of the nature of their condition (e.g., a person who requires regular kidney dialysis). Other people, however, need goods or services from the health care system mainly because these are delivered through that system rather than through social services or some other system. For example, publicly funded wheelchairs and hearing aids are delivered through Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program (ADP), which is operated by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. In contrast, publicly funded wheelchairs in New Brunswick are provided through that province’s Disability Supports Program, which operates under the department of Social Development. Some people experience needs for health-related goods or services that are not covered by the publicly funded health system. For instance, the CHA provides federal funds to help cover provincial costs for hospital services, physician services, and surgical-dental services provided to insured persons. The CHA, however, does not cover costs for community-based chiropractors, physiotherapists, psychologists, or speech therapists, to list only a few of the exclusions (e.g., Canada Life, 2022). Similarly, decisions were taken in Ontario for the ADP not to cover the costs of many disability-related items that include, among others, several types of mobility devices and several types of orthotic braces, compression garments, and lymphedema pumps (Ontario. Assistive Devices Program, 2024). Sometimes provincial health care systems only partially cover costs. The ADP, for instance, fully covers the cost of eligible items for people who receive financial support from [pb_glossary id="795"]Ontario Works[/pb_glossary], the [pb_glossary id="737"]Ontario Disability Support Program[/pb_glossary], and the Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities program. For other Ontarians, the ADP will cover 75% of eligible costs and the user is expected to cover the other 25%. If a person has only a part-time or low-paying job, the 25% may be difficult to afford. Despite public coverage of some costs under the ADP, many people with disabilities face significant costs. These include, for instance, costs of various items and services not covered by the ADP, such as chair lifts, ramps, home renovations for greater accessibility, and repairs to aids and devices. Overall, four in ten (40.7%) adults with disabilities (15 years and older) in Canada have one or more unmet need for assistive aids, devices, or technologies, prescription medication, or health care therapies and services. High cost is the leading reason why so many have unmet needs. Those in greatest need tend to have more complex/severe levels of disability, to be women, and to live in poverty (Hebert et al., 2024). While Statistics Canada has not developed recent estimates, average unreimbursed costs for disability-related health and related services ranged between $550 and $760 in 2010 for people with less severe and more severe levels of disability, respectively, or from about $760 to $1,060 in 2024 dollars (Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, 2011: Chart 2.3). Costs of some services, however, such as assistance with everyday activities for wheelchair users, can be considerably higher (Giesbrecht et al., 2017: Figure 2).

Healthcare as a Gateway to Other Services

Health and health-related professionals are in a real sense gatekeepers to many other systems, programs, and benefits. This is because many systems are still based on a medical model of disability. For instance, physician referral is usually required to access publicly insured non-emergency health care services. Access to the ADP requires a valid Ontario Health Card. Medical assessment is required to access the Canada Pension Plan Disability benefit (Service Canada, 2024) and medical assessment of disability for the Disability Tax Credit will be required to access the Canada Disability Benefit (Canada, 2024: Section 2). Education programs often require a formal assessment of learning disability by a licensed psychologist for a student to obtain learning-related support services. Not everyone can obtain the medical or other assessment they need so they can qualify for disability-related services. For instance, smaller communities may lack general practitioners who are able or willing to provide the assessments, and the practitioners who are available and willing do not always provide well-informed service (Crawford et al., 2022). The cost of psychological assessment is not covered under Ontario’s insured health care system, and obtaining a no-charge assessment through the education system often involves a long wait list (Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario, 2024). All such assessment fees can be difficult for people on low fixed incomes to afford, who often stand in comparatively greater need of health-related services for disability (Hébert et al., 2024). Historically, high cost and the lack of insurance coverage are the leading reasons why people with disabilities lack the health-related services they require (e.g., Canada, 2010). People with disabilities are considerably more likely than others to live in poverty and are more likely than those not living in poverty to experience affordability issues (e.g., Hébert et al., 2024; Wall, 2017). Regardless of income, half of Canadians lack any insurance coverage for disability from employer-based or private plans (Investment Executive, 2019).

Standards of Practice

In addition to the issues discussed above, health care professionals have been criticized for disrespectful and inappropriate treatment of people with disabilities, and even for outright refusal to provide service. These are global problems (Gréaux et al., 2023; Hashemi et al., 2022; World Health Organization, 2022). They play out in affluent countries such as the United States (e.g., Lagu et al., 2022; Mulcahy et al., 2022) and have been longstanding problems in Canada (e.g., McColl et al., 2010) – especially across lines of Indigeneity and racialization, although the issue as it affects newcomers with disabilities to Canada is under-researched (e.g., Chadha, 2020; Chowdhury et al., 2021). Wealthy provinces such as Ontario are not exempt (e.g., Baiden et al., 2014; Brown et al., 2024), and neither are poorer provinces (e.g., Saint John Human Development Council, 2021). Access the Easy Read Version, Executive Summary and Full Report: Equity and inclusion in pregnancy care: report on the pregnancy outcomes and health care experiences of people with disabilities in Ontario.

Rights Often Unfulfilled

Despite all the human rights protections in law, disability is consistently the most frequent ground for the cases of discrimination that are brought before human rights commissions at the federal and provincial/territorial levels in Canada – more than 40% of all cases in most jurisdictions (Canadian Human Rights Commission, 2015: Table 1) and over 50% in Ontario as of April-June 2024 ([pb_glossary id="884"]Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario [HRTO][/pb_glossary], 2024a). While the number of cases of discrimination in health care is not publicly reported, a quarter of all discrimination cases before the HRTO are about discrimination in the provision of goods, services, or facilities (HRTO, 2024b). Many of the decisions reached by the Tribunal involve health care providers as respondents (defendants) (e.g., hospitals, health foundations, physician services, medical associations, etc. – HRTO, 2024c).

When Things Go Badly

Many people with disabilities do manage to obtain the health care services they need. This can include referral from a family physician who astutely recognizes the need for more in-depth assessment of a potentially life-threatening condition, to complex surgery that can make the difference between life and death. However, many people do not receive the services they need from the health care system. Listen to the following two podcasts and consider how medical assistance in dying (MAiD) is the only alternative when disabled people do not get appropriate referral or cannot access needed services.

Media Moment Time: 29 minutes, 55 seconds

Here’s a link to an excellent rights-focused interview with Gabriel Peters, a disabled woman and activist. Access the following podcast or transcript about MAiD as ever-lurking in the background of the health care decisions of people with disabilities. She describes some of the pressures they experience to “choose” MAiD when the insured health care system fails to properly address their needs.

Media Moment Time: 74 minutes, 25 seconds

Access the following podcast or transcript about the “perfect storm” that can happen when medical diagnosis cannot be obtained as a gateway to other health care services and when the other needed health care services are not insured, too expensive, or simply not provided in Canada. It is the first story in the program.

Notable Human Rights Cases on Disability in Health Care

A court case that some (e.g., Chadha & Rogers, 2023; Malhotra, 2012) consider an important victory for the social model of disability, and which was undoubtedly a landmark for people with disabilities in their dealings with provincial/territorial health care systems, is the case of Eldridge v. British Columbia (1997). At issue was the lack of sign language provision to Deaf patients at a hospital in Vancouver. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the province of British Columbia’s failure to fund interpreters for Deaf people to access the province’s insured health care services violated the rights of the appellants (Robin Susan Eldridge, John Henry Warren, and Linda Jane Warren). In the absence of an interpreter, Ms. Eldridge and her specialist found they could not communicate effectively about the surgery she had to undergo. Linda Warren testified that, in the absence of an interpreter, which the Warrens could not afford, the birth of their twins and the birth’s aftermath were difficult to understand and frightening. Her physician provided further details about the risks of inadequate communication between doctor and patient during childbirth. Section 15(1) of the Charter guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of the law. In the words of the Supreme Court of Canada: The failure of the Medical Services Commission and hospitals to provide sign language interpretation where it is necessary for effective communication constitutes a prima facie violation of the s. 15(1) rights of Deaf persons. This failure denies them [Eldridge and the Warrens] the equal benefit of the law and discriminates against them in comparison with hearing persons… The appellants ask only for equal access to services that are available to all… The government has not made a “reasonable accommodation” of the appellants’ disability nor has it accommodated the appellants’ need to the point of [pb_glossary id="691"]undue hardship[/pb_glossary]. The Supreme Court ruled that the Government of British Columbia must administer its health care system in a manner consistent with the Charter. In this context, the interpreter service was an essential means of obtaining equal access to, participating in, and benefiting from the health care services available to other British Columbians. Ensuring such equality and addressing historical disadvantage meant providing a dimension of service that was somewhat different than what most other residents of the province would need (Chadha & Rogers, 2023; Eldridge, 1997, para. 79). The Canadian Association of the Deaf, Canadian Hearing Society, and Council of Canadians with Disabilities participated as interveners and presented a Factum in this successful case (n.d.), as did the DisAbled Women’s Network Canada (DAWN) and the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF, n.d.). Chadha and Rogers (2023) attribute some of the gains of the Eldridge case for people with benefits to the engagement of these interveners. Here’s some follow-up recommendations to Eldridge: Health Care - Canadian Association of the Deaf.

Concluding Thoughts

Despite the gains resulting from Eldridge described above, Chandra and Rogers (2023), in their legal analysis of disability rights case law since that victory, conclude that “disability progress has stalled” (p. 250). The authors marshal much evidence in support of their view, including that the Supreme Court has recently problematized disability rather than upholding the duty to accommodate and the idea that disabled people are not responsible for their marginalization. It remains to be seen whether the [pb_glossary id="739"]AODA[/pb_glossary]'s new Standard for health care and the continued efforts of individuals with disabilities and their organizations, along with supportive professionals and other allies, will be enough to avert the widespread demeaning, devaluing, and even ridiculing of people with disabilities that the authors see emerging. Meanwhile, the most recent Independent Review of the AODA by Rich Donovan prioritized as critically urgent a range of recommendations for health care (Donovan, 2023). Donovan and many of the people he interviewed concluded that the AODA is failing people with disabilities and is a “missed opportunity” (p. 9) because the outcomes have been poor, and enforcement, data, research, leadership, and accountability have been lacking. It remains to be seen how the new standard for health care will address these issues.

More to Explore

feven.araya — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 09:34:32 +0000

Works Cited

Chadha, E., & Rogers, E. (2023). Does the Supreme Court of Canada give a “freak” about disability dignity?: The inclusion fallacy 25 years after Eldridge. The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference, 108. https://doi.org/10.60082/2563-8505.1442 Tarasoff, L. A., Saeed, G., Lunsky, Y., Welsh, K., Proulx, L., Havercamp, S. M., Parish, S. L., & Brown, H. K. (2023). Prenatal care experiences of childbearing people with disabilities in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 52(3), 235–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2023.01.006 Jodoin, S., Buettgen, A., Groce, N., Gurung, P., Kaiser, C., Kett, M., Keogh, M., Macanawai, S. S., Muñoz, Y., Powaseu, I., & Stein, M. A. (2023). Nothing about us without us: The urgent need for disability-inclusive climate research. PLOS Climate, 2(3), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000153 McIvor, A. (2024, Sep. 19). Halifax woman asks for MAID after long fight for out-of-province care; one woman’s war secrets; and Iraq on the cusp of change. CBC. The Current. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-63-the-current/clip/16095632-halifax-woman-asks-maid-long-fight-out-of-province-care Simon, R. (2024, May 31). First Person: A disabled person in the age of MAiD. The Big Story. https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/9cbfc35c-b8ae-496d-8562-10d911e7127c/episodes/ac34d3d6-99de-45b9-8728-795cb3d152d4/audio/21567fc7-83e9-437f-8072-3bfe46da1fe8/default_tc.mp3

Next Time...

In the next module, we’ll explore the definitions of care.

The Medical Community and Disability

feven.araya — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 09:45:13 +0000

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. In the ensuing hours the city of New Orleans experienced power outages, affecting all of the hospitals in the area. City and state officials assured the public that everyone would be moved safely out of the facilities, although it quickly became evident that adequate emergency preparedness was not in place and there were no spaces immediately available for the city’s most vulnerable residents. By early September, conditions in some of the hospitals were unbearable; temperatures hovered around 110 F, clean running water was unavailable and staffing was skeletal. Later in September, 250 bodies would be recovered from New Orleans hospitals, with the largest concentration from the Memorial Medical Center, where 45 bodies were found. Only five of those deceased were assumed to have died before the hurricane. Memorial Medical Center was severely impacted by Katrina, losing electrical power and experiencing flood damage as the levees broke. Hospital staff quickly developed and ‘1, 2, 3’ protocol to manage the evacuation of the facilities’ 2002 patients, as well as staff and family members. ‘1, 2, 3’ referred to a [pb_glossary id="747"]triage protocol[/pb_glossary] that prioritized which patients would be moved from the hospital first and last. ‘1’ were ambulatory patients who could leave the hospital independently or with minimal assistance. These patients were to be evacuated first. ‘2’ were patients who were semi-ambulatory or who required some support to leave the hospital. These patients could be easily moved, and were to be among the second group of patients to be removed from the hospital. ‘3’ were patients to be moved last. This group was composed of patients who required significant support to move. Given that the elevators were not working, these patients would need to be carried either to the roof or to the water below by stairs. Patients with ‘DNRs’ on their files were included in this group. Significantly, patients coming into the hospital for routine procedures may have a ‘DNR’ in their medical file, but were not considered to have a life limiting condition. The seventh floor of Memorial Medical Center was leased to an outside healthcare service that provided acute care for complex care patients who were expected to return home after their surgery. Many disabled patients, including those with paraplegia and using ventilators were among the occupants of the seventh floor. Most of these patients were designated ‘3’, given the lowest priority for evacuation. Almost immediately, reports circulated that some patients had been injected with morphine and sedatives, leading to their deaths. Over the months and investigations that followed, it was revealed that groups of Memorial Medical Center’s healthcare providers, including Dr. Anna Pou and several nurses, decided together to ‘euthanize’ disabled, non-ambulatory patients. At least 18 of the 45 bodies contained lethal doses of medications they had not been prescribed. Medical records for the remaining bodies were unable to be accessed by prosecutors or health officials. Opinions about the deaths varied. Some thought the deaths were criminal acts of homicide. Others labeled the deaths the result of euthanasia. Others still claimed the deaths were not the result of healthcare provider action. No one was convicted, fined or otherwise held to account for the deaths of the disabled, ill, fat and or Black patients at Memorial Medical Center. This outcome was surprising given the admission of many healthcare providers to having taken part in some of the planning and execution of the injections. The events of Memorial Medical Centre in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have provided important lessons to the medical and healthcare community.

It is important to have a clear plan for patient and staff safety in the face of major emergencies. Check out the Ontario provincial government's webpage on Emergency preparedness and the specific Emergency preparedness guide for people with disabilities.
When we do not have a plan, our actions may be guided by dominant understandings of the way the world works. Unfortunately, this means our decisions around supporting vulnerable patients may be shaped by racism, classism, and/or ableism. Consider Heidi Janz’s discussion of the COVID 19 Triage Protocols in many Canadian provinces and internationally. Although fifteen years after the lessons of Katrina, disabled, chronically ill and fat patients were relegated to the lowest priority for ventilator and other life saving interventions during the early days of the pandemic. Similarly, residents of long-term care and nursing homes were effectively abandoned as staff feared for their own safety. Janz suggests the failure to account for the safety of disabled people, to benignly neglect our needs, and actively deny life-saving intervention belies a eugenic ableism. Eugenic ableism holds that disability is excludable, undesirable and must disappear to make the world a better place (Janz, 2023; Janz, 2022; Titchkosky, 2010).
The events demonstrate that strong laws prohibiting euthanasia are crucial for safeguarding the lives of vulnerable groups. Evidence indicates that healthcare providers have great difficulty witnessing a person they perceive to be suffering. The person themself may not feel as if they are suffering, or they may feel as if they can easily handle their pain and discomfort. Yet, health providers will do anything, including ending a life, to end the perceived suffering. For Janz (2021), this response on the part of healthcare providers is a form of eugenic ableism. Pain and suffering, wrapped up with disability in this instance, must be eliminated.

Health Promotion

feven.araya — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 09:49:16 +0000

One of the ways that ideas about health are disseminated is through public health promotion. Health promotion is the effort of [pb_glossary id="724"]public health agencies[/pb_glossary] to improve well-being by supporting governments, communities, and individuals to address health challenges through policies and resources that support the creation of healthy environments and encourage healthy behaviours (Public Health Ontario, 2024). The guiding aim of health promotion is to strengthen people’s capacity to take control over and improve their health (Public Health Ontario, 2024; World Health Organization, 2024). Health promotion as a concept entered the world stage from Canada, through a 1974 government report, A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians (Lalonde, 1974). Considered the first modern government document in the Western world to extend the field of health beyond the biomedical healthcare system, the Lalonde report aimed at equipping individuals and organizations with the information and support needed for the development of healthy lifestyles and community environments (Hancock, 1985). In Ottawa, November 1986, the [pb_glossary id="775"]World Health Organization[/pb_glossary] (WHO) held its First International Conference on Health Promotion, which led to the signing of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986). The charter committed to a range of efforts by international organizations, governments, and local communities toward the improvement of health promotion with the goal of “health for all” by the year 2000 (WHO, 1986). The charter urged action in the following areas for building health promotion:

build healthy public policy
create supportive environments
strengthen community action
develop personal skills
reorient health services

Access the charter here: Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion This international commitment emerged from a shift in public consciousness that had been taking place in the Western world throughout the 1970s. More people were coming to understand health management as being governed by a broader sphere of day-to-day choices and conditions rather than something that happens only within doctors’ offices or other medical settings (Crawford, 1980). A “new health consciousness” was emerging at the time. It recognized health as an outcome of a range of personal, social, cultural, environmental, and occupational factors that are a product of individual and broader civic choices, attitudes, and behaviours. This consciousness manifested in a number of health movements, such as the [pb_glossary id="814"]women’s health movement[/pb_glossary] and the [pb_glossary id="815"]psychiatric survivors movement[/pb_glossary]. These health movements expanded the jurisdiction of health to a widening array of functions governed by personal and public life, and placed people at the centre of lifestyle choices and habits to manage their health. Individuals were tasked with making health choices in the face of broader cultural conditions and considerations, such as advertising, food availability, environmental factors, disease agents, and more.

Reflection Moment

Take a moment to reflect on these developments in global health promotion. Consider the following questions:

How did the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion understand or expand the concept of health? How does it situate the role of the public in administering health management?
What do you see as some of the potential positive and negative impacts of the “new health consciousness”?
What do you think were the impacts of these public health movements on people with disabilities?

Defining Health, Disability, and the Aims of Health Promotion

feven.araya — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 10:14:47 +0000

How did this new understanding of health contribute to changing meanings of health? Unfortunately, despite advancing greater recognition of the public’s role and social and environmental factors in health outcomes, the changes left key elements in the dominant understanding of health unchallenged. For instance the women’s health movement contended that women should understand their bodies and that their perspectives should be respected within the healthcare encounter, but health was still understood as the absence of disease. In many cases these health movements served to reify and entrench biomedical approaches to understanding health into a broader ideology of [pb_glossary id="705"]medicalization[/pb_glossary] upheld by an ever-increasing range of social functions (Crawford, 1980). The prominent (biomedical) conception of health, seen as a sense of well-being achieved through the mitigation of disease, illness, injury, and social impairments, was coming to be understood as not only a medical diagnosis but also as a matter of individual responsibility (Berthelot-Raffard, 2018; Crawford, 1980). Robert Crawford (1980) describes the emergence of healthism as a new health consciousness that situated the “problem” of health as primarily an individual issue and product of personal actions, attitudes, and behaviours, achieved through modifications in lifestyle and sometimes with the help of therapeutic services. Health promotion entailed providing individuals with the necessary knowledge to make healthy choices that encourage healthy behaviour, resisting harmful influences, and reforming their mental responses to social stressors. In effect, the new health consciousness movements laid the groundwork for an “age of medicalization” in which the pursuit of health became a fundamental characteristic of popular culture and everyday life. As Crawford states, “while modifications of dominant medical practices [were] being adopted, some of the most fundamental and disabling medical and other dominant cultural conceptions have remained untouched” (p. 369).

Media Moment

Watch the following video here, access it at the link below. Time: 31 seconds [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OTVHUgnqcU[/embed] Fall in with an active crowd [h5p id="45"] Watch the following video here, access it at the link below. Time: 4 minutes, 35 seconds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPAn-bvjllA ParticipACTION Workout Videos | Break from Busy [h5p id="46"]

In the readings associated with this module, Agnès Berthelot-Raffard (2018) discusses the gap between the public health profession on the one hand and disability rights activists and scholars on the other in terms of how they conceptualize health and disability, and how these concepts frame health promotion. While the disability community has advocated for the inclusion, de-stigmatization, and de-institutionalization of people with disabilities as central aims in health promotion, the definition of health that has persisted in the public health field is rooted in the absence and prevention of disease, illness, injury, or other impairments to “normal functioning” (Berthelot-Raffard, 2018; Crawford, 1980). In this definition, disability is seen as a form of deviance understood in contrast to the state of health, which is defined in terms of biostatistical markers of “normal functioning” based on the most common levels of functioning for people of a particular age and sex (Berthelot-Raffard, 2018; Foucault, 1961). Critical theorists such as Michel Foucault have illustrated how the administration of normalizing biomedical categories have served as a form of population control from which conceptions of “deviance,” “pathology,” and “madness” arose. These concepts have long characterized people with disabilities as social “problems” to be solved, treated, or extradited (Tremain, 2015; Foucault, 1961). In this framework, health is seen as the absence of impairment, and the role of public health is to minimize, prevent, and treat conditions that limit normal functioning to the greatest degree possible (Berthelot-Raffard, 2018).

Media Moment

Read this infographic or access the PDF here: What Can Happen to Your Hands and How to Protect Them Thinking about how the disability rights community conceives of the aims of health promotion, how does it differ to the public health field? What are their shared aims in health promotion, and how do they differ?

Healthy Difference

But physical and mental variations are a natural part of the human condition, and these variations do not necessarily translate to poor health (although they may result in certain disadvantages and vulnerabilities in some settings) (Berthelot-Raffard, 2018). Indigenous knowledge frameworks have long understood variation and difference as common aspects of being that inform the interdependence of all things (Norris, 2014; Schelbert, 2003). Indigenous models of kinship offer understandings of health that are not based on statistical normalcy, binaries or individualism. Instead they conceive of a “‘spider web’ of relations” (Little Bear, 2000) in which all are equal, and all contribute to the continual give-and-take of all life (Schelbert, 2003). In Anishinaabe culture, for instance, people are recognized for the unique gifts they bring to the community, rather than focusing on what they lack or cannot do (Ineese-Nash, 2020). Leo Schelbert (2003) offers a description of how all life’s entities are valued with equal personhood and as sacred forces in the health of the collective: Four-legged people, as two-legged people, as crawling, swimming, or winged people; as people that are green, or stony, or soft. Trees are called standing people, and their bark or sap is collected for human use, are approached in a sense of ritually enhanced gratitude. (p. 67) The disability rights community have long echoed these relational understandings of health and well-being in their problematizations of the prevailing discourses on health and disability (Berthelot-Raffard, 2018; Sherwin, 1998). These relational frameworks conceive health as rooted in the interconnections between people and the supports they need to be well (e.g., people, resources, technologies). Through this framework, disability is understood as a social construct that arises from the relationship between people and the social environment which creates barriers that exclude and limit them from full participation in society (Schwartz et al., 2023; Oliver, 1996; Goodley et al., 2019). Oftentimes, these barriers create obstacles to accessing the social resources needed to be well, resulting in harms such as food insecurity (Berthelot-Raffard, 2018; Schwartz et al., 2023). However, there is nothing inherently unhealthy or pathological about being disabled or having an impairment. Berthelot-Raffard (2018) gives the example that someone who is deaf or blind may need additional supports to access information provided in a society that assumes a capacity to see or hear, but they do not necessarily require any treatment. Someone who is on the autism spectrum may be diagnosed as such because they are not easily understood by the biomedical field of rationality, but they can still be regarded as healthy.

Media Moment

Access the following articles about ableism:

Wendy Lu makes the case that ableism is in need of a cure, not disability. These relational perspectives and frameworks thus offer a very different approach to health promotion.

Social Performance and Health Promotion

feven.araya — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 10:47:39 +0000

“Health for all”, but for whom?

So, why does the public health community continue to uphold the [pb_glossary id="733"]biomedical model of health[/pb_glossary]? And what are the impacts for people with disabilities? Let’s go back to the WHO’s concept of health promotion. The WHO defines it as “the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health” (WHO, 2024). Berthelot-Raffard (2018) illustrates how conceptions of health promotion that are rooted in people taking “control” over their mental and physical well-being equate health with “normal functioning,” seen as the ability to operate at the level of social performance expected in modern society. In our world, that means the ability to live and work independently, to make a living, and to minimize vulnerabilities that may cause a “burden” on the health system. Indeed, the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) begins its priority strategies with “Good health is a major resource for social, economic and personal development.” Health is positioned as being in service to societal advancement, rather than the other way around. What is really being safeguarded here, and what or who is at stake when health is seen as a “resource”? Jen Deerinwater (2021) provides a revealing account of the compounding health crises caused by colonial invasion, which have had devastating impacts on Indigenous people and particularly deaf, disabled, and ill Indigenous people. The global climate crisis, the poisoning of land and water, the forcible removal from land and severing of natural systems of care, the petrochemical and agricultural industries, the pillaging of resources, the imposition of European misogynist culture, and the permeation of ableist norms in Indigenous life, all have contributed to devastating health outcomes for disabled Indigenous people. These forces have eroded the critical roles disabled people have played in their communities and reinforced the idea that their lives are worthless. For Deerinwater and other disabled Indigenous people, health restoration needs to entail an end to colonial capitalism and a fight for disability and climate justice.

Media Moment Time: 18 minutes, 11 seconds

Watch the following video here about climate change and Indigenous resistance, access it at the link below, or the transcript. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0P-COMCJ-w[/embed] First Nations in Canada Leading Climate Change Resistance - Point of no return [h5p id="43"]

Use this template for a podcast. Copying this whole part is helpful to maintain formatting.

Media Moment Time: 54 minutes, 1 second

Access the following podcast or transcript on how structural forces reshape Indigenous relationships to the land and health:

What On Earth with Laura Lynch: Why flooding in Indigenous communities is a climate justice issue
Podcast Transcript

Media Moment Time: 21 minutes, 10 seconds

Watch the following video that discusses indigeneity and disability here, access it at the link below, or the transcript. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKFYyd7AdfA[/embed] In Focus Podcast: Indigeneity and Disability with Micheal Dumont [h5p id="44"] After watching the video or reading the transcript, reflect on the following questions:

What parts of Michel’s stories relate to health and well-being?
How is his health influenced by the environment, colonialism, interdependency, and artistic practice?

When health is associated with economic performance standards, the health of Indigenous populations as well as disabled populations (not to mention disabled Indigenous populations) are systematically impacted. When people experience barriers, require additional supports, or are simply not in a position to perform at the standards required by capitalism, they are more often denied the resources necessary to adequately support their health. Naomi Schwartz, Ron Buliung, and Kathi Wilson’s (2023) Toronto-based study of people who have mobility limitations and/or use mobility aids illuminates the compounding economic, physical, and social barriers to accessing food experienced. For the respondents in this research, it was not mobility limitations related to their disabilities that most restricted their ability to access suitable housing, transportation, care, and choice in how and where to access food but rather the limited economic resources available to them. The findings highlight how cities like Toronto and their associated health campaigns are designed for statistically “normal” (read: “healthy”) people who have control over their time and consumer choices without being restricted by functional or temporal limitations. State-level initiatives such as Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), AODA guidelines, and paratransit services serve as technical “box-checking” while being purposely inflexible and failing to meet real needs for access and livability (Schwartz et al., 2023). In effect, a healthy middle class is leveraged at the expense of disabled people, whose exclusionary treatment by civil society further compromises their health outcomes.

Reflection Moment

Take a moment to reflect on the relationship between health and our economic systems. Consider the following questions:

Pick three of the following values of modernity (or come up with your own!) and explain how they may impact the health of people with disabilities, including Indigenous disabled people:
- Autonomy
- Individualism
- Productivity
- Consumerism
- Extractivism
- Privatization
- Treatment
How is “health for all” conceived of in a capitalist framework? Who or what is left out? What needs to change in order to prioritize true health for all?
How do Indigenous ways of knowing help us understand the relationship between the health of people and the health of the land?

“Nothing About Us Without Us”

So, what does a more just vision of health promotion look like, one that honours, supports, and does justice to people with disabilities? How can we crip our understandings of health promotion to foreground a future in which variance in human ways of being are recognized and celebrated? “Crip” is a disability rights term that emerged as a reclamation of a once-derogatory label of otherness into a self-proclaimed source of pride, human expansiveness, and non-normative resistance (Hutcheon & Wolbring, 2013; Thorneycroft, 2024). When used as a verb, “cripping” embodies a dynamic process that is “deployed and redeployed for political purposes as a way to re-imagine conceptual boundaries, relationships, communities, cultural representations, and power structures” (Hutcheon & Wolbring, 2013). It seeks to transform dominant conceptions and practices from those that position disability as a “problem” to be solved, towards ones that foresee a world with disability as “possible and desirable” (McRuer, 2006, p. 71). Cripping health promotion begins with the recognition that “people with impairments have always been part of every human society” (Berthelot-Raffort, 2018, p. 364) and are critical voices in our communities. Disability rights activists have led the movement to expose how the prevailing mission of health promotion is based on capitalist, ableist standards of productivity that systematically devalue people with disabilities as well as caregivers and domestic workers (Berthelot-Raffort, 2018). If the public health community and disability rights community share interests in health promotion, access and participation in healthcare, and health equity for all people, then disabled people and their caregivers need to be included in supportive decision-making toward a transformed ethics of health promotion that protects people with disabilities and does not devalue certain community members. By including the disability rights community in decision-making, public health can be re-conceived to recognize the social context of oppression that has framed and limited our experiences and choices, and that health promotion can play a role in shifting public perceptions and structural realities that shape the health outcomes and autonomy of all people, including those who are disabled, those who experience temporary impairments, and those who may become disabled in the future. The principle, “nothing about us without us,” was popularized by disability rights activists as a way of centring disabled people in decision-making that affects their lives, and promoting participatory, inclusive approaches to healthcare that respect the expertise of disabled individuals (Charlton, 1998). What follows are some considerations that emerge in the building of a [pb_glossary id="684"]disability justice[/pb_glossary] framework for health promotion that benefits not only disabled people but all community members.

Valuing Human Interdependency

Following a feminist ethics of care as well as Indigenous principles, disability advocates point to human interdependency as an important aspect of the human condition that should be centred in conceptions of health promotion. Humans have always relied on one another to survive, care for, and protect each other in the face of human vulnerabilities (Berthelot-Rafford, 2018; Garland-Thompson, 2017). A more just vision of health promotion needs to look beyond the individualized model of treatment and recognize the inherent [pb_glossary id="886"]relationality[/pb_glossary] of health, which encompasses the role and health of caregivers, families, communities, and broader social and political conditions in which people exist (Crawford, 1980).

Strengthening Disability Cultural Competence

In order to bring about disability justice in health promotion, public education is needed to shift dominant perceptions of disability and better understand the role of the social and cultural environment in shaping health outcomes. Disability scholars such as Rosemarie Garland-Thompson (2017) argue for the importance of building “disability cultural competence” that equips people with the knowledge and skills to understand, support, and co-create an environment that improves the lives of people with disabilities. Since anyone may become disabled (or care for someone who is disabled) as a result of injury, illness, or ageing, people need to be provided with the necessary information to be able to live with a disability, including biomedical decision-making, accessible technology and design, disability rights and legislation, and more (Garland-Thompson, 2017). This involves moving past fears and perceptions that disabilities necessarily need to be rehabilitated or cured, and instead value human difference as a source of pride. It also involves looking to disabled people for guidance on what can be learned through such common aspects of the human experience as pain, suffering, and adaptive ways of being (Wendell, 2001).

Enabling Critical Rest and Vulnerability

As conceptions of health promotion are decoupled from capitalist expectations, attention can be placed on the health needs and limitations of people, independent from performance standards imposed by an external authority such as an employer. Susan Wendell (2001) discusses how people who are disabled may have a range of fluctuating energy capacities and limitations that are often unpredictable. Thus, having the ability to govern one’s own time and pace of work – including when rest is needed – is critical to meaningful participation of disabled people in social life. In fact, asserting the need to rest is a form of resistance to capitalist standards of productivity by acknowledging our natural human limitations and vulnerabilities and allowing people to manage their health as needed (Berthelot-Rafford, 2018).

Media Moment Time: 58 minutes, 45 seconds

Access the following podcast or transcript on how rest is a form of resistance:

Building Collective Capacity

Despite what the dominant messaging would have us believe, real change towards a healthier life cannot happen on an individual scale but must be pursued collectively and target the social and political conditions that shape health outcomes. Crawford (1980) argues that the notion that individuals can control their own health serves as a distraction from the social effort to build collective resistance to a system of domination that leaves people with limited health options (particularly those who are disabled and others who are marginalized). Pursuing real health needs for all entails building social movements that strive to “enhance our social capacity to control the conditions of our existence” (Crawford, 1980, p. 385). This involves making cultural and operational changes in movement spaces to meaningfully include and centre people with disabilities as movement leaders. This includes, for example, honouring disabled lived experiences as part of movement struggles (Deerinwater, 2021), allowing people to set their own fluctuating limits and capacities to organize, and openly discussing and negotiating the relationships of time, energy, and power in movements (Wendell, 2001). Practicing internal ethics of care, mutual support, and health management within movement spaces supports the longevity and collective capacity of movement efforts. Moreover, these practices can help us to demonstrate social justice in the present and to eventually bring about the kinds of worlds that our movements are working towards. Take a moment to think about how racial and disability justice movements come together in the work of the Black fat activists Da’Shaun Harrison, author of Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness (2021) and Sabrina Strings, author of Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia (2019). They are both engaged in activist work that actively resists the individualizing tendencies of health promotion, focused on systems of racial injustice.

Media Moment Time: 51 minutes, 52 seconds

Access the following podcast or transcript:

Media Moment Time: 15 minutes

Access the following podcast or transcript:

Shortwave Podcast and Transcript: Fat Phobia And Its Racist Past And Present with Sabrina Strings

Reflection Moment

Take a moment to reflect on considerations that emerge in the building of a disability justice framework. Consider the following questions:

How would each of the above considerations serve to benefit all people and not only those with disabilities?
What does cripping health promotion mean to you? What would cripping health promotion look like in your local context of healthcare, relationships, and/or community life? How might it lead to different approaches in designing healthcare systems, technologies, or policies that better accommodate diverse needs?
Reflect on a time when you felt supported or unsupported in accessing health resources. How do you think an approach grounded in interdependency or disability justice might have changed that experience?
How might cripping health promotion shift the guiding aims, priorities, and definitions of global health promotion?
What personal responsibilities might you have in the work of cripping health promotion?

Concluding Thoughts

We all play a role in cripping health promotion. Disability justice advocates urge us to rethink health management through the lens of disability justice, emphasizing inclusivity, autonomy, and respect for diverse ways of living and being. By embracing a “cripping” perspective, we begin to understand health as something that is co-created with, rather than imposed upon, communities, building on each person’s unique needs and strengths. People with disabilities serve as vital community leaders in paving the way for a healthier society and supportive healthcare system that is equitable and accessible to all. Meaningfully including disabled people in health promotion and decision-making may be key to tackling critical transformations in which the health of the entire planet is at stake.

More to Explore

feven.araya — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 11:21:54 +0000

Works Cited

Next Time...

In the next module, ...

Module 8 Transcripts

feven.araya — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 19:13:40 +0000

Accessing Care

tali.cherniawsky — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 16:41:30 +0000

Key Takeaway

Care is “complicated, contextual, and relational” (Erickson 2020).

Take a moment to watch the following TEDtalk by Janey Starling & Seyi Falodun-Liburd. Notice how they define and practice care.

Media Moment Time: 12 minutes, 6 seconds

Watch the following video here, access it at the link below, or the transcript. [embed]https://youtu.be/xj-alDQD2fg?si=Tz__-putnLwv1GuE[/embed] How collective care can change society | Janey Starling & Seyi Falodun-Liburd | TEDxLondonWomen [h5p id="42"]

Thinking about the following quotations and the video, proceed to the reflection questions.

“On the most general level, we suggest that caring be viewed as a species activity that includes everything we do to maintain, continue, and repair our ‘world’ so that we can live in it as well as possible. That world includes our bodies, our selves, and our environment, all of which we seek to interweave in a complex, life-sustaining web” (Fisher & Tronto 1990, p. 40).

“Care is a feeling, a concept, a practice, a form of labour (both paid and unpaid). Care can connect us. Care can harm us. Care is political and operates within the flow of power. Care work is gendered and racialized. Care is connected to historical legacies and current enactments of both state and interpersonal violence, control, and containment. Care is also at the very heart (pun intended) of historical legacies and current enactments of resistance and community building” (Erickson 2020, NP).

Reflection Moment

What acts of care do you require for your everyday life? How does your cultural background and social location inform your practices of care? What motivates you to care? What are some dominant assumptions around care in the healthcare system?

Care and the Institution

tali.cherniawsky — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 17:17:16 +0000

Authorship

feven.araya — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 22:06:18 +0000

This Pressbook was written by many authors in a collaborative, interdependent process, involving members from the mad, Deaf, and disabled community. All names are listed alphabetically.

Funding Secured By

Tali Cherniawsky, Lab Coordinator, Disability Publics Lab, School of Disability Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University Esther Ignagni, Associate Professor, School of Disability Studies & Executive Director, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Toronto Metropolitan University Lauren Munro, Assistant Professor (Limited Term Faculty), School of Disability Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University Heather Willis, Accessibility Coordinator, Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion, Toronto Metropolitan University

Pressbook Editors

Esther Ignagni Loree Erickson, Researcher and Sessional Lecturer, Toronto Kelly Flinn, Project Coordinator, School of Disability Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University Lauren Munro Heather Willis

Pressbook Developers

Feven Araya, Instructional Designer and Course Developer Tali Cherniawsky Leah Bennink, Research Assistant and Access Support, School of Disability Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University

Content Writers

The original text was assembled by Dr. Loree Erickson. Other contributors include:

Dahlia Benedikt, Educational Developer, Undergraduate Medical Education, School of Medicine, Toronto Metropolitan University Cameron Crawford, Adjunct Professor, School of Disability Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University Kelly Flinn
Esther Ignagni
Genya Kleiner, Research Associate, University of Toronto; Curriculum Writer, Toronto Metropolitan University Lauren Munro Fran Odette, Part-time Faculty, George Brown College (CPLS); Sessional Instructor, School of Disability Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University
Heather Willis

Copy Editing

Scott Uzelman - www.spot-on-editing.com

Multimedia Production

Lisa East, Videography and Video Editing – www.lisaeast.com
Nicolas Field, Sound Production and Editing – www.nicolasfield.studio

Research Assistance

Erica Friesen Amira Mahamud Akhila Varghese

access gestures

feven.araya — Sun, 12 Jan 2025 23:15:38 +0000

Digital features that enhance accessibility such as open captions, image description, plain language etc.

Learning Objectives

feven.araya — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 08:44:20 +0000

This Open Educational Resource (OER) foregrounds the expertise of disabled, Deaf, and [pb_glossary id="872"]mad[/pb_glossary] people in educating future professionals about delivering accessible, inclusive healthcare. Through course materials, videos, and audio recordings, learners will engage directly with the day-to-day realities of these communities. The curriculum emphasizes the intersectionality of healthcare experiences with disability, madness, and Deafhood, and their interrelationships with Indigeneity, Blackness, race, gender, 2SLGBTQ+ identities, class, age, and other power dynamics.

The OER is structured into seven modules, each introducing key theoretical and practical conversations at the intersection of critical disability studies and healthcare. It includes:

Text-based learning materials
Multimedia resources featuring community perspectives and lived experiences
Open-access required and suggested readings
Activities designed to encourage reflection and application of key concepts
A mini documentary and two podcasts that animate course learnings

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

Identify Ableism, Saneism, and Audism, explore their relationship with other forms of power, and identify some ways they manifest in healthcare education and delivery.
Practice critical self-reflection as well as positioning oneself with respect to disability, madness, and Deafhood.
Navigate tools to support centering disability experience and expertise in a variety of healthcare environments and encounters.
Define and distinguish among accommodation, accessibility, and critical access as relevant to healthcare.
Identify different frameworks for understanding disability, including disability rights and justice, attending to how rights and justice in healthcare are responsive to one another while holding space for tensions and specificity.

Accessibility Statement

tali.cherniawsky — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:57:42 +0000

This Pressbook has been designed with accessibility in mind to ensure that it is usable by the widest possible audience, including those who use assistive technologies. The web version of this book has been developed to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA.

We recognize that accessibility is an ongoing process, and while we strive to make this resource as accessible as possible, some third-party materials (e.g., external videos, linked PDFs) may not fully meet accessibility standards. This may include videos without accurate closed captioning, inaccessible PDFs, or other external media.

If you experience any accessibility issues with this Pressbook, please contact:
eignagni@torontomu.ca
When reaching out, please include:

The page you’re having difficulty with
The browser, operating system, and assistive technology you are using

Starting with Standard Access

We encourage users of this Pressbook to begin with the standard accessibility and accommodation policies within their institutions and to share feedback on where we could improve. Standard access and accommodation texts serve as an important foundation for critical discussions on accessibility.

Our Access Principles

The approach to access in this Pressbook is informed by the ethos and practices developed within Disability Studies courses at the School of Disability Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. Access is collectively and interdependently created as students, guests, and faculty are invited to share what they need for an accessible learning environment As such, access is understood to be an interdependent practice that is created by all those who participate in a course. Negotiation and flexibility are crucial to access and accommodation, as it is understood that our bodies and minds are dynamic and that what we may need in terms of access can change over time and with circumstance and context. Access check-ins are conducted regularly throughout a course.

As part of our commitments to honoring the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action, we work to unsettle access and the course content by critically examining how accessibility is framed and practiced. Many dominant accessibility frameworks privilege a white-settler colonial model that focuses on achieving equal access to all spaces without questioning who those spaces were designed for, who is excluded, and whose knowledge is valued in defining accessibility.

Another way we acknowledge the intersectionality of access is through its generous framing. Access is not only about assistive technology or accommodations—it is shaped by broader systemic barriers that impact learning. In this Pressbook, we recognize that factors such as food insecurity, housing precarity, and safety concerns intersect with access needs, shaping how and where learning takes place. This Pressbook has made every effort to follow principles of universal design in learning within the course materials (e.g. transcripts, open-captioned videos, image descriptions). While these practices are logistical, they work symbolically for students, serving as an invitation for those who may have few opportunities to witness accessible curriculum design.

How to Use This Pressbook

tali.cherniawsky — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 20:27:10 +0000

Ways to Engage With This Resource

This Pressbook is designed to be used in multiple ways, depending on your learning needs and goals. You can:

Work through the full resource independently as a complete learning experience.
Use individual sections as a reference to explore specific topics related to accessible and inclusive healthcare.
Instructors can integrate modules or resources into their courses to supplement existing curriculum.

For Learners

You can engage with the modules in any order, but following them sequentially is recommended.
Some sections include self-reflection prompts to deepen your learning.
The glossary at the end of the Pressbook provides definitions of key terms.

For Instructors

A sample syllabus is included in the back matter.
This resource is open-access and adaptable, meaning instructors can integrate different components into their own teaching as needed.

Using This Pressbook to Facilitate Community Visits

One of the core components of this curriculum model is learning directly from disabled, Deaf, and mad community members through community visits. These visits provide students with first-hand insight into the barriers, facilitators, and lived realities of disabled people navigating healthcare and daily life.

This Pressbook can be used in two key ways:

As a guide for running a course that includes community visits
- This model is based on work by Dr. Karen Yoshida at the University of Toronto and was piloted in Fall 2024 at the School of Disability Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University.
- In this approach, students:
  - Visit Community Hosts who share their experiences
  - Are supported by Community Facilitators who meet with them before and after visits
  - Reflect critically on their experiences through group discussions, assignments, and coursework
- For detailed guidance on facilitating community visits, see "How to Do Community Visits" (Google Doc link coming soon).
As an alternative way to engage with the community visit model
- We recognize that not all students or institutions have the capacity to facilitate in-person visits. To address this, this Pressbook includes:
  - A mini-documentary and two podcasts featuring discussions with community hosts and other disabled, Deaf, and Mad people.
- These multimedia resources are not a substitute for in-person visits, but they offer:
  - Opportunities for students to hear directly from disabled, Deaf, and mad people
  - Insights into the community visit process that can inform their understanding of accessible healthcare

Navigation

This Pressbook is structured for easy online reading and can also be downloaded in multiple formats (ePub, PDF, etc.).
Please see the video below with instructions on how to navigate Pressbooks:

[embed]https://youtu.be/2oQCIRORcks?si=8L8psJoIjTzCjEZo[/embed]

power relations

tali.cherniawsky — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 17:36:20 +0000

Relationships of dominance and subordination between different groups - Oxford Dictionary

decolonization

leahbennink — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 18:27:07 +0000

The process of undoing the colonization of Indigenous peoples and their land, culture, and practices. Decolonization is a process of unlearning, relearning, and rebuilding.

charity model

leahbennink — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 18:45:10 +0000

An perspective on disability where disabled people are seen as objects of tragic misfortunate, focusing on charity rather than empowerment or inclusion.

social model

leahbennink — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 18:46:57 +0000

A perspective that sees disability as a result of barriers in society, not an individual deficit, and focuses on removing those barriers.

medical model

leahbennink — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 18:51:50 +0000

A perspective on disability that views disability as an individual problem that needs to be diagnosed, treated, or cured in order to return to the able-bodied norm.

neoliberalism

leahbennink — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 18:59:33 +0000

A political and economic philosophy that prioritizes minimal government intervention, reduced public spending, and more individual responsibility.

the medical industrial complex

leahbennink — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 19:14:37 +0000

A system where the healthcare industry prioritizes profit over health, care, and well-being.

ableism

leahbennink — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 19:31:40 +0000

A network of beliefs, processes and practices that produce a particular kind of self and body that becomes the normative standard, or the "species typical." (Kumari-Campbell, 2021). Can also refer to discrimination or prejudice against disabled people (see also: "disableism").

disableism

leahbennink — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 19:43:16 +0000

Discrimination or negative treatment directed towards disabled people (e.g., stereotypes, infantilizing policies, or professional or occupational regulations barring the employment of disabled people)

disability justice

leahbennink — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 20:44:09 +0000

A grassroots movement that advocates for the rights, dignity, and inclusion of disabled people, focusing on intersectionality and collective justice.

intersectionality

leahbennink — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 20:56:05 +0000

The idea that people’s unique lived experiences are influenced by multiple intersecting factors and identities, including race, gender, class, and disability.

undue hardship

leahbennink — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 21:02:10 +0000

A situation where accommodations for a person with a disability would result in significant difficulty or expense for an organization, considering factors like cost, resources, and impact on operations.

normative

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 15:39:02 +0000

Societal standards or ideals of what is considered "normal," particularly in relation to bodies and minds, often used in contrast to "disabled" bodies.

institutionalization

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 15:40:42 +0000

The process of confining disabled people to institutions, often as a result of medicalized views of disability.

racialized disablement

leahbennink — Sat, 15 Mar 2025 17:42:37 +0000

An intersectional lens for understanding and taking account of how racism and ableism interact to produce health inequities (Valentine, 2022).

curative imaginary

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 16:59:29 +0000

An understanding of disability that expects and assumes intervention as the sole response to disability without considering any other perspectives or possibilities. (Kafer, 2012)

medical discourse

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:02:24 +0000

The use of medical knowledge and language to guide societal norms, values, and behaviors, as well as morality.

medicalization

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:12:48 +0000

The process of assigning medical meaning to behaviors and conditions, and positioning medical practices as the primary method of treatment or resolution. It often results in the lives of disabled people being imbued in medical meaning.

Eurocentric

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:19:32 +0000

A tendency to interpret the world in terms of European values and experiences. Rooted in settler colonialism.

medical philanthropy

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:37:17 +0000

Charitable efforts focused on raising funds for medical research aimed at curing or treating disabilities.

impairment

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:41:42 +0000

Functional differences, such as sensory or physical differences, for example seeing differently or moving differently.

grassroots practice

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:50:24 +0000

A movement that is community-driven, often emerging from the needs and experiences of people with direct lived experience.

critical race theory

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:51:46 +0000

A framework that explores how racial inequalities are embedded in social, political, and legal systems.

queer theory

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 18:08:21 +0000

A theory that challenges traditional understandings of gender, sexuality, and identity, and explores how these norms impact diverse communities.

feminist ethics of care

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 18:09:12 +0000

A feminist framework that emphasizes the importance of relationships, empathy, and caregiving.

Marxism

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 18:14:16 +0000

A critical theory that focuses on the role of class and economic systems in perpetuating inequality.

health promotion

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 18:30:50 +0000

The effort of public health agencies to improve well-being by supporting governments, communities, and individuals to address health challenges. It focuses on creating healthy environments and promoting healthy behaviors through policies and resources. (Public Health Ontario, 2024)

public health agencies

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 18:31:57 +0000

Organizations responsible for promoting and protecting public health through policies, programs, and services aimed at improving the overall health of the community.

healthism

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 18:35:49 +0000

A concept in which health is framed as a personal responsibility, defined by individual actions, attitudes, and behaviors. (Crawford, 1980)

kinship

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 18:48:16 +0000

An Indigenous health model that is grounded in the idea of interconnectedness and equality between all forms of life.

biomedical model of health

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 18:51:55 +0000

A traditional Western model of health that equates health with the absence of disease, often focusing on individual physical or mental conditions that require medical intervention.

social performance

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 18:53:38 +0000

Societal expectations which include the ability to live independently, work, and minimize vulnerabilities. These expectations are often tied to concepts of "normal functioning" and can marginalize those who are unable to meet these standards.

Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 18:57:24 +0000

A program in Ontario that aims to provides financial assistance and other supports to disabled people.

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 18:58:25 +0000

An Ontario law aimed at setting the standards for accessibility and making public spaces more accessible. The AODA was enacted in 2005 with the goal of improving accessibility standards in all public establishments by 2025.

paratransit services

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 19:01:05 +0000

Public transportation services designed specifically for disabled people, including those who have mobility limitations.

Crip

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 19:02:29 +0000

A disability rights term that emerged as a reclamation of a once-derogatory label of otherness into a self-proclaimed source of pride, human expansiveness, and non-normative resistance. (Hutcheon & Wolbring, 2013; Thorneycroft, 2024)

cripping

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 19:10:57 +0000

A dynamic process that seeks to transform dominant conceptions and practices from those that position disability as a “problem” to be solved, towards ones that foresee a world with disability as “possible and desirable”. (McRuer, 2006)

triage protocol

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 19:15:00 +0000

A system for prioritizing patients in emergencies based on the severity of their conditions and their ability to be evacuated.

eugenic ableism

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 19:16:56 +0000

The belief that disabled people are excludable or undesirable, and should be removed from society.

colonialism

leahbennink — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 20:04:27 +0000

A system in which a population establishes control over a foreign territory, exploiting its resources, people, and land, often leading to long-lasting social, economic, and cultural impacts.

white supremacy

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 14:01:41 +0000

A belief system that promotes the superiority of white people over others, often leading to systemic inequality

Black feminist health science studies

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 14:17:58 +0000

An interdisciplinary field of study that examines the health and well-being of marginalized groups, particularly around the intersection of race, gender, and health.

transnational disability theories

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 14:20:10 +0000

A research body that explores how disability is experienced and understood across different cultures and countries.

psychiatrized

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 14:34:18 +0000

A complex process that involves the growing influence of psychiatry on society, often leads to attributing psychiatric meaning to social and psychological phenomena.

depoliticize

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 14:40:09 +0000

The process of removing political and social context and complexity from an issue.

able body

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 14:50:35 +0000

A body that adheres to specific standards of functioning, fitness, appearance, strength, energy, capacity, reason, and competence, among other factors.

heteropatriarchy

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 15:05:43 +0000

a social system where heterosexual men have power and authority over others.

capitalism

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 15:07:21 +0000

An economic system where private individuals and organizations own property and businesses, and make decisions based on profit.

World Health Organization

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 15:32:33 +0000

The United Nations agency that connects nations, partners and people to promote health so that everybody can attain the highest level of health.

disablement

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 15:35:16 +0000

Literal or figurative barriers in the world that prevent people living with impairments from enacting their desires, participating fully in and taking ownership of their lives.

medicalized racism

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 15:42:12 +0000

The historical and contemporary forms of structural violence directed towards Indigenous, Black and other racialized people through the institution, policy and practice of medicine.

Canada Health Act

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 17:05:58 +0000

Federal legislation that ensures that publicly funded health care services are available to residents of Canada, focusing on reasonable access without financial or other barriers.

Canada Health Transfer

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 17:10:28 +0000

Federal funding provided to provincial healthcare systems. This funding is meant to be conditional on provinces meeting the criteria and conditions of the Canada Health Act.

Ontario's Human Rights Code

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 17:29:05 +0000

A provincial law in Ontario that protects people from discrimination in access to commonly used services, housing, and employment within the province on the basis of disability, citizenship, race, place of origin, ethnic origin, colour, ancestry, age, creed, sex/pregnancy, family status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, receipt of public assistance (in housing) and record of offences (in employment).

duty to accommodate

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 17:33:10 +0000

A legal obligation under human rights laws to modify or adjust policies, practices, or physical environments so that people who are adversely affected by a requirement, rule or standard have access to equal opportunities and benefits.

Authors

tali.cherniawsky — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 17:05:46 +0000

Book Information

tali.cherniawsky — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 17:05:46 +0000

neoliberal

leahbennink — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 18:57:53 +0000

A political and economic philosophy that prioritizes limited government intervention, reduced public spending, and individual responsibility.

undue hardship

leahbennink — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 21:09:05 +0000

disability

leahbennink — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:46:00 +0000

The societal barriers and disabling processes that prevent people living with impairments from fully participating in society and taking ownership of their lives.

Canadian Institute for Health Information

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 17:55:51 +0000

A national organization that provides standardized data and analyses on healthcare systems in Canada, including access to services and health outcomes.

Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program (ADP)

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 17:59:24 +0000

A program that provides publicly funded health-related goods, such as wheelchairs and hearing aids through the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Ontario Works

leahbennink — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 18:02:04 +0000

A financial assistance program in Ontario that provides support to people in financial need by providing income, employment assistance, and health-related benefits.

women’s health movement

leahbennink — Sat, 15 Mar 2025 16:48:51 +0000

A social movement that aims to improve the health and well-being of women through advocacy for healthcare reforms and awareness of gender-specific health issues

psychiatric survivors movement

leahbennink — Sat, 15 Mar 2025 16:51:52 +0000

A social movement that advocates for the rights of individuals who have experienced psychiatric treatment and challenges the stigma of mental illness

disability cultural competence

leahbennink — Sat, 15 Mar 2025 17:20:18 +0000

The ability to understand, support, and co-create an environment that improves the lives of people with disabilities, maintaining the understanding that anyone may become disabled and should therefore be provided with the necessary information to be able to live with a disability, including biomedical decision-making, accessible technology and design, disability rights and legislation, and more (Garland-Thompson, 2017).

Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation

leahbennink — Sat, 15 Mar 2025 17:39:31 +0000

An early UK-based disability rights organization which established the principles of the social model of disability

Mad or mad

leahbennink — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 18:48:19 +0000

A self-identity held by some people who have accessed psychiatric services or have been told that they have a mental illness. This identity is a way to reclaim a word that was once a slur.

bodymind or body-mind

leahbennink — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 18:48:48 +0000

A way of describing the human body and mind as a single, inseparable unit. This approach rejects the traditional Western dualism between body and mind.

socially constructed

leahbennink — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 18:49:19 +0000

When something is made real because humans agree that it is real. For example, the value of money is a social construct. Money has no inherent value (e.g. it can't be eaten), but it has value in our society due to human consensus.

systemic

leahbennink — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 18:49:41 +0000

Relating to or affecting an entire system, organization, etc. rather than just some parts of it (Cambridge Dictionary).

structural violence

leahbennink — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 18:50:14 +0000

When a social structure or institution causes harm by preventing people from meeting their basic needs.

United Nations (UN)

leahbennink — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 18:54:46 +0000

An intergovernmental organization established after World War II with the goal of preventing future wars. The UN's objectives include protecting human rights, upholding international law, and maintaining peace and security around the world.

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO)

leahbennink — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 18:55:13 +0000

A tribunal that hears and rules on complaints relating to the Ontario Human Rights Code. Anyone who believes they have been discriminated against under the Code can bring an application to the Tribunal.

relationality

leahbennink — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 18:55:33 +0000

A state of connectedness or being in "relationship" with other things.

Cover

tali.cherniawsky — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 17:05:46 +0000

About

tali.cherniawsky — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 17:05:46 +0000

Buy

tali.cherniawsky — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 17:05:46 +0000

Access Denied

tali.cherniawsky — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 17:05:46 +0000

H5P listing

patrick.fung — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 17:05:50 +0000

Module 1: Acknowledging How We're Starting

feven.araya — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 23:27:47 +0000

Module 2: Medicalization and Reframing Expertise

feven.araya — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 01:08:58 +0000

Module 3: Reframing Disability

feven.araya — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 01:09:41 +0000

Module 4: Access, Accommodation, Rights, and Justice

feven.araya — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 01:10:33 +0000

Module 5: Accessing Care

feven.araya — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 01:10:51 +0000

Module 6: Cripping Health Promotion

feven.araya — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 01:11:28 +0000

Module 7: Disability Justice and the Good Human Life

feven.araya — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 01:11:57 +0000

Module 8: Documentary

feven.araya — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 01:12:33 +0000

Activities

feven.araya — Sat, 31 Aug 2024 21:57:04 +0000

Transcripts

feven.araya — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 06:22:32 +0000

Module Sample [TEMPLATE ONLY]

feven.araya — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 06:50:47 +0000

Use this module for development.

Accessing Care

tali.cherniawsky — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 16:39:51 +0000

Key Takeaway

Care is “complicated, contextual, and relational” (Erickson 2020).