Millions of Americans live with a disability. Most of the people with disabilities are often the old adults. People living with disabilities will generally struggle in many aspects of their life and especially with the stigmatization associated with ableism. Discrimination against people living with disability in favor of the abled is what is known as ableism. This article is going to provide you with some top tips that will help you identify and raise awareness against ableism.
One of the most common forms of ableism is abled language. Abled language is whereby people speak in a way that discriminates against disabled people. Abled language is offensive to the disabled people and you should recognize it and put a stop to it. Some of the words that may be inherently ableism include retarded, moron and idiot which were once used to describe someone that is mentally disabled.
The other top form of ableism is calling people autistic as a joke. In the Internet age, there are a lot of memes that connect people though there are other trolls where if you want to get the joke, you are called autistic. The term autistic is used because people living with autism hardly recognize social cues such as humor.
The other way you can recognize ableism is where there are inaccessible spaces. Even though the regulations state that spaces must be friendly to the disabled, you will still find that some shops and public areas cannot be accessed easily. It is important for you to make your store to be wheelchair friendly as this will make the people using wheelchairs to easily navigate the office. You should purchase ramps that can be used for both indoors and outdoors so that to make your spaces accessible.
Inaccessible events are another common form of ableism because it denies disabled individuals access to the events. It is important that when you have an event, you make it accessible for all people with disabilities and those that cannot walk for long distances. It is important to recognize that not all the people that walk without a mobility device are able-bodied.
The other top form of ableism is whereby viral inspirational videos are made about disabled people. You will realize that inspirational videos that are made try to make other people living with a disability to feel better about their life. It is advisable for you to desist from sharing these videos recognizing that disabled people also enjoy their life. Check out this page to learn more about the other common forms of ableism.