Hold the [Broken] Lift

“Sorry, the lift is broken. Can’t you just walk up the stairs?”

No, I have cerebral palsy and use a walking frame, I can’t walk up stairs. If I could, I wouldn’t be trying to access the lift.

One critical question remains; does society disable us as individuals with impairments? This is one of the main arguments of the social model of disability, a disability model which was made mainstream by Dr Michael Oliver in his 1983 book, Social Work with Disabled People. Of course, this model has its limitations. It does not appreciate the individual experience of ‘impairment’, roots the term impairment in biomedical terms (impairment/disability is a problem) and relies on the assumption of the oppression of disabled people and believes entirely in a ‘barrier free utopia’ as the solution to disability (García Iriarte, McConkey and Gilligan, 2016).

But if I can participate in a society with accessibility aids, is it not then that society which disables me when it doesn’t have those aids in place?

Imagine it, just for a moment. You’re a disabled person going for a job interview, you’ve checked online and it says the building is wheelchair accessible with lifts, you’ve connected the place in advance and made them aware of your needs, on your application, you ticked the box for disability.

You arrive, take out your aid and once you get inside the building, you realise there’s stairs. You try searching for a lift, but there’s a sign saying ‘out of order’. Once someone finally notices you, they tell you that the only way is up the stairs. When you ask if the meeting can be moved downstairs, you’re told no.

Well, if there was an operating lift I would be able to reach my interview and go through the process. Without it, I can’t reach the interview and am left at a disadvantage. If I can’t climb stairs to go to interviews, or if the buildings don’t have accessible ramps and buttons, how will I find a job? If I can’t find a job how will I support myself?

Society expects people to ‘stand on their own two feet’, particularly since the introduction of the austerity programme. How can I ‘stand on my feet’ if society creates barriers so that I can’t find a job and make money to support myself.

Attitudes towards disabled people have changed, no longer a sympathetic narrative, or one which focuses on the life experiences of disabled people, society looks suspiciously and often coldly towards us. Newspapers as early as 2010 began to change from telling the stories of disabled people to calling us ‘scroungers’, to assessment workers calling us ‘parasitic w***ers’ and worse.

No, I’m not any of those things. Give me an opportunity, and I will take it.

It all starts with a broken lift, but it doesn’t end there.

References:

García Iriarte, E., & Mcconkey, R., & Gilligan, R. (2015). Book: Disability and Human Rights - Global Perspectives.

Newton-Dunn, T. (2012). ‘Blitz the 1.2bn fiddlers’ The Sun, 29th February 2012, Accessed at: https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/politics/411981/blitz-the-1-2bn-fiddlers/ Used for ‘stand on own two feet’ quote and ‘scroungers’.

Disability News Service (2011) ‘Atos forced to investigate after employee’s ‘parasites’ comment on website’ Accessed at: https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/atos-forced-to-investigate-after-employees-parasites-comment-on-website/