Accessibility: Unlocking Our Potential

[John Locke]

The following text is an excerpt from Deque University's Disabilities
Etiquette Basics curriculum. As a SUNY Plattsburgh employee, you have
access to a full spectrum of courses and curricula. To enroll, simply
go to Deque
University <https://dequeuniversity.com/>, click on the Login button, and
use your Plattsburgh email address for your user name. Then, click the
"forgot password" link and create a password you'll remember.

*As an added incentive,* the first 20 individuals to email a copy of their
certificate of completion for one of the *curricula* below to
jlock004 at plattsburgh.edu will receive a custom-designed *Accessibility:
Unlocking Our Potential* t-shirt.

   - Customer Service for People with Disabilities 1.0
   - Accessibility Program Management Curriculum 2.0
   - One of the other eight available curricula.

Students are welcome, too! In fact, you may want to encourage students to
complete certain courses as part of their course work in the Spring
semester. If so, please contact John Locke, as the process to enroll
students is different.

*Common Myths About People with Disabilities*

*Overview*
Many common myths surround people with disabilities. Myths can be dangerous
because they can make us think and act in prejudiced ways, which may lead
to frustrating and counter-productive social interactions. Have you ever
been the subject of a false belief that made people treat you differently
or unfairly? You know the truth, but maybe you don’t want to explain it to
people or correct them all the time. Below is a brief overview of several
widespread myths. Understanding and dispelling them can make a big
difference in effective communication.

*Myth 1: We should feel sorry for people with disabilities.*
Pity is an altruistic emotion, based on compassion and empathy. But it can
also imply that someone is helpless, which is offensive to a capable and
independent person. It is also counter-productive to empowering people.


*Myth 2: People with disabilities lead depressing lives.*
It's true that people with disabilities face challenges, as all people do.
But this does not mean that their lives are without joy. Many people with
disabilities lead full, meaningful lives filled with family, friends,
career and educational triumphs, fun hobbies, travel, and all the typical
aspects of the human experience.


*Myth 3: People with disabilities are brave heroes.*
It is a common attitude to view people with disabilities as heroes simply
for living with a disability. While this may be well-intentioned, it sets
the bar for achievement very low. Most people with disabilities want to be
held to high standards, rather than treating any small achievement as a
major triumph.


*Myth 4: People with disabilities have "superpowers."*
Another myth is that people with disabilities have superpowers in other
areas of their life, to compensate for their disability; for example, a
person who is blind having a superhuman sense of hearing or smell, or even
a "6th sense." A person with a disability may find creative ways to do
things out of necessity, not due to magical superpowers. For example,
Iranian artist Zohreh Etezad Saltaneh (pictured to the right), who has no
hands, creates paintings using her feet.


*Myth 5: People with disabilities don't want to work.*
A common myth is that people with disabilities don’t want to work or just
aren’t trying hard enough. For example, a student with undiagnosed dyslexia
might be seen as an underachiever, when in fact the words in a textbook may
be impossible to read. Studies show that most people with disabilities do
want to work. So what’s the roadblock? Often, it’s more limited access to
education & employment opportunities, including widespread discrimination.


Watch for our next post in the October 15th Employee Digest, which will
feature links to specific "how to" videos for making documents more
accessible.

Regards,
John Locke, Ph.D.
EIT Accessibility Officer
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