Disabilities

Okay so chances are this post will insult someone. I will attempt to write as tactfully as possible, but it isn’t easy.

This post is about disabilities. The legal definition of disability under Victorian Law is:

“"disability" in relation to a person means— (a) a sensory, physical or neurological impairment or acquired brain injury or any combination thereof, which— (i) is, or is likely to be, permanent; and (ii) causes a substantially reduced capacity in at least one of the areas of self-care, self-management, mobility or communication; and (iii) requires significant ongoing or long term episodic support; and (iv) is not related to ageing; or (b) an intellectual disability; or (c) a developmental delay;” (Victorian Government, 2018, p. 5)

As far as I am aware libraries in Australia are required by law to cater to the physical disabilities such as those in a wheelchair, providing ramps and enough space between objects for movement. And many libraries are now keeping audiobooks catering to those who are blind or visually impaired. But what about everything else? I technically have a disability. My epilepsy can limit my ability to function day to day and does make me susceptible to a myriad of other more problematic conditions (due to one of the causes of it). Some library patrons may have issues with noise, with space, with communication with library staff. How can libraries help? As with all other things, patience and training help. Understanding and finding out what people need from you to help them. For the deaf community if there is a large population maybe training in sign language. Keeping pen and paper or a tablet device for written communication is always helpful. This is another form of diversity where representation is extremely important, not just the obvious physical and sensory forms but the intellectual and mental. You can never be certain what your community’s make up is, and this isn’t something that you can easily ask without discomfort.

I’m going to list some disabilities and leave is to people to research any that may impact those around them professionally or are of interest. Provided with links to House with No Steps information with information about them. There are loosely four categories of disability.

• Intellectual – An intellectual disability may mean difficulty communicating, learning, and retaining information. They include Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, and developmental delays.
• Physical – physical disability may affect, either temporarily or permanently, a person's physical capacity and/or mobility. They include MS, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, brain or spinal cord injury, epilepsy, and muscular dystrophy.
• Sensory – sensory disabilities affect one or more senses; sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste or spatial awareness. They include autism, blindness, and hearing loss.
• Mental illness – a mental illness affects a person's thinking, emotional state and behaviours. They include bipolar, depression, schizophrenia, and eating disorders.

Cut has a series challenging the preconceptions of people about others. In the episode Guess my Disability three people are asked to do just that guess the disabilities of the people they are talking to. The disabilities come from all four loose types of disabilities sensory, physical, intellectual and mental illness. These range from the obvious physical one is in a wheelchair caused by Spina bifida, one has PTSD, one Tourette’s. It is a wonderful clip for the humanity.

I do want to add that some of the most impressive characters I’ve read disabled. John Matthew from J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood is one of my all-time favourite characters and he is mute. Born mute and he has grown to find ways to communicate with those around him. Including the love of his life, Xhex, his mentor, Zsadist and his adoptive father. This is an adult novel, but John Matthews story Lover Mine (Ward, 2010) is possibly one of the cleverest pieces of formatted writing I’ve read because J.R. Ward had to write his muteness in.

References

Cut. (2018, April 6). Guess my disability: Lineup: Cut. [YouTube Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGQ2yBXm8pM

Types of intellectual disability. (n.d.). In House with no Steps. Retrieved May 25, 2018, from https://www.hwns.com.au/Resource-centre/Types-of-disabilities/Intellectual-disability/types-of-intellectual-disability

Types of mental illness. (n.d.). In House with no Steps. Retrieved May 25, 2018, from https://www.hwns.com.au/Resource-centre/Types-of-disabilities/Mental-illness/types-of-mental-illness

Types of physical disabilities. (n.d.). In House with no Steps. Retrieved May 25, 2018, from https://www.hwns.com.au/Resource-centre/Types-of-disabilities/Physical-disability/types-of-physical-disabilities

Types of sensory disabilities. (n.d.). In House with no Steps. Retrieved May 25, 2018, from https://www.hwns.com.au/Resource-centre/Types-of-disabilities/Sensory-disability/types-of-sensory-disabilities

Victorian Government. (2018). Disability Act 2006. Retrieved from http://www8.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/da2006121.pdf

Ward, J. R. (2010). Lover Mine. New York, NY: New American Library.