4 Ways To Design a Disability-Friendly Future | Meghan Hussey | TED

Summary

The speaker shares personal experiences with disability through their sister Erin, who is autistic and intellectually disabled. They discuss the stigma and barriers faced by over a billion people with disabilities worldwide, including lack of education and societal attitudes. The speaker's journey from studying abroad in China to working with Special Olympics highlights the importance of inclusion. They urge reevaluating attitudes, choosing to include, recognizing intersections with other issues, and listening to the voices of people with disabilities to foster a more inclusive world.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Disability is a combination of physical or mental conditions and social barriers that affect a person's ability to interact with the world.
• 👨‍👧‍👦 The speaker's sister Erin, who is autistic and has intellectual disabilities, represents a personal connection to disability and its diverse experiences.
• 🌍 Disability inclusion is a global issue, affecting an estimated 15% of the world's population.
• 🏫 Education is a significant area where persons with disabilities face exclusion, with about 50% of children with disabilities never attending school.
• 🌱 The speaker's career shift to disability inclusion in international development was influenced by personal experiences and global perspectives gained through studying abroad.
• 🔍 Disability is often overlooked in discussions of global human rights, despite its massive scale.
• 🏥 The cost of excluding persons with disabilities from society is significant, with estimates ranging from 3% to 7% of GDP for low- and middle-income countries.
• 💡 Inclusion benefits everyone, not just those with disabilities, by fostering key social and emotional skills necessary in a diverse world.
• 🔄 To create a more inclusive future, we must reevaluate our attitudes towards disability, choose to include, recognize the intersectionality of disability with other issues, and listen to the voices of persons with disabilities.
• 🗣️ Listening to and following the lead of persons with disabilities is crucial for genuine inclusion and understanding their lived experiences.

Q & A

What is the speaker's personal connection to disability?

The speaker's sister Erin is autistic and has intellectual disabilities, which is the speaker's personal connection to disability.

What are some of the interests and behaviors of the speaker's sister Erin?

Erin enjoys riding her bike, collecting rubber ducks, watching YouTube videos on repeat, and spending the money she earns at work.

What is the core value the speaker's family was raised with regarding disability?

The core value the speaker's family was raised with is that 'different is not less'.

What incident from the speaker's middle school experience taught them about stigma?

The speaker brought a video of Erin to school to educate classmates about autism, but the teacher decided against showing it to 'protect' the speaker from potential ridicule.

How did the speaker's experience studying abroad in China influence their career path?

During a study abroad program in China, the speaker interned with a disability rights advocacy organization and became absorbed in the community, leading them to focus their career on disability inclusion in international development.

What is the estimated percentage of the world's population that has some form of disability?

An estimated 15 percent of the world's population has some form of disability.

What is one shocking statistic the speaker shares about education and disability?

About 50 percent of the 240 million children with disabilities in the world have never been to school.

What is the speaker's current global role with Special Olympics?

The speaker works globally with Special Olympics, using sport as a platform to teach and promote inclusive attitudes.

What are the four actions the speaker suggests to make the future more inclusive?

The speaker suggests reevaluating our own attitudes towards disability, choosing to include, recognizing where disability intersects with every issue area, and listening to persons with disabilities themselves.

Why is it important to listen to persons with disabilities themselves according to the speaker?

Listening to persons with disabilities is important because they are the experts of their own experiences and can provide valuable insights and guidance on how to make the world more inclusive.

What is the speaker's ultimate message about disability inclusion?

The speaker's ultimate message is that disability inclusion is not something nice to do for those with disabilities, but something critical that needs to come from all of us.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Embracing Diversity: The Reality of Disability

The speaker reflects on their life with a sister, Erin, who is autistic and has intellectual disabilities. They discuss the diversity of disability experiences and how societal barriers and stigmas can hinder individuals with disabilities. The speaker's personal experiences reveal the broader social issues surrounding disability, such as the lack of education for children with disabilities and the economic impact of exclusion. They share their journey of discovering the global scale of disability and the importance of inclusion, leading them to a career in disability inclusion in international development.

05:03

💪 Advocating for Inclusion: Actions for a Better Future

The speaker calls for a reevaluation of attitudes towards disability, emphasizing the need for justice and equity rather than charity. They encourage active inclusion in various aspects of society, such as the workplace and policy implementation. The importance of recognizing the intersectionality of disability with other issues is highlighted, along with the collective efforts required for cultural change. The speaker concludes by urging the audience to listen to the voices of people with disabilities themselves, sharing inspiring stories of advocacy and the pursuit of a more inclusive world.

Keywords

💡Disability

Disability refers to a physical or mental condition that may be combined with physical or social barriers, making it difficult for a person to perform certain tasks or interact with the world. In the video, the speaker's sister Erin is described as having autism and intellectual disabilities, which affects how she processes the world. The theme of the video is centered around the diversity and challenges faced by people with disabilities, emphasizing the need for inclusion and understanding.

💡Inclusion

Inclusion is the act of involving people, especially those who are marginalized or excluded, in society or a particular activity. The video discusses the importance of inclusion in various contexts such as education, the workplace, and social settings. The speaker's work with Special Olympics and advocacy for disability rights is an example of promoting inclusion.

💡Stigma

Stigma is a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people may have about something, in this case, disability. The video describes instances where the speaker's sister faced stigma, such as being excluded from educational opportunities or being ridiculed, illustrating the negative attitudes that people with disabilities often encounter.

💡Diversity

Diversity refers to the range of differences in a group of people, which can include differences in race, gender, age, ethnicity, and abilities. The video emphasizes that disability is a part of human diversity and that recognizing and valuing this diversity is crucial for creating a more inclusive society.

💡Advocacy

Advocacy is the act of supporting a cause or policy or of publicly recommending or promoting something. In the video, the speaker discusses their personal journey from witnessing the challenges faced by their sister to becoming an advocate for disability rights, showing how personal experiences can lead to advocacy work.

💡Autism

Autism is a developmental disorder that affects communication and social interaction. Erin, the speaker's sister, is described as being autistic, which influences how she processes the world and interacts with others. Autism is used in the video to highlight the diversity within the disability community and the unique experiences each person may have.

💡Intellectual Disabilities

Intellectual disabilities are characterized by below-average intellectual functioning and limitations in daily living skills. The video mentions that Erin has intellectual disabilities, which is part of the broader discussion on the range of disabilities and the need for tailored support and understanding.

💡International Development

International development refers to the effort to improve economic, political, and social conditions in developing countries. The speaker discusses their career shift towards disability inclusion in international development, indicating the global nature of the disability rights movement and the need for inclusive policies worldwide.

💡Fulbright Scholarship

A Fulbright Scholarship is a program that provides funding for international educational exchange. The speaker mentions returning to China on a Fulbright scholarship to conduct research, highlighting the importance of academic research in advancing disability rights and inclusion.

💡Special Olympics

The Special Olympics is an international organization that promotes inclusion through sports for people with intellectual disabilities. The speaker's work with the Special Olympics is cited as an example of using sports as a platform for teaching and promoting inclusive attitudes, demonstrating practical approaches to fostering inclusion.

💡Intersectionality

Intersectionality is the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, considered to be important in understanding how social inequality is experienced. The video discusses how disability intersects with other issues, such as gender equity and global health, emphasizing the need to consider disability in all aspects of social policy and advocacy.

Highlights

Disability is a combination of physical or mental conditions and social barriers that hinder a person's ability to interact with the world.

Disability is diverse and can affect various aspects of a person's life, including seeing, moving, hearing, learning, and communicating.

The speaker's sister Erin is autistic and has intellectual disabilities, yet is a part of the family's 'normal'.

Erin's unique interests include bike riding, rubber duck collecting, and watching YouTube videos.

The family's core value is that 'different is not less', but society often does not share this perspective.

An incident in middle school where the speaker tried to educate classmates about autism was met with protective but stigmatizing actions from a teacher.

The speaker learned about stigma through rude comments, public meltdowns, and the use of derogatory terms.

During college, the speaker's personal background with disability intersected with their career in international relations.

An internship with a disability rights advocacy organization in China changed the speaker's perspective on disability inclusion.

Over a billion people, about 15% of the world's population, have some form of disability.

About 50% of the 240 million children with disabilities worldwide have never been to school.

Disability inclusion is not often discussed in global human rights, despite its scale.

The speaker has dedicated their career to disability inclusion in international development.

Disability exclusion is estimated to cost low- and middle-income countries between 3% and 7% of GDP.

Inclusive sport and youth leadership programs benefit both disabled and non-disabled youth.

Negative attitudes are the second most cited barrier to inclusion after lack of data.

Four actionable steps for a more inclusive future: reevaluate attitudes, choose to include, recognize intersections, and listen to persons with disabilities.

Disability inclusion is a critical necessity, not just a charitable act.

Transcripts

I've never known life without disability.

Disability is where a physical or mental condition or impairment

is combined with physical or social barriers

that make it hard for a person to do certain things

or interact with the world around them.

Disability is very diverse,

with a wide range of experiences

that can affect a person's ability to see, move, hear, learn,

communicate or interact with others.

In my case, my sister Erin is autistic and has intellectual disabilities.

She processes the world differently.

She enjoys riding her bike, collecting rubber ducks,

watching YouTube videos on repeat

and spending the money she earns at work.

When she's really happy, she squeals and claps her hands.

Though, for many people Erin is different,

she is my normal.

In my family, we were raised with the core value

that different is not less.

But it was made clear to me

that the rest of the world didn't always share this value.

Like, I'll never forget, one time in middle school,

my sister's aid had made a video of her learning how to communicate

using speech and sign

and thriving in an inclusive classroom where she was loved

and accepted just for who she is.

And I brought it to school, wanting to share,

to give my classmates the opportunity to learn more about autism,

only to be told by my teacher that the faculty had decided against it

to "protect" me from other students inevitably making fun of her.

It was one of many instances that taught me what stigma was.

With every rude comment,

when Erin would have a sensory meltdown in a public place,

with every casual use of the slur retard, by even childhood friends of mine

with every judgmental stare,

I learned that the rest of the world didn't necessarily see Erin

for the full human being that she is.

Now, when I went off to college, I didn't know what role, if any,

disability would play in my life outside my family.

It wasn't until I studied abroad in China for my International Relations major

that my personal background with disability

and my career came together.

Through a class I was taking on social issues in Beijing,

I had the opportunity to visit an autism school there

and was introduced to a local disability rights advocacy organization.

I ended up interning with them

and got completely absorbed into that community.

I was finally able to see how my family's struggle

was part of something much larger,

and the magnitude of what I found actually shocked me.

Over a billion people,

an estimated 15 percent of the world's population,

have some form of disability.

And persons with disabilities as a group worldwide

face huge amounts of stigma and disadvantage.

Just to use education as an example,

of the 240 million children with disabilities in the world,

about 50 percent have never been to school.

I was appalled that I had been studying global human rights

at an Ivy League school,

and even though the problem was so unbelievably huge,

not once had disability really ever come up.

So I decided to pivot,

and I've spent the past decade in my career to disability inclusion

in international development.

I returned to China on a Fulbright scholarship

to do research on education and programs for autistic adolescents and adults.

I then went on to do research or work with disability organizations

in places like Tanzania, Ireland and South Africa.

I now work globally with Special Olympics,

using sport as a platform to teach and promote inclusive attitudes.

And what I found is that all over the world,

even though countries' specific cultural context or systems might be different,

the underlying problem of attitude barriers remains the same.

And the research backs me up.

The second most cited barriers to inclusion, after lack of data,

is negative attitudes towards disability.

What people don't realize is that exclusion hurts everyone.

The International Labour Organization estimates that disability exclusion costs

low- and middle-income countries between three and seven percent of GDP.

But the opposite is also true.

Inclusion could help everyone.

Our research at Special Olympics has found

that inclusive sport and youth leadership programming

has benefits for youth, both with and without disabilities,

especially when it comes to developing key social and emotional skills

everyone needs to succeed in an increasingly diverse

and interconnected world.

And this has held true in countries as different as the United States,

China, India, Kenya and Greece.

The good news is

there are four things we all can do to make the future more inclusive.

Number one,

we need to reevaluate our own attitudes towards disability.

I still get questions about whether it is "realistic"

to include persons with disabilities in international development programs

when even the so-called regular people are struggling.

There are still too many stereotypes that associate disability with pity,

and we're still living with social systems and physical structures

that segregate people with disabilities.

So fewer people have it as part of their everyday experience,

and it still makes them really uncomfortable.

We need to re-evaluate these attitudes.

Needing accommodation or support

does not make a person any less deserving of dignity and respect.

This is a matter of justice and equity, not charity.

Second, choose to include.

Solving this issue is not just a matter of policy.

There are plenty of countries that have disability laws on the books

or have signed and ratified the United Nations Convention

on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,

but there is still a huge gap between what is written in policy

and what actually happens in practice.

And this comes down to all of us.

We can put pressure on governments

to make sure that laws are actually implemented.

But we can also look at where we have the power to effect change.

We should be looking at organizations' diversity, equity and inclusion strategies

and see where we can be doing better.

Too often we still fall short of recognizing disability

as part of human diversity.

We would all benefit by not only accommodating

but actively supporting and including persons with disabilities

in the workplace.

Third, we need to recognize where disability intersects

with every issue area.

When we talk about gender equity,

we need to be inclusive of women with disabilities

who are actually more likely to be victims of gender-based violence.

When we talk about global health and health systems,

we need to be inclusive of persons with disabilities

who are more likely to have poor health outcomes,

often not because of their actual disability

but because of stigma and lack of access to care.

Everyone has something they can do to make their work more inclusive.

And together,

these collective efforts can result in the cultural shift that we need.

Finally, and most importantly, don't just listen to me.

Listen to persons with disabilities themselves.

All over the world, there are incredible self advocates.

Like my friend and colleague Ben,

who is both legally blind and has intellectual disability

and who successfully advocated to the DC Department of Transportation

to get voice and sound added to the crosswalks near our office

to make it safe for him and people like him

to cross the street going to work.

Or Brina from the Philippines,

whose parents were told upon her Down syndrome diagnosis

that they shouldn't set their expectations too high,

but who has become an assistant preschool teacher

and a UNESCO champion for inclusion in education.

Or Haseeb, who has actually been on a TEDx stage before me

to speak out against the stigma he has faced as an autistic young person

in Pakistan.

And I could go on and on and on

with others who have shared their lived experience of disability

in books, speeches, blogs, podcasts and social media.

When you're looking for ways to make your work more inclusive,

seek out the voices of persons with disabilities.

Really take the time to listen to what they have to say

and follow their lead.

Disability has always been and will always be a part of my life.

Erin and I deserve to live in a world

where she has more opportunities to be supported and included.

Erin, Ben, Brina and Haseeb are only four out of over a billion people

who are just trying to find belonging and live their best lives

in a world that was not designed for them.

Indeed, a world that was designed to hold them back.

Not because it had to be that way,

but because people built systems

around attitudes that other and exclude them.

And all of those people have family members like me

whose lives are shaped by this issue

and communities who are affected, whether they realize it or not.

Disability inclusion is not something nice that we do for those people.

It is something critical that needs to come from all of us.

Thank you.

(Applause)