Panel discusses disability rights
The Center for Persons with Disabilities screened the movie “Lives Worth Living,” a film about the history of the disability rights movement. After the film, shown on Friday, Jan. 20, the center organized a panel discussion, focusing on current issues regarding people with disabilities.
“I am not a disabled person, I am a person with a disability. It does not define who I am, but I am proud of who I am, and I ask you not to put the person last,” said Trish Smith, a Salt Lake City resident who attended the event.
Rights for people with disabilities have come a long way, but disability-rights advocates still have work to do, according to a panel member.
According to the film “Lives Worth Living,” the Americans with Disabilities Act requires federal government programs and businesses like restaurants and stores to be accessible to people with disabilities. The ADA was signed on July 26, 1990.
Andrea Pitts, a member of the Utah Statewide Independent Living Council, said she is working on streamlining communications between service providers and consumers.
Often, consumers who need wheelchairs have to wait for weeks while the insurance companies and care providers grapple about payments and terms, Pitts said, and the consumer is ultimately hurt.
The beginning stages of advocacy are discouraging, Pitts said, but overall she thinks it’s worth it.
People with disabilities sometimes have trouble receiving necessary attendant services — services for people who can’t take care of themselves without assistance — because they didn’t fit a rigid mold of requirements, said Andy Curry, the state coordinator for the National Council on Independent Living. If people can’t get attendant services, they are often forced to live in a nursing home, he said.
“Some of those service programs that are out there are for specific types of disabilities. Unless you fit that definition, you don’t get those services, even though you need it,” Curry said.
Smith said she had to go to a nursing home before she could get the help that she needed. Before she met program requirements, she was forced to stay in the nursing home for a year.
“When you’re in the nursing home, one of the very first things that goes out the window is your dignity. They make decisions — day one, hour one, minute one — for you,” Smith said.
Curry said he works through legislation to combat these restrictive programs, and his goal is to dismantle the old system and build a new, more integrated program. He wants to make sure people with disabilities and people with injuries can get all the rehabilitation and attendant services to keep them living as independently as possible, he said.
Sachin Pavithran, another panel member who works for the National Federation of the Blind, said the blind community is constantly hindered by new technology, such as the Internet and touch-screen devices. Touch screens are showing up in more devices, including commonly used appliances, such as microwaves, stoves and washing machines.
“Manufacturers are going to be held liable to have things accessible. It is possible to make these things accessible, but the manufacturers don’t care about it,” Pavithran said.
Pavithran said touch screens can be made accessible for blind people. Apple makes iPhones and iPads accessible to people who are blind, and he said he wants other manufacturers to get on board, too.
Tom Brownlee, another panel member, said he urges students to get involved with the disability rights movement. Students can write letters to senators about issues that are important, like expanding government program rights to people with all disabilities, he said.
“I truly believe that if you’re not involved and taking an active part of politics, then you’re part of the problem,” Curry said. “It’s a huge thing to say, and maybe it upsets people, but that’s how things get done.”
Curry said he also strongly recommends volunteering. Independent Living Centers, the Sanderson Center, the Division of Service for the Blind and Legally Impaired, and other programs are good for volunteering, he said.
“There’s so much work to do. If there’s a chance for you to volunteer, I don’t think we could turn you down,” said Jeff Sheen, the discussion facilitator and a specialist at the Center for Persons with Disabilities.
– marissa.shields@aggiemail.usu.edu