Artie from Glee

I recently read an article about Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale) from Glee (click on the title of this blog, "Artie from Glee" to see the full story). The character is part of the Glee Club, and contributes to the show's diversity due to his use of a wheelchair. The article discusses whether the character should be awarded for his portrayal of disabilities (because he is not disabled in real life) or if the actor and producers of Glee should be condemned for not hiring an actor who has a disability off-stage.

The author of this article, Aaron Broverman, who has Cerebral Palsy, notes that if the show's co-creator "had chosen an actor who actually used a wheelchair, but who was otherwise unqualified, that would have been nothing but a different form of discrimination – tokenism." And I completely agree with him. I personally believe that some people with disabilities need to realize that characters are just characters. They are not going to get everything spot-on. However, they can provide positive behaviorial models for audiences.

I have two younger sisters who watch the show, and, honestly, I am so excited that teenagers their age (15-16) are getting some form of disability awareness from the show. Won't this help in the long run? I think it will. Whenever I watch Artie sing AND dance alongside his peers in the Glee Club, I smile, because he is trumping the idea that only people without disabilities can dance.

I don't actively watch Glee, but when I do I am very thankful that it is such a popular show among our nation's youth. The show encourages teenagers to be inclusive, make good decisions, and fight for one's rights.

Thoughts?

Just another day in the life...



Phoenix Group bake sale, 9/24/10
From left to right: Genevieve Smith, Jackie Conley, Chelsea Cellars and Cara Liebowitz

 On Friday, September 24, I volunteered to sit at a table to try and get people to buy baked goods from a bake sale table for the Phoenix Group, a Kutztown University club dedicated to spreading disability awareness, of which I am currently the president.

As you can see from the picture above, there were lots of baked goods, flyers, and to the right of Cara was a tri-fold poster and other giveaways (pens and koozies) as well as a sign-up sheet. All of this, with a few exceptions, was in my apartment. Now, because I walk with crutches, there was no way I was going to be able to carry all of that to the other side of campus. So when we announced the bake sale at our meeting prior, we made sure to find someone that could stop by my apartment beforehand to help me carry stuff over. Thanks to Chelsea (and a very kind boyfriend, who is not a member) the materials were transported across campus safely.

But there is never a dull moment...

The day before the bake sale was just like any other day, full of meetings, classes, and appointments. On my way to a meeting, I realized that things didn't feel right as I walked, and a strange sound was coming from my crutches. I examined them to see where the problem was, and to my surprise the rubber end of my crutch (also known as a crutch tip) had a rip in it. A few more days of walking on it would cause it to rip, and then I would be walking solely on the pole-part of my crutch, which doesn't help someone who has bad balance. So, knowing that I had to be somewhere the next day, I had to scramble and hope that my one friend, who has a car on campus, could get me to a local drug store as soon as possible. Luckily she came through, and after a trip to two different drug stores, we found the tips. The next step was getting the old tips off and the new ones on, which is not nearly as easy as it sounds. You can't simply pull them off. You have to cut them off with an exacto knife or box cutter. And again, luckily for me, a helpful boyfriend was able to get the old ones off with a pearing knife (I live in a college dorm, I don't have exacto knives lying around). Thankfully, no one was hurt in the process, either.

Once I could finally walk safely, we went back to the bake sale to help wrap up the event and transport the Phoenix Group materials back to my room (again with help from someone volunteering at the table).

Hopefully some of you got a laugh from this post. This is just another day in the life I live. Hopefully these crutch tips hold up for a while. Did I mention the old tips were only 3 months old?

"On Being a Cripple"




Nancy Mairs, in the wheelchair she uses occassionally


 I recently read the piece by Nancy Mairs, On Being a Cripple. Now, I must say that I can never really understand why people with disabilities resent themselves to a point of no return. Obviously, one who has a disability may very well go through some phases where he doesn't like himself, or the cards he was given, because of his disability; however, he bounces back. But, there are some who don't ever bounce back. Some people cannot handle the complexities of having a disability. This is too unfortunate, in my opinion. Having a disability is liberating, because we are contributing to a diverse population of people who must accept us, according to certain laws that are now in place in America.

In the article, Mairs talks about how she acquired Multiple Sclerosis, "a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system, in which the myelin that sheathes the nerves is somehow eaten away and scar tissue forms in its place, interrupting the nerves' signals." (Mairs 246). I can understand how it is much different to live with a disability your entire life compared to acquiring one after leading a "normal" life. However, I still think it is just like all other aspects of life, and you just have to learn to roll with the punches. Sometimes I wonder, am I wrong to think this way? After all, I've had my disability my whole life, but that doesn't mean that I'm used to it, or that things aren't constantly changing within my body.

Mairs discusses her life as a professor, writer, and speaker. When she speaks to audiences about her MS, she also speaks about the depression she suffers because of her "disease." This is what I'm getting at. Depression in a person with a disability seems to me a person who is not accepting of people with disabilities, and also someone who previously discriminated against us. In On Being a Cripple, Mairs also writes about how she has been "lucky so far" and how she is thankful to those who help her (247). But she also just wants people to treat her as they would treat any other human being. My question is: how can you request that of someone when you yourself may not have treated a "cripple" like any other human being before you acquired MS?

Sometimes I truly believe that I am so confident (in terms of given the fact that I have Spina Bifida) because of my parents, who never treated me as though I was different, but took care of me when I was going through surgeries and other procedures that my younger sisters never needed. However, I also never thought, or was trained to think, of myself as different. I had friends in school, was picked on like other kids, and even had to undergo the horrors of dating during my teenage years. My point here is: so things may be hard; but they are for everyone! Everyone has issues. It's about learning how to handle them. Am I right?

Typography Hints for Low Vision Impairments

When writing a publication for someone with a low vision impairment, there are some things you should consider. The following is a guide of general typography rules to follow to develop a legible article for a vision impaired audience.

The differences between serif and sans serif typography are important to a vision impaired client. According to KuraFire Network, serif can aid dyslexic people due to its distinction between characters such as I, L, and 1. However, these fonts viewed at sizes below 12 can be difficult to read. The opposite, sans serif, is generally easier to read, even at smaller sizes. But what really works for someone with a vision impairment?

I sat down with Elaine Mara, a Kutztown University graduate student with a low vision impairment, for more information. “Keep the fonts crisp, simple, and clear,” Mara declared. She said curly and script typography is harder for the low vision impaired because their eyes cannot always follow each letter due to rapid eye movements. This is also a reason to not type on a path, but rather type the way we read—from left to right, in order to enhance accessibility. Font size preferences will vary, so always have a way for clients to enlarge publications electronically.
 

Avoid fonts that look like this.
For someone who is not
visually impaired, this is hard to read.
So, for someone who is visually impaired,
this is especially difficult.

If fonts are kept clean and easy to read, all clientele will enjoy your publication. If you avoid fancy fonts such as French Script MS, and instead use something closer to Arial or Times, you will be helping your audience. Whenever possible, however, you should always first communicate with the client to ensure you are making an accessible publication for her specifically.

Kutztown University: An Accessible Campus

Thinking about college?

This is a piece I wrote for a class at Kutztown University. Some of it is very KU-focused, but any high school student transitioning to college can read this to get an understanding of the challenges they will face and how to handle them upon entering college. Enjoy, and let me know what you think. Thanks.



As an incoming freshman, college can be extremely intimidating. Finding classes, dorm rooms, places to eat, even the bathroom, can be difficult. But imagine this process and its challenges heightened to a brand new level. Imagine being unable to use the stairs at leisure: imagine being physically handicapped. What about being unable to see anything on campus? Imagine the inability to write and record notes? Walking slower than others and worrying about getting to class on time can also be quite stressful. These are all concerns that any disabled, or even able-person, may have. Unfortunately for the students, there is no handbook to assist them through this rigorous transition. However, while utilizing its resources, there are ways one can maneuver around Kutztown University that provides a comfortable and enjoyable collegiate experience.

By law, universities like Kutztown must accommodate any student with a documented physical, mental, or emotional disability, due to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The Office of Human Diversity was formed at KU to adhere to these acts and requirements. Located in the Stratton Administration Building (rm. 215), this office provides accommodation services to students and faculty members of Kutztown University. Upon entering Kutztown, the student should meet with an affiliate of the office to have their disability known and discussed in order to receive the best accommodations possible while at KU. Human Diversity asks that the student meets four weeks prior to the start of the semester in order to ensure that all students requiring accommodations will receive them.

The Office of Human Diversity asks help from the students themselves as well. In receiving accommodations, the student must take control of his/her own future. Thus, they should be the ones to contact the office, explain their disability (when possible), and provide possible suggestions of accommodation(s) that would best suit them (given they probably know their disability better than the office). The main point here: be responsible. The services offered are attempting to teach students with disabilities how to manage their own lives by communication with their professors, the Human Diversity Office, and other contacts they may consider during their stay at Kutztown University. The student taking responsibility and speaking up will help others help them.

There are a few handicap accessible spots around campus that any physically disabled student would find useful. Ramps can be found outside of every academic building, and wheelchair accessible water fountains are maintained throughout these buildings as well. Almost every building on campus has a button to open automatic doors, although check before classes start or before move-in. The residence hall University Place

has automatic doors, but they do not work. Beware of older buildings like UP as they are harder to depend on. Also, Kutztown University has lots of elevators. To find an elevator, it is best to ask someone in the building or go to the Stratton Administration Building for information.

A very well-used, handicap-friendly service that Kutztown provides is its shuttle bus. The shuttle bus is a service open to all students of Kutztown University. Many students use this means of transportation to get from one side of campus to the other. Due to its high success rate, the bus schedule has recently added more stops to its on-campus route, making it even more handicap-friendly for mobility impaired students to get to class, thus eliminating lots of time-consuming walking from the South side of campus. The shuttle also helps students transport downtown to places such as Rite Aid, Weis Market, and Whiteoak Street.
The shuttle has a few different routes, on-campus and off-campus, evening and late night, during the times scheduled on the Kutztown University website at www.kutztown.edu.

Most prominently, Kutztown University provides services/equipment to help the blind, dyslexic, speech or hearing impaired, and people who require alternative testing methods. For the blind and dyslexic, books are available on tape through the Rohrbach Library which also obtains machines that are able to print material with extra large print and voice recorded articles, books, etc. A TTY (teletype) resides in the library for students with limited or no hearing abilities. A Braille printer is located in Beekey Education Building for blind students. As for alternative test takers, each case is different and should be discussed with an affiliate in the Office of Human Diversity.

Ramps, elevators, the shuttle bus, resources found in the library and any other accommodation(s) or accommodating materials are available to any student with a documented disability. Most of this information is distributed by the Office of Human Diversity after meeting with an associate to further discuss the specific disability and its “reasonable accommodations.” To attain a safe and enjoyable collegiate experience, ask questions and be confident in order to obtain the best possible accommodations on or off campus.