S is for Storycorps. This remote project has been hard at work over the last few years to bring the stories of people with disabilities to an accessible platform. Check out more about StoryCorps Connect (remote) – Disability Visibility Project here.
S is for slurs. Language evolves. We learn more all the time. There are so many words that are ableist slurs that we don’t even think about. Reflect today on words like “slow,” “stupid,” “lame,” “tone-deaf,” and “spaz.” Using the lens of the ABCs, what have you learned about your own language during this time?
One point of reflection for me was joking about strokes. I know better and need to do better, especially because a dear friend and colleague from my time in theatre had a stroke at 33, very suddenly at the top of her career. Maggie Whittum, an accomplished international actor & director, has turned her journey post-stroke into an incredible documentary that is currently in production. You can watch the trailer of her film, The Great Now What here: https://vimeo.com/244729372 and her video on the parity between pandemics and people with disabilities’ experiences here.
S is for the Special Olympics and Camp Shriver. Featured in the Netflix documentary film Crip Camp, Camp Shriver is the birthplace of the Special Olympics. Learn more about the history of the Special Olympics and Camp Shriver here: https://www.specialolympics.org/about/history/camp-shriver
S is for Service Dogs! While dogs and humans have been working together for centuries, we don’t know much about early assistance animals. There is even a fresco found in Herculaneum dating to the first century A.D. which shows a blind man led by his dog. In recent U.S. history, while Service Dogs weren’t legally recognized until the ADA passed in 1990, the first assistance dogs appeared in the US in public record in the 1920s.
Since then, Service Dogs have continued growing in popularity and have been successfully trained to aid all different types of Disabilities! There are many, many types of service dogs including: Allergy Detection Dogs, Autism Service Dogs, Diabetic/Seizure/Heart Rate Alert Dogs, Guide Dogs, Hearing Dogs, Mobility Assistance Dogs, and Psychiatric Service Dogs (distinct from Emotional Support Animals)!
Service Dogs require a combination of natural aptitude/temperament for their job, proper socialization, and hundreds of hours of specialized training on both task-specific work and public access. For this reason, the cost of Service Dogs is a heavy financial burden–with the standard cost of one dog being a minimum of $25,000. Thankfully, many non-profit organizations exist which pair disabled individuals with a service dog once a certain threshold of funds have been raised.
And of course, it wouldn’t be 2020s without COVID impacting the community, right? The effect lockdowns have had on the service dog community is immeasurable. Many of the non-profit training organizations halted operations, were receiving fewer donations, and have been able to place fewer and fewer teams–resulting in longer and longer waiting lists and higher costs. Active teams could not go out in public to train and keep up skills, so Service Dog Teams have been facing devastating realities of potentially retiring their dogs, which few animals ready to meet the demand. According to The Guardian, one organization, Mira, says that the hundreds of dogs it works with are all experiencing a need for retraining or early retirement.
These dogs are our sight, hearing, mobility, stability and independence. I can confidently say that without Beamer, I would not have graduated college and would be unable to work. So what can non-handlers do? Consider finding a local service dog organization to support or volunteer with. Educate yourself on Assistance Dog Etiquette to make re-opening easier on new and re-training teams. And above all else–respect the vest!
