By Becca Moser
In the city of Boston, Massachusetts a college student who is visually impaired faced several kinds of injustices due to her disability, and her service dog (More info on the case can be found here ). Isabella Scott has been denied access for her service dog (access is required under ADA law), hasn’t been accommodated in her classes and has been barred from fully engaging in class projects and discussions all because she is visually impaired. Scott’s case is just one of the many instances of discrimination that individuals with visual impairments face on a daily basis. According to the American Foundation for the Blind, 44% of individuals that are blind or visually impaired are unemployed, and it’s not because they aren’t capable. Companies are just not willing to put in the effort to make materials accessible to people with vision loss. Another area of concern for individuals with vision impairments is transportation. These people rely heavily on public transportation or apps such as Uber or Lyft to get around, and many of them also utilize guide dogs. A quick Facebook search will reveal hundreds of posts about Uber or Lyft drivers refusing rides to people with guide dogs. Both Uber and Lyft have a policy requiring that drivers give rides to those with guide dogs, yet they are still being refused. In the video below, blind Youtuber Molly Burke gives some more insight to being refused access to a ride sharing service.
The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990, and it gave a voice to those with disabilities. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of disabilities, which is why the incidents above are such a big deal. It is literally illegal to not accommodate those with disabilities, yet we are still seeing it on a daily basis. The majority of individuals with a visual impairment didn’t choose to go blind. It simply just happened.
Able-bodied people can safely cross the street without thinking twice. They can walk into a restaurant and read the menu. They can drive themselves to work or school. They can read their homework assignments with no issues. We don’t have to put much effort into our daily lives, so the least we could do is take all of that energy that we save and use it to make the world a little bit easier for those that do.
Relating this situation back to class, people with disabilities are very much the “other”. The rest of the world seems to be casting them aside and looking down on them through no fault of their own. We need to stop looking at people with disabilities as the “other” and start embracing them for who they are and accommodating them accordingly.