{"id":17083,"date":"2022-08-01T12:38:10","date_gmt":"2022-08-01T12:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_7\/?p=17083"},"modified":"2022-08-01T12:38:10","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T12:38:10","slug":"what-is-ableism-and-how-is-it-a-part-of-the-everyday-language-we-use-at-the-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_7\/2022\/08\/01\/what-is-ableism-and-how-is-it-a-part-of-the-everyday-language-we-use-at-the-library\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Ableism and how is it a part of the everyday language we use at the library?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This guest post is contributed by Mary Murtland as part of her MLS internship with NNLM R7. Mary has an extensive resume including working as a library director in a rural library for over a decade! We are fortunate to have her spend her University of Rhode Island internship experience with us.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Do you have a disability bias? Project Implicit, a non-profit collaboration of researchers, created a website with a collection of Implicit Association Tests (IAT). Its mission is \u201cto educate the public about bias\u201d. On this website<\/a>, after you agree to participate, you will be asked to choose an IAT from a list of topics. Give the Disability IAT a try. The results may surprise you.<\/p>\n

Ableism is the discrimination or prejudice against people with disabilities. \u00a0It is based on the belief that non-disabled have more value than disabled people and that typical abilities are superior. Ableism assumes that disabled people require \u2018fixing\u2019 and defines people by their disability. The concept of \u201cfixing\u201d a disability started with the medical model of disability. We are taught to think that something is \u201cwrong\u201d with a person, and it needs a doctor\u2019s medical attention to be \u201cfixed\u201d. Just because something is different does not mean it is bad. We need to recognize how ableism is perpetuated through our everyday communication at the library.<\/p>\n

Ableist language is ever-present in conversations and people working at or visiting a library may not even be aware that they are using it. Making use of ableist language both internalizes and reveals our unconscious biases. Ableist language evolves just like slang, with phrases catching on and becoming widely accepted parts of our vocabulary. Examples are works and phrases like making a \u201cdumb\u201d choice, turning a \u201cblind eye\u201d, acting \u201ccrazy or \u201cfalling on deaf ears\u201d. Using these kinds of terms and phrases reinforces negative attitudes or actions and continues to promote inaccurate descriptions of what having a disability means. \u00a0Keep in mind that words have power and ableist language is both harmful and unnecessary. Ableist words have become an established part of society\u2019s vocabulary and changing the use of these words will have to be an ongoing process that we will have to work together to change.<\/p>\n

Another thing to consider is that sooner or later non-disabled people will commonly experience a disability later in life and will also be harmed in the future by the established and ongoing ableist words that are being maintained now. According to the CDC, \u201cone in four adult Americans live with a disability.\u201d \u201cThe most common disability type, mobility, affects 1 in 7 adults. With age, disability becomes more common, affecting about 2 in 5 adults age 65 and older.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Where should I start?<\/h3>\n