Next In Our Allyship Series, Disability Allyship. Join Maddie, Malcolm and Zuha to learn how to be the best ally to people that have disabilities.
Next In Our Allyship Series, Disability Allyship. Join Maddie, Malcolm and Zuha to learn how to be the best ally to people that have disabilities.
Hey folks, welcome back to the Get with the growth Podcast. I'm Maddie.
Malcolm:I'm Malcolm
Zuha:and i'm Zuha.
Maddie:For this week's episode we are going to be talking about disabilities and how to be an ally.
Zuha:Before we begin, we wanted to cover a couple of terms that we will be talking about in this episode. The first one is disability, which is an umbrella term for any impairment that makes it difficult for an individual with a can with the condition to do certain activities. Next one is ableism, which is the practice and dominant attitudes in society that devalue and limit the potential of a persons with a disability. Next one is physical disability, which is a disability that affects a person's mobility, dexterity, stamina, balance, and sometimes pain. Another one is non evident disability, which is a disability that is not obvious to observers, such as chronic illness.
Maddie:Yeah, so this week's episode, I think we're going to be sharing some personal stories, and how to be an ally to a person of disability. So without further ado, I want to say thank you to zohore, for joining us for another episode, Malcolm and I are so lucky to have you again. Yeah. On the podcast? And would you like to give us a star and a little bit of an introduction about who you are? And
Zuha:yeah, so as Maddie said, my name is Ola, I've been on the several episodes,
Malcolm:probably more than I have.
Zuha:Possibly, I'm not 100% sure about that. But, um, yeah, I identify as a person of disability. And I guess a little bit like a background about my experiences as, as a person with disability growing up, and navigating the school system, and also, just the workplace in general, as a person who have disability. So I was born with my disability. I don't know, if you, I would categorize it as a physical disability or non evident, non evident one, but I guess it could be both, but not. I personally just wouldn't like to discover what it is. But it was really difficult, kind of as a young person navigating my disability, because I just didn't know a lot about it. I just knew what my parents told me, I just knew what my teachers told me. And I personally just didn't know how to exist with it in the world. And the school system was kind of also really difficult to navigate. Because, you know, there's always systems in place that are meant to help you as a youth, as a person with disability, but they're not always successful in doing so. I think the most evident or, like, the most prominent thing, to me, navigating the school system as a president is stability was that the help was very contingent on if I, if I not that if I benefited from it, but if it was easy for them to give it to me. So it felt like my knees were never fully prioritized. It was more so you know, if it's convenient for them, they would do it. And if it wasn't, there was always an excuse. So that was a really challenging thing to navigate as a young person. And I, I understand and I can appreciate that a lot of our audience members may relate to that. And that's where the girl comes in, you know, I didn't have a place like the Grove to reach out to to kind of help in navigating this kind of stuff. So it kind of helped it allows me to appreciate a system like this in place, like the growth
Maddie:would you say that once you got to post secondary, you felt more supported or less supported in the education system?
Zuha:I think with specifically with secondary school, I again like I want to highlight that like they tried their best but I think they just didn't know how to help in a more productive way. Yeah. But to give them the benefit of the doubt they tried
Malcolm:and they may not have had the proper training they may have not
Zuha:because I feel like there's so many like we discussed there's so many varying disabilities and you know, everyone's disability looks very different. You can have the same disability as someone but a completely different experience. So I can I can resonate with the how difficult it may be for a provider It's not a teacher even to help a student in that situation. But in terms of post secondary, I think with University of Guelph, it has been very different. In a better in a better way, in a really in a, in a refreshing way. I've gone through several academic advisors, but every single one of them have been very supportive, and very accommodating. So if you don't
Maddie:mind me asking, what are some things that the education system has done to help you with your disability?
Zuha:I think the most prominent thing that stands out to me is actually like my experience in post secondary. Just allowing me the space to, you know, be myself, I think my academic advisors have really, that's been a part priority for them, is to allow me to ask for help, to allow me to space to feel comfortable and safe to ask for help, which is, I never felt that growing up. So that was really refreshing. And that was really appreciated. Because I feel like now I'm much more comfortable talking about my disability, but also like asking for assistance when I need to ask him for the accommodation when I need it. So that's the that's one thing.
Malcolm:Yeah, I feel like the support around helping those with disabilities has definitely improved in recent years. Yeah. I wonder what it's like in high school and grade school for youth nowadays, because it was, I know, it would be much different for what they're experiencing than what we used to experience when we went to school. Yeah, several years ago.
Maddie:Yeah. Malcolm, do you want to share a little bit of history? Do you feel comfortable? Yeah,
Malcolm:for sure. So I was diagnosed with ADHD and dyscalculia. When I was around 11 or 12 years old, I believe it was very young, I used to act out a lot. And I was very, very hyperactive as a young kid. So I was medicated. Within a couple weeks of my being diagnosed with ADHD, I remained on I remain Diag. I remained having medication until I was around 15 years old when I decided that I wanted to stop because it was impacting my appetite. And I wasn't able to eat proper amounts of food. But I feel like in grade school, no one really knew what to do with a kid with ADHD. Nowadays, it's much more common. And I feel like I have met so many people with ADHD and it's spoken about so wide widely and people are trained with how to support us. And back in grade school, I felt like when I was the only one in my class, I believe, who at at the time was diagnosed with ADHD, I was very much singled out whenever I was in a hyperactive state. And I don't blame my teachers, they just didn't know how to deal with me. And I would often get kicked out of the room or sent to the principal's office punished just for being a little hyperactive and moving. I was constantly moving my legs and I was a bit of a disruption in class, but I mean, aren't we? So?
Maddie:Did you ever have any experiences of allies when you were younger? Like any like figures in your life that helped to make a difference in a positive way?
Malcolm:Oh, yeah. Um, the majority of my family is actually has been diagnosed with ADHD. So my older brother, who had already gone through grade school, and he was, quite honestly, he had even worse ADHD than I did. And he, he always supported me and told me how much better it is once he got to high school. And when I made it to high school, actually, my school WCI back in Waterloo was surprisingly good with dealing with it. They had a whole support system, I was able to take tests and exams in a separate room so that I was able to focus on my work. And just the difference in that was was far better than what I experienced in grade school. But even in extracurriculars like basketball and dance, those those people who are teachers, just they haven't gone through teachers college and that sorts of things. They had even less experience. So they were very poor at dealing with those sorts of reactions.
Zuha:I had a I would like to echo that because I feel like the I feel the same way. I feel like I don't blame the teachers. I think there's just a lack of like training and like diverse training. Which impacts like how teachers kind of navigate dealing with youth that have disability. And because not every disability looks the same. Not even like the same disability looks the same. It makes it much more challenging. I'm in terms of like allies. For me, I had a very similar experience as well and had a brother who grew up with the same disability. Obviously, he, this is really interesting to me to kind of realize I feel like I struggled with it more than he did. Even though we have the same exact disability from that the same exact. So that was kind of a challenge growing up, I feel like having a disability also impacts your mental health, and how that is really intertwined. In many ways. And that's what I struggled with, like, because I do have a vision related disabilities. So I feel like my teachers and supervisors and even my parents sometimes kind of neglect to recognize how that impacted my mental health. And like, just kind of existing that would that in the world, but also how that impact to my identity, how I was how I felt like I was being perceived. And yeah, I don't know, there's if this topic is so intersectional, especially, you know, how is it impacting youth from diverse cultures having a disability? How are they have a meaning the world,
Maddie:there's a lot of different factors that can come and play a part and how Allah ship plays a role in that.
Zuha:You don't like important questions to kind of,
Malcolm:yeah. So we were talking earlier, Maddie, are you comfortable sharing your experience?
Maddie:So I am similar to Malcolm in the sense that I, I also have diagnosed ADHD, the difference between us is I went most of my life undiagnosed, and without the knowledge that I did have a disorder, where it affected many parts of my life. Growing up, I remember, school was hard. And I remember just being told, like, Oh, if you can't focus, it's because you're athletic or because yeah, you're a girl, and you want to be doing other things. And it was really only when I got to university, and I remember doing everything, right. I was like, I'm taking my notes, I'm going to my classes, I'm doing everything that I can. But I find trouble in focusing in maintaining organization in, like so many different areas. And I met a couple people who had ADHD and they were like, Have you ever considered being, like, tested or going to see your doctor about it. And I can't even explain how validating it was to finally get the results and think that there was nothing wrong with what I was doing. It was not knowing that this was a disability that I had. And the difference that it made when I was medicated. And when I even just had the knowledge that this is not my fault. It's not even a fault in general. It's just something that I need to take into account when I think about like, Oh, why I wish I would be able to focus today. Yeah. And it just it made me less harsh on myself. Yeah. Which is really important. But yeah, I mean, I feel like there's also a little bit of a stigma around medication and people having ADHD and just being considered like lazy or not being able to focus.
Zuha:So I feel like with like non evident disabilities, there's also a stigma around like, Oh, is it even to discipline? Or to just Yeah, for sure. Which is, I think is really harmful for a lot of folks that have ADHD or yeah, this calculus or even or another non dyslexia? Yes. Disability? Yeah.
Maddie:I do feel like in society when you hear disability, immediately, I think physical Yeah. And I am at fault for that all the time. And I forget all the time that there are so many disabilities that you can't see you might not be able to tell you can know somebody's most your life and not know that they do have a disability. But I can say that the difference it makes to be an ally, and to support a person with disability, it makes such a big difference.
Zuha:Huge difference. I want to like recognize that how difficult it may have been to you know, be be diagnosed as an adult.
Malcolm:Yeah, going your whole life without knowing I can't even imagine.
Maddie:Yeah, I mean, it was it was kind of like a weight lifted off my shoulders. To think like, ya know, this is something that I've suffered with and only suffered with it because I didn't know and because I didn't have supports that I could have received.
Malcolm:I was fortunate that many members in my family had already been diagnosed with ADHD but there are several families where maybe the youngest child or one middle child happens to have ADHD, but the rest of the families is lucky to not. And they just go their whole lives without knowing. And they just think that there's something wrong with them when in reality they they have a disability.
Maddie:Yeah. So with that, I feel like it's important that we talk about ally ship.
Malcolm:Yeah. Because we can be allies as well.
Zuha:Before we kind of jump into our ship, we should be sort of kind of discussing like disability advocate. Yeah. Because, right, yeah. So what is disability advocate? I think it is important for everyone to kind of be aware, you know, as we asked to not have like, offend anybody, anybody who has a disability, it's just important to be kind of like cautious of how we are approaching that conversation. And be, like, very aware and very of how we are approaching
Maddie:actions, words that we use, things that we post, you just have to be mindful of what you say, but you
Malcolm:never know how your actions can impact someone. And you may say something that seems like just a regular Tuesday conversation, but that can stick with someone for the rest of their life.
Maddie:So So what are some terms, I think we kind of brainstormed a couple of terms that
Zuha:are outdated. And now I want I want to just trigger warning, we don't like we just want to this is just for the sake of raising awareness, these are just some terms that we should avoid, and what we can replace them with. Okay, so some outdated terms include confined to a wheelchair, hearing impaired, handicapped, and we don't want to see this, but the Arcelor. So these are all terms we want to avoid when we are interacting, or just navigating the world as a person of disability. And just to ensure we have inclusive language when we are talking to folks with any disability, or just anyone in the community. Um, so instead of using terminology that is harmful to the community, and to ensure adequate allyship, we can use terms like wheelchair user, hard of hearing, disabled, or intellectually disabled. Just to again, ensure inclusivity.
Maddie:Yeah, so I do feel like it's important for everyone whether or not you do identify as a person of disability, or whether you're an ally, to educate yourself on how to be respectful to those in the community. Because as we know, the times are changing. And with more evidence of people who do have disabilities, it's important that we respect them as a person. And we use our language as a way to be inclusive and respectful. So I think it's important that folks know the ABCs of ally ship. So the ABCs of ally ship include awareness, behavior and consistency. So awareness is important. So everyone can increase your awareness through education. So learn about different disabilities learn about how disabilities can vary. The same disability can vary between different individuals, it's important that you do your own education, so that you are a better ally. Behavior, educate yourself in order to change your behavior. So I feel like once people have a better understanding of this disabilities as a whole, you change the way that you act in a more respectful manner. And consistency, focus on creating a routine for yourself. So practice those those important skills and with doing those skills of everyone can become a better ally.
Malcolm:And never expect yourself to be perfect right off the bat. That's what the consistency is all about. You just, you just want to try your best and always be be be helpful. Yeah.
Maddie:So I think that's a wrap on this week's episode. Thank you again. So ha for being another guest on the podcast. We're lucky to have you too. Yeah. And I hope everyone enjoys and learns something from this episode.
Zuha:Yeah, we will. I guess you will be hearing from us on our next episode in the allyship. One on one. Yeah, yes.
Maddie:All right. Well, thank you everyone for tuning in for this week's episode.
Malcolm:And remember, be kind to your mind, and we'll see you next time. Bye.
Unknown:Bye