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This module explores ability and disability including the impacts of ableism in our culture and how people with disabilities experience health care disparities. The introductory video focuses on the D/deaf community but there are many kinds of disabilities, both those which are visible and those which are invisible.

Introduction | 11 minutes

Assignment
Videos
Podcasts
Readings
Additional Resources

Assignment

See learning objectives and parts 1 - 3 below. Click here to access the assignment submission portal. Before submission, please be sure to watch the introductory video above.

Learning Objectives

Students will understand the concept of ableism and how this concept embedded in health systems contributes to health disparities for patients with disability.
Students will understand visible versus invisible forms of disability.

Part 1

Read Three Things Clinicians Should Know About Disability (2018) and answer the following:

What does the author mean by "the profound diversity of experiences of disability"? How can you practice disability humility? What does the author suggest are responsibilities clinicians have to disability communities?

Part 2

Choose 1 video or podcast from the collection provided and answer the following:

Which video or podcast did you select?
After reviewing, what struck you about what you viewed and how will this impact your future practice as a physician?

Part 3

Written reflection, please answer the following in a few paragraphs:

Think about your day yesterday. What time did you get up? What did you eat? What did you do? Who did you interact with? Now replay your day, but imagine that you require a wheelchair. Write about the challenges or barriers you would have faced yesterday if that were the case. Reflect on the daily challenges that a patient requiring a wheelchair (or you can think broadly about other types of disability) may face in accessing education, transportation or healthcare services.

Videos

I'm not your inspiration, thank you very much | 8 minutes
Stella Young | TED Talk

Stella Young is a comedian and journalist who happens to go about her day in a wheelchair — a fact that doesn't, she'd like to make clear, automatically turn her into a noble inspiration to all humanity. In this very funny talk, Young breaks down society's habit of turning disabled people into "inspiration porn."

How I fail at being disabled | 6 minutes
Susan Robinson | TED Talk

Born with a genetic visual impairment that has no correction or cure, Susan Robinson is legally blind (or partially sighted, as she prefers it) and entitled to a label she hates: "disabled." In this funny and personal talk, she digs at our hidden biases by explaining five ways she flips expectations of disability upside down.

Navigating deafness in a hearing world | 17 minutes
Rachel Kolb | TEDx

In the United States, two-thirds of hearing-impaired people do not complete high school. In this talk at TEDxStanford, Rhodes Scholar Rachel Kolb -- who was born deaf -- shows what is possible through family support and self-belief, and proves that what is assumed about you and what you can actually achieve don't always match up.

So happy to meet you | 20 minutes
MJ Grant

Mary Jane "MJ" Grant, a woman born to Deaf parents, explores caring for her Deaf mother with dementia and some of the challenges accessing health care and the isolation her mother felt in a memory care facility without other residents and staff who were able to use sign language. MJ provides sign language interpreting services to D/deaf communities throughout the state of Maine.

Our fight for disability rights- and why we're not done yet | 17 minutes
Judith Heumann | TED

Four decades ago, Judith Heumann helped to lead a groundbreaking protest called the Section 504 sit-in -- in which disabled-rights activists occupied a federal building for almost a month, demanding greater accessibility for all. In this personal, inspiring talk, Heumann tells the stories behind the protest -- and reminds us that, 40 years on, there's still work left to do.

Podcasts

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century | 55 minutes
Rebecca Vallas | Off-Kilter

Rebecca talks with editor Alice Wong and contributors Rebecca Cokley and Patrick Cokley about "Disability Visibility: First Person Stories from the 21st Century," an anthology of contemporary essays by disabled people released in June.

Ableism, Part 1: How Just Being Aware Isn't Enough Anymore | 43 minutes
Mishaha and Sara | Dear White Women Podcast

There’s a lot of consequences out there for people who are fully functional but there are even more consequences for people who have disabilities right now. In today’s conversation, Sara and Misasha bring you an enlightening and timely discourse on ableism, and how just being aware of it isn’t enough anymore. They’ll also be touching on the current COVID-19 pandemic, and what happens when you have a child with special needs when everyone is expected to stay home and you're not prepared for that.

Readings

Persons With Disabilities as an Unrecognized Health Disparity Population (2015)

In this Framing Health Matters supplement of the American Journal of Public Health, Krahn et al summarize the evidence and recommend that observed differences in health outcomes are sufficient to meet the criteria for health disparities. They recommend future research and policy directions.

Three Things Clinicians Should Know About Disability (2018)

In this AMA Journal of Ethics article, Joel Reynolds, PhD provides an overview of recent disability theory and outlines a set of responsibilities clinicians have to disability communities. He discusses assumptions that able bodied people may make including around quality of life of disabled people, the assumption that 'normal' is best, and the distinction between disability vs. disease/illness.

Disability-Related Disparities in Access to Health Care Before (2008-2010) and After (2015-2017) the Affordable Care Act (2019)

H. Stephen Kaye discusses in this American Journal of Public Health article the effect of the ACA on disparities in health care based on disability status and found the ACA provided some improvement in access to health care for those with disabilities, though disparities persist.

Additional Resources

Disability Visibility Project

The Disability Visibility Project is an online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture.

Disability Language Guide Stanford (2019)

This guide approved by the Stanford Disability Initiative is a starter guide for considering disability equity. Language is constantly evolving and the guide suggests appropriate language and language to avoid when discussing disability.

Deafness & Dementia Healthcare Professionals Booklet

This resource funded by the Deafness Foundation in collaboration with The Dementia Centre of Australia offers guidance for providers supporting a loved one with Deafness and dementia.

Deafness & Dementia Family Careers Booklet

This resource funded by the Deafness Foundation in collaboration with The Dementia Centre of Australia offers guidance for family and friends supporting a loved one with Deafness and dementia.