[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.00,0:00:05.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hi,my name is Joseph Scamardo and I am an \Nassistant professor of philosophy
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.28,0:00:09.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and associate Director of the \NInstitute in Public Affairs
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.24,0:00:11.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at San Diego State University
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.45,0:00:16.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I specialized in philosophy of disability\Nand bioethics.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.58,0:00:19.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I also identify as disabled.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.15,0:00:22.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have a spinal cord injury,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.26,0:00:25.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as well as a rare kind of dwarfism, and so
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.42,0:00:28.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you get two for the price of one with me.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.81,0:00:35.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, my first memory of discrimination was,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.59,0:00:40.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,well, it's hard to say...
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.30,0:00:47.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have lots of memories as far as
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.12,0:00:51.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the experience of stigma or bigotry,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.77,0:00:54.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mostly around my dwarfism,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.82,0:00:56.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so, you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.41,0:01:00.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have lots of early memories around that
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.25,0:01:03.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with children staring and laughing
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.53,0:01:07.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that sort of thing from a \Nvery young age.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.10,0:01:13.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then as far as, sort of
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.50,0:01:15.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a more systematic discrimination
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.69,0:01:18.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that sort of excluded me from something
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.58,0:01:22.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I wanted to do.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.34,0:01:25.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had a pretty good experience as a child,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.85,0:01:31.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mostly because my parents really did a lot
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.06,0:01:33.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to make sure that I was included.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.94,0:01:37.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can remember being in boy scouts
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.25,0:01:39.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and cub scouts when I was a kid
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.16,0:01:42.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and my father, really doing a lot with me
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.61,0:01:47.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to ensure that the inclusion\Nof my disability--
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.51,0:01:50.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know going on camping trips with me
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.70,0:01:53.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sort of acting as a personal attendant
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.49,0:01:56.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kind of thing to make sure that I was able
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.50,0:01:57.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to go and participate,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.73,0:02:00.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that sort of thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.55,0:02:03.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so the first real experience
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.97,0:02:06.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of exclusion that I can remember
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.02,0:02:07.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,happened when it was time
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.80,0:02:09.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to go to high school.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.35,0:02:10.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had gone to the public schools
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.99,0:02:13.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in my town up until through the 8th grade
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.81,0:02:17.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then when it came to high school,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.23,0:02:21.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was supposed to go to the same
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.23,0:02:25.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,private religiously sort of oriented
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.13,0:02:27.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,school that my older siblings went to
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.84,0:02:30.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I took the entrance exam and even got
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.30,0:02:33.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a small scholarship to go and everything,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.17,0:02:36.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it didn't have an elevator,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.15,0:02:39.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so I used a motorized scooter
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.85,0:02:42.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to get around, and it was
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.61,0:02:44.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,going to be impossible for me to
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.26,0:02:47.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,attend that school, because there was no
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.78,0:02:49.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,elevator. Now this was actually
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.81,0:02:51.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after the passage of the ADA,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.67,0:02:55.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but because it was
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.45,0:02:58.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a religiously oriented school,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.29,0:03:00.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was exempt from the requirements
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.06,0:03:01.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the ADA.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.29,0:03:05.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, I didn't have any leverage with
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.25,0:03:06.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that law.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.70,0:03:09.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To be able to get them
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.75,0:03:13.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to make accommodations for me
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I ended up going to the public school
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in my town, which actually, personally,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was pretty happy about anyway,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because that's where all my\Nfriends were going.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it still sort of clued me in
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the fact that...
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not everything is accessible,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not everything is designed for me and that
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this was going to be something
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was gonna have to figure out
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,throughout my life.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As far as remembering the ADA
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sort of its passage
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that sort of thing,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was pretty young when it was passed,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm sometimes referred to as part of the
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ADA generation, which means that
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I sort of grew up with the ADA mostly,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was born in 1982,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so I was 8 or 9 years old when the ADA
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,passed, and so I don't really have
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,any kind of recollection of, "Aha!"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's the moment that it passed.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the recall of where I was at the time
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or anything like this,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I do remember my father explaining
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it to me, around the time of my
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,start of high school.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I experienced this with that
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,private catholic school, and you know
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,having that sort of systematic
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,discrimination experience it explained
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that public schools, and other kinds of
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,public places were accessible to me
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because of the ADA and that there was
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this law that said that things had to be
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,accessible to people
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who use wheelchairs, and
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,motorized scooters like I did at the time.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, that was my first sort of
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,awareness of the ADA, as well as my first
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,awareness of discrimination, which is
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kind of cool. I think?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because it was neat to have
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that experience of, "Okay, well,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this is something that's\Ngoing to be a challenge for you,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and here's how you're protected,\Nand here's how you can do something
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about it." \NAnd so in a way, it was this sort of,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my awakening into advocacy as well.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, as far as the difference that the \NADA has made in my life,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or the life of others, \NI think that it's been, of course
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an incredibly important law that has \Nopened up all sorts of opportunities
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to people, everything from public \Ntransportation, to be able to move around
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,your community, the homestead decision\Nis based on ADA, which says that people
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,need to be--when they need any kind of \Nlong time care,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they need to be served in the least \Nrestrictive environment, meaning that
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can't just institutionalize or\Nwarehouse somebody because it's more
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,convenient for you, you need to make sure\Nthat they're able to live in the community
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or somewhere that is going to be best \Nfor them.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What else do the ADA do?\NJust the ability to you know an education,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the ability to get a job, all of these\Nthings, for me and for others,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were sort of caused by the ADA and I can't\Nreally imagine what it was like
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,prior to the ADA, honestly.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, I can imagine it I guess, but \NI'm sure glad that I didn't have to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,experience it.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The ADA makes a difference in a wide range\Nof personal experiences
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and also a wide range of sort of \Ndisability politics issues. Right?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, my personal experience that I think \Nmost recently has been impacted by the ADA
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has been just my ability to live an \Nindependent life with my two kids.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think prior to the ADA, it would've \Nbeen much harder to do that.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know raising kids means that I have to\Ninto lots of different public spaces and
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,do different things that I might not have\Nbeen 'required' to do, if you will,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,professionally, or just sort of\Nin everyday life, if I didn't have them.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So going to the zoo, or going to the\Ngrocery store, for that last minute item
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or you know, just whatever it might be, \NI think that, you know--
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,opening up the daycare centers, and so on\Nand so forth.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The ADA sort of opened all of that up to\Nme, as a wheelchair user
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so, that's where it's made a big \Npersonal impact in my life recently.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I think that the one thing that \NI can sort of speak to, professionally,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the ADA and its impact or \Nlack of impact is probably, two-fold:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One, is the ways in which my privilege \Nas a physically disabled--
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's a disability hierarchy of course,\Nand so physical disability
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is usually at the top of that hierarchy, \Nwith psychiatric disabilities
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and intellectual developmental \Ndisabilities,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are sort of lower down on the hierarchy.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, as a physically disabled, \Ncisgender, heterosexual white guy,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've benefited a lot more from the ADA \Nthan lots of other people
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that don't have those kinds of privileges.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think for instance about how the ADA \Nis designed, really
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to promote what you'd think of \Nas equality of opportunity,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,meaning that everybody has an equal \Nopportunity to compete within sort of the
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,economic life of the United States, and \Nso, it allows you to enter into the
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,workforce and enter into the educational \Nsystem and so on and so forth
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then compete.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what it doesn't do is it doesn't\Naddress any of the other advantages
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or disadvantages that intersect with \Nableism. So that's sort of something
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is I think, a real problem, with \Nthe ADA.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm a well-educated person, I have a \Nmaster's degree and a Ph.D.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that, I don't think would've been \Navailable to me as easily as it was
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if I didn't have these other privileges \Nthat I do have,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the ADA doesn't do anything\Nto address, it just sort of treats
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all disabled people as if they were \Nthe same, and as if the only thing
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they have to deal with is structural \Nableism, and that's just not true, right?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think another thing about disability\Nthat the ADA doesn't address
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is economics, in that, I think that \Ndespite the ability to compete,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a lot of disabled people still live in\Nextreme poverty, because of other
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things that make it impossible for them \Nto compete,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other than just their disability.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, the real sad part to me about that\Nis you look at other systems
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are designed to help disabled people \Nget out of poverty,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and even they don't recognize the way that\Nprivilege operates in these contexts.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, for instance, \Nthe vocational rehab system.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've benefited greatly from the vocational\Nrehab system so I don't want to just
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sit here and talk smack on it, right?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The vocational rehab system has helped me \Nget a van that I could drive,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I could get back and forth from
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my place of employment, from school,\Nwhich was huge, right?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the only reason why I had access\Nto that van was:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A. Because I could afford the van itself,\Nwhich not a lot of disabled people can do,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,especially if they aren't\Nworking yet and
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,B. Because the VOC rehab counselor \Nthought
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I was worth the investment right?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Someone who didn't have the advantages\Nthat I had, as far as the kind of
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,disability that I have, my family's \Nresources and my skin color and gender and
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all those things, it's very likely that\Nrehab counselor would've said,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You cant take the bus," right?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"We're not going to invest all of\Nthis money into helping
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you learn how to drive."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because they wouldn't have believed that\Nthey would get this return on their
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,investment that the person would be able \Nto get a well paying job,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so on and so forth, \Nand so, I think that that's also
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a big issue that the ADA doesn't address,\Nis this kind of intersectionality
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that gives some disabled people \Nadvantages within even the system
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is designed to help them, and other\Npeople, of course, disadvantages, which is
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a real issue.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, as far as my area of expertise, \NBioethics, there's definitely been some
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ways in which the ADA has helped greatly,\Nand other ways
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in which it hasn't really done much.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I'll start with the positivity, right?\NWe'll start with the good news.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One way in which I think, I can point to in a very concrete way in which
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has helped is when it comes to healthcare
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The issue of healthcare in the United \NStates of course is a very hot button topic
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's hot because there is a perceived\Nlack of resources--There's more need
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than there is supply for healthcare.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, when we talk about expanding \Nhealthcare to a larger number of people,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without also expanding the resources that\Nare being devoted to healthcare,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then that's gonna be a real problem, \Nbecause some people aren't going to get
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as much as they need, right?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You're going to have to sort of budget it,\Nif you will.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or in the terms of bioethics, \Nration healthcare.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now this proved to be an issue because
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when it was done on smaller scale, \Nfor instance the state of Oregon,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after the passage of the ADA--\NI'm not sure exactly on the timeline,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm not a historian--but the state of\NOregon expanded their publicly provided
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,healthcare to a larger number of people,\Nand as they did that, they needed to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,make sure that they had a way of\Nprioritizing what was covered
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what was not covered.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, as they did this,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it became apparent that a lot of \Ndisabled people
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were being rationed out of \Nthe healthcare system.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That a lot of things were not being \Ncovered for disabled folks
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that should be.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, there was a series of lawsuits \Nthat were brought against
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the state of Oregon, that basically\Nsaid that, "You couldn't discriminate
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,against disabled people and not \Nprovide them with healthcare,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,based on their disability."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That you couldn't sort of say,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Well, this person isn't going to get \Nvery much bang for their buck,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're not gonna end up being healthy\Nanyway, 'cause they're still going
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be disabled, so we're not going to give\Nthem this treatment option."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right? And so that was a big win \Nwithin bioethics
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that was a direct result of the ADA.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,More recently, \Nwe've had a similar thing pop up
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Specifically, there are what are called\N"Emergency Healthcare Protocols"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are being developed for hospital \Nsystems and states that anticipate
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,needing more intensive care unit beds,\Nventilators and so on and so forth,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that aren't actually available.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so we need some way of figuring out \Nwho gets the ventilator,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who gets the Intensive Care Unit bed,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so on and so forth, \Nas the pandemic increases and goes on.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so there were some \Nprotocols that were developed
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that were very discriminatory \Nagainst disabled people.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was one in Alabama specifically,\Nthat said that anybody
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with an intellectual disability \Nor with dementia was going to be
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,deprioritized from getting these \Nlife-saving resources if they got COVID-19.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there was one in Washington state, \Nthat was pretty discriminatory against
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,disabled folks that said that \Nif you had a disability
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that meant that even after treatment \Nyou are still going to be disabled,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you would be deprioritized from \Ngetting the life-saving, life support
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,treatment for COVID-19.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So there was a variety of these all over\Nthe United States
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that were really problematic and \Nthat explicitly were discriminating
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,against disabled people when it came to \Ngetting treatment for COVID
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so in response, there were some folks\Nfrom protection and advocacy agencies,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which are sort of these--\NDisability Rights California is one,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and each state has protection and advocacy\Nagencies that are federally funded,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,non-profit law firms that protect the \Nrights of disabled people and so they
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sued these states and these hospital \Nsystems and got the federal government to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,provide guidelines for treatment ration \Nprotocols that basically say
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you can't discriminate against \Ndisabled people in this way.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That the only time that you can withhold\Ntreatment for COVID-19 is if there is
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sort of a very clear way in which the \Ndisability means that person would not
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,benefit from the treatment, that, you know\Nthey have the kind of disability
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that would make it very, very unlikely\Nthat they would survive the virus
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even with some kind of ventilator or\Nintensive care situation.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, that's of course very different\Nbecause something like needing
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an assistive device like a wheelchair or\Nneeding help dressing and bathing
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or having these things that would've meant \Nthat people would be rationed out
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of these protocols...
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So of course this is a really good thing that \Nthese protocols are changed because
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there were a lot of them that would have\Nrationed people out
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for reasons that had nothing to do with whether or not \Nthey would survive the virus with treatment
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So whether you use a wheelchair,\Nor need a personal attendant for things
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like dressing and bathing, \Nwhether you have an intellectual disability.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are reasons that were being used to\Ndeny people treatment for COVID-19 that
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have nothing to do with whether or not\Nthey would survive the disease.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This advocacy efforts that were based on\Nthe American with Disabilities Act
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sort of made that illegal to do,\Nwhich is of course an important thing
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's literally saved peoples lives presumably.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that the good news as far as my field\Nof work and the ways of which ADA has
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made an impact, but of course that isn't\Nthe only story. There are lots of ways in which
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bioethics can and has been discriminatory\Ntowards disabled people in ways that isn't
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,addressed by the ADA and that can't really\Nbe addressed by the ADA because of the way
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's written and the kinds of problems\Nit was designed to solve.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For instance, there is a lot of controversy\Nover the development of different
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reproductive technologies that are designed to\Nprevent the birth of disabled children.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With intellectual disabilities, \Nwith down syndrome,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with disabilities like mine, dwarfism.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with disabilities like sometimes \Ngenetically linked deafness, and so on.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so we have an entire industry
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,aimed at genetic testing for these kind of disabilities
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the prevention of the birth of children
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with these disabilities with
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,selective abortion or, now, \Nselective implantation,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is when you test embryos
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then pick the one that you want
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to give birth to.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then coming down the pipeline
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is CRISPR, which will be a technology
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that doesn't select a particular embryo
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but rather modifies the embryo itself.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It sort of-- what's sometimes referred to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as gene editing or genetic engineering.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that isn't a reality yet,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but scientists are certainly working toward
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the use of that technology to prevent
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,disability.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now it's something that of course makes
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a lot of people with these disabilities
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,very uncomfortable because of
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the message that it might send, right,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it might send the message that,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"People like you aren't wanted
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the world." Right? Meaning "we don't
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,need more like you."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, it is sorta of based on, largely,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stigma around this ability, around ideas
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about quality of life with disabled people,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that, "if you have a disability, you must
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,be miserable, and so we must do everything
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can to prevent more like you from
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,coming into existence," and so on and so
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,forth.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, this is a real problem because,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of course, it comes into conflict with
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,values a lot of people hold around
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reproductive liberty, around women being
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,able to make choices for themselves
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about their own bodies, and about their
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,own lives, and so on and so forth.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, this has created a tension between
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,disability bioethics and other kinds of
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,progressive groups that are wanting to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,promote freedom and justice for everybody.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so the ADA, you know, isn't designed
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to handle something like this because
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's not about overt discrimination
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,against people, but rather it's about
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,attitudes about beliefs, about disability,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that drive personal decisions.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so it's really really hard to address
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this as a policy problem because people
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,aren't going to be very keen on
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,restricting the kind of decisions women
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and families can make about reproduction.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But at the same time, we want to promote
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,good beliefs, and true beliefs, and good
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,attitudes about disability, and the ways
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in which it contributes to the world,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the ways in which disabilities form
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a diversity that's important that we
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,don't want to eliminate.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so that's, I think, a task for folks
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like myself and bioethics that are writing
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about these issues, that are trying to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,make arguments that are able to walk this
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,very thin line between saying,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Okay, disability is the kind of thing
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is not a horrible life sentence of
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,misery, and so we don't want to make that
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,assumption and we don't want to base the
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,technologies that we develop or the
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,decisions that we make on that assumption.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But at the same time, we don't want to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tell people what they can or can't do
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with their bodies."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think that, if I were to pick one thing
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to change, it'd be to try to give people
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with disabilities more access, and to remove
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,remove barriers to a life of flourishing
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and opportunity for disabled people.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think I would go back to my birth story,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my origin story if you will.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I was born, the doctor that delivered
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,me looked at my body and he had never
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,seen somebody with my kind of Dwarfism
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before, and didn't know much about it,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he told my parents,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"he's not gonna do much, he's not gonna be
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,able to walk, he's not gonna be able
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to talk, he's not gonna be able to go to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,school," and so on and so forth.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You should place him in a
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,state institution and
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,go about your lives, forget about him."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they didn't do that, obviously.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They chose not to do that.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They took me home, they raised me
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like their kid because I was their kid.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I think a lot about how different
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my life would be if I had been
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,institutionalized from birth, as that
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,doctor recommended.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then I think about how these
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,institutions still exist.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That when I was-- before I entered
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,academia full-time, I worked as an
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,advocate a protection and advocacy agency
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the state of Texas, where they have
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what are called,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"state supported living centers,"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which are-- sort of a euphemism for
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,state institutions where they warehouse
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people with intellectual disabilities and
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,psychiatric disabilities of various kinds.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Basically the kind of place that the
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,doctor was recommending my parents
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to put me.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They still exist, almost
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,forty[?] years later.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is not okay.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's not just these kind of places
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are really problematic.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nursing homes, there's lots of disabled
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people in nursing homes.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even some group home systems
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are corporate, that are designed to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,make money, and not to make sure that
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people living there are actually living
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,good lives, right?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a serious problem when you
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,take people and you put them in
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a situation where they don't have control
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the basic decisions of their life:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what they eat for their meals, when they
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wake up, when they go to bed,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how they spend their time, what they wear.