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Centre for Independent Living in Toronto

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International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Zoom Event – Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians for International Day of Persons with Disabilities Conference

Published: December 3, 2020

If you have been frustrated or frightened at the way the disability community has been disproportionately left behind during the pandemic, then this event is for you! The organizers have an inspiring group of leaders sharing their perspectives on inclusion and an exciting panel session with leaders sharing best practices, getting youth engaged, sharing lived experiences during the pandemic and getting government leaders to recognize and address systemic change for people with disabilities in a time of crisis. Do not miss out and count yourself in!

The event will take place virtually through Zoom on December 5, 2020 from 1:00pm – 4:00pm EST. 

To register for the event, please click here.

This is a Zoom event, and all registered attendees will be emailed meeting details 24 hours before the event.  If you require ASL or Closed Captioning, please e-mail AEBCToronto@gmail.com  and they will be happy to accommodate you.

Do you have questions for the speakers or panelists? Please email AEBCToronto@gmail.com  and they can ask them live during the conference. The organizers look forward to meeting you virtually!

Community Events, Disability Information, IDPWD, International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Article – International Day of People With Disabilities: Thinking Outside the Wheelchair

Published: December 3, 2020

This article was written by Philip Mills and Samantha Walsh and was originally posted on the Independent Living Centre for Waterloo Region (ILCWR) website here.

—

In the 28 years since the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the first annual observance of the International Day of People With Disabilities, much has been done to recognize and promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all facets of our society and in our communities.

Still, the word ‘disability’ for many conjures the image of a person using a wheelchair. Despite the fact that many people with disabilities use assistive devices, this narrative leaves out a significant portion of people with invisible disabilities, including mental illness, chronic pain, seeing or hearing disabilities, and learning or cognitive disabilities.

According to 2017 Statistics Canada data, 22% of Canadians have at least one disability. That’s one in five Canadians, or 6.2 million people. The breakdown by disability shows that a significant proportion of these are invisible, including those related to pain (14.5%), mental health (7.2%), seeing or hearing (10.2%), and learning (3.9%).

Invisible disabilities highlight the immense difference between experience and stigma. It can seem like a person who uses a wheelchair is more disabled, and therefore the target of more stigma, because in a world designed for people who can walk, the barriers faced by someone using a wheelchair are evident. By contrast, someone’s experiences with dyslexia or anxiety will be less obvious to the casual observer, and are therefore viewed as less disabling.

However, disability has no hierarchy. A person’s experience with disability, regardless of complexity, is not determined by devices they may or may not use. The social model of disability looks at disability from a cultural standpoint, and focuses on the needs and experiences of people with disabilities while understanding that not every disability is going to be visible. It opposes the medicalized model that views disability as something to be diagnosed and treated. Indeed, the last institution in Ontario for people with developmental disabilities was only closed in 2009. With a history of institutionalization not far behind us, society is still working on wrapping its collective brain around looking at disability more holistically. We still cannot fathom that ‘disability’ is in fact created by a society that fails to consider that we are a diverse community of people who move through the world in different ways.

Disability is the only minority that is an open-ended category that anyone can join, and certainly the chances increase the longer we live. Yet, our discussions of accessibility and inclusion hardly go beyond the government-mandated minimum standards of installing ramps and elevators. In Canada, we still don’t have comprehensive disability legislation. Many of our public programs and policies are divisive, where only specific groups of people with disabilities are eligible for certain benefits or federal tax credits. People with invisible disabilities continue to face structural barriers to accessing programs and funding because they do not meet the strict eligibility criteria of narrow definitions of disability.

If we’re going to have meaningful conversations about inclusion, accessibility and universal design, it’s time we expanded our thinking about disability at the societal and government levels to include all people with physical, intellectual, social emotional and learning disabilities. This includes engaging people with invisible disabilities in our communities to help create a society that can include everyone. No matter how well-intentioned policies may be, we continue to build our communities in ways that ultimately exclude people from them.

We still have a long way to go. This is why the International Day of People With Disabilities on December 3rd is so important. It is the perfect opportunity for us to raise awareness of those living with invisible disabilities and to make our intentions of a more equitable, diverse and inclusive society a lived reality for those with disabilities.

Philip Mills is the Executive Director of the Independent Living Centre of Waterloo Region (ILCWR) and Samantha Walsh is ILCWR’s Director of Service and the Second Vice Chair of Independent Living Canada. 

Read this Op-Ed in the Waterloo Region Record (November 27 issue)

Disability Information, IDPWD, International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Zoom Event – Origins of the Independent Living Movement on December 3, 2020

Published: December 3, 2020

As part of International Day for Persons with Disabilities 2020, the Independent Living Centre of Waterloo Region is hosting a Zoom event titled, “The Origins of the Independent Living Movement.”

The event will take place on Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 2:00pm EST. Join for a presentation and discussion about the Independent Living movement, its origins, and how it has shaped the services offered by IL Canada and the Independent Living Centre of Waterloo Region.

You can register for the event by emailing dan@ilcwr.org for the Zoom link.

Community Events, Disability Information, IDPWD, International Day of Persons with Disabilities

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    • What is Independent Living?
      • Independent Living: An Overview
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