Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/addressing-barriers-in-the-classroom/5027008/
*Figures can be found in the pdf version of this article.
Ronald, a social worker at a high school for disabled teens, was helping Fran, a 17-year-old, land her first job interview. Ronald was surprised when Fran called from outside the office building before the interview. Fran sounded desperate.
“I don’t think I can do this!”
Ronald encouraged her, “Of course you can. You’re smart. They are looking for someone with your knowledge.”
Fran was taken aback at Ronald’s ignorance. “No! I mean the door has a knob. I can’t open it!”
In this story, Fran had the ability to do the job she was interviewing for. The disability was not Fran’s—rather it was the office building that presented a barrier for her to enter the building. Fran was able to do the job she had come to interview for. The door to the building “dis-abled” her, or more accurately, the society that allowed such knobs on doors did it. This is often referred to as the social model of disability. Judy Heumann puts it this way: “Disability only becomes a tragedy for me when society fails to provide the things we need to lead our lives: job opportunities or barrier free buildings” (Hehir, 2005).