This morning, the UK government released their National Disability Strategy, a paper which outlines their policy focus pertaining to disabled people. A comprehensive strategy to tackle the multiple inequities that disabled people face sounds like a good thing on the surface, however it is so vague as to mean very little in reality. Few practical…
Author: Connor Scott-Gardner
But who are we Fighting, Really?
I’ve been reading and thinking a lot lately about the systems that enable discrimination against certain groups of people. Of course I experience this discrimination as a disabled person, but disabled people are hardly the only group to find themselves disadvantaged and on the receiving end of unequal treatment. I started my life as an…
Blindness and the Barriers to the Ancient World
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about information deprivation. These aren’t new thoughts. As a blind person, I’m constantly denied access to information that other people take for granted. That denial isn’t malicious, it’s simply a result of living in a world that isn’t designed for people like me. There are lots of very important…
Remember your Participants are Human
The ethics form for my master’s research project wasn’t approved. I have to start by saying this, because it’s what has prompted the following thoughts. I actually found the reason extremely understandable. I was going to interview participants about potentially distressing experiences, and so I was asked to consider whether there was another way I…
To Know a Body I’ve Never Seen
As a blind person, I feel a significant amount of disconnect from my own body. I feel connected to my body in a physical sense, but there is a void where all the information I’m supposed to have is painfully absent. When I climb or skate or stretch I relish the pull in my muscles,…
You’ve got to reach out
I’ve taken the chance recently to reach out to a couple of people who I know are living in the area and ask if they’d like to meet up. Much to my surprise, they’ve both said yes. I also received a message from someone on my course asking if I’d like to go for a…
I Don’t Want a World Without Disabled People
Last night I was reading an article about a start-up that claims it can help prospective parents by allowing them to choose healthy embryos. I’ve written multiple times about my fears around tech companies that want to create genetically perfect matches, and my relief that my parents were never concerned with finding a cure for…
Getting Lost in Language
I learnt something about power in advocacy spaces when I studied abroad in Colombia. Specifically about communication involving people who speak different languages. It’s something I’ve wanted to write about for a while, but I’ve never been quite sure if I’m the right person to share it. I’m hoping that by writing about this, others…
Who has the Right to Cause Hurt?
This semester I’m taking a class in European human rights law. It’s one of the most complex and deeply interesting classes I’ve ever taken, not least because it forces me to ask myself difficult questions that I may not want to answer. I think that’s so important as a student, that I’m challenged to push…
There’s no map for navigating loss
Earlier this week I received a call from Guide Dogs finalising the rehoming of Isla, my retired dog. In four days, she’ll have lived with her new family for two years, but various logistical things meant this process took longer than expected. It was a routine call and yet when I hung up all I…