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There is a question I have been asking myself more often lately: Who actually holds the power? Not who is standing at the podium. Not who appears in the annual report. Not who is featured on social media during National AccessAbility Week or International Week of the Deaf. Those things may demonstrate visibility, but they tell us very little about
One of the things I enjoy most about my work isn’t standing at the front of the room teaching. It’s watching the moment everything starts to make sense. People often arrive at a training session with questions they’re almost afraid to ask. They don’t want to say the wrong thing. They worry about making mistakes. Some have never met a
One thing I often ask organizations is a simple question: When do you start thinking about accessibility? For many, the answer is when someone requests it. A Deaf person registers for an event. An employee asks for an interpreter. A visitor requests captions. A customer identifies an access need. Only then does the planning begin. But that’s already too late.
One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that access is often supported right up until it becomes inconvenient. Most organizations agree that inclusion is important. Most people agree that communication access matters. Most employers, service providers, museums, community groups, and organizations genuinely want to do the right thing. Until there is a cost. Until it takes extra planning. Until
Soon, I’ll be sitting in the audience watching my daughter graduate. It should be one of the proudest moments of my life. But I won’t know when her name is called. I won’t hear the announcement. I won’t know when she’s about to walk across the stage unless someone tells me. Not because I’m not paying attention. Because there will
Every Deaf person knows the feeling. You walk into a new workplace, a new meeting, a new service, or a new organization and immediately find yourself doing something that wasn’t part of the plan. Teaching. Teaching people how to communicate with you. Teaching people what an interpreter does. Teaching people not to look at the interpreter. Teaching people that captions
