Uncut Curbs and Other Obstacles: Mothers with Disabilities

by Heather Furminger-Delisle

The Health and Limitation Survey reports that the number of people reporting a disability is on the increase. Although the population of Canada has since grown, according to the 1991 Canadian Census there were 4.1 million adults living in Canada with disabilities, 2.3 million of whom were of working age (16-64), and women were more likely than men to have a disability.1

Canadian end to pray for healthy perfect infants to be born, usually boys.

People with disabilities have been stigmatized in the past as incapable and burdensome. The current disability movement has been striving to not only overcome the stereotypical role of helpless, but to invigorate the realistic image in which people with disabilities are identified as independent individuals with hearts, minds and voices. Barriers faced by people with disabilities are not only physical, as in access to buildings, but attitudinal. Attitudinal barriers create other barriers which prevent accommodation from happening and in turn set up a blockade to independence.

There are limitless testimonies of people with disabilities being underestimated on their personal, social and academic abilities.2 Requests for assistance are often overcompensated with an attitude that the person with the disability is absolutely incapable of accomplishing anything. However, people with disabilities, especially women, are most often willing to gain knowledge through personal research not only about the physical and health aspects of their disability, but also their own personal abilities and limitations. Mothers with physical limitations, for example, have sized up their living accommodations, baby's room and kitchen long before pregnancy, possibly more carefully than non-disabled moms.3

Physical Barriers

Access to buildings is not a new problem for people with disabilities. However, access goes beyond a ramp to the front door. Pat Israel, speaking to a group of women with disabilities, once commented that even though a woman using a wheelchair might get into her doctor's office, it is another story if she is able to access a table for a pelvic examination, a basic health concern for all women.4 To accommodate mothers with disabilities, accessible parking, curb cuts, wide doorways and proper lighting are only a few considerations. The wish list can be endless or simply sensible. Not only are some mothers with disabilities hindered by uncut curbs, there are countless numbers of moms with strollers and small children who would also benefit from these accommodations. Whether it is health care facilities, social service agencies or educational institutions, physical access is a benefit to all participants in society.

Trottoirs sans bateau et autres obstacles : les mères handicapées

par Heather Furminger-Delisle

Parcs de stationnement accessibles, bateaux de trottoir, larges portes d'entrée et éclairage convenable, voici quelques installations qui aideraient les mères handicapées ainsi que beaucoup d'autres mères ayant des poussettes et des jeunes enfants.. L'accès à des édifices est un avantage dont doivent jouir tous les membres de la société.

Il est difficile de trouver une place dans une garderie et les garderies n'ont guère eu affaire à des mères handicapées. Handicapée visuelle, j'ai dû mille et une fois expliquer que je ne conduis pas et que je suis par conséquent à la merci des horaires du système de transport en commun.

Dans une société où l'on accorde beaucoup de valeur à la production, l'indépendance et l'accumulation, une personne sans beaucoup de ressources et de moyens est considérée comme manquant de valeur. Une idée stéréotypée court à propos de beaucoup de prestataires de l'aide sociale : ces personnes sont un poids pour la société et paresseuses. Pourtant, nombre de personnes handicapées dépendent de cette aide de l'État pour survivre.

Il existe des mères handicapées depuis que des enfants naissent. Il existe toutefois un nombre incalculable de témoignages prouvant le manque de respect et d'encouragement auxquels se heurtent les femmes handicapées lorsqu'elles expriment le souhait. d'avoir un enfant.

Des obstacles comportementaux empêchent les femmes de suivre leur instinct en matière de maternité et de carrière. Comme on le sait, les attitudes sont les plus difficiles à modifier. Des femmes handicapées ont prouvé qu'elles étaient capables d'être mères et de travailler dans la main-d'oeuvre, mais elles représentent une infime proportion de celles qui souhaitent se suffire à elles-mêmes et vivre dignement et de manière autonome.


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