“Talking About Abilities, Not Disabilities”

“Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn't mean he lacks vision.” “Know me for my abilities, not my disability.” “I have a Disability yes that's true, but all that really means is I may have to take a slightly different path than you.-Anon

In a time when disabled people are more than twice as likely to be unemployed than non-disabled people and they have to apply for 60% more jobs before employment on average, it begs the question ‘Why?’. Of course, some severe disabilities make work impossible, but the majority of disabled people are talented, determined, and just as capable of achieving great things as any non-disabled person.

Access to decent work is essential not only for an individual’s economic security but also for their personal wellbeing and sense of belonging.

Unfortunately too few youths and adults with disabilities are able to access meaningful livelihoods that allow them to meet their needs and those of their families.

The economic consequences of exclusion of people with disabilities from jobs and livelihoods are quite significant at all levels - people with a disability, their family and society - in terms of income & productivity losses and costs of disability benefits.

Among the challenges are widespread misconceptions and stereotypes leading to negative attitudes and behaviours of people with disabilities;

little or no accessible transportation; exclusion from mainstream services and/ or workplace due to physical inaccessibility of the facilities and barriers in policies, procedures and practices.

People with disabilities are the world’s biggest minority, numbering more than 1bn globally. But four decades after the UN General Assembly adopted the World Program of Action Concerning Disabled Persons, they are still being excluded from large parts of the economy. That is bad for economic prosperity as well social justice.

Even in developed western economies, organisations are often hesitant to employ people with disabilities, so even those with appropriate qualifications are significantly under-represented in the workforce. There are 14.6mn people with a disability in the UK, with an employment rate of 53 per cent for those of working age, compared with 82 per cent for the wider population. Of 31mn people aged 16 and over with disabilities in the US, 19.1 per cent are employed, compared with 63.7 per cent for those without a disability, and they are much more likely to live in poverty. Many of those with jobs cannot escape precarious, low-paying, entry-level positions.

We need to eliminate social as well as physical barriers to work. Disability policies have removed many physical constraints, such as efforts to provide improved access to buildings and information. Yet the barriers we cannot see can be the most insidious, such as stigma, stereotyping and discrimination.

The 2021 UK Family Resources Survey found that one in three people with a disability experienced significant prejudice. Recent research published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology suggests positive role models can reduce stigma, yet those with a disability are still largely invisible to the general public. We need to understand why this happens and what we can do about it.

We also need to start thinking in terms of ability rather than disability. Many employers are apprehensive because they lack the knowledge, skills or resources to provide appropriate accommodation and social inclusion.

Some organisations have already recognised that having an atypical body or mind may come with specific and extraordinary talents. For example, the organisation Discovering Hands trains people with severe vision impairment as clinical breast examiners because of their heightened sense of touch. They can detect tumours as small as 6-8mm, compared with the norm of 10-20mm, thereby aiding early diagnosis.

Accenture, Deloitte, EY, Microsoft, 3M and Google have long known that people with neurological conditions such as autism spectrum disorder and dyslexia can have extraordinary skills in pattern recognition, general cognitive ability and memory. The researchers Robert Austin and Gary Pisano have argued that neurodiversity can bring a competitive advantage to organisations that embrace it.

People with certain conditions may also be skilled entrepreneurs. My colleague Ingrid Verheul has shown how impulsiveness and hyperactivity in people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can make them effective in grasping emerging opportunities — something JetBlue founder David Neeleman and Paul Orfalea of Kinko’s (now FedEx Office) have demonstrated. The resilience shown in overcoming a disabling illness or impairment may benefit an aspiring entrepreneur in dealing with setbacks and failure.

The degree to which an impairment of the mind or body is perceived to be a handicap is subjective and dependent on context, not a law of nature. Someone who is red-green colour blind may have an impairment but only feel disabled in specific roles, such as aspiring to be a train conductor.

Our abilities are wide, varied and diverse. We bring these abilities into society and into our communities. Diversity is freedom and choice, this strengthens the notion of inclusive communities and societies.

These values should be entrenched within society, where all people living with a disability are encouraged to seize opportunities to achieve their goals and strengthen their talents. By doing this they are embracing their human qualities, to explore their potential in a much greater way.

We need to view the word “Disability” with a clear understanding of the values that are taught in Empathy and Ability.

Inclusive communities and societies are those in which people live harmoniously in a society of diverse Abilities. This is where the focus is on the person’s own Ability – not their disability. It is for everyone, including people with a disability. It’s not just about acceptance or tolerance, but celebrating diversity and difference.

All of us have limitations and all of us have abilities. We need to recognise this through the use of the word “Ability” we all have varying ranges of abilities to some greater or lesser extent. The emphasis should be on the word “Ability.” The focus should be on the positive rather than the negative.

But it’s not just about the word, it’s about the idea behind the word. I’m suggesting that we need to think bigger. We need to change the way we think as well as the words we use.

Changing the focus to “Ability” will not only change terminology but also change attitudes.