And as they say; the beat continues! What am I complaining about today? It is all about the continuing lack of inclusion when it comes to consultation!
I recently witnessed a blatant infraction of this when organizations of persons with disabilities were invited to attend a tele conference to discuss a document that was developed by a city based committee to deal with procedures for the Covid-19 virus.
All well and good; the invitation was sent out inviting stake holders to this meeting but guess what? It appears that some of the so-called stake holders did not appear to have been consulted when this document was developed.
The document was not written in the plain layman’s language and was extremely difficult to comprehend. Above all; it appeared that once again, the feedback and voices of persons with disabilities were not included.
This document was written mainly for a medical professional audience so why were we invited? Was it for cosmetic reasons or maybe someone felt that it would be nice to invite persons with disabilities; the focus of how this document would deal with the needs and requirements of our communities during this pandemic but without any input from persons within the communities?
I can only continue to ask these questions and respectfully so! When can we as persons with disabilities look forward to the day when we are directly consulted on matters that pertain to us directly?
When will it be recognized that believe it or not; persons with disabilities can speak for themselves and do not need spokes persons to speak for them?
When may we look forward to the day when we are allowed to make decisions for ourselves and not have others do it for us?
When can we see the day when we are treated as equal stake holders and not looked upon as just after thoughts?
When will we be able to say that our voices around discussion tables are heard and respected?
For as long as I am able to do so; this is going to be my song!
Please respect us for who we are! We can think for ourselves, speak for ourselves, and feel for ourselves! We do not need anyone to do any of these things for us!
Please recognize our rights to do all of this and stop assuming that you know better with regard to who we are and what we require!
Just my two cents for today.