Simulating Disability To Build Empathy

Why I won’t “try on” disability to build empathy in the design process

By Amelia Abreu {excerpt}

“..Perhaps the most popular method of invoking empathy for accessibility issues is simulation, meaning to “try on” different constraints of disabled folks. This is practiced often in groups — working groups, or professional workshops.

One common activity is to submerging one’s hands in icewater to simulate motor impairment. A local bureaucrat I know told me that he’d organized a group outing for his team in borrowed wheelchairs, where the otherwise able-bodied crew wheeled around the downtown area, with the intention of becoming more aware of ramps, curb cuts and accessibility infrastructure.

Previously, I’d thought these exercises were a good way to get people engaged. But the longer I do this work, the more reluctant I am to do things like these. They feel short-sighted and showy, and don’t engage the real people who navigate the world with differing abilities.

There’s a term you hear in hip hop: stuntin’. These activities seem like stunts, that allow us to feel like we’ve broadened our perspective, making a big deal about it, and then go back to business as usual…”

To read the full article, click here.

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