She leaned into the alternative communication tools available to share on the House floor — normalizing tools and supports that people rely on every single day ,” Zimmerman said .
Zimmerman said that she has been denied access to the House viewing gallery because she relies on her iPad to communicate . Electronics are currently banned , and she would have to give up her ability to speak to be allowed in .
The 19th called the House sergeant-at-arms ’ office to clarify whether exceptions are made for disabled people like Zimmerman . The office confirmed that normally , electronics are not allowed in the viewing gallery and directed The 19th to the Office of Congressional Accessibility Services about accommodations for people with disabilities . The Office of Congressional Accessibility Services declined to comment .
Zimmerman believes that such rules may discourage people who use AAC from running for office .
“ Whether someone has a disability before or acquires one , similar to Rep . Wexton , we must design our spaces and policies to encourage the diverse thoughts that exist in our country ,” she said .
endever * corbin , 38 , lives in Portland , Oregon . The asterisk is part of their name . They are autistic and work part time peer mentoring in a program focused on health care for people with neurodevelopmental disabilities .
corbin was delighted by Wexton ’ s speech , describing it as “ a little surreal ” but “ homey ” at the same time .
“ Hers is a voice I recognize as kin . It was the setting that was surreal .
Because normally we would not be allowed there , or at least would not be expected to be there . So there was a sort of happy flapping feeling — wow , someone like me ! On TV at all , let alone on C-SPAN !” corbin said .
They are optimistic about how technology and increased acceptance of at least some disabilities will improve .
“ I do think there will be more and more assistive technology users who serve as elected officials .
For example I remember Senator Fetterman using captioning to support his auditory processing
on the floor recently , too . Disabled people make up a huge portion of the population , and the technology available to us only continues to expand in abilities and decrease in expense as time goes on , so it ’ s entirely reasonable to me that there will be more assistive tech of various kinds in Congress in the future ,” corbin said .
However , corbin is less optimistic that this increased acceptance will extend to all people with disabilities – particularly those who use AAC like they do .
“ AAC specifically – especially when used by people with intellectual and / or developmental disabilities who haven ’ t ever spoken with mouthwords enough to gain credence as whole human beings ? That feels harder to hope for ,” they said .
Wexton is aware that the response to her manner of communicating has been somewhat exceptional and hopes that the same grace will be extended to other Americans who use AAC .
“ I ’ m very grateful that I ’ ve received nothing but generous accommodations since my diagnosis , but I recognize that is often not the case for too many Americans facing similar challenges in the workplace and in their everyday lives . I hope that seeing AAC being used on the House floor helps more people understand that just because my words may be heard from a device doesn ’ t mean they ’ re any less mine or any less important to hear ,” she said .
This article was originally published in
The 19th News . Read the original article here .
Hers is a voice I recognize as kin . It was the setting that was surreal . Because normally we would not be allowed there , or at least would not be expected
to be there . So there was a sort of happy flapping feeling — wow , someone like me ! On TV at all , let alone on C-SPAN ! ~ endever * corbin
26 Accessibilty for All To Table of Contents