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Part Three of How Much Are You Worth?: Toward an Economic Theory of Disability With innovation and technology that we have, with the social activists and widespread communication that we have, why is exclusion of those with limited mobility disabilities still so prevalent? Something is happening on a deeper, internal level. An inner ranking system. There are two main theoretical frameworks that lend a hand to delving deeper and fully understanding why exclusion is happening in relation to a ranking system. These two frameworks are the Protestant work ethic and eugenics. Therefore, by understanding these two theoretical constructions one can understand a ranking system that is taking place subconsciously which acts as a barrier to embracing those with limited mobility.  Work Ethic: Work Hard or Go to Hell “ The worker who was more efficiently producing products was considered closer to God than a worker who was not. ” The workplace has adopted ideologies. What once was God’s law, has now become secularized and omnipresent. According to a variety of religions, God gave a commandment to work. This work was linked to divine glory, and was a religious duty. It held with it such high stakes as being allowed into heaven or not. Improvement in production served the common good and was considered Godly. Therefore, the worker who was more efficiently producing products was considered closer to God than a worker who was not. These ideologies are so deeply intertwined into our thoughts and internal ranking system. Therefore, since these ideologies are intertwined in this way they happen on their own at a level that we are largely unaware of.  No Pain, No Gain The idea that work needs to be hard; “no pain, no gain” is also related to this framework. “Loss of time through sociability...is worthy of absolute moral condemnation” (Weber, 2013). Enjoying work, or working comfortably then wasn’t work at all but something that would send you to hell. The thought then follows, if you are in an alternate physical position putting your comfort first, then you are not working hard enough. Therefore you are immoral and not worth God’s grace; morally condemned.  Idle Time, “ Each and every minute you devote to work, brings you closer to God. ” The idea that work must be constant is also related to this framework. In regard to work, Max Weber states, “it is infinitely valuable because every hour lost is lost to labour for the glory of God” (Weber, 2013). Each and every minute you devote to work, brings you closer to God. All time must be devoted to hard work and hard labor. This statement implies that if you take even a minute off, you have lost God for that amount of time.  In Conclusion, This framework has huge psychological implications. This way of understanding work is deeply ingrained in all of us. So deeply ingrained, that we don’t realize when we are creating value judgements with such voracity as moral condemnation. Therefore, the piece of the iceberg that is visible above the surface may say “I want inclusivity”, but the grand piece of the iceberg below the surface is saying “labor must be constant and hard, labor must come as first priority not you and not your comfort.” This presents a barrier to embracing those who need unique structures in order to work productively. This barrier thereby creates poverty and a disabling society.

Part Two of How Much Are You Worth?: Towards an Economic Disability Theory Each economy throughout history has had its way of placing value on each laborer. Society has then assigned a hierarchy that is based on one’s career. The fact that the ranking system taking place is based on careers demonstrates how closely linked worth and work are.  “ The fact that the ranking system taking place is based on careers demonstrates how closely linked worth and work are. ” Early Agricultural In early agricultural societies we find an example of the type of situation wherein a person can be assigned value directly based upon their production. The laborers, here, represent those members of society who are able bodied, strong and fit. These civilizations were set up around the most profitable industry. The most productive class was considered to be the farmers, then down to proprietors such as merchants. The sterile class was considered those who charged a fee for land; landlords (Mazzucato, 2016). Tools were used  for the purpose of producing as much as possible. The value of each laborer was in how much they could produce. The value of the business as a whole, lied in how much crop they could produce. In this model, each person’s worth lies in the amount of their production, thus quantifying the worth of a human soul. With such an intricate tie of self worth to production thus the race to production followed, of course, because who doesn’t want to be valued?  Industrial Revolution In the 1800’s, the industrial revolution changed the value definition of a laborer. Hints of that change show us that the “price of labor is revealing their value” (Mazzucato, 2016). If the laborer is paid more, they are perceived as worth more. During this time, there is a rise of technology being used for production. The inventions were used to increase efficiency of production and maximize profit. At this time there are variances made between value creators and value takers. The labor theory of value focus is on reproduction.  Neo-Liberalism The rise of neo-liberalism of the 1970’s to now has led to great innovations in technology and also an update on the way we view profit. There is a focus on how individuals make decisions with the advent of opportunity cost and profit (Mazzucato, 2016). Only now is economics beginning to factor in underlying motivations of choices through opportunity costs, but it is still multiplying that factor by the financial profit created in order to identify the laborer’s worth.  Underlying Principles Beginning from a principle like this will always be limited. It is not coming from a human first model allowing all following operating systems to mimic the human body or allowing for the whole within many wholes of the human body to be the most valuable factor and point to begin from. Not only is defining civilization in this way, as a capitalist economy, limited, but it’s also dangerous. The danger lies in assigning worth and value to humans based on how well they can operate within the capitalist system.  When we define value in this way, a large portion of humans are left out; are devalued. When people are devalued they will be left out even more. Thus that cycle compounds on itself. “Once each life has a value which may be calculated, and some lives have less value than others, such a politics has the obligation to exercise this judgment in the name of the race or the nation" (Rose, 2007). When people are devalued, their human rights are at risk. When people are devalued, they are not able to fully participate in society. They are not able to fully enjoy and embrace life and be embraced and enjoyed in return.  As the person could not participate in profiting the society, they were seen as an outlier. As they were not bringing profit, they were not valued. Theoretical frameworks were established in order to support the ranking system. Two examples of such are the theory of eugenics and the Protestant workplace ideology. The rise of sterilization based on eugenics in the 1920’s and 30’s displayed how effective this theory is. Eugenics argued that there were those who were fit and healthy, balanced individuals. And that there were deformed, unable to participate, outliers who should be sterilized.  However, The irony of this is that when we create human first systems, more profit is generated. When employees feel embraced, they create more. A survey study done and written about in the Harvard Business Review states that, “employees who feel welcome to express their authentic selves at work exhibit higher levels of organizational commitment, individual performance, and propensity to help others" ( Goffee et. al. , 2013). The research in this study showed how embracing the unique selves of your employees actually creates more profit for one’s company. Citations Goffee, R and Jones, G. (2000). Why Should Anyone Be Led By You?. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2000/09/why-should-anyone-be-led-by-you Mazzucato , M. “What is economic value and, who creates it.” Ted Talk Summit Conference. Published on July,  2019. Ted Talk video, 18:47. https://www.ted.com/talks/mariana_mazzucato_what_is_economic_value_and_who_creates_it . Rose, N. 2007. Politics of life itself: biomedicine, power, and subjectivity in the twenty-first century . Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Colonialist Profit Driven Systems: Towards an Economic Disability Theory Society, and the population as a whole, enact a ranking system every day, all the time. This ranking system is a valuation system that ranks humans by their corresponding value. Their value is derived from how well they participate in society. How well they participate in society is derived by how much profit they produce.  However, the profit produced is not how much profit they produce within an infinite amount of system possibilities. The system is set. The profit is produced within this set system. This set system is a capitalist economy which establishes profit first; profit to drive every other factor. Therefore, the system we are judged by is a system that was formed by profit first, then unfolds all other functions from this underlying principle.  “ Does the structure of our profit driven economy create the basis for the exclusion that those with limited mobility experience within society? ” This type of ranking system did not begin with mankind. It began with colonization. In order to conquer over a person, colonizers had to establish a disconnect from the human and a constant refocusing to profit-first systems. Set systems were put into place all over the world. Beforehand, systems were alive, adaptable, and flexible given the geographic location and specific population. All contributions were accepted and honored as value. People were placed in roles that were supportive to them and their bodies.   Afterward, systems were concrete and set, a generic one size fits all. This type of system is what rules today. It is this ranking system that is the reason why those with limited mobility are excluded. It is the reason why society has ranked and assigned value based on how much profit one contributes. Colonization established many profit centric systems that valued profit over human life and systems that we still follow today. In this series... I’m studying those with limited mobility in relation to the profit driven economy because I want to find out whether the design of the market creates social isolation and a devaluation, in economic terms, of those with limited mobility in society as a whole. Does the structure of our profit driven economy create the basis for the exclusion that those with limited mobility experience within society? Assigning value to people began within the workplace, the value assigned was based on how much they produced. That value judgment then became justified with the argument that some genes are stronger than others and the weaker genes should die off. All of this goes into society's preconceived notions about those with disabilities.  In this series, I will provide a brief history of types of economies and review the literature within disability studies and economics.

More people than you think have a disability. The name of this blog Disability is Everywhere , means different things to different people. Let's start with the word 'disability'. Some within the movement for disability rights have taken ownership of the word with a sense of proudness recreating it as a superpower. Others find the word offensive as a word that makes it sound like the issue is within us; a word that carries a story of sickness, wrongness, less than, deviant. Those who support the social model of disability would in fact state that the impairment is the condition the person may be struggling with, but the disability is created by barriers preventing a person from participating in the life of their society, or by what I call "institutional ableism". Nancy Willis Self Portrait 1 Purchase here I use the word 'disability' because it is the word most recognized at this moment. Although I recognize that many are now using the description 'differently abled' or 'lived experience'. Now, on to 'Everywhere' In every topic, every discipline, every construct, there exists a link to people with a disability. There is no industry which does not impact people with a disability. There are no social functions which don't affect people with a disability. We exist in all intersections and multidisciplinary approaches. Everything is relevant to a person with a disability because we are everywhere; in all walks of life and in all parts of life. In Closing, Disability is Everywhere seeks to find the link between any topic and disability. Leave a comment below about what disability means to you, people want to know! Read on to discover the intersections I've found thus far.

Allen McNair Exit 47 (2022) Purchase here Defining 'disability' Current debates within the Disability Studies community on how to define 'disability'. Through the years, scholars have refined past conceptual theories of the definition of disability. The purpose of refining the definition is to create a more accurate description that best supports receiving any needed support systems to have accessibility and to most efficiently describe the phenomena of disability. At times, past definitions have served as a foundation for discriminatory behavior and segregation. Due to potential implications, such as those, of the definition of disability, it serves an extremely important purpose. Below is a synopsis of the debate within the disability studies scholarly community. Choose for yourself what you feel most aligned with after learning a bit about each. These descriptions can then become a basis for doing your own research. Defining the term 'disability' can be just as complex as the wide range of conditions that qualify as disabilities. Many have pointed out the difference between the medical, social and human rights models. In addition to these, Essentialism, Post-structuralism, and Deleuzianism are three more theoretical models which elaborate past theories. ADA definition: "(A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual; (B) a record of such an impairment; or (C) being regarded as having such an impairment (ADA)" Here we see that the ADA definition of disability is focused on a medical condition, an impairment. Implications of defining disability in this way are that the focus is on an issue within an individual, not on society’s contribution to inaccessible spaces. This frame of thinking is linked to a Medical Model and Essentialist theories. Essentialism states that there is a normal body and body which is other than normal, different. The condition of the not-normal body is an abnormality that needs to be fixed. There will always be an outcast in this framing who needs to adjust to be part of the ‘right’ way of being. “Essentialism states that there is a normal body and body which is other than normal, different.” Following this line of thinking, the only thing that needs to be changed is the individual. They are not appreciated for their gift or strengths gained by performing in different manners. No one else, no other systems, take responsibility for outcasting the individual. Instead of honoring their way of existing, the focus is on the sickness, illness, or abnormality. Therefore, this definition does not allow for much room to create an accessible society. Disability Studies scholars responded to Essentialism... Scholars such as Judith Butler responded to Essentialism with Post-structuralist theories.  Michele Foucault and Judith Butler believe that the language we use constructs our daily lives and our entire reality. They argue against the term 'disability' and seek to deconstruct labels.  “It is easier to imagine blindness as the end of sight than it is to imagine it as a different way of being, as a different world” (Michalko, p. 50, 2017) . Here the focus is on living with different senses and strengths that arise from a different perception of the world. The fluidity of not labeling it as a medical condition or an impairment allows one to live without a sense of loss and instead embracing what their body, mind, and perception have to offer. Disability Studies scholars responded to Post-structuralist Theories... However, labels can serve an important purpose. One of the main purposes is to communicate and express so that others can understand what we're living through every minute of every day. Scholars such as Tom Shakespeare remind us that disability does not mean that someone is sick. Additionally, that disability is not just a product of discourse or labels, there is a real, embodied experience that impacts that person’s life that will need to be honored with a form of language. Some implications of Post-structuralist ways of thinking generate conclusions about using assistive devices. Using any support such as medication or hearing aids, can be a way of stating that the body needs to be fixed. A Post-structuralist states one can exist just as one is, the body doesn’t need to be fixed. However, this view doesn’t take into account the positive benefits gained by that individual who uses support in being able to participate to a greater degree in society. Another issue with deconstructing labels... Scholars like Aimi Hamraie remind that not owning the label can be related to some of the same issues brought up by the phenomena 'color blindness' where one may say they don't see race. Disability 'blindness' ignores the history of dehumanization, oppression, segregation, isolation, advocacy, and activism, as well as the current state of institutional ableism. In response to Universal Design, Hamraie states that: “Because they do not begin from an analysis of oppression, disability neutral discourses fail to capture the relational ethics of disability culture (Hamraie, p. 17, 2016).” Therefore, it's important to remember that there hasn't been an equal playing field for a very long time. Due to that inequality, people turned to advocacy and activism to educate, provide access, and lessen discrimination. If spaces are made to be accessible, this past and the embodied experience of their condition will still need to be honored. Interestingly enough, the category ‘disability’ has both othered us and, at the same time, provided the mechanics needed to get needs met in society. Deleuzian Deleuzian Disability Studies theories seek to take one out of a fixed state and into a constant state of becoming by analyzing the relationship between structures related to disability. This way of thinking allows for one to receive the support they need at the moment while allowing that to change and morph in time. These are the first theories that begin to apply systems thinking through applying the image of the rhizome from philosophers Gilles Deleuze's and Felix Guattari's theories and applying them to disability. The image of a rhizome becomes a way to map the network of structures impacting and impacted by disability. This form of dynamical systems mapping allows one to consider space for intervention and how that intervention will impact the system as a whole (Feely, 2016). The Take Away... The definition of disability has been updated and refined as scholars have discovered the gap in the past description. There is still room for growth. As we alter the definition of disability, the intersectionality of the experience becomes more apparent and so too does the political and social implications of the word. References Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 Berghs M, Atkin K, Graham H, et al. Implications for public health research of models and theories of disability: a scoping study and evidence synthesis. Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; 2016 Jul. (Public Health Research, No. 4.8.) Chapter 3, Scoping models and theories of disability. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK378951/ Feely M (2016) Disability studies after the ontological turn: a return to the material world and material bodies without a return to essentialism. Disability & Society . 31:7, 863-883. Hamraie A (2016) Universal Design and the Problem of “Post-Disability” Ideology. Design and Culture 8:3, 285-309. New York: Routledge. Michalko R (2017) Blinding the Power of Sight. In Boys J (ed), Disability, Space, Architecture: A Reader (1st ed.). New York: Routledge, pp. 48-50.

Social movements and activism as a method to reach for power in a world content with sidelining us. Untitled, 2023 Alex Becerra, Arts of Life Circle Contemporary Purchase here Non violent social movements can and have shaped policy. People with disabilities’, for example, right to work is a result of strategic, organized, collective public disobedience. Through actions like marches - even crawls - sit-ins, and social demonstrations advocates fought for the right to work. Restricting non violent protests and these acts from civil society would then also restrict some of the main ways policy has been propelled forward. Social movement theorists have stated the importance of networks such as colleges, social media, work, unions or more. The disability rights movement has risen and settled in waves that span across time. The first disability rights organization was formed in 1880 and movements have continued to mobilize to the present day. Access and the right to work were key themes in each movement. Structures were built for one type of body only, making them inaccessible to others with limited mobility automatically segregating them from the richness of participation; participation, whether it be in education, playground fun, or the workforce. Richness was lost in both a figurative and a literal sense. Those with disabilities couldn’t work in the structure as it was. The rise of capitalism further conflated social life and job status. The fusion of wage labor, productivity, and independence further segregated disabled workers. In this paper, I will briefly describe some of the networks, tactics and goals of the disability rights movement. I will then briefly describe the longest sit-in; the Section 504 sit-in. Because there are so many different types of disabilities and because each organization defined itself based off of a single disability, early on there wasn’t much cross-network communication between organizations. In fact, some groups even discriminated against certain disabilities in order to prop themselves up and reach their ultimate goal of participation in society. For example, in 1880 the National Association of the Deaf overturned a civil service commission ban on hiring deaf workers. One of the tactics used in protesting equal employment was to exemplify their physical ability, citing language as the only difference between them and the majority of the population. This focus on physical ability created division between them and others who had mobility disabilities. The organization dwindled out after reaching their goal of overturning the ban. Yet their accomplishments shifted it from being illegal to legal to hire deaf workers. Nothing was given easily, we had to continuously apply pressure to be seen and heard and for systems of society to change. The 1930’s brought another wave of disability rights movements. Several organizations were formed at the local and national level. The National Association of the Blind, formed in the 1930’s, was the second to work the tactic of separating themselves from those with mobility issues. They focused on the fact that they were physically able to work and should be allowed to. Thus, within this singular movement for disability rights, they created divisions between themselves and other organizations to distinguish themselves. Yet at the same moment in history, polio had just spread rampantly for a decade prior and was still not eradicated. The President himself had a mobility disability due to polio and was a wheelchair user. This greatly paved the way for those with mobility disabilities to begin to gather and organize. The president founded Warm Springs Polio Rehabilitation Center, which provided a very important gathering place for others with polio. The group Polio Crusaders formed from attendees of the rehabilitation center. The demographic was largely middle class and white. Before 1964, black disabled citizens' segregation was compounded which has lasting impacts today. I will expand on this more in future blogs. The 1970’s gave rise to yet another wave of the disability rights movement. The legislation Rehabilitation Act was signed into existence in 1973 and there was an awareness of cognitive liberation; the feeling that things could really change. However, by 1977 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act had still not been promulgated. The sit-in for Section 504 promulgation paved the way for future legislation to be passed supporting those with disabilities. Lastly, the successes of the 1970’s paved the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act to pass in 1990. Main Goals In one sense, there can be an analysis of the waves of protest through time. In another sense, there can be an analysis of the goals of the various movements. There were three main mobilizing factors of the disability rights movement. One main focus was the ability to work. The second was on deinstitutionalization. Prior to the 1970’s, parents were strongly encouraged to place disabled children into an institution. There they lived separate from society. However, most of the people there could get their needs met at home, with some additional assistance. Advocates mobilized to take people out of the institutions and provide better care for them at home, focusing on at home care and benefits. There was also a focus for better services within state run institutions. The third mobilizing factor was independent living. The focus was on providing assistance for disabled individuals so that they could live as independently as possible. Access to education, employment, and public transport were all key aspects of independent living. The third mobilizing factor was civil rights activism. Here, the focus was on anti discrimination and equal opportunity. This gave rise to something called full citizenship; political participation, physical access, and social and economic citizenship (Patterson, 2018). Longest Sit-In In 1977, the sit-in at the Department of Housing, Education and Welfare (HEW) began. Nixon’s administration had failed to promulgate Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This Act was the first general disability rights legislation in the United States and was directly modeled after Section 601 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Section 504 was the anti discrimination portion of the Rehabilitation Act. On April 5, 1977, Judith Heumann and the organization Disabled in Action, led a march from the capital building to the HEW office. Demonstrations were held outside HEW offices in 9 different cities, but the San Francisco sit-in lasted the longest. Advocates left two days after HEW Secretary Califano signed regulations for Section 504, on April 30. They sat in for a total 25 days. Within this time frame the city cut off the power to the building. The Section 504 sit-in is an important event in history. It illustrates perseverance. Perseverance was nothing new for this group of people. Each day they persevered through a different lived experiene. In addition to this, they also faced the burden of a disabling society. Even still, that burden didn’t stop them from persevering through the discomfort and through the barriers; both physical and ideological. They were successful in promulgating the Section 504 legislation which laid the foundation for the Americans with Disabilities Act. In Conclusion, In general, the disability rights movement is rich, with organizations forming throughout almost every decade since 1880. These movements have used traditional forms of lobbying as well as focused marches, protests and even public displays of protest such as sit-ins and the ADAPT’s “Capitol Crawl”. Each one of these mobilizations was simply a call for participation in the life of one’s society. Anyone with a disability knows how important community, social life, and the ability to be a part of it is because they know what it means to be segregated from it. The successes of these movements are many, and yet there is still work to do. Bibliography Barnartt, S., and Scotch, R.K. (2001) Disability Protest: Contentious Politics 1970–1990. Gallaudet University Press, Washington, DC. Brown LD. Civil rights and regulatory wrongs: the Reagan administration and the medical treatment of handicapped infants. J Health Polit Policy Law. 1986 Summer;11(2):231-54. doi: 10.1215/03616878-11-2-231. PMID: 3745838. Greene, Kyra R. Disability Rights Movement (United States). Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2013. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration & Management. “Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973”. US Department of Labor. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/centers-offices/civil-rights-center/statutes/section-504-rehabilitation-act-of-1973. Accessed 27 Feb. 2021. Patterson, Lindsey. The Disability Rights Movement in the United States. The Oxford Handbook of Disability History. 2018. Percy, Stephen L. Disability, civil rights, and public policy : the politics of implementation / Stephen L. Percy University of Alabama Press Tuscaloosa 1989 Scotch, Richard K. “Politics and Policy in the History of the Disability Rights Movement.” The Milbank Quarterly, vol. 67, 1989, pp. 380–400. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3350150. Accessed 27 Feb. 2021.

In my Honors Thesis research paper, I wrote about how institutional ableism is taught at a young age and then reproduced throughout one’s life mainly due to lack of lived experience and lack of educational experience of disability. I identify this conditioning is because of covert processes, such as messaging in the spatial layout and absence of disability studies in education. The classroom is a place where the young learn world views. There they develop a sense of self and a support system to succeed in life. It is one of the most impactful spaces for early development and socialization. In school, familiar processes such as interacting only with abled children, are learned and reproduced throughout the rest of the child’s life. Children with (dis)abilities are divided from other students. They are taught separately and socialize separately. How do power dynamics implicit in built space impact children with and without (dis)abilities? “An understanding of how disabled people have become marginalized and excluded within society cannot be understood without an appreciation of the sociospatial processes that reproduce social relations (Kitchen, 1998).” Architecture & Ideology Due to the fact that ideology cannot be separated from built space and that the structures we create will always be a reflection of the ideology, when buildings are inaccessible that demonstrates that the ideology is exclusionary. I have found that exclusionary ideology is taught at a young age. Built space exemplifies power. But it doesn’t have to, as Dinulovic reminds. When “function of” architecture becomes inclusion, then built space is also a pathway for a transformation. Yet this requires architects to have both lived (secondary is fine) and academic experience of disability. Power in Built Space: Disability Studies Scholars Disability Studies scholars like Paul Hunt have identified disability as a result of our ideology, for example the social model that he created with others states that disabling structures segregate the person from participating fully in society and if those structures are changed, people with disabilities can participate more fully. Therefore, the ideology of institutional ableism represented through built space is a disabling factor. Other scholars focus on that having a condition of some sort is not an ending but a beginning of a new way of living, not a loss but a different way of living (Michalko, 2017). Other scholars remind us that built structures tell us what's appropriate and what’s not appropriate in terms of how to hold our body (Crowe, 2017). Or that in building and in the process of design, we make an assumption about what is to be valued and noticed, and what is to be marginalized and forgotten (Boys, 2017). Classroom This ideology is learned in the classroom through division into separate classrooms and many times separate school that have no joint activities, as well as different recess times, is reflective of sequestration into institutions. The children learn and socialize in divided spaces. “An understanding of how disabled people have become marginalized and excluded within society cannot be understood without an appreciation of the sociospatial processes that reproduce social relations (Kitchen, 1998).” Children of different abilities learn and socialize in a separate space divided from other children. Scholars have found that a development and emotional intelligence gained by doing things together, abled children develop understanding of diversity, unique abilities, empathy,  disabled children develop to a greater degree ( as would any child) when they can socialize with peers. Interview The expert interview demonstrates the importance of creating more opportunities that build a lived or educational experience of disability so that architects are not attempting to design something that they only have formal knowledge of, if any at all. Existing Data Burke is advocating for playgrounds that use Universal Design, she argues that the division that occurs when children have to use different equipment depending on their ability is the cause of a negative emotion linked to disability. Burke’s research can be applied to the ideal, typical elementary school classroom by understanding that playing together is more important to children than differences of capabilities. Accessible technology or structures must be coupled with education about the history of disability advocacy. Steps toward inclusion could include playing games that are accessible to everyone during recess, after/before school, or for physical education. Correspondingly, that not being able to play together can create a negative connotation with (dis)abilities (Burke, 2006). Deleuzoguattarian assemblage analysis takes into account each component of the whole system and does not assign full responsibility to one part but instead looks to improve the relationship between the parts these include discursive conversation of the issue, biological, discursive, technological, and economic. Built structures send spatial messages about who is in and out of place. When we keep children with (dis)abilities separated it teaches “abled” children that their world functions without people with (dis)abilities. These are covert conditionings that stall the movement toward accessibility. In this movement, architecture becomes an incredibly powerful tool as both a way to examine the dominant ideology, and also, as an opportunity to shape an ideological shift. When teaching methods and use of space are updated, the classroom becomes a space for transformation. Due to the beautiful and intricate relationship of architecture and ideology, the elementary school classroom can change the future. Now in my Master's degree in my program at Columbia University, we’re taught to practice conflict mapping using systems theory. When we place Institutional Ableism at the center of the map, accessibility movements and all the past advocacy inhibit it, while ignorance due to lack of education and experience enable this intractable conflict.

The importance of elevating the voices of the disabled in rural Guatemala through qualitative research. Disability studies can be understood as a conversation that begins with personal narratives. When conducting research of a community experiencing compounded marginalization (rural, poor, disabled), it is necessary to allow the personal narrative discourse to arise from within the group and not be imposed by the outside. During my research internship with Viviendas Leon, I conducted research on disability in central America and how to create a research project that gathers the most effective data to be used to help the community. Guiding Questions What type of data gathering will create the most effective policy and implementation guidelines for the disabled population in Guatemala? Qualitative data allows for this process to occur. Though disability studies is a conversation, the most vital interlocutors of this conversation, disabled people and their families, are not included. Therefore, the policy that is currently in place does not fully represent the social difficulties that a person with disabilities confronts in their day to day life. I hope to fill a gap in research by elevating the shared experiences of those who live in rural areas of Guatemala through qualitative data. By focusing on the most underrepresented sector of the population, researchers can establish a relevant definition of disability, discover the causes, and assess their needs. Background Through Viviendas Leon, I began building a network for dispersing the interview through disability advocacy non-profits in the Lake Atitlan area of Guatemala. The project is not completed yet and there are no findings to share until I conduct the interviews. Literature Review Poverty and Disability “Disability and poverty are concomitant conditions. The cyclical relationship between these two conditions has been recognized globally, with disability increasing the risks of becoming poor and poverty increasing the risk of becoming a person with disability” (Pinilla-Roncancio, 2017, p 398). Disability is both a cause and a consequence of poverty. Another economic researcher states, “disability is both a determinant of poverty, because it lowers earning power and consumption expenditures (Haveman and Wolfe 2000; Gertler and Gruber 2002), and a consequence of poverty, because the cumulative deprivations of poverty such as inadequate infant or child development, or exposure to dangerous working conditions, can manifest themselves in disability” (Filmer, 2008, p 150). Barriers preventing education participation are the same barriers preventing work participation. Low level of education then leads to a low income. Policy Not Implemented The fact that a high amount of those in poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean are disabled suggests that ratifying the UNCRPD is not enough. Simply passing policy does not mean that it is put into practice (Perez, 2017; Dudzik, 2020). “Researchers have noted global and regional inadequacy or non-existence of policy implementation and enforcement (Dudzik, 2020).” Every research study I found discussed the lack of implementing disability policy and is therefore an agreed upon conclusion. Studies that use quantitative data have stated that the data is often old, outdated, and sparse (Filmer, 2008; Pinilla-Roncancio, 2017; Grugel, 2017; Dudzik, 2020). The lack of data makes it difficult to measure the effectiveness of policy passed. Current research about the pandemic determined that social inequities are exacerbated in the midst of a pandemic and unequal distribution of assets leads to social tension (Sakellariou, 2020). During the pandemic, or any natural disaster, those with disabilities will be some of the most vulnerable to socioeconomic tensions (Gandelman, 2018). Qualitative Research Global South Disability Studies Academic Neocolonialism is a term used to describe the fact that gathering quantitative data doesn’t take into account the context of the local population but instead uses blanket terms, concepts, theories and data gathering mechanisms that are from the Global North. Theories, definitions, and critiques of disability studies are from the Global North, while effects of colonialism and post-colonialism from the Global North have actually produced disabilities for the colonized. Meekosha identifies factors of neocolonialism generated by the Global North that create disabilities for the Global South such as nuclear testing and dumping, global arms trade, sweatshops, civil wars provoked and supported by the Global North, famine, and poverty. The culture, history, geopolitics, and even causal factors for becoming disabled are all fundamentally different in these two places. Therefore, it is inappropriate to apply the same theories. Furthermore, allowing the Global North’s disability theories to dominate and be mainstream for the rest of the world is yet another form of post-colonialism. “Theories, definitions, and critiques of disability studies are from the Global North, while effects of colonialism and postcolonialism from the Global North have actually produced disabilities for the colonized.” Methodology Through the interview that I have designed, data will measure direct physical needs that the disabled population in Guatemala have such as medical equipment, prosthetics, architectural changes, and economic support, all of which can raise the quality of life of that person or family and mitigate barriers to inclusion and participation. The interview data will also identify the culture of disability there in Guatemala. Furthermore, I anticipate learning about the causes of disabilities to measure how many are created by colonial/postcolonial processes. Through Viviendas Leon, I began building a network for dispersing the interview through disability advocacy non-profits in the Lake Atitlan area of Guatemala. The project is not completed yet and there are no findings to share until I conduct the interviews. Conclusion In conclusion, qualitative data, such as personal narratives, can benefit various aspects of the disabled population. Researchers working with this form of data have unpacked nuances, background information, and the inter relational nature of systems generating a deeper understanding about weaknesses in the current infrastructure and how those can be improved The findings from personal narrative data can form a benchmark and used to implement supports. The other incredible factor about personal narrative is that it empowers people to find their voice, share their experience, and form a community. This community can then mobilize to make positive change. The people within this community can then use the dialogue created in sharing personal narratives to give rise to a local and relevant “disability studies” academic body of literature. The entire world can then learn about the culture of disability there in Guatemala.