I’m not Dis-Abled by my disabilities, I’m Dis-Abled by a world designed for fully abled people.
I can also be Dis-Abled by doing things the old way, or by doing things in a new way without thinking about everyone.
The Covid pandemic and virtual meetings made it possible for me to attend OA; but these same meetings can cause me physical pain.
I was born Neurodiverse (ADHD, Autism Spectrum, Anxiety), and became physically disabled with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) at age 31, fifteen years ago.
ME is like Long Covid, except well, a lot longer.
With ME even mild exertion or stress (physical, mental or emotional) can put sufferers into an almost comatose-like state for days, weeks, or longer.
Virtual meetings are great for me, and people with ME, so why do they hurt?
ME, like MS can cause sensory changes, and make my eyes + ears more sensitive.
I am also Neurodiverse, and had sensory issues before I got ME.
Neurodiversity makes many things harder, but I wouldn’t change it.
I would change the world to be more accessible and inclusive.
I’m going to focus on Just one issue that people often overlook.
My brain makes it difficult to hear and my body also works against me.
It is very common for people on the Neurodiverse Spectrum to have Auditory Processing issues.
Comorbidities often combine to magnify minor audio problems into major disasters for the body and mind of people with disabilities.
When does it hurt? Many overlapping voices and people with bad audio/or using earbuds.
I have enough voices in my head already.
Multiple people saying the Serenity Prayer unmuted can be like nails on a blackboard, for the duration of the prayer.
I can and do cut my volume, but that is exclusionary, and makes the person with the disability the ‘problem’.
Asking the person with a disability to change is Ableism, a form of discrimination, and goes against a few Traditions.
I have raised this in a few group consciences, and found to my surprise the majority of people find the ‘Cacophonous Prayer’ at least unpleasant.
I have vision problems too, but I can turn the monitor to 5% brightness, close my eyes, or wear sunglasses.
Audio is much harder, so someone with badly adjusted audio, or talking in a room that echoes, can really be torture.
Hyperacusis (pain from normal noise) is more complicated than this diagram, with many more causes, but how many circles can you fit? The X shows my overlap.
Others have it worse.
I can try different speakers, or use noise cancelling headphones, but the noise is in the signal being sent, so having it closer to my ears does not help.
If we want to hear, we have to increase volume, which makes it more painful when volume varies, a new share starts, or someone talking quietly suddenly laughs or coughs.
There are simple ways to fix the problem at the source, but very few for the listener.
Some people are fond of unthinkingly saying “That goes against the Traditions”, or “that is an Outside issue”.
Should minor accomodations be a barrier to helping people Outside access OA?
Ableism has been illegal in America for thirty years. Why do we do it in OA?
Asking if ‘Anyone Else has a problem with it?’ and carrying on regardless is literally having no regard for that person.
It is also likely that one person speaking up represents many others who struggle to speak up, or have already been turned away and left Outside.
Stress, or being ‘unheard’ when asking for help, can both increase the intensity and discomfort of the experience.
Even more nails on the chalkboard. Ironically, personally, I’m not affected by nails on the chalkboard.
I am severely affected and afflicted by lack of audio clarity.
Other people will have different issues. Listen to us, don’t ignore us, don’t shut us out.
Should all meetings allow non-verbal shares? No, I’m not advocating for that.
If someone does have an audio problem that is hurting someone in the meeting, should they should stop sharing?
I don’t know. I do know that people are likely to leave, if being in a meeting causes them pain.
People of colour are probably the largest group under-represented in OA. I think the next largest group (with access to technology) are people with disabilities. And the solutions for us are much easier.
Many Able people are very fond of saying ‘Just do this’, ‘Just five minutes more’, effectively saying ‘Just Go Away’.
There is no Justice, often no one at fault, there is Just Us, and You.
We don’t actually want there to be any difference, or division.
Include Us, so there is no You.
Technical Solutions, but we need Human Solutions.
Turn on Noise Cancellation and Echo reduction in Zoom.
The person talking use a decent, inexpensive headset.
NOT wired earbuds though. Wired earbuds are one source of problems! They often have a muffled, low quality microphone, and volume varies dramatically as people move their head. Coughs and laughs originate more from the throat than mouth, so will always be louder than words.
Using NO headset is often better than wired earbuds, or a low quality headset.