Dear editor:

I am the executive director of the StopGap Foundation.

We very much appreciate The Lake Report’s recent coverage of NOTL’s access issues and extend our thanks for helping raise awareness about the importance of accessibility.

Pamela TurnerSmith has done so much of the heavy lifting in order to provide the crucial educational element to those who need some support in understanding the value of having a space that everyone can access.

StopGap is ready and waiting to help get some ramps on the ground in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Part of StopGap‘s work is raising awareness about the importance of using empowering language when referring to people with disabilities. Working in a more subtle realm, language can create barriers if used in a disempowering way.

So, whenever I recognize an opportunity to talk about this, I lean into it.

In your April 13 editorial, “Accessibility for all in downtown NOTL,” those without disabilities were described as “able-bodied.”

I am of the opinion that we are all “able-bodied” and I share this opinion with many advocates.

Our bodies are all able to breathe, digest, circulate blood, etc. A more empowering alternative would be to refer to people with disabilities as “disabled” and those without disabilities as “non-disabled.”

This small adjustment goes a long way in helping with a much-needed societal perspective shift.

Part of our awareness-raising includes education about the difference between the medical model of disability and the social model of disability.

The medical model focuses on those with disabilities as being the issue and works toward fixing people’s “conditions.”

The social model recognizes barriers originating from our built environment and our societal attitudes. It’s the built environment and attitudes that are disabling.

There are lots of great resources online that dive deeper into these two different models. There are also lots of great resources that put antiquated language beside more empowering alternatives.

When you’re going down the rabbit hole just make sure that you are tuning in to the most recent content as this is an ever-evolving topic.

Thank you to The Lake Report team and all your readers for their support in helping raise awareness. I’m confident that our collective efforts will help create some lasting change.

Luke Anderson
Toronto