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Creating Collective Access

The Creating Collective Access Committee (CCA) is a crew of disabled and chronically ill folks and allies working to support each other throughout the AMC. Collective Access is access that we intentionally create collectively, instead of individually. Most of the time, access is placed on the individual who needs it. It is up to you to figure out your own access, or sometimes, up to you and your care giver, personal attendant (PA) or random friend. Access is rarely weaved into a collective commitment and way of being; it is isolated and relegated to an after thought (much like disabled people).

Access is complex. it is more than just having a ramp or getting disabled folks/crips into the meeting. Access is a constant process that doesn’t stop. It is hard and even when you have help, it can be impossible to figure out alone. We are working to create mutual aid between sick and disabled folks and beyond!

Visit the Creating Collective Access website and drop us a line at creatingcollectiveaccess@gmail.com

ACCESSIBILITY AT THE AMC!

All AMC venues are wheelchair accessible with the following notes: there are stairs between the McGregor Conference Center and the Community Arts Auditorium, which means you have to walk around the buildings outside in order to move between McGregor and Community Arts in a wheel chair.

Please ask at the registration table if you need assistance moving between McGregor and Community Arts.  It takes 5-10 minutes to get from one building to another in a wheelchair. 

We have a wheelchair accessible van that can provide rides to most off-campus locations.  Please inform the registration table if you would like a wheelchair accessible ride.

If you need ASL interpretation and/or CART translation, or have any other access needs, please be sure to register for the AMC before June 21st and indicate your access needs in your registration form. 

A non-gendered bathroom is available on the second floor of McGregor Conference Center. 

Check out our post on How to be Scent Free for information on how to make the AMC accessible to people with chemical sensitivities. 

See the Places to Eat page for information on the wheelchair accessibility of local restaurants. 

For other questions/access requests about the AMC, contact Allied Media Projects or go to the registration table and ask to speak with an AMP staff member. 

TIPS FOR PRACTICING ANTI-ABLEISM

Above all else access is an attitudinal issue. We are all influenced by a society steeped deeply in prejudicial attitudes about people with disabilities. The inclusion of disability issues as a social justice concern requires time, exposure, and political will. What follows is a brief synopsis of points to consider and reflect upon as you continue in your work:

  • Recognize that disabled people are inherently worthwhile.
  • Listen to disabled people’s stories, experiences, and perspectives.
  • Understand that having a disability does not make our lives any more inspirational, pitiful, or tragic than yours. Our disabilities are ordinary and familiar parts of who we are.
  • Use the phrase "disabled people" or "people with disabilities."
  • Understand that no single accommodation will work for all disabled people. One solution doesn’t fit all, but increased access does benefit everyone.
  • Don't ask intrusive questions, however well intentioned. Because of how disabled people are separated from society, many of us deal with daily curiosity about our bodies and lives. This can be irritating, exhausting, and demeaning.
  • Ask before you offer help to a disabled person. What you assume is helpful may not be. Start with a friendly but non-intrusive question: "Can I provide assistance?” Be okay if the answer is no.
  • Be aware. Disabled people are the experts about our own lives and what we need.
  • Avoid using Language that equates disabled peoples bodies/minds with brokenness i.e. "lame blind, dumb, stupid, have a fit, spazz out” etc, etc.
  • Recognize that the words "cripple, defect, handicap, spastic, freak, retard, and crazy." to name but a few have long been used to bully and oppress disabled people.
  • You may hear disabled people calling each other "crip" or "gimp." This is "insider" language, akin to "queer" and not appropriate for use by non-disabled people.