As a Sibling to Someone with a Disability, I Want You to Know 

By Méliss Desmond, 2024 Social Connectedness Fellow

Méliss is a 2024 Social Connectedness Fellow working with Special Olympics. They are building a career in public health, focused on creating equitable health systems through research and community-based policy. Méliss holds a bachelor’s degree from Concordia University, with plans to pursue a MSc in Global Health, focusing on displaced persons’ health. In this blog post, Méliss explores disability rights, cultural competence, and allyship, sharing practical advice on how to be more inclusive towards people with disabilities. 

What are the principles of disability rights? How can I be an ally to people with a disability? What is cultural competence? How can I be more inclusive to people with disabilities?

These might be some questions you might ask yourself given 16% of the world’s population has a disability. So how can we support such a large percentage of the world? As a sibling to someone with a disability, I regularly ask myself these questions as well. 

Here is a good starting block to acquaint yourself with these topics. It includes some bite-size key terms and definitions to get a better understanding of the disability rights realm as well as a zine that offers more applicable day-to-day advice when interacting with people with disabilities. The zine, titled As a Sibling to Someone with a Disability, I Want You to Know, offers a perspective of a sibling to someone with a disability who wants to support others in their journey of allyship. 

What are disability rights? Since 2006, The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the United Nations has fought for the recognition of people with disabilities and their rights. Eight guiding principles underlie the Convention: 

1. Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of persons 

2. Non-discrimination 

3. Full and effective participation and inclusion in society 

4. Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity 

5. Equality of opportunity 

6. Accessibility 

7. Equality between men and women 

8. Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities 

What is allyship? The United States Center for Disease Control created an acronym for the word ally that outlines how to be a good ally to folks with disabilities: 

• A: Acknowledge and respect individual experiences and abilities. This means listening! 

• L: Learn about different disability types. This could entail learning about person-first and identity-first language.  

• L: Leverage your influence to promote accessibility and inclusion. Use your own voice to speak up!  

• Y: Yield the floor to people with disabilities to help identify and eliminate barriers. 

What is cultural competence? Four elements of cultural competence can help us take a deeper look at our capacity to be sensitive and aware. Cultural competence entails: 

• Awareness of one’s own cultural worldview, 

• Attitude towards cultural differences,  

• Knowledge of different cultural practices and worldviews, and  

• Cross-cultural skills 

To understand cultural competence in the realm of disability rights, consider disability within a cultural context and how culture influences how someone with a disability is treated and viewed within a society which impacts their social lives, access to medical care, disability services, etc.   

What is inclusivity? Inclusivity for people with disabilities aims to consider the specific needs of persons with disabilities to ensure their full participation in society. To work towards inclusivity, national and local governmental support, policy, appropriate funding as well as individual and community actions are all needed. When considering inclusivity, taking into account the needs of people with disabilities with an intersectional approach is vital, given each group and person has different needs. Intersectional identities consider race, sexuality, culture, religion, gender, age, etc. Using an intersectional lens can help us “understand diverse identities” and find ways to “meaningfully engage with communities” in order to consider resources that can inform accessibility, and supports that can be implemented. Considering intersectionality when working towards inclusivity is integral to being an ally.  

How do I integrate these terms into my day-to-day life? Keeping these terms in mind, you might consider the advice and perspective of this zine, As a Sibling to Someone with a Disability, I Want You to Know, when striving to include and interact with people with disabilities.

Embed Canva booklet here.

References 

Become a Disability A.L.L.Y. in Your Community. (2024, September 27). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/Ncbddd/Humandevelopment/Become-a-Disability-ALLY.Html 

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) | Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD). (n.d.). https://social.desa.un.org/issues/disability/crpd/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-crpd 

Disability inclusion. (n.d.). European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations. https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/what/humanitarian-aid/disability-inclusion_en 

Guiding Principles of the Convention | United Nations Enable. (n.d.). https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/guiding-principles-of-the-convention.html 

Stubbe, D. E. (2020). Practicing Cultural Competence and Cultural Humility in the Care of Diverse Patients. FOCUS the Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry, 18(1), 49–51. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20190041