i am really learning to get irritated by posts like this post at bitch that lists five steps on how to make your blog more accessible to disabled readers. (1. provide transcripts 2. provide descriptions of pictures, 3. Make your link-text something relevant 4. Don’t over-ride browser defaults for your text. 5. Look at your blog in a different browser, at least once.)
i’m not so much irritated because, ergh, what is it always with the talking about disablism–but rather instead, because what is it always with the assumption that those who are being ablest are able-bodied?
just the title alone (The Transcontinental Disability Choir: How to make your blog accessible in five not-very-complicated steps) should be enough to let most people in on why people with ADHD/ADD simply aren’t going to be able to incorporate any of those “easy” or “not so hard” steps into their blogging very easily. Steps and directions suck, quite simply. When a brain can make one particular “step” mean twenty five different things, “steps” are a goddamn nightmare for many of us. not easily navigated.
which leads to the bigger picture of, well, big pictures. most of the five easy steps are related to breaking a “big picture” down into smaller bites so that machines and readers can process and interpret. ok, i get that. i understand that. but when you are a person like me, like MOST ADHD/ADD folks (and I’m guessing many other folks like us), who get in trouble from pre-school on because we *can’t* break things down into smaller pieces…when you’re like me, who has been given projects to do, projects that I am very capable of doing, but have been incapable of breaking a huge project down into smaller pieces to actually get it done…who has failed classes and been fired from jobs and lost friends because doing something like answering an email is a “project” that completely overwhelms to the point of total tune out…
when the very definition of your disability is the definition of what another disability needs in order to accomplish a “simple” thing like read a damn blog post–what do we do then?
an example:
You’ll notice that my description is not simply “a lighthouse in Nova Scotia”, but actually attempts to create an idea of what the photo looks like.
photos in particular have been excruciating for me to address on this blog. everybody keeps telling me how easy it is, how simple it is to incorporate a small description–and so i try, and i give up. when i see a picture, i don’t see what a photo looks like. i see an emotion. and when a picture particularly moves me, i literally don’t have the words to describe. pictures are undoing bits of my heart. parts that i didn’t even know existed. seeing a bigger picture is a huge strength for people with ADD/ADHD. we can imagine things that nobody else would’ve ever dreamed of. we can feel the overall tension in a room because we’re not so focused on particulars and ‘getting things done.’ we can bring an entire emotion into our lives and find metaphors and analogies that help others and ourselves understand where that emotion comes from.
but we’re still also the ones who get fired for missing the deadline *again*. who get called ‘stupid’ because the three steps we’re given to figure out a math problem leads us in all sorts of creative directions. who get asked for the billionth time by exasperated and pissed off loved ones, “How fucking hard IS IT?????”
it is *that* hard. ADD girl can’t figure out how to leave a proper description on a photo. and turns inward at the thought of sitting and transcribing an entire video. especially the often creative and post modern type videos that rwoc often make. (and yes I’ve been asked over and over for a transcript by people needing a transcription, and i haven’t given them one and i’ve gotten everything from snotty asshole attitude to guilt inducing, it-looks-good-too-bad-i-can’t-access-it attitudes and i’ve played the “i’ll ignore it all and it will go away game that has helped me survive into adulthood and nothing gets done or changes…). The “description” (from the bitch article) about how to write good link text made no sense to me at all, and didn’t include how make a link text to begin with. So I know I won’t be doing that any time soon.
and i’m vaguely irritated that it’s taken me over two years to write this post because i’ve had to confront my own inner demons about being called stupid and being patronized to. it wasn’t until i realized that the problem with suggestions that so many disabled bloggers offer about accessible blogging is not so much that i’m stupid and too lazy to do the suggestions–but that the suggestions are written for able minded (eergh!) people.
the singular most helpful thing for me has been Wheel Chair Dancer’s way of incorporating descriptions of pictures into her posts. the descriptions are there, they are part of the post–but they don’t exist in a way that isn’t conceptualized–as a fragmented type of breakdown that destroys all sense of understanding for me. i can understand her descriptions, i believe the text readers can understand her descriptions–she is talking in a language that i understand but is still accessible to people with readers.
WCD’s posts have given me the courage to attempt a few descriptions–of which I believe that i’ve failed miserably at. and i still haven’t done any transcripts. but i’m trying now. because somebody explained on *my* terms how something that is necessary can be done. it doesn’t have to only be done in one way, and those ways don’t always have to involve step-by-step black and white efficiently small pieces. which has relieved a little bit of the stigma for me about being too stupid to do something easy as hell like describe a photo.
p.s. Ending On a Humorous Ironically Positive Note: a possible intervention into Western English speaking dominance of the blogosphere and chronic ableism–those of us who are not good at transcribing can start posting tons of spanish/indigenous language videos– they are usually translated (i.e. transcripted!) into English!
- Share
December 6th, 2009 at 9:54 am #
thank you so much for saying better than i could wrap my brain around what rubbed me the wrong way! i definitely see a ton of value in that post, it’s a good starting point, especially for people who have never really thought about whether their blog is accessible to begin with. but i too balked at the idea of how to write a thorough description of a photo – and thought “crap, maybe i just won’t include any photos on my blog anymore” because i don’t really think i can do it. and the whole video transcription thing… i mean, are we assuming that bloggers don’t have jobs and families and such? that we all have the time, means, and even skills to transcribe every video we want to share? i have tried to transcribe things in the past and found that my brain just goes into overload trying to type or write out while listening. i just don’t have those skills. in a related note, i put my blog into the WAVE site… and couldn’t make any sense out of what it was saying. i affirm that WAVE is an important and valuable tool. but it said i have two issues on my blog, yet i couldn’t figure out what those two issues are or what to do about them. i mean, it says “two issues” but doesn’t LIST what they are and include instructions/suggestions or a link to where instructions or suggestions would be for solving the issues. how can i solve two issues if i don’t even know what they are? and i did feel really stupid about it! heck, i commented on the Bitch post about it, but i hadn’t realized how “old” the post is and maybe that’s why no one has responded to my concerns. but yeah, i half expect to have someone at some point tell me there’s something “wrong” with my blog, and now that WAVE exists i expect people to say “if you’d just checked your blog on WAVE you’d have already been able to take care of this instead of me having to tell you!” along with the assumption that i’m just another ableist jerk or an idiot because i don’t even know how to make my blog more accessible, and the tools don’t make any sense to me.
December 6th, 2009 at 10:37 am #
Over at The F-Word, we realised we just weren’t going to be able to do all the transcripts ourselves. One of our bloggers, Laura, posted on the blog asking for transcription volunteers, it might be worth a shot here too?
(OK, we’ve only done this twice so far, I have to say, and it worked the first time – we posted up a transcript here of Pratibha Parmar’s short film about Emma Humphreys, but when we tried it with a longer film it just took too long, so we ended up just linking to a partial transcript that was already available).
December 6th, 2009 at 11:55 am #
*nodnod* Disabilities conflict. There was a discussion on FWD/Forward a little while ago where a woman said she needed speakers at her events to look up and speak clearly, or she couldn’t hear them. People on the autism spectrum replied that they couldn’t do that. She said, I know, and I’m not going to tell you you have to when you can’t, but you still have to know that that excludes me.
Accessiblity isn’t just one ideal thing. There are always conflicts between what various readers need, or what writers need and what readers need. It’s dynamic. And resources are limited.
However, I have found that disability activists are the most understanding, empathetic, non-judgmental activists around–cause they get that sometimes you just can’t.
Anyway, if you ever feel like you would like a video transcribed but can’t do it yourself, feel free to e-mail me and request it–it would be a total honor to transcribe video for you.
December 6th, 2009 at 1:39 pm #
BFP, don’t feel bad about not understanding the description about how to write a good link, because it didn’t make any sense to me whatsoever, either. Nor did anything else in that link in the Bitch article—it all assumed a pretty high degree of competer tech knowledge (to me, the computer illiterate). Look at your blog in other browsers? Sounds easy, but I can’t even tell you what browser I’m using. Whatever I got from Comcast, that’s what. Do you have to download other browsers? If so, how much real estate does that take up on the hard drive (will I crash it)? What are the names of browsers other than IE and Firefox (the only browser names I know of)? How do you find them? Describe a picture in alt-text? What is alt-text? How does a person who knows exactly jack and shit about computers create alt-text to go along with their pictures?
(I think I ripped out half a head of hair trying to figure out how to post pictures on my blog. I spent over two days figuring out how to post photos in the sidebar. The problem wasn’t the lack of instructions. The problem was the method of instruction didn’t include step-by-step, how-to pictures, since the really easy way—in-person physical instruction (“click on this, then click on this”) wasn’t available. What was left out of the text was just as important as what was included.)
That sort of thing. All the little steps that are taken for granted. Which brings us right back to the beginning. Sigh.
I really like the example Quixotess gave: “She said, I know, and I’m not going to tell you you have to when you can’t, but you still have to know that that excludes me.”. I do need to know if I am excluding someone else, because even if I don’t have the tech knowledge to fix the problem, at least I know there is a problem that needs solving—something I’ve overlooked in the same way that instructions written for someone who doesn’t learn in the manner I do overlooks people who learn as I do.
December 6th, 2009 at 2:21 pm #
bfp, first of all: love.
accessibility is a tough things. it has taken a very specific connotation, fitting in a very specific box. and it feels like everyone has decided “hey, we’ve got this box, that means we’re done, right?”
one of my favorite accesibility posts is cripchick’s — which includes things like childcare, etc. — which really gets at “accessibility” being something that *increases access* — not something that fits in this or that checklist.
http://blog.cripchick.com/archives/2910
that said: i’ve never quite been able to find that point where i can say “hey, this box we’ve built is kind of limiting” without putting down the very important need for the stuff that’s in that box, too. because it feels like nobody knows about it — and we should be calling attention to it whenever we can.
i’m still struggling with understanding accessibility, or modifying and adapting the world so that it fits *your* needs rather than the default-assumed needs. because for a lot of us — it doesn’t apply, the typical connotations. i don’t need ramps. i don’t need a screen reader. i don’t need signs in royal blue and white. but what i do need is a safe and comfortable place to sit, pretty much everywhere. i need access to water to drink to take my medicine, at any time, because one of them cannot be schedule ahead of time, i have to take it when *i* know i need it. i need protection from bright lights, loud and varied noises (you know what i mean? when there’s so many types mixing together at once? no matter the level, that still always hurts)and ESPECIALLY from certain chemicals – many cleaners, ALL perfumes/”scents.” and i need understanding when i don’t get something done, or don’t get it done the “right” way, or when i don’t respond to you right away but have a blank look on my face for several seconds before acknowledging that you said something, or when i’m having trouble piecing together words and picking the accurate words for my thoughts — i need people to let me rearrange things after the fact, clarify things, contradict things even. etc.
the one and only accommodation i got at school was “lenience on absences and deadlines.” that aws the ONLY thing they could do for me. i didn’t need a note taker, or an audio test… i needed to be able to turn in a projects three weeks late, and miss over 25% of the semester and not have it affect my grade…
so i’m trying to say: i get what you’re driving at, i think (and you can tell me i’m wrong if i am), at least from my perspective (i can never claim to fully know your experience, because it is *yours*). nobody ever seems to think about these things. about the way you cannot approach work in the same way your coworkers do, deadlines just do not work for you, you take things in different directions. about how different needs conflict — people with one condition need one thing, but that thing actually makes things worse for you, or vice versa. (forex, as mentioned above: the flashing light fire alarm for Deaf people might induce seizures in people with epilepsy or wreak havoc & confusion with certain other neurological conditions like ppl on the autism spectrum)
and you know what fucking sucks the worst is, NEITHER of those things are considered at ALL by the rest of the world. we’re sitting here facing each other trying to figure out, how do we keep each other alive without hurting each other in the process? and everyone outside us is willfully oblivious.
i think it is important to make it clear to people that certain steps for accessibility can be taken. and that they really do have *some* level of responsibility to TRY. to at least try. which is why i appreciate posts like anna’s. because it raises the profile on something that many people might glance over otherwise (“hey, WCD is describing that image, huh. well, let’s move on now, never to think about describing images in *any* way again”)
(incidentally, i love how WCD describes her images! integrating it into the story…)
and at the same time i also appreciate posts like yours, because we HAVE to address these things in our community. HAVE TO. you are part of this community, an essential part, an irreplaceable member, and you deserve to be included. (or rather — i actually hate the word “include”/”inclusive” — i think we shouldn’t be “including” people, rather we should NOT be EXcluding them. does that distinction make sense? “including” makes it sound like it isn’t THEIR space too, to begin with, when it IS.)
i am running out of steam here, so i’m going to conclude with:
love
December 6th, 2009 at 3:05 pm #
bfp: LOVE
I wanted to come over here and express how much respect and love I have for you, your space, and say all this stuff about how you are right, and how we should try on a basic level and how trying to be accessible to many always leaves out some, how I thought anna’s post was trying to convey that in the word limit that she had, and I wanted it to be more sophisticated than “What amandaw said”, but she summed it up so perfectly. Especially the “Not to be excluded” part. I get so much of what you are saying, not that I know your experiences b/c they are *yours*, but I know the feeling of not being able to process things quickly, needing a moment to work through the blank stare and…and shit, even my partner doesn’t always get that about me.
To wrap it up, I have huge huge love and respect for you. If ever I can be of assistance and it is w/in my energy stores and ability, to you or anyone here, I would gladly share. Just email me.
December 6th, 2009 at 3:11 pm #
“and you know what fucking sucks the worst is, NEITHER of those things are considered at ALL by the rest of the world. we’re sitting here facing each other trying to figure out, how do we keep each other alive without hurting each other in the process? and everyone outside us is willfully oblivious.”
OMG Yes! amandaw, yes! It makes me so angry, rgh. And it really drains my energy.
December 6th, 2009 at 6:35 pm #
It’s also difficult if you’re autistic.
Or if you’re really fatigued.
Or if you’re working through huge amounts of pain and can barely post.
Or if you’re autistic, really fatigued, and working through huge amounts of pain and can barely post.
Etc.
I try, but sometimes I have to ask for help. One time I used my last bit of energy that day to write a post. It was a long post. I can’t make long posts short or short posts long, they come out how they come out. I understand not everyone can read them but I can only do what I can do.
Anyway, the person told me she couldn’t read it. And I said I couldn’t help it, was sorry, etc, and asked if anyone else could help, just like I try to help if I am around and someone is struggling and asks for help. And her response was “Bullshit, you could shorten it if you wanted, and don’t ask for help you’ll notice there are no servants here to help you like at home. (Hint: I would gladly give up the so-called servants if the other person would take the pain, fatigue, organizational problems, and general inability to take care of myself.)
And in situations like that I have to say fuck off and leave, or I end up burning energy I can’t spare then sleeping several days, missing meals and medications, and generally screw up my life all for some asshole who can’t tell that not all disabilities are mutually compatible. I am totally aware of comprehension issues, I probably have more severe comprehension issues overall than that person did, but I never demand a person write something a way I can understand if they can’t. I may inform but I don’t make demands. And I do not allow demands to be made on me, whether “don’t you dare not comprehend me” or “don’t you dare not answer me” or “don’t you dare answer a way I can’t read”. Because those are impossible and rapidly convince me the person is ableist or an asshole or both.
December 7th, 2009 at 1:13 am #
Brave post, hermana. So brave.
December 7th, 2009 at 8:26 am #
It has always been my understanding that in disabilities such as TS, ADD/ADHD, autism spectrum etc no two individuals are the same. It all depends on which or if there are comorbid conditions because they are considered cluster disorders. For example, one person diagnosed with TS can just have tics. While another person with TS can have tics, and ADD/ADHD. Another can have tics, ADD/ADHD and other learning disorders. Still another can have tics, ADD/ADHD, learning disabilities and OC behaviors. No two people are the same. There is no one size fits all so what works for one may not work for someone else. If it works use it, if it doesn’t try something else.
December 7th, 2009 at 11:13 am #
bfp,
ooooh. u know until i read your post i never really thought i had add/adhd. because i can focus for long periods of time as long as i am interested, and i am interested in lots of stuff. but, i have never read someone describe add the way you just did. i had this light bulb go off. like. whoa. im not the only one.
“Steps and directions suck, quite simply. When a brain can make one particular “step” mean twenty five different things, “steps” are a goddamn nightmare for many of us. not easily navigated.”
yes. yes. yes. this is me. is this what add is? because i have traveled the world. but i cant follow directions to anywhere. im not joking. i get lost so easily. and even if i get there, i cant just reverse the directions and go back. i mean ppl will make jokes about how easily i get lost. but its really scary to be in a foreign country, at night, alone, lost in a city ive never been to before, and unable to speak the language.
i dont know my right from my left without thinking about it for a couple of seconds.
i am horrible at giving directions. or describing things or following in ‘steps’ like recipes, how to books, following knitting and crochet patterns, etc. can’t do it. have tried. really. certain basic skills like: being able to follow directions.
i have no idea how to be punctual. i am late for everything. and i mean this. i do not know *how* to get there on time. how is time accounted for that hasnt happened yet?
i cant handle discrete pieces of information without context. like, i am great at learning languages. but most teachers think they are making it easier for me by just giving me vocabulary and phrases to use, but not telling me why i should say something a certain way. but i have to understand the ‘gestalt’ and history of a language before any of the rest of it sinks in.
filling out forms and applications is stressful. and the internet is full of them. waiting in lines, dealing with bureacracy requires a huge amount of…im not sure the word..’focus’ for me to get through it.
i had a job once for two months doing data entry. it was hell. very cushy office job with benefits. but any kind of repetitive step by step work like that, my brain just starts to misfire. i imagine it like arhythmic sparks going off in my head.
i never connected any of this to add. i just thought that other folks had figured out some tricks that i didnt have. or that they had this higher tolerance for the level of discomfort that i feel.
but maybe. maybe it more than that.
i did the wave thing on a couple of my blogs. im not very techie, but i try my best. and it is really important to me that people are able to access my blog. i mean in part that is why i write it. and i know that me figuring out how to change things on my blog means that i have to go and read a bunch of ‘steps’ and more steps and steps about those steps. and keep it all straight in my head. ive asked for help before. because really, i dont understand it. but i havent gotten a follow through response. and at best will luck up on a solution [which thankfully happens more times than it should] like i love your non-english videos solution.
but thank you for writing this. it really has me thinking. about doing some more research about what add is.
December 7th, 2009 at 12:40 pm #
Good Lord. I just got diagnosed with ADD a few months ago and reading what ppl are writing here is just… Like, I want to cry for no one ever HELPING ME with this all these years in school! I mean, I know why no one ever looked at me and thought “ADD.” I’m a girl, I’m smart, I’m quiet and I got good grades so everyone just always laughed off my “quirks.” (Even if I ended up having crying fits at home cuz I was so overwhelmed by the “little” things.) I could never turn in homework ESPECIALLY when it was “easy” fill in the blank, order this from a-z type of busy work. And filling out forms…I thought I was the only one! College application time was the worst, but even just filling random stuff out at the doctor’s makes me anxious and I get really confused. It’s like I literally just don’t understand. Whenever I have to fill things out now I always, always, always do it with my mom over the phone so she can walk me thru it & correct my mistakes & calm me down when I get frustrated. It’s such a relief to read these comments, but I’m still really pissed off that I’ve gone this long thinking I was just a crazy screw up!
December 8th, 2009 at 3:08 am #
I am too fatigued to leave any particularly helpful or specific comments, but thanks for this post, bfp. It made me think about this issue differently.
So many of us respect and look up to you, and this post, for me, encapsulates why.
December 8th, 2009 at 8:35 am #
NOTE: I have trouble with words so I hope what I’m trying to say makes sense.
It seems to me that what bfp described above is a component of ADD/ADHD. Not being to break down stuff in smaller components, not knowing where to begin, it’s overwhelming. It has nothing to due with lack of intelligence. Too many people seem to think ADD/ADHD equals defiant behavior, laziness etc which it is NOT!
It is also my understanding that most people’s brains process language in words but some people’s brains (dyslexia/autism) process language in pictures. That made a lot of sense to me.
December 8th, 2009 at 10:46 am #
The Doubtful Polar Bear
One extremely cold morning Baby Polar Bear asks his Mother: “Mother are we Polar Bears?”
“Yes, Baby we are Polar Bears” Mother Polar Bear replied.
Not satisfied Baby asks his Father: “Father are we Polar Bears”?
“Yes, Baby we are Polar Bears” Father Polar Bear replied.
This went on for several days with Baby asking his Mother and Father if they were Polar Bears and with them replying that yes they were Polar Bears.
Still not satisfied Baby Polar Bear again asks his Mother: “Mother are we really Polar Bears?”
Frustrated with Baby constantly asking if they were Polar Bears Mother replied: “Yes Baby WE ARE POLAR BEARS! Now why do you keep asking?”
Baby Polar Bear responds: “Because I’m F***ing FREEZING!”
December 15th, 2009 at 12:21 pm #
Great comments, I elaborated more at Kittywampus’s; I also see photos as “emotions”–and I am reluctant to “interpret” these for others… you may not see it the way I do at all… just like music, movies, fiction or any other matter of taste and sensibility.
I don’t like the idea of forcing MY photographic interpretations on others.
I provide a quick caption, but I don’t go into “details”–since these are my own takes on the photo, not what someone else might see.