Elders, Disability, and Interpreting
Two recent workshops focused on elders, disability, and interpreting. They were led by Jerry Ann Yoder, International Liberation Reference Person for Elders; and me, Marsha Saxton, International Liberation Reference Person for People with Disabilities.
About forty people participated in each workshop—from Kenya, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Sweden, England, Basque Country, Saint Martin, Greece, Mexico, Israel, and the United States. One goal was to connect elders’ support group leaders from around the world.
We focused on accommodating people with disabilities, fully including elders, and interpreting for those with non-dominant languages. These three constituencies are marginalized and often get left out—and it can take more work to include them.
As we grow older, we generally become increasingly impaired. Facing and confronting disability can seem to be “giving in” to elders’ oppression. However, the opposite is true—we need to face the reality of our bodies and welcome assistance.
We spoke slowly to enable transcription as we talked. We also made outlines of our talks available in advance to assist people who had hearing or visual impairments.
Marginalized people’s “special” needs are often regarded as extra work and a burden. “Why do we have to include them? They aren’t as important as our regular (dominant culture) people. They won’t have much to offer. We don’t have time to make this effort. We are less productive and efficient when we include them.” These attitudes reflect Western culture’s urgency to “get things done.” There’s an assumption that only the “right people,” the “experts,” can get things done and should participate and lead. This operates in governments, services, education, medicine, and other institutions.
Including everyone as much as possible is the best way to bring about a better world. We are not sacrificing something when we prioritize inclusion.
Some international agencies and institutions offer simultaneous interpreting as an essential part of their meetings. The United Nations is one example. I found many more in a quick Internet search.
Disability organizations make access and accommodation available for people with various impairments, by offering sign language interpreters, architectural access (ramps and elevators), real-time communication technologies for visually impaired and learning-disabled people, and more. Only a few ally organizations encourage elders to be leaders and activists. Examples are the Gray Panthers and Elders Climate Action.
Many organizations lack the finances, staff, and resources to provide full access for everyone, whether for language or disability. “We don’t have the resources right now,” may be accurate in the present. However, we have learned how to use technology for inclusion.
We need to keep discharging and making plans to include more and more constituencies. Accommodating disability, including elders, and offering language interpreting is not a “favor” for those typically marginalized. We need all voices and minds contributing to our world.
The slogan of the worldwide Disability Rights Movement is “Nothing about us without us!” This counteracts patronizing assumptions that someone else (a doctor or caregiver) will make better decisions. I encourage elders and all-language speakers to use some version of this slogan! Imagine a world where the highest priority is to welcome and fully include everyone.
El Cerrito, California, USA
(Present Time 205, October 2021)