Have you ever heard the terms “health privilege,” “able bodied privilege” or “ableism?” I made this video to explain what these terms mean and to share my tips for how people can check their health privilege. This issue is near and dear to me as a patient who has multiple chronic illnesses, as well as an occupational therapist who strives to be as empathetic and knowledgeable as possible about the complex barriers my clients face, including (but not limited to) ableism.
The quick breakdown of the video is:
- 0:06: Introduction
- 0:28: Definition of health privilege and able bodied privilege
- 0:46: Why is unchecked health privilege problematic?
- 1:49: Example of health privilege (breastfeeding assumptions)
- 2:40: Example of health privilege within a disability community
- 3:26: What can or should you do to check your health privilege? My five steps: Acknowledge, Reframe, Seek, Ask and Learn about Ableism & Don’t Be Ableist
- 4:44: Conclusion
Please also check out the infographic I made to accompany this video, and feel free to share it. It is on Instagram, Twitter and my Arthritis Life Facebook page as well as my Arthritis Life website. The most important point from the infographic is that “You can’t control your privilege, but you can control whether or not you act in ableist ways.” Privilege itself isn’t intrinsically good or bad, it simply exists. The assumptions we make and the actions we take based on that privilege, and awareness or lack of awareness around it, can be good or bad.
A few caveats: I use “person first” (person with a disability) as well as “identity first” (disabled person) language because some people prefer one over the other. To learn more about this, please see this post: I am Disabled: On Identity-First versus People-First Language.
If you’d like to read more about subtle forms of ableism, here are some additional articles I recommend:
o What is Ableism: Example and How to Prevent it
o Everyday Ableism and How we can Avoid It
o 6 Forms of Ableism We Need to Retire Immediately
