It's the Little Things

[It's the Little Things: A Conversation about Accessibility Annoyances]

In this episode, we dive into the shared yet unique experiences of navigating life with disabilities. While our individual journeys differ in onset and nature, we all agree on one thing: life is never boring. From the amusing to the absurd, we unpack the well-meaning but misguided comments, awkward encounters, and everyday frustrations that come with living in a world that doesn’t always get it. Join us as we share personal stories, reflect on these "little things," and prove that a sense of humor isn’t just helpful—it’s essential.

Chapters

• 0:00 Everyday Experiences of People With Disabilities
• 14:01 Normalizing Disability in Everyday Conversations
• 21:24 Navigating Everyday Accessibility Challenges
• 27:57 Navigating Accessibility Challenges in Everyday Life

Transcript

Amber: 0:00

Welcome to Including you a podcast by Disability Rights Arkansas. On this podcast, we shine a light on the real everyday experiences of people with disabilities the challenges, triumphs and all the moments in between. At Disability Rights Arkansas, we're committed to providing guidance to people with disabilities on navigating their rights, tackling everyday issues and accessing the support they need in a complex world. In this podcast, including you, we bring that information directly to you, the listener. We'll cover topics like accessibility questions, building your career, securing the care you deserve and even navigating the nuances of love and relationships as a person with a disability, because everyone has the right to know their rights Everyone, including you. So, whether you're a seasoned advocate or someone just starting to think differently about disability, you're in the right place.

Amber: 1:02

I'm your host, amber Quaid, and together we'll explore how small meaningful changes can make a big difference. Let's dive in. So I want to start off by saying in this podcast, we're going to do things a little bit different. Usually it is led by the host, but we're changing things up a little bit and letting this be a self-led session with three of our Disability Rights Arkansas staff members talking about situations that relate to them personally. We want to give them a voice and an opportunity to have a discussion with you. So in today's podcast, they will be their own hosts. Take it away, molly.

Mollie: 1:48

Hi everyone. I'm Molly Hernandez and I'm an advocate here at Disability Rights Arkansas, working on the employment team. I'm also a person with a disability. I have a condition known as retinitis pigmentosa and a rare form of that that's called cone rod dystrophy. That has resulted in right now I have really only light perception. I'm blind, with only light perception, but for many years of my life I dealt with low vision, vision impairment, so for more than half of my life I've been a person with a disability. I'm also a wife In fact, by the time this airs, I will have just celebrated my 24th wedding anniversary and I'm a mom to two amazing teenagers.

Mollie: 2:31

I have an 18-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter, who are just fantastic and a ton of fun, and they have never known me other than as a mom. That just happens to be blind. So that's just part of the dynamic of our family. I'm also a handler of a guide dog. I have a seeing eye dog. That's a German Shepherd, his name is Boomer and he is with me through all of life's adventures. So and I'll talk a little bit about him later today, but before that I want to introduce you to my friend and coworker, wednesday Kramer.

Wensday: 3:10

Hi everyone. My name is Wednesday Kramer, and I know what you're thinking. Was she born on a Wednesday? No, I was not. My name actually comes from the Adams family. I too, here, am an advocate at Disability Rights Arkansas on our employment team. I'm very passionate about employment and financial freedom, as I too, too, am a person with a disability. I was born with spina bifida and so, basically, the nerves that were supposed to go to my legs didn't, and so I use a wheelchair full time, and I've had to navigate the world living with a disability my whole life, which comes with some interesting stories, some of which I'll bring up today and next. The last person we have to introduce is our amazing coworker, jennifer Goodwin.

Jen: 3:54

Hey guys, I'm Jen and I also am a person with a disability of spinal cord injury and after my injury I, as I like to say, got bored and decided to go to law school. So I'm an attorney here with Disability Rights as well and actually love helping other people get back to work or get back to school, whatever the situation is post-injury or disability, whatever they are facing in life. But I have two boys, so I'm boy mom through and through. I've got a nine-year-old and a three-year-old and, like Molly, I have a dog, except he does absolutely nothing for me, except he's just a lot of fun and really cute. So, anyway, lots and lots of fun funny stories that have happened along the way. I'm amazed at the things that people say, and both good and just really comical along the way, and I say all the time that if you're going to have a disability, you also better have a really good sense of humor because life is coming hard and fast a lot and it's a lot of fun.

Mollie: 5:00

Yes. So that absolutely brings us to what we're really going to be discussing today. And you know, as we've each disclosed, we each have a disability and you know they're very different in their onset and their nature, but what we all have in common is that life is never dull. We have a lot of interesting moments. We have a lot of frustrations as well, but I think we've all learned to kind of deal with those as they come.

Mollie: 5:25

And you know, just know, that, like Jen said, you got to have a sense of humor to live life with a disability and know people are going to say or do the strangest, funniest, most absurd things in our presence, and some of those things we're just going to talk about today. Let's just get it all out in the open and talk about the little things. So first off, I think maybe let's just kind of jump into what is like the most common thing you hear when you're out in public, the one that you were like if I had a nickel for every time I heard it. That's the one that you want to talk about. So, wednesday, what's yours?

Wensday: 6:09

I would say, even as an adult, a grown adult, the biggest thing. Well, I think there's two for me. The first is that's just kind of funny is how fast does that thing go? They'd use an electric wheelchair and so I can be pretty fast going down an aisle. You know, I'm on a mission when I'm shopping to like get what I need to get and get out, and so I often am asked how fast does that thing go? And then kind of on the other end a little less funny and interesting I get asked is what's wrong with you? Often how time people phrase it, and I get that too. So if I had money for each time someone said one of those two things, I would be very rich and probably wouldn't have to work.

Mollie: 6:54

Jen, what about?

Jen: 6:55

you Well, like Wednesday, I often hear something similar, but it's do you want to race? And then the other thing, and you know, sometimes that answer is yes, absolutely. I want to race and I fully intend to win every race that I'm in. But also the other thing that I hear is people who are walking and look at me and say that it's no fair that I have a chair, and they wish that they had one like that that they got to use instead.

Mollie: 7:26

And so I was always like well, let's trade places, let's do that, yeah, I think I think that happens a lot that the comments that are meant to be, you know, well-meaning or and they just they kind of fall flat on. On some of those, I can tell you my most common one and I always giggle. As I said before, I'm blind, so I use a seeing eye dog and when we're out and about people, inevitably and just FYI, just as a little bit of a teachable moment here when you see someone with a guide dog and they're working out in public, don't walk up to the dog. You need to ignore them, address the person. But of course, inevitably when I'm out, someone's going to walk up to my dog and my dog's not going to approach the person. It's when the person approaches him they'll put their hands out, let him sniff and be like oh, you smell my puppy, don't you? I hear that every day that I'm out. You smell my puppy, don't you? So it's kind of a running joke in my household on that one.

Mollie: 8:28

And then kind of back to what Jen was saying. You know, that's my funny one, you know, and there are so many funny ones. Oh, I do need to tell this one. We were in Disney World one time and I was walking, my husband had the double stroller with the children and I was working with a previous guide dog and a lady you know was approaching us and she said oh, what a beautiful service animal. And my son, who was you know like three or four, stood up and was like he is not a circus animal, he's a seeing eye dog. So, you know, we're all used to people commenting on the dog when we're out and about.

Mollie: 9:03

Another thing that I get and, jen, I'm curious if you get the same thing when I'm out and about with my children, and this is one that the intent is so well-meaning, people are trying to compliment my kids. But they'll come up to my children and say you do such a good job taking care of your mommy. Look at you helping your mommy, taking care of her. And that one that one always gets me because, I mean, my children rely on a blind woman to find the most obvious things in our household. So the fact that they're taking care of me is kind of a big joke, but they are amazing helps. So, jen, do you ever get that when you're out and about?

Jen: 9:41

I do get it a lot, but usually it's pretty well-meaning in that they're seeing him opening doors for me or that sort of thing. But on the flip side of it I usually have one three-year-old in my lap and one nine-year-old riding on the back of me, so it's usually pretty obvious that I'm carrying them most of the time.

Jen: 10:04

But my older son especially is really good about opening doors for everyone and, you know, making sure that he's the last one through. One of the little things that we've talked about before is that I always appreciate when someone opens the door for me. While I can do it, I appreciate the help, just like I did before my injury. But when you open a door for someone using a wheelchair, please step out of the way of the door so that I don't run over your feet or have to try to suck it in somehow to try to get through a doorway because it's not happening. So that's one of the things that I've noticed. That happens to me all the time is that people want to open a door but stand right in the middle of the doorway so I can't actually get through it.

Wensday: 10:53

Jen, I get you with the door thing. I feel like every time someone tries to open a door for me, I have to explain to them how to open the door Again. Be on the outside, not in the middle. I don't want to run anyone over. I'm thankful when people do it, but again, please stand on the outside of the door. I don't have kids myself, at least not yet, but something that kind of does happen to me in a similar vein is I'm a very social person. I like going out to eat and I'm doing things with my friends and family. My friends and family and I often, when I'm in a crowd of multiple people, will not be spoken to. Someone will look at someone else next to me and be like oh, you know, like you know what is you know?

Amber: 11:42

what do y'all?

Wensday: 11:43

want and it's like oh, like you know, I know what I want, I can definitely order or, you know, ask for whatever. I need to compensate that to some degree. Like, when I'm at a restaurant with a group of people, I will like be the first one to be like oh, I would like this, please. And like speak first, so that way they understand they can speak with me. So you know, just something to consider if you're in the service industry, speak to the person with the disability, speak to you know everyone like you would anyone else, because they know what they want and they should be asked.

Mollie: 12:19

And that's something I've encountered. And it's a little trickier for me because oftentimes I'm because I'm blind I'll miss that visual cue of when, like, the server is making eye contact with everyone around the table or even just comes to the table for the first time. If it's a noisy environment, I'm not going to catch that. And I used to laugh kind of early on in my vision loss when we were all kind of learning how to navigate it and figure it out. You know, my family would, I guess, try and make it a little less awkward for me and whisper you know she's, she's blind. You know, trying to. You know I finally got to the point where I was like oh my God, I am what. So you know, it's one of those things I think everyone's trying to figure out how to be the most polite. And Wednesday's right Just talk to us, just ask us. If it appears that I haven't acknowledged you, you know it's okay to. You know, just address me. You know, touch me on the shoulder. Not everyone's going to want to be touched without permission.

Mollie: 13:17

But if you think I've not acknowledged you, that's fine. You know, let me know that you're there, I think that brings up a good point too.

Wensday: 13:24

Like how do we want to be, like, respected in public? And just ask us you don't have to necessarily, you know find the right words, you know be like how can I assist you? And let us tell you how we, you can assist us if we need that assistance. Don't assume A, don't assume that we need assistance and B ask us how we would like to be assisted. So a lot of times very well-meaning people try to help me and you know sometimes the help is not helpful and so definitely ask us how, if we need to be assisted and how we could be assisted.

Jen: 14:01

And if your kids have questions about why I have a wheelchair or what I'm doing with that, let them ask me and if I have the time at all, you know, sometimes I'm in a rush and I'm trying to get in and out of where I'm going, but 99% of the time I am more than happy to have that conversation, especially with a kid.

Jen: 14:19

But don't just silence them and make this disability seem like it's something unapproachable, like I'm unapproachable because of my disability, because I'm more than happy to talk to kids and if my kids are with me, then a lot of times I will give them the power to do that and I let them have that conversation. So they're getting to say you know, even my three-year-old will say well, my mommy's spinal cord doesn't work and so she can't walk because her cord doesn't work like ours does, and so I think it's fun to give him the autonomy to say that, but then also just to have those conversations with children to normalize disability and just explain. You know, I used to be able to walk but I can't because I had an injury and now I use this chair and my big rule is that I don't let anyone touch the buttons on my chair because I don't want to run over anyone. I don't let anyone touch the buttons on my chair because I don't want to run over anyone.

Mollie: 15:17

But other than that, you know, I'll show them the lights and what all the buttons do and all of that and just make it fun. Absolutely. I do the same thing because of course I'm out with a large dog and you know a lot of people have questions and I hate to hear people whisper and shush.

Mollie: 15:28

You know, it's OK, Talk to me, ask me. I mean, sometimes I may be busy, but for the most part I'm going to answer your questions. I'm like Jen saying with kids, especially children, I want to give them that time because it's a teachable moment and you can educate about disability, I can educate about service animals, you know appropriate etiquette and it's a win-win. It normalizes us out in the community and it shows that we're out doing the same thing as other people and other family members. So I welcome questions. It's totally fine.

Wensday: 16:03

I would say too, with kids. I remember I was getting out to go to a restaurant and there was, I assume, a father and his daughter who was probably two years old. They were walking to their car and kind of moving quickly and I remember she just like walked past me and was going Daddy, what's wrong with her? Or something to that effect. And instead of like being like oh, don't stare, or like stretching her, anything like that, he goes oh, that's just how she gets around. And she's like, oh, don't stare, like stretching her, anything like that, he goes oh, that's just how she gets around. And she's like, oh, okay. And kids, often simple explanations work and they're just happy with it and they just move on and oftentimes and you know, see me as anyone else.

Wensday: 16:43

That's how she gets around and they move on and I think sometimes kids just need a simple explanation and I think, like both Molly and Jen said, if I can provide some education to a child, so when they see you know someone in the playground one day in a wheelchair or having a disability, maybe they'll go up with them and, just you know, play with them like they would with anyone else. I think that is so important.

Jen: 17:05

And I agree completely with that. Wednesday.

Jen: 17:09

Something else that I get a ton of questions about for me is my car, because I have a car that I drive, a Tahoe that's converted and so for me to drive and it has a lift that comes down but the doors go up like the DeLorean doors from Back to the Future. So it gets lots of attention every single day. Whenever I go out, somebody is going to stop and just watch the doors open and close, and I'm completely okay with that. I know that it just comes along with the territory and a lot of times it's somebody who has a family member or a friend who could use a device like that at some point in the future or currently, and I love getting to have those conversations with people and it doesn't bother me at all whenever somebody wants to come up and say, oh my gosh, your car is so cool, and I'm like, yeah, it gets the job done is kind of my standard answer. And but the boys love it and they call it my robotic car and it's just our normal.

Mollie: 18:01

So, jen, that makes me think of something. So with your disability you're able to drive and, of course, with my disability I am not able to drive. I was once a driver and people often ask me. I think when people see us in our disabilities, they always imagine what must be the hardest thing for us, the most difficult thing, and usually they are so far off the mark because, like for me, it's like oh, I bet you miss driving. That must be so hard not driving. And I mean, yeah, I sure wish I could drive again, but there are so many more things up higher on my list of I wish I could do, and then there's some really funny ones. That is still probably would be driving. I don't know.

Mollie: 18:40

This is where we get to some of our little things. For me, one of the little irritating things that probably no one realizes I ever deal with is like if there's a fly in my house, can't kill it. That drives me crazy. Like if you could give me the choice between killing the fly and maybe driving the car, in that moment I'd be like I need to kill the fly, the fly needs to die. So I want to know what each of you has as your little thing that probably someone without your disability would never think of as a frustration.

Wensday: 19:12

I have limited range of motion, and so for me the most annoying thing at the end of a day, or especially when it's hot in the summer, is not being able to put my hair up myself. It is just like I wish I could just take a ponytail and stick my hair up the minute I want to, especially if my neck is all sweaty. It just is the most annoying thing, the cherry on top of some days that I can't do myself. What about you, jen?

Jen: 19:39

For me, it often comes down to being able to reach something. So, whether it's something that's put up high or something that I drop in the floor one way or the other, it seems like I'm constantly reaching and not able to get to what I need. And one of the funny things that seems to happen in my family is, if they buy treats that they don't necessarily want to share, they just put them on the top shelf of the refrigerator, in the back corner, and they're like oh well, you've got Christmas tree cakes in the refrigerator and they're there. I just can't get to them. But I will tell you, I have moved mountains to get to things in my refrigerator, whether it was in the bottom of the freezer or in the top shelf of the refrigerator. I'm raising my chair or laying in my own lap to make it happen, because when a girl gets hungry, she's going to make it happen.

Wensday: 20:30

That's so funny. I have these really really long tongs from the Dollar Tree. They're like $1.25, but they're like the best things ever and I am constantly using those because, yes, of course, the one thing that you're in the mood for in the pantry is the one item that is difficult to reach. So, yeah, I feel you on that. So yeah, I feel you on that. So I know we've talked a lot about things that we get told in public and the little things that are kind of the cherry on top of our day. But now let's talk about going out and shopping. I know we all love shopping, we talk about it regularly, and so maybe some funny and even maybe some not so funny stories related to difficulties we've had in public because of our disability, or just funny things that have happened to us. Molly, do you want to start?

Mollie: 21:22

Oh, wow, I mean I could go countless. Of course, for me, when I'm out in public and when we're talking about the holiday season, you know it's crowded, there's a lot more people around to have to navigate, and when you're doing that with a guide dog, it's a lot of fun. In fact, in some ways it kind of parts the seas, which is great. But what is always interesting to me is I hear that collective kind of gasp following me wherever I go, and that there's a dog. Look at the dog there's a dog.

Mollie: 21:52

But you know, inevitably in that moment I really feel like I'm going to do something really stupid or really clumsy. You know, you feel like I'll like I'm walking, walking the catwalk or something there that I got to. You know, really strut it, but for me it's always just kind of that. You know, collective gasp, the little chatter behind me, always when Boomer and I are doing our thing out in public.

Jen: 22:12

Molly, my favorite story with you shopping is when Boomer comes to find me and it's just some other girl in a chair. It's not me at all.

Mollie: 22:20

Okay, so. So Jen and I have been working together for years and years now, and Boomer just believes that people who use wheelchairs I mean I'm going to want to be with them because I mean if I'm in the office I'm making a beeline for Jen. So he's pretty much trained to target wheelchairs now, and we have scared a few people out shopping because, yes, I guess his head is just like in your lap, like I'm assuming because it's he's gone and put his head in the laps of some very unsuspecting and startled people.

Mollie: 22:59

I have to say I am so sorry but he, he, he likes people who use wheelchairs a lot Like that's, that's his thing now.

Wensday: 23:10

I remember when I first started. I haven't been with DRA as long as Molly and Jen, but when I first started a boomer would come up to me and I'm like, oh, he likes me. I'm always like, yeah, he probably thinks you're Jen. I think now he knows the difference and I think he likes us both, but he doesn't know the difference between us All this has done is just reinforce his love of people who use wheelchairs.

Mollie: 23:34

He's like all right, I've got it.

Wensday: 23:38

He takes his job very seriously. I know, something for me with the holiday shopping is, you know, figuring out what new clothes I want to wear to events and fun parties and things like that and dressing rooms for me, being an illustrator, sometimes is difficult. There's usually only one accessible stall to try on clothes in the store and I remember when I was younger there used to actually be attendants that would be at the front of the area and they would take you to what stall you could use. But now I don't really see that anymore and so inevitably there's always like 10 stalls and the one stall I can use is taken. Jen, have you had that happen before?

Jen: 24:25

It happens all the time and every time I do that I just stand out in the waiting area with whoever I'm with and say things like oh well, there's only one that I can use, but it's all full right now. So I hope that I'll get to try these on sometime soon, just to try to alert the other person. I have had attendants go and knock on doors and ask someone you know, let them know. Hey, had attendants go and knock on doors and ask someone you know, let them know. Hey, we've got you know somebody who can use the bigger stall here and it's fine. You know, we all appreciate that big stall, but some of us need it and some of us it's just a convenience, for same things happens in bathrooms. If you're going to use the large, accessible stall, please don't use it for texting forever. That would be appreciated. Anyway, that's my pet peeve with that, but one of my favorite stories.

Jen: 25:18

At one point I was headed to therapy.

Jen: 25:21

I was letting the students and the PT students in Conway work with me. One day I was out shopping by myself before therapy and I was running late, because that's the story of my life and I went flying into therapy in my chair and the professor there who was over the student. She looked at me and she was like Jen, what do you have in your chair? I had no idea what she was talking about. But I looked down and there was a bra on a hanger stuck in the wheel of my chair and I just said I stole it. And she said what I said I stole it. And she said, well, is it at least your size? And I looked down and I was like nope. So it was a lot of fun whenever I had to take that back to the store and explain to them that I had accidentally stolen something with my chair. But that's what happens when aisles get too close together and things grab onto my chair and I don't even know it and I wheel out the door with it.

Wensday: 26:24

What did the?

Jen: 26:24

worker say whenever you returned it he just looked at me. I kind of made it a joke, but he didn't find any humor in it whatsoever. I gave him the things that I was legit taken back. And then the last one, the bra. I was like, and well, this one, I kind of stole it. And he just looked at me and was like, oh okay, I explained it a little bit but he had no amusement whatsoever.

Jen: 26:47

I think he was just annoyed that he had to try to figure out what to do, um, how to do this return of a stolen item.

Wensday: 26:53

So made my day though can y'all talk a little bit about, uh, parking lot situation? Um a lot of times we do that shopping in person, like we were talking about how. How are parking lots for y'all?

Mollie: 27:08

For me it's a little bit different in that I'm going to be the passenger, but, yes, I use accessible parking because I, when traveling with a guide dog, a lot of times I'm going to need that little extra space getting out of the car to be able to safely harness him, not feel like cars. Are, you know, crowding us or zooming through a parking lot as I'm trying to? You know, navigate? Plus, there's no real rules on you know which side of a parking lot to walk on Things that are really obvious on sidewalks or even on streets.

Mollie: 27:40

If you're having to walk on a street that doesn't have sidewalks, in a parking lot, there's no rules, so the less distance that my dog and I need to spend in a parking lot, the better. So we're going to use accessible parking, and it can always be a frustration when there's no spots.

Jen: 27:57

So for me it's definitely dealing with needing the ramp access for spaces. So those lines that are out there are made for people with a van, who use a wheelchair basically. So oftentimes I will see somebody whip into the very last accessible spot that's available, but it's the only van accessible spot, van accessible spot. So oftentimes I find myself having to go park in the very back corner of a parking lot and just take up two spaces and I feel really unsafe whenever I'm doing that, because I'm parking in the back corner, oftentimes at night by myself, where I'm going in and having to navigate a parking lot, and it's essentially like a child walking in a parking lot, in that I'm low down and people don't necessarily see me. So that's kind of hard for navigating. That.

Jen: 28:48

The other things that I just think is kind of funny is oftentimes I will be the one whipping into the last parking spot and I'll get glared at by some people with other disabilities that are looking at me like what is this young girl doing parking in this spot? She has no business there and you know they won't see my accessible tag. Then I pop that door open and come out in my power wheelchair and they're like oh okay, I guess she's worthy. We just go on about our day, but it makes me laugh every time.

Wensday: 29:18

I get what both of y'all are saying for sure. I also need to be closest to the door because I am shorter when I get out of my vehicle and then also, yes, need that extra space to get out. I will say, too, something with parking is. You know, I hear a lot when people especially if it's a smaller business people will run out when they see me having a struggle, get out in a different spot, and they'll be like, oh, I'm so sorry, if they parked in that spot, I just needed to run in for five minutes.

Wensday: 29:48

The amount of times I've also heard that five minutes, 10 minutes, that can make a difference between me getting to an appointment on time to me, you know, fitting an extra errand in my day. I spend a lot of time before I go somewhere like figuring out parking, because oftentimes accessible spots are taken, and then deciding like do I want the back corner or would it be safer in the middle? But what if someone parks next to me? And really having to do all this work in order to go somewhere when I just want to go out and have fun with my friends? Order to go somewhere when I just want to go out and have fun with my friends. Sometimes there's all this work I have to do in order to even get to the front door of a place.

Jen: 30:27

And speaking of the things that people don't really think about so often, I will say I'll ask that question well, is it accessible?

Jen: 30:35

And it'll be something like a courthouse or you know somewhere that you would assume would be accessible.

Jen: 30:42

And it's inevitable that somebody will always say, well, it has to be, it's the law, and I'm like well, the law says that it has to be, but in reality it's not necessarily that way.

Jen: 30:55

So just last week I went to lunch with my family and was following just I wouldn't even call it a sidewalk, it was just the curb, I guess I'm not sure Whatever goes in front of the businesses, and I was following it around to go to the other end. Well, we got to the very end and there was no curb cut at the end. So then I had to leave my family there and turn around and go all the way back down to the ramp and then go through the parking lot to find another ramp that connected to the next part of the sidewalk there and you know, it's stuff like that that people don't think about. Just inaccessibility is rampant. It's everywhere and different places that you would think have to be accessible. And maybe they are if you know the secret code for which elevator to get to and which back room to follow to find your way, but it's not always accessible like you would think.

Wensday: 31:45

And it's frustrating to me. You know, even if it's considered accessible, if the main you know beautiful front entrance isn't accessible. It has steps but they're like oh, we have a door, you can come in around the side. I don't want to have to do that. I don't have to go through an alleyway and enter this random back door and go through, like a kitchen or something, in order to go enjoy myself when I'm going out to eat or going to a store. All right.

Jen: 32:10

So we've discussed all the little things that go into life as a person with a disability, and one of the things that we didn't discuss extensively on this podcast today was about travel, but that is because we've done a podcast previously on traveling with disability, so feel free to check it out on all of the Disability Rights social media channels and you can find the links for that there. But one thing I did want to mention is my family and I went to New York several years ago for the holidays, and you know we've talked about the things that have been annoying with disability, but there have been some really good perks too, and I say all the time hey, there aren't a ton of perks that come along with disability, but I'm going to take them when I get them. And one of the things that happened with us is my family went to see the Lion King on Broadway and it was freezing cold that day, and I don't do well when I'm cold. My body doesn't regulate temperature and so it's really difficult for me to get warm again. And so we were in there and one of the people who was over production came to us and we're sitting in our seats before the production started and they just said, hey, would some heating packs help? And I'm like, yes, that would be great. So next thing I know they go back to where the dancers are and come back in with all these heating packs for my, for me, to wrap around my shoulders and they're like, okay, just let us know as soon as you need some more, we'll be happy to bring you some more.

Jen: 33:34

And at intermission that day, um lady came over and she got me and she was like, ok, if you need to go to the restroom, let's go. And she went through the crowd leading me through, saying special guests coming through, special guests coming through, and made sure that I could get through the crowds to get to the restrooms for during intermission and get back to my seat in plenty of time and just made it a lot of fun and a special experience for my family and I. But so there are lots of good things that come along with life with disability as well, and just taking the perks where we can get them, jen, I love that because I think, you know, oftentimes, sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees.

Mollie: 34:14

And you know, with or without a disability, life's an adventure and you know there's going to be ups and downs.

Mollie: 34:20

And you know, those little moments with people when they're just making our lives a little bit easier, or those, those general acts of kindness let's all make an effort to see how we can, you know, be a light and be that, that little bit of kindness, that that helps people get through a season that sometimes isn't always married, depending on what people are going through. And you know we're, we're all in this together and you know, especially, I think, in our roles working at Disability Rights, you know we're here because no one can do it all alone and sometimes you need support, whether it's just in a, you know, casual way out in the community or, if you need it, more formal support. You know we're all here for each other. So, anyhow, thank you all so much for taking time to listen to us Just kind of, you know, have a little bit of fun, you know, discussing some of the things we deal with through life, and hope to see you all in the new year.

Amber: 35:15

Thank you for joining us on Including you. We hope today's conversation has sparked ideas, offered guidance, including you. We hope today's conversation has sparked ideas, offered guidance or inspired you to take action in your own life and community. At Disability Rights, we believe advocacy isn't always about sweeping reforms. It's about the small everyday actions like asking the right questions, standing up when something feels wrong or helping to create a space where everyone feels included. If today's episode resonated with you, visit us at disabilityrightsarorg to learn more about your rights, access resources and find ways to get involved. But don't forget to follow us on social media for updates, tips and stories from the disability community. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, leave us a review or start a conversation, because that's where change begins. Remember, everyone deserves to know their rights Everyone, including you. Until next time, I'm Amber Quaid and we'll talk with you again soon.