Looking back on this fine article by @kirsty_johnston published a whole 53 days ago - two days before the NZ lockdown was announced https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12318306

As we head back into Level 2, a plea from me (Thread):

While Level 2 will mean a return to some kind “normality” for many of you, please remember that your experience will not be universal and that some disabled and/or immunocompromised people will be in lockdown for a long time to come.

As you understandably enjoy being able to go to your fave restaurants and bars again, and being able to visit friends’ houses, remember that not everyone can access such places easily, or at all. For some of us, Zoom parties have been the most accessible way of socialising!

Likewise, as you enjoy going to movies, shows, museums and the like, remember that for many disabled people, the fact that these have been online has made things so much more accessible for us. Please help keep these options open even if you don’t use them yourself.

At the same time please help advocate for digital spaces to become accessible to even more people. Captioning, NZSL interpretation and audio description are all important access tools that unfortunately haven’t always been prioritised in online spaces during this time.

Please help keep flexible ways of learning and working going. Many disabled people have fought for years to have this flexibility and been told it is too difficult. So now we have it, it would be devastating to lose it once the majority of people don’t need it.

Many people have said that this period has given us an opportunity to create a “new normal”. Please remember to include disabled people in these conversations. We are often overlooked but design initiatives with us in mind and they will work for everyone.

All non-disabled people have been given a taste of what it is like to be disabled - in some aspects. Please use this experience to be a good ally to those of us for whom this is an ongoing, sometimes exhausting reality not just a 50 day experiment! Kia ora.

I should probably write this up into an article eh, but instead you get 8x 280 character tweets at 11pm. Soz about it.

Recommended reading:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/drnancydoyle/2020/04/29/we-have-been-disabled-how-the-pandemic-has-proven-the-social-model-of-disability/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/20/covid-lockdown-opening-up-world-for-people-with-disabilities

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewpulrang/2020/04/30/covid-19-teaches-us-a-lot-about-differences-in-the-disability-community/