Thread on disability & institutional messaging during Covid
1. If you're communicating about #COVID19 with a team in your organization, whenever you are about to say "we are all finding this tough" or "everyone is struggling right now" please stop & think
2. remember if your usually well people are struggling, your disabled staff will be finding things immeasurably harder. Instead of likening everyone's experiences to everyone else's think first how you can help those who have been hit hardest
3. And *whatever* yo do, if a disabled member of your team says they are struggling, don't ever respond by saying "we are all struggling at the moment." You may think it shows empathy but it doesn't. It denies their experience
4. If someone so ill they can barely function looks at a manager who is working full time from home, still talking about hobbies, still managing personal life who then says "we're all struggling" how do you think that makes them feel? (that reflection, not words, is empathy)
5. It makes that person feel guilty, lazy, worthless. As disabled people, we are used to being made to feel this by society *all the time*. It is not a caring act of empathy to add more.
"I can't imagine what that must be like" is a valid and way more helpful response
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