Episode 258: Christopher Bugaj: Accessibility and Inclusion at Disney World

This week, Chris and Rachel forgo the normal interview format to discuss some of the many thoughts that Chris put together during his recent trip to Disney World, including the need for training Disney Castmembers about ableism and ablest language, the need for sensory safe experiences on loud rides, using google images to translate foreign languages, and more! 

🔑 Chris discusses the “spoon theory” from a blog post by Christine Miserandino, including the idea that some people don’t have unlimited energy for medical reasons and have to make choices about what they do next. For some of our students, timing matters when it comes to therapy; Rachel wishes that she didn’t have to wait until after school when students are tired to do her therapy.

🔑 When Chris got a tour of Disney World, he asked the tour guide if she had training about language to use related to people with disabilities. The tour guide said they were trained about gender and cultural differences, but they were not trained in how to speak about people with disabilities. 

🔑 Chris noticed that there were not always closed captions on videos when standing in line at Disney, and he wonders if it would be helpful for Disney to put together an accessibility team to evaluate how to make the park more fully inclusive. 

Links from this Episode:

Dan Pink’s book, When - https://www.danpink.com/books/when/

Christine Miserandino’s Spoon Theory blog - https://butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/