KPFA - Pushing Limits

‘Chief of the Office of Access and Functional Needs at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services‘ is a long title, but an important one.  Vance Taylor, diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy at the age of seven, tells us how his lived experience as a person with a disability molded him for this extremely rare position that gives him access to the ear of the governor.

Join us as Vance Taylor explains the intricacies of his job, which include visiting actual areas impacted by disasters and assessing the accessibility of the systems in place to keep impacted individuals safe. Additionally, he details the need for more disability representation in government across the country.

Most importantly, listen in as he reminds us that our ability to recover from disasters is just as imperative as preparing for them.

Produced and Hosted by Bonnie Elliot, with production assistance and audio editing by Dominick Trevethan.

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Vance was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy as a child and uses a power wheelchair. He has worked in Washington, D.C. as an advisor for two different members of Congress, directed security policy at a national water association, and been a principal at a top-ranked homeland security and emergency management consulting firm.

Vance is a nationally recognized public speaker and advocate for individuals with disabilities.

The post Emergency Preparedness and Disability – Pushing Limits – January 5, 2024 appeared first on KPFA.

We talk to Rebecca Lamorte, who ran for city council in New York on a platform on disability rights.  Listen as she talks about her experiences running for a major office in the Big Apple.

Lastly, we talk to Denver City Councilman Chris Hinds about the unique challenges of being Colorado’s first elected official with a physical disability.

This episode of Pushing Limits is hosted and edited by Denny Daughters, and produced and written by  Jacob Lesner-Buxton.

Check out this database of elected officials with disabilities.    Add your favorite politician with a disability to the list.

Denny Daughters:  Welcome to Pushing Limits, KPFA’s program by and about people with disabilities. We air every Friday afternoon at 2.30 p.m.  I’m Denny Daughters and I’ll be voicing a script written by Jacob Lester Buxton.

According to a 2019 estimate by Rutgers University, 10.3% of elected officials serving in federal, state, or local government have a disability.  People with disabilities are twice as likely to serve as local officials rather than as state or federal representatives. Today we will be talking to people with disabilities who have run for public office at the local level.

Our first guest is Rebecca Lamorte.  She’s a lobbyist for a labor union and she lives in Manhattan. In 2021, she ran for a seat on the New York City Council.  There were a total of seven candidates.  Unfortunately, she lost the election, coming in at third place.

We asked Rebecca.  What motivated her to run?

Rebecca Lamorte:   Anger, honestly. When I was pushed on the subway, I was 22 years old.  And I had just finished college.  I had just moved in to my first apartment alone in New York City. You know, I had my student loans, I had my bills, I had my friends. And in an instant, everything changed for me where I went from taking my body for granted and not looking at a flight of stairs, for example, and thinking twice about them to not being able to really leave my own apartment building for a long time because it had stairs and dealing with rude and invasive questions and comments and being faced with discrimination on the job and in public places.

The most egregious thing for me that really made me and pushed me to take that step to decide I am gonna run for office is one day I was at New York City Hall for work.  I’m a lobbyist, I work for a labor union, and I have for 12 years now.  And at City Hall that day with union members, I was there with my cane and security told me if I couldn’t walk up the stairs, maybe I didn’t belong there.  And I got so angry.  I almost couldn’t speak.  I was so angry because I felt if this is happening to me, what’s happening to other people?

Who cares about us?  Who’s fighting for us?  Who else is experiencing this?  And so angry and so upset right now when they’re just living life and going about their day like everybody else.  And I wanted to take my anger and do something positive from it.  And for me, working in the government space and being interested in politics, that was running for office to give disabled people like myself and others a seat at the table where decisions are made.   Where I was now witnessing and now very aware that those decisions were being made in ways that harmed us and harmed our community and ignored our needs, ignored accessibility, ignored disability rights and the inclusive society and city we could have.  And that’s what made me throw my hat in the race for 2021.

Denny:   Lamorte put disability front and center of her campaign.  It raised some eyebrows among political people in the city.

Rebecca:  Yes and no.  So, there have been some people in public office with disabilities.  Not everyone has been comfortable speaking about their disabilities, which I very much so understand.  You know, not many people go out every day in the world and get asked about their bodies and have people expect that we’ll respond and share everything that’s happening with us. But that’s unfortunately reality for people with disabilities.  And there have been people in elected office in New York that haven’t been comfortable speaking about their life, speaking about their accessibility needs, speaking about their lived experience as a person with a disability because of that stigma and discrimination, which is really unfortunate and keeps other disabled people from speaking out, feeling that commonality, knowing they have an ally in government.

But outside of that, we’ve had some really great people in office right now. We have our first disabled New York City council member, a woman named Shahana Hanif from Brooklyn.  We used to have another amazing woman, Yuh-Line Niou in the New York State Assembly.  She unfortunately isn’t there anymore, but we have some other great people out there fighting for us and making sure we have a seat at the table.

But we need some more people.  Just having, you know, between five and 10 people with disabilities in office isn’t going to change the conversation.  We need more voices in the chorus for us.

Denny:  To create the campaign she wanted to run, Rebecca first had to look inward.  There’s the nitty gritty stuff, filing your paperwork to run for office.  Like you said, I made my decision and then I was like, well, what do I do now?  Like how do I make it a reality?  I’m, I’m, I’m here. I’m going to run, but what do I do?

And so I did the like the nitty gritty stuff, file paperwork, tell the government I’m running, told local elected officials in the neighborhood that I was running, reached out to people in politics, consultants, other people I knew saying I’m going to run, what’s your advice?

And unfortunately, in doing that, I started getting back comments that wanting to run on a platform of disability issues, disability justice, as I refer to it for my campaign platform, that that was a niche issue.  And I should first run, then win, and work on it and tell people I care about it. And that was really hurtful for me as a disabled person, because it’s like, well, do you see me every day when I’m out like this?  Like my life isn’t a niche issue.  There are so many New Yorkers that have this experience too.

So my first real campaign thing was getting comfortable, being uncomfortable as a disabled person, getting comfortable sharing things about my life, about my opinions, my experiences, my feelings, about my physical body — about certain social and emotional impacts that I deal with from being a person with a disability out in society that can be really difficult at times for us.

And so that was the first thing.  Getting comfortable as a disabled woman, what I was comfortable talking about, how I was comfortable talking about it and really rooting myself that this was a campaign for disability justice, and everything would always pivot back to that center.

Denny:  We asked Rebecca how she handled being perceived as the woman who only talked about disability issues during her campaign.

Rebecca:  That was the lady with a cane, the one trick pony with a cane. I would call myself at a point in time.  Um, what you’re saying is true.  There were some people that would be able to see the far through the trees with me of affordable housing is a disability issue.  We need affordable, accessible housing and it’s not just accessible with an elevator in the building.  That’s my disability experience, but there are other people with disabilities that, okay, you need to have your handles lower.  You need to have your counter heights changed.

Denny:  Surely a candidate like Rebecca, who is so passionate about disability would be fully embraced by everyone in the community.

Rebecca:  So unfortunately, there wasn’t much support from formal disability groups for me during my campaign in New York City.  We have what is called the 504 Democrats, which is a citywide disability center Democratic club. And they endorsed a person without a disability in my race. And it really upset me. And that unfortunately kind of colored my experience and opinion with them and some other formal groups going forward.

Coming from the political space, I understand wanting to go to the power and wanting to have a seat at the table.  And sometimes you have to choose the person that’s going to win, even if there’s someone else you like better.  But with something as personal as running for office with a disability, how few people do it and to have a candidate running so vocally, opening and powerfully as a woman with a disability on a campaign rooted in disability justice — that was really, really hurtful. I’m not going to lie to you.

But outside of that, I was very blessed to have individual disability advocates from throughout the country come together to help me learn about disability issues that are not personal to me in my experience as a disabled woman, to help me meet other people that could offer advice that had run for office or were working within the government space and had experience with this.  And so it was those individuals that really surrounded me and gave me the cocoon of love from our community that I do wish had been there from other larger organizations, but just unfortunately was not, because politics makes for strange bedfellows as the saying goes, right?

Denny:  As a result of her campaign, Rebecca became more active in disability rights movements, including mentoring others who want to run for office.

Rebecca:  I’m a board member of an organization called Disability Victory, which is aimed specifically at helping disabled people run for office and or work on campaigns that are accessible and engender real disability justice and disability inclusion in them. And through that, we do campaign trainings where it’s everything from how do you talk about being a person with a disability on a campaign, getting comfortable with that, what you want to share, what you don’t want to share.  Kind of like I spoke about with my own journey and experience on that — things like how do you develop a campaign platform?  And how do you then pivot those issues back to disability justice and disability rights?

We actually just did a great hour-long talk about that specifically where I led the conversation.  I had everyone choose a policy.  And by the end of the hour, we took that policy from not being about disability rights to making it about disability rights to show that it is possible and these aren’t niche issues.   And, if people are interested, they can follow Disability Victory on Facebook, X and Instagram. And we also have a website, DisabilityVictory.org. And we’re doing more trainings coming up in 2024.

Our next one will be about canvassing with a disability because, not surprising for anyone here that’s listening, it’s not so easy.   And campaigns are not made for disabled people.  And that’s people like myself with mobility aids and mobility issues.  That’s for people that are blind, that’s for people that are deaf, that’s for so many different disabled people because campaigns are made for one kind of person and it’s a cis white rich man — typically.

And that’s not politics. That’s not my politics. That’s not what I want our country, our society, my city to be.  And so Disability Victory is working on that specifically.  And so in January, we’ll be talking about canvassing with a disability.  We’re going to be having some fireside chats to also just offer more emotional support for candidates in this space because running for office is so difficult and isolating.  But when you’re running with a disability, it’s even more so because traditional spaces in politics aren’t made for us and they don’t include us.

And when we do go to them, we’ll be made to feel that way, at least in my experience at times here in New York.  So, making sure that we have a space that is specifically for us.  And I’m really proud that that’s Disability Victory now.

Denny:  In the world of politics, we were interested how Rebecca developed a thick skin.

Rebecca:  I was born with a bit of a thick skin.  It definitely got thicker, though, after my subway accident.

You know, when you go out every day and people see you and they’re gonna pry and they’re gonna ask questions, they’re gonna look at you differently, and I am out here with an invisible disability with my cane — and I still get those stares and those questions and those uncomfortable moments.  So, it’s made me develop a much thicker skin.  It’s also made me get really quippy.  Like for example, when I walk down the sidewalk in my neighborhood and people are staring at me, I like to stop and look at them and go, “Show’s here all day everybody” and then watch them laugh and get uncomfortable.  I also like to call people out if they’re staring.  I’ll be like “Let me do a trick!”  And then, they like look away anxiously and uncomfortably.  It’s made me develop a thick skin but also, it’s given me a confidence in myself that [pause]. I was always a confident person before, but it’s a different and it’s difficult to put into words the kind of confidence that comes from knowing who you are when you may be at your lowest.  And even if you’re not there physically, but emotionally at your lowest from what someone has said or done or how you’re feeling that day or (for me), what my mobility is that day.  And just knowing that still doesn’t define who you are.   And if people see you as just that, that’s a reflection on them.

And it’s such a confidence that I feel very lucky to have. And it’s something that it took a while for me to develop, but I’m here now and I’m really thankful to be.  And to feel this good about myself 10 years in the game.  Lately, Rebecca offers motivation to those with disabilities who are interested in running for political office.  If you’re a person with a disability, thinking about running for office, it’s probably the scariest thing you’ve ever thought about for big and small reasons but it could also be the best thing you’ve ever thought about.

I didn’t win, but I am so thankful that I ran for office.  I am thankful for what it taught me about myself, what it taught me about disability rights, disability issues.  I’m thankful for the community it helped me create around myself.  And I’m also thankful for the platform it’s given me as a person with a disability to now call out things that I see, share my experiences, shine a light on things that so many people have said, ‘I never thought about that, Rebecca’.

Just today, a friend texted me, ‘a woman with a walker can’t get down the subway stairs right now, and I wouldn’t have thought about that if it wasn’t for you’, — talking about subway accessibility.  And that’s a small thing, but that’s someone that would have never thought about that if I hadn’t been out there running as I was and talking about things like I did and getting comfortable being uncomfortable at times.  And so it’s the scariest thing you may be thinking about, but it could be the best thing you’ve ever done, not just for yourself, for your community, for our larger disability community, for our country.   Because if we don’t have a seat at the table, we’re on the menu and policies never have us in mind.  And so we have to put ourselves in people’s mind.

So take that step!  Be bold!  Don’t be afraid!  And feel free to reach out to me on social media, because I’m always going to be here to tell you that, you know, you’re either a Smart A [Beep] with a mobility aid like me or, you know, something else that will build you up and get you back out there in the streets fighting for us.  Because we need more voices in our disability chorus.

Denny:  You’re listening to Pushing Limits on 94.1 KPFA. I’m Denny Daughters.  We just heard from Rebecca Lamorte who ran for a New York City Council position in 2021.  Today, we are talking to people with disabilities who run for public office.  Our next guest is Liz Campos who sets on the Ventura City Council.  Campos decided to run for office because she was frustrated that city hall wasn’t responding to the needs of the people in her community.  94.1 KPFA.

Liz Campos:   Well, I’ve been active in my community for 20 years and particularly the last 10 years I spent on the board of the Westside Community Council, my neighborhood community council.  And after becoming chair of that board, I realized that City Council wasn’t listening to the people, the diverse voices in the community properly.  I also, for almost seven years, attended every city council meeting, listened to what they were doing, spoke to them many times often with no result.  And I decided that it’s important for people to be on an elected body who will listen to the entire community.

So I didn’t come just to be a voice for people with disabilities, but to be a voice for everyone who feels disenfranchised.

Denny:  While many people in the Compos community were excited by her candidacy, those in City Hall sang a different tune.

Liz:  Because I had been active in my community.   Ventura has districts. My district is about 8,000 registered voters. But I had spent two and a half years in my community holding public rallies to fight against the expansion of a Southern California gas compressor that is across the street from an elementary school.  And that alone is disabling many children not just with asthma, but with central nervous system problems and cancers.

So the community knew me already from that battle and had gotten accustomed to seeing me in the wheelchair, but knowing that I was there for them.  So, my community didn’t show a lot of disdain or problem for me as a person with a disability.

Where the pushback came was from a couple of the other candidates but also from some of the higher-level city staff who looked at me as an imbecile or had the attitude that I would never be able to serve on city council.  And so, I shouldn’t be encouraged.  And that was a difficult battle, both before and after getting elected.

Denny:   Ventura City Hall wasn’t ready for Campos to assume office, or any person with a physical disability for that matter.

Liz:  Ah Ventura City Hall is not the most accessible location, in part because it’s up on the top of a pretty steep hill, California Street.  It has a beautiful view of the ocean, but for a person in a wheelchair — a manual wheelchair cannot make it up the hill by its own steam. I’m in an electric wheelchair and I can roll up to City Hall, but when I leave City Hall, I have to roll backwards because the hill is too steep.  And that’s just to get to City Hall. There is a ramp on the street level that goes up into the building. And that is there because about 11 years ago, I sued the city for access. So they made the public area more accessible with bathrooms and a ramp and electronic doors.

When I got elected to City Council, anyone would have expected that the council dais and council area would be made accessible. December 12th will be my one-year anniversary and I still cannot use the bathroom where all the other Council members use the bathroom. I have to leave the dais, exit the Council area out into the hallway, and go to the other end of the building for an accessible bathroom during meetings.

For the first several months, the way I got up on the dais was they threw a piece of plywood over a steep staircase. And so I would roll up, but again, I had to roll backwards off of that.  And this was all during the tenure of that acting city manager who was here, who wasn’t happy about me being here.  My wheelchair ultimately got broken rolling down because it started to slide sideways, and the brakes broke.  So, the city’s paying for the repair of that wheelchair.

That acting city manager resigned, and our new city manager is incredibly kind and generous and working very hard to ensure not just my access, but everybody’s. He’s had the city hold trainings for every staff member to learn about disability access.  And so, I appreciate that none of that would have happened had I not been here. And it’s not just about me.

It’s about every person in the community that is challenged with barriers to access.

Denny:   One of their priorities for Liz is creating more accessible and affordable housing in the city, an issue she is currently experiencing.

Liz:   So, I still have not found housing in my district that is wheelchair accessible and affordable.  And the cost of housing in Ventura just keeps getting higher and higher.  So, I’m currently living in a [pause]. It’s, it’s a van, but it’s not a little tiny van.  It formerly was an access bus and a paratransit bus.   So, it has a ramp.  It’s pretty big.  It’s about 16 feet of living space. I have solar panels on top.  I can cook.  I have a camping toilet.  So, it suffices while I’m still looking for housing.

But really — Affordable housing for people with disabilities and seniors on limited income does not currently exist in the city of Ventura except through Section Eight.  And the Section Eight waiting list currently is 15 years long.

Denny:  Upon hearing what Liz spent on her campaign, our interviewer Jacob was speechless.

Liz:  I didn’t raise a lot of money. I probably spent the least money of anyone who’s ever run for Ventura City Council.  And people who are rich will spend a lot of money, but it really isn’t about the money as much as about how you connect with people.  I put a website up that cost me $100, and I used it for fundraising.  And I had all the videos from the rallies I did and from public meetings and… I think I posted a video from one of the events I did with the ILRC [Independent Living Resource Center], and then I just made a couple short videos talking about the cost of running, but how important it is for me to be there to represent the people.

I put a PayPal link to the campaign bank account, and I raised just about $3,000. Of that money, I had two events in a park and gave away free tacos that cost about $1,200.  And I spent $800 on t-shirts saying Vote for Liz Campos in two languages.  And I gave away the t-shirts free.  I had 2,000 t-shirts of all sizes.  So, people in my district were walking billboards for me.

The other thing that’s important to do is to meet with unions or organizations.  iIf you get their support and get an endorsement who will knock on doors for you. Because both Santa Barbara and Ventura, for example, are a little bit hilly and they’re old.  There’s narrow sidewalks.  There’s front gates that a wheelchair can’t get through.  People don’t answer their doors to strangers.

Because I couldn’t knock on doors myself, I held events at the park. But I had CAUSE who endorsed me, and Stonewall Democrats and the county Democrats endorsed me, and they knocked on all the doors in my neighborhoods for me.  And they also paid for mailers.  Because they endorsed me, they paid for the mailers.  So, when I finished my campaign, I had $800 left that I donated to a local nonprofit organization.

Denny:   Like Rebecca, Liz also offers words of encouragement to people with disabilities who are interested in running for public office.

Liz:  Don’t hesitate to do it.  Get to know other people as much as possible.  Speak at rallies and events.  And make sure you get video of those things so that you can put it online when you’re running.  That way other people who don’t know you get to know you.

But I think that there are people still who have animosity to us as people with disabilities, but more and more people are recognizing we’re not so different from them. So, I would encourage everybody who wants to run for public office to run.  Even if you lose the first time, keep at it because it helps everybody in the disability community — win or lose — if people see us in public and hear us speak and recognize that we’re good people.

Denny:   Our last guest is Chris Hinds on the Denver City Council.

Chris Hinds:  I’m the first elected official in Denver’s history, local, state or federal, who uses a wheelchair to get around.  My decision to seek elected office is because we’ve never had disability representation in Denver.  I have an acquired disability.  I grew up as an able-bodied individual.  I was in a crash in 2008.

The Democratic National Convention was here in Denver in 2008. I was on a bike and got hit by a car.  So, um, I went from being on three soccer teams to, uh, learning how to sit up in bed and, uh, I have a spinal cord injury.  It is a T-3, do, um, third thoracic vertebra and, uh, I now use a wheelchair to get around.

I started looking around and I didn’t see people with disabilities in areas of power or influence, or I couldn’t find a lot of role models that I really wanted to aspire to be.  You know, as the Gandhi quote is, “Be the change you want to see in the world”.  I realized that it was important for me, if I felt like I could represent people with disabilities, then I had an obligation to do so.

Denny:   Chris talks about a few challenges he faced while trying to run for office.

Chris:   You know, much of campaigning is knocking on doors and telling people, you know, sharing with people, one-on-one, your story.

I can’t do that because most of the homes have at least one step right before the front entrance.  In some ways that was great for me because I can’t knock on any doors at all because of my wheelchair and those steps to get to the front door, but no one else could either.  Because 80% of the people I represent in central Denver live in apartments or condominium buildings, you know, secure access buildings.

Campaigning is grueling for anyone.  It, it takes a lot of time.  It takes a lot of energy.  It takes, it takes a lot of focus.  And so, someone with a, you know, with a disability has to spend more time doing things and can’t do things that other people can.  And so being a candidate and campaigning and making phone calls and worrying about pressure sores, some pressure ulcers.

I don’t have control over my bowel or bladder function like I used to, because just it’s all paralyzed.  I would be at a venue, turns out that the restroom wasn’t wheelchair accessible.  I mean, there were times when I would pee on myself.  In addition to having to learn how to say something compelling to someone and really get them to want to vote for me instead of anyone else, I also had the more basic thing of I’m being myself, how do I minimize that? How do I keep someone from realizing that I am embarrassing myself in a public space?

Denny:  There are people with a wide variety of disabilities serving in various positions all across the USA. The National Council of Independent Living maintains an online database of elected officials that Jacob used to find guests for today’s show. A link to the database can be found on the KPFA archives page for this show.

We’d like to thank today’s guests, Rebecca, Liz and Chris.

And thanks also to the whole Pushing Limits collective for another great year of Disability Radio. Today’s interviews and script were done by Jacob Lesner Buxton, announcing and audio production by Denny Daughters. Contact us by email (all one word) PushingLimits at KPFA.org, catch us on Facebook at Pushing Limits Radio, or you can visit our website at Pushing Limits Radio.org.

Stay tuned for Talk It Out.  This is 94.1 KPFA.

Keep on Pushing Theme Song. [Keep on Pushing sung by Curtis Mayfield]

The post Politicians with Disabilities – Pushing Limits – December 29, 2023 appeared first on KPFA.

In a world where she could be anything, Sarah Rodriguez became a certified professional dog trainer.  Many would have imposed limitations on her in their minds because Sarah Lives with Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a rare neuromuscular disease that affects individuals’ control of their voluntary muscles.  She is living proof that individuals living with disabilities are just as capable dog trainers and pet owners as their able-bodied counterparts.

On this pet-friendly program, Sarah shares her expertise and experience as owner of Homeschooled Hound, the business she started to teach others how to grow closer with their furry friends. We hear where her passion for animals began and the science behind positive reinforcement.

Listen in for Sarah’s tips for more accessible pet training and pet caring for those across the spectrum of mobility.

Produced and edited by Dominick Trevethan.   This program originally aired in a longer form on the Disability Myth.

♪ Keep on pushing, keep on pushing ♪ ♪ I’ve got to keep on pushing,

keep on pushing ♪ ♪ I can’t stop now ♪ ♪ Move up a little higher, some way, somehow ♪

Dominick Trevethan:  Welcome to Pushing Limits, KPFA’s program by and about people with disabilities that airs every Friday at 2:30pm.  My name is Dominick Trevethan and I will be your host today as I am joined by my friend Sarah Rodriguez, owner of Homeschooled Hound.

Sarah also lives with spinal muscular atrophy, the same genetic condition that I was born with.  Essentially, we both have extremely limited range of motion, as the motor neurons that control our voluntary muscles lack a protein needed to stay alive and healthy.  As a result of this, our muscles are extremely atrophied, which has led us to live our lives as power wheelchair users.  As you will hopefully come to learn throughout the rest of this program, despite the fact that we look different, we are adaptable and we can accomplish anything that anyone else can.  On today’s program, we will be talking about ways in which people with disabilities can adapt to become capable dog trainers and pet owners, despite the misconception that we may struggle to do so.

Additionally, this program aired as a one hour-long discussion on my podcast, “The Disability Myth,” which I co-host with my caretaker and best friend, Uriel Ruelas.  If you’d like to learn more about me, Uriel, and our takes on the disabled experience, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and /or YouTube.  Also, be sure to keep up with us on socials, such as Facebook and Instagram @thedisabilitymyth, all one word.  In the meantime, here are Sarah’s thoughts on those misconceptions that I mentioned earlier:

Sarah Rodriguez:   So I know that a lot of people think like, “Oh, you can’t you know make physical contact with your dog if you’re like in a wheelchair, so you can’t provide comfort and love to them,” or, “You mustn’t be able to feed them, because physically it’s hard for you to move,” and I think there’s so many different ways to meet the dog’s needs or any animal’s needs for that matter.  And like for example you know I think so many people think like ‘oh I just love to hug my dog’ and as a dog trainer I can tell you like most dogs actually hate to be hugged.  Humans love to like hug people and that’s how they show affection. But when you look at like dogs together and they’re like have a deep bond, they like to curl up next to each other. They’ll lick them, they’ll like be near them. But it’s not like they’re like petting each other or hugging them. So even if a dog like sleeps with you or curls up next to you, that’s a lot of what they need as far as social and physical contact.

And there are definitely ways that we can love on them, give them scritches and just have fun with them, play with them.  As a dog trainer, I do a lot of adaptive training with people.  So I make it accessible for them so if they have a disability, we work around how we can make it possible for them to build a bond through playing and training, how they can feed them in different ways and so I love to be able to do that because it really opens up people’s worlds to really help them be the primary caretaker for their dog.

Dominick T.:   Now I’m a big fan of dogs.  Throughout the course of my life, I’ve probably had two different dogs. However, unfortunately due to circumstances, I never had them for very long. Perhaps if I had, I may have become a dog trainer like Sarah. So I asked her where her passion for dog training and animals in general came from.

Sarah R.:  Yeah, so I actually started out, we adopted our first dog from the animal shelter when I was five years old. And I actually was very scared of dogs when I was a child. So it’s funny because like I went from being afraid of dogs to like absolutely adoring them once I adopted her.  It was just like ‘oh my gosh like I just love this feeling of like just so much non -judgmental unconditional love’.   Like dogs don’t have expectations of how we’re supposed to look or what we’re supposed to be able to do.  They just love you for who you are and so my passion I think for animals really started there.   And then I started volunteering at the animal shelter when I was a young teen and I realized how many people just don’t understand their dog or have a bond with them.  And so, they would give them up at the animal shelter.  And so, I really wanted to help people experience the joy of sharing their life with an animal and also to be able to bond with them and understand what they needed through training.

Dominick T.:  One of the things that I’ve come to love most about animals is the fact that they don’t have prejudice. They either like you or they don’t.  However, it’s always been my perception and likely a misconception that dogs and animals in general tend to freak out at the sight of my wheelchair.  Common experiences include lots of barking and running around. So, I asked Sarah, how wheelchair users and those with a mobility device can overcome this.

Sarah R.:  My goal is to find what makes the animal want to do things.  And so we pull that reinforcement and we find what motivates them.  And so we’re able to get the behaviors that we want.  Not by forcing them, it doesn’t take physical force.  In fact, you have a deeper relationship with your dog if you let them choose to want to listen to you.

And as far as like the fear of wheelchairs and all of that…  A lot of times… like I mean I work with a bunch of different clients and dogs are always coming, and some are not familiar with like a moving wheelchair.  And so I just try to like stay still in the beginning and let the dog really get comfortable

Because sometimes if we move to too much in the beginning, they’re like ‘oh my god somebody’s like sitting randomly on the sidewalk and they’re moving” and it’s just like mind -blowing for them.

So I think the first thing is just let them kind of come up and sniff you and be able to (and you might want to turn off your wheelchair because I have been driven by animals before).  But it’s really surprising how much dogs gain confidence and get information by sniffing.   So by providing them that opportunity to just sniff and kind of go at their own pace without us doing anything like to move too much or anything like that, it really gives them the time.  And so if like you’re adopting a dog and they’re maybe kind of a little nervous, what you can do is just like toss treats to them or have somebody else toss treats as you move tiny, tiny bits from further away.  So they’re never like forced to be too close to something that’s scary.  And then we use classical conditioning by making a positive association. So every time he or she moves, I get a treat. So then moving is actually a really good thing.

Dominick T.:  The power of understanding motivations is obviously a great tool for any pet owner.  But you might be wondering, what are some more tangible ways that individuals living with disabilities can adapt training methods to make them just a little more accessible.

Sarah R.:  Yeah, so I think one of the things like when we talk about luring a dog — so that means like putting a treat in front of their nose and holding it up over their head and going back to get the dog to sit, for example.  Sometimes that can be really hard to do because you have to like bend over and reach the dog way down to the ground.  So you can raise the dog up.  You can put them on a sofa, or on a training platform, or on top of a couple stairs so you can reach them better.

I know one thing that I do, even just for people who have a puppy and are teaching loose leash walking, it can be really hard to be reinforcing the dog with treats and you have to like bend all the way to the ground because the puppy is so small.  You can use a little spoon like a wooden spatula or something like that that’s longer, you know. Those wooden paint sticks they have at Home Depot, you can smear some peanut butter on the end of that and then give the dog a little lick as they’re walking with you.  So there’s a lot of ways to make training more adaptable.

There’s also like, it’s called like when you use clickers, you can use like an app on the phone, so it’s just like a touch instead, or you can just use a word like ‘yes’ to mark a behavior.  You don’t have to use a clicker.   So there’s a lot of ways to really adapt training, and then of course the automatic treat dispensers, so that you don’t have to be physically right there. You can feed the dog from afar.

Dominick T.:  A lot of these ideas that Sarah mentions are really innovative, cost effective, and surprisingly simple.  So we continue the conversation by asking her the most innovative adaptation that she has made in regards to her pet training regimen.

So surprisingly, that would be a wrapping paper roll.  So I was teaching my dog to walk on a treadmill at the time and I couldn’t… every time I tried to toss a treat into the bowl that was on it, it would roll off and then he’s like falling off the treadmill.  So I got a wrapping paper — you know the roll inside their wrapping paper?  It’s long and so it’s like a shoot.  So I was able to drop the treats perfectly in there and then that ended up being a really cool way to actually feed your dog too. If you want to just dump the food into the bowl without it bouncing out everywhere you can use a wrapping paper roll.

Dominick T.:  Again, these adaptations are surprisingly simple, and they are easy to implement in the home.  However, just like any other animal, dogs need to go out and socialize with other dogs.  So we asked Sarah if she had any tips on socializing dogs for those with a mobility device, such as a wheelchair.

Sarah R.:  Yeah, so I think for somebody with a disability, it’s always wise to have someone with you who can help in dangerous situations. For example, I don’t walk my dog myself just because sometimes there’s loose dogs that come running out of nowhere and I don’t want them to hurt my dog.  And it’s not like I can just pick him up and go.

So I always like to have that little safety net but you would be surprised like how many opportunities there are as far as resources go.  So if you don’t have someone who can walk with you, you can find a neighbor or you know, there are so many different ways that you can even hire someone for really cheap to go on walks with you just to keep your dog safe.

But as far as socialization, I think it’s really important to know the other dog that your dog’s going to be socializing with.  So for example, I often tell clients if you’re looking for a doggy friend for your dog, you can go to like a dog park, but dog parks can be really dangerous.  So what I tell people is go without your dog and just stand there and watch the dogs play.  And if you see a dog that’s playing really, really nicely and proper social behavior, that’s really polite, is to see a dog kind of doing 50/50 of like chasing the dog and then being chased.  So you never want to choose a dog that’s just like chasing another dog all the time, because that’s kind of more of a bully behavior.  So you want to look for friends to your dog who is very kind and gentle with other dogs and plays appropriately.  And then you can ask them, them, “Hey, you know, I have a dog, would you be willing to kind of do like a play date?”

And so you can start with like dogs on leash and just kind of parallel walking so that they get used to each other’s scent.  They can sniff.   They’re still on the move, so it’s not confrontational.  And then if something goes wrong, each person already has the leash on their dog.  They can just pull them apart much easier.  So that’s a nice way to do introductions.  That’s much safer. And then of course, you can do positive reinforcement too.  So, if your dog is really, really shy, just let them see dogs from afar and get treats and then leave.

Social interactions should not be very long.  So I would say like under 45 minutes, probably like 30 minutes.  Because if a dog gets tired, either your dog or the other dog, and then one of the dogs wants to play more, that’s where we can get into issues where one dog gets aggressive because they’re like, ‘Stop already, I’m tired’.  So we want to keep it very short.  And that can also reduce chances of aggression as well.

Dominick T.:  At this point in our conversation, I thought to myself, “Wow, Sarah must really help a lot of people”.  But as she details, some people aren’t so quick to accept her as a professional. And some even disregard her entirely based off of the fact that she has a visible disability.

Sarah R.:  Yeah, so I actually have had some negative experiences. So at first I started out, you know, I would talk to the potential client and answer their questions and set everything up.  And then, you know, okay, so we’re going to get together, you know, next Tuesday.  And I would say, and, ‘You know, just to let you know, I’m in a wheelchair’. So I just, you know, either I would ask them ‘Is your house, you know, accessible or other stairs, or can we meet outside?” Or, you know, ‘You’re welcome to come to me’. And, you know, I’ll get people like, ‘Oh, wow, that’s that’s interesting you’re in a wheelchair.  Yeah, so I’m really gonna have to call you back.  Let me just check with my wife,’ or like you know, whatever, and then they would never call back.

So then I started kind of testing it.  And I was like, maybe I just won’t tell people.  And I’ll just tell them I’m doing it at my house and they can come to me.  So I started doing that. And then people would like… I would definitely get more clients.  And then, because they were already there, then they can just, you know, go through the session.  And then they were really happy with the information they got.  And so they would continue coming.

But it’s crazy, how that thought that like ‘oh they’re disabled well how can they possibly help me train my dog?’  And I think it stems a lot from the mentality of like dominance theory and all of that.   That like well you’ve got to be physically you know keep pushing your dogs to the ground and that kind of thing and use a lot of force and and all of that.   And I think you know that’s unfortunately why that contributes to somebody with a disability being a dog trainer, maybe not getting as many clients because people think, ‘Oh, they can’t possibly do it’.   And I’ve actually, I did have one client who did come and she was like, ‘Oh, I didn’t expect, you know, someone in a wheelchair’.  And like, she ended up not even paying me for that session and she wasn’t even like paying attention.  It was like, she didn’t even want to look at me. It was like, it was so horrible.

Dominick T.:  You’re listening to Pushing Limits, KPFA’s program about disability. The voice you just heard was that of Sarah Rodriguez, who is owner of Homeschooled Hound. And today, we’ve been talking about ways in which people with disabilities can adapt to become capable dog trainers and pet owners — despite the misconception that we may struggle to do so.

In my discussion with her, Sarah came off as a very experienced and knowledgeable dog trainer.  Her list of credentials is long and actually includes being a certified professional dog trainer, certified dog behavior consultant, and a Fear Free Professional.  Now just like any other professional, Sarah spent a lot of time earning those credentials through various programs. So we took the time to ask her about her experience as someone studying how to become a certified professional dog trainer with a disability.

Sarah R.:  Yeah, so at first, I was trying to find a school that would accommodate me and, surprisingly, a lot of them would not.  You know, I would ask them, you know, ‘I’m in a wheelchair, like can we make adaptions or, you know, I want to be able to train dogs.’  And they weren’t interested in helping me.  So there was one that did and it was called the Ethology Institute.  And so that’s where I got my first certification as a certified professional dog trainer.  So there was a lot of like book learning and all of that and exams. And then once you complete that, you had to do what was called a proficiency verification exam.  So you had to train your dog like a series of really complicated behaviors.  And I think the only adaption that they had to make for that exam was one of the behaviors was to weave through your legs.  And obviously, I couldn’t do that.  So I had my dog weave through cones which is actually harder to teach and so they were totally open to that.  That was fine.

And then the handling thing.  In the beginning you’re supposed to like have the dog in a heel position and accept handling and I couldn’t do the handling.  So somebody else just had to do the handling, which again is harder because if the dog’s already trained with you, they’re going to be more comfortable with you handling them.

And then lastly, some of the behaviors were on leash, and I just opted to do it off leash. So there was no chance of getting tangled up or anything like that.  And again, off leash is harder, because the dog knows they can just wander off if they wanted to.  So they were really accommodating, though, and I was able to pass.  So, so yeah, that was really awesome.

And then, so that was the first certification program. And then the second one was the CDBC was like a written exam.  And you had to share case studies and like answer a bunch of questions. So all of that was just like written type stuff to test your knowledge.  And then the Fear Free program was the same.  It was a lot of online stuff. And then you take the test and get your certification. With the CPDT, I also had to put in a certain amount of hours with…

I think it was like 300 hours or something like that.  It’s been several years now. I can’t remember exactly.  But I just did a lot of training with like friends and family’s dogs, and then I did shelter dogs as well. So that’s how I got the experience, like learning with a variety of dogs.

Dominick T.:  Three hundred hours for one credential is no joke, not to mention the other two that she has. And Sarah has obviously put in the time and the effort to reach her level of expertise. However, some people may try to undermine the whole process.

Sarah R.:  And it’s sad because like there’s actually no, there’s no like laws against calling yourself a dog trainer.   So people like the dog whisperer or dog daddy can just be like, “Today I’m a dog trainer,” and they have no certification, no like prior learning whatsoever, and they just do their own thing.  So it’s really important that whenever you’re looking for a trainer to make sure that they’ve done the work, that they’ve learned, because you’re paying a lot of money for someone just to call themselves a dog trainer.  So you want to make sure that they have certifications.  It’s not a lot out there, like as far as information goes about this.  And so, you know, well-meaning pet parents are just wanting to get their dog trained.  And so they go to the nearest, you know, dog trainer they find on Google.  And unfortunately, sometimes that means that the person is not credited. And so you always want to make sure that they have credentials and when they say that they do, you can look them up. You can always make sure too that if you’re looking for a dog trainer, you don’t want to go for a Board and Train because what happens is a lot of times these kennels will take your dog and charge you a ton of money and the dog stays in a kennel all day and then comes out for training for like an hour or two a day.  So they’re really not getting, they’re basically staying in a cage stressed out for a majority of the day.  And so if you do board and train, you want to make sure it’s a certified trainer who keeps it at their house or they come to you and they’re really intensely working with your dog, because you’re paying way too much money for your dog to sit in a kennel.

Sarah R.:  And always go with your gut if you feel like something a trainer is doing is wrong or harmful to your dog.  Always go with your gut because that usually will not steer you wrong.  And make sure that you know, you advocate for your dog all the time.

Dominick T.:  Towards the end of our conversation with Sarah it became obvious to both Uriel and I that she would train practically any animal and she’s capable of it too. So, given the bad rap that they get in the media, we asked Sarah about her thoughts on pit bulls and the aggression that they are typically associated with.

Sarah R.:  Yeah, so I think it’s really a matter of breeding. So unfortunately, there’s a lot of people who breed dogs for dog fighting, for example. And so, the genetic line that they’re going to choose is going to be dogs who have a predisposition towards being more aggressive, for example.  But even with that being the case, pit bulls were bred to be aggressive to other dogs, never people.  So if a dog has an aggression, it would usually be towards a dog within that breed.

But I think they get a bad rep because they are bigger and more powerful dogs.  So if a chihuahua bites somebody, it’s not gonna make the news ’cause they made a nick in their big toe.  But if a pit bull bites someone’s arm and there’s gonna be a bigger mark, the person’s gonna be more traumatized ’cause that was just a more scary experience. And that’s the case with any larger dog.  But unfortunately, that’s what makes the news. And so people hear one story and think, ‘Oh, you know, pit bulls are bad’, but that’s not the case at all. They’re very, very sweet dogs. They have great personalities, and they’re not, you know, a dangerous type of dog.

It really, again, depends on their upbringing. And their genetics, too, plays a part, so you always want to make sure that you, you know, learn about the dog.  Be careful where you get them from, if you’re going to choose a breeder.   But there are plenty of really amazing dogs at the shelter who have been temperament tested.  Or go with a rescue who knows a lot about the dog and they can you know have been in foster care and so they can tell you all about them.

Dominick T.:   Feeling enlightened on various fronts regarding dog training and common misconceptions associated with it.  We asked Sarah if she had any advice for individuals that may be hesitant towards taking in a pet regardless of their level of mobility.

Sarah R.:  Yeah, I think as far as advice goes, just remember that you’re not in it alone. You can really build a support system by using resources. You’d be surprised how many people would love to help.

So there are so many people who wish they could have a dog but they don’t have the time.  I see it all the time in like the Next Door app.  People want to like walk dogs because they find it really relaxing, or helpful for their depression, or you know they want to get out more but they want to have a reason to.   And so they’ll walk your dog for free, you know you can just put it out there and say ‘Hey you know I need somebody to help me walk my dog.’  And see what’s available.  Maybe you know there’s some people you pay a couple bucks or you know ask a neighbor or a friend.  But I think just remember that you’re never alone and that you can seek people to help you and then find resources.

As far as ways that you can adapt things, because there is always a way, If you think like ‘Oh I can’t play with my dog,’ you absolutely can. It just takes a little bit more adoption, but there are ways to use lightweight toys.  You can teach a dog to enjoy fetching an empty water bottle. It doesn’t weigh much and it’s easier to throw or use an automatic ball launcher, like the iFetch.

So there’s a lot of different ways that we can make it accessible for us to work with dogs, to train them, to bond with them, to play with them, to feed them — everything needed for their care.

Dominick T.:  I love these final sentiments by Sarah because they embodied the idea that people with disabilities, you know, we’re not so different that we cannot care for a pet.  Where there is a will, there is a way.  And on that note, we asked Sarah a question that we tend to ask all of our guests on the podcast ‘What do you wish more people understood about individuals living with disabilities?’

Sarah R.:  I wish that more people understood that we were just like everybody else and We’re just as capable.  I think so often we get overlooked for what we can do.   For example, as a dog trainer, it’s like, well, we can’t physically handle a Great Dane.  So therefore, you’re not capable of training one, but we absolutely are.  Sometimes it takes more creativity like we talked about and different adaptions, but we are capable of making a difference in the world.  And we’re just like everybody else.

Dominick T.:  Once again, this is Dominick Trevethan, and I would like to give a big thanks to Sarah Rodriguez for her time and her expertise.  Another huge thanks to our engineer Rod Akil and the entire Pushing Limits gang, especially for welcoming a rookie like me onto the team so graciously.

And of course, thank you for listening. Pushing Limits is produced, of course, by a collective of people with disabilities.  If you’d like to get in touch with us, contact us by email at pushinglimits, all one word, at kpfa.org. Our website is pushinglimitsradio.org and you can also find us on Facebook at pushinglimitsradio.

Additionally, one final thanks to everyone who joined KPFA during the Winter Fund Drive. If you haven’t joined us, you have until December 31st to make a tax-deductible donation and pick up a thank you gift.  Simply go to kpfa.org or call 1-800-439-5732. Again, you can go to kpfa.org or call 1-800-439-5732.

And be sure to stay tuned for Talk It Out Radio coming up next.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Keep on pushing.  Woo -hoo. Keep on pushing. What I said now? Keep on pushing. Keep on getting ready.  Keep on pushing. It’s gonna be alright now. Keep on.

The post Dogs & People with Disabilities – Pushing Limits – December 22, 2023 appeared first on KPFA.

Last day of the fund drive.  Great programming today.

The post Special Fund Drive Programming – Pushing Limits – December 15, 2023 appeared first on KPFA.

A half-hour radio show providing critical coverage of disability issues and bringing the insight of the grassroots disability movement to the general public. The show alternates weekly and airs on even weeks Friday 2:30pm.

The post Special Fund Drive Programming – December 8, 2023 appeared first on KPFA.

What do a dance teacher, a pastor, a community advocate, and a home care worker have in common? If you said they all could be allies to those with disabilities, you’re right!

On this episode of Pushing Limits we will be talking to individuals with those labels – all of whom work to support and empower those with disabilities.

Join us for a journey into the mind of these allies to find out what motivates them to be in solidarity with those with disabilities, and get tips on how to join them in this important work.

(From DisabilityDebrief.org by Peter Torres Fremlin)

As well as the investigation from Human Rights Watch, Time has explored the additional barriers disabled people are facing in conflict. Aljazeera offers some short videos on the hardship faced and the experience of a deaf couple: “The planes bomb us. We are deaf so it scares us. There is no one to help us and [we] cannot hear.”

For more of Peter’s news on Palestine go here.

In Israel, one estimate suggests over 50,000 people with disabilities have been evacuated from areas close to the border, to get further from rocket fire. The war is challenging for disabled people, but one hotel is hosting disabled and elderly evacuees for free, and the Shalva National Center has also become a refuge. The so-called “Special in Uniform” unit of the Israeli Defence Forces have been packing and distributing supplies.

For more of Peter’s news on Israel, go here.

For further news on the Israel-Palestine Conflict, including some of the conflict’s ripples beyond the Middle East, go here.

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This program was produced, interviewed and written by Jacob Lesner-Buxton.  Edited and voiced by Adrienne Lauby.

The post Disability Allies – Pushing Limits – December 1, 2023 appeared first on KPFA.

We present a selection of tunes from artists with disabilities: a rock band whose members are Deaf, a jazz number about dealing with clueless social service providers, disability pride hip hop, and a xylophone short from Denny Daughters – who also edited and voiced this program.

Plus a band comprised of neurodiverse students from Cal State East Bay and more.

Great music, great musicians and some relaxing fun.

Produced by Jacob Lesner-Buxton.

The post Musicians with Disabilities – Pushing Limits – November 24, 2023 appeared first on KPFA.

Have you ever ended up on one side or the other of a lawsuit related to disability?   If so, KPFA listeners want to hear from you!

Call Friday during the live show: 510-848-4425 or 800-958-9008.

The business community likes to complain about disabled people who make a living suing them for the lack of accessibility.   Have you ever been one of these people?   Ever sued your landlord or a government agency for not allowing you to live in an apartment or participate in civil life?   If so, what was that like?

We also want your thoughts on suits that take on government agencies or corporations on behalf of the larger disability community.  Often these suits are filed by disability non-profits with social change in mind.  Has a suit like this helped you out?  Have you seen changes come about as a result of them?

We’ve been looking at Smith v. Oakland, filed by Disability Rights Advocates against the City of Oakland in 2019.  That suit seeks to allow disabled persons to live in rent-controlled units, even though a state law called Costa Hawkins prohibits rent control for anything built after 1983.  The suit claims that the Federal ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) supersedes the California law.

The post Lawsuits – Pushing Limits – November 17, 2023 appeared first on KPFA.

In this program, Pushing Limits brings you information about disabled people in Gaza who are affected by the Israeli invasion.

Then, your host, Eddie Ytuarte, shares other news of special interest to the disability community and spins some music by musicians with disabilities.

Photo: Gigi Ibrahim

The post “Disabled in Gaza and Other News” – Pushing Limits – November 10, 2023 appeared first on KPFA.

Chelsea Lesner-Buxton is a legally-blind woman in her late 20s who lives with emotional disabilities.

In this program she talks to her about her abusive childhood and her intense struggle to find a reason to live.

In only two-three years, her life has improved significantly and she believes she has the tools to continue with this firm foundation.

She tells us how she found those tools, why they have been such a help to her and speaks directly to those who may feel hopeless today.

“Just because you feel like you’re at your wits end with your mental health or you’re at such a low point that you don’t feel like you can ever go up – trust me, I was there.  With the right supports (and it does take work; it really does), you can get to a point where you’re more stable and you’re feeling better about yourself. 

“You’re never alone no matter how much you feel like you’re alone.  There’s always somebody, even if it’s a stranger, that cares!”  Chelsea Lesner-Buxton

Produced and hosted by Adrienne Lauby

The post Chelsea Lesner-Buxton – Blind & Living With Mental Disability – Pushing Limits – November 3, 2023 appeared first on KPFA.