Episode 47: Olmstead Quality of Life Survey

The podcast introductory segment is composed to evoke friction. It begins with the sound of an elevator crunching as it goes up. A robotic voice says “floor two.” Then music with a mysterious tone comes on. A series of voices define Contra. Layered voices say:

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Contra is friction… Contra is texture… Contra is questions…Nuanced…Collaborative…Contra* is world-changing…Contra is innovation, messy, solidarity, interdependence…Contra is thinking about design critically. Contra is a podcast.

 

Throughout, there are sounds of typing, texting and Zoom being opened. 

Then an electric guitar bass note fades into the sound of a digital call ringing and starting. The intro ends with the sound of a Facetime call ringing and then picked up.

Hi, I’m Kelsie Acton, the project manager for the Remote Access Archive. The Remote Access Archive contains oral histories like the ones featured in this season of the Contra* podcast. But it also contains numerous, very cool documents. This is one of a series of mini-episodes to share some of those documents with you. Today I’m talking about the Minnesota Quality of Life Report. The Minnesota Quality of Life Report addresses the Olmstead Plan, which is intended to ensure that Minnesotans with disabilities live full lives, integrated into communities that they choose to live in. 

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The report is based on a survey that engaged 561 participants, and interviews that took place between August 2020 and February 2021. The participants were quote, “people who access services in potentially segregated settings” end quote. So people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This means that some of the people in this report need significant support for activities of daily living. It means many of them likely live under guardianship. 

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This report came to us through the google form we set up. I didn’t know the person who sent it to us and I didn’t ask them anything. But when I read this report I make some assumptions. 

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The report design is very plain. The headings are green, the body writing is in black. Recommendations are bolded. It’s written in what I would call plainer language - short sentences that are clear and to the point. There’s nothing fancy about this document. It’s here to do its job. 

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The report chronicles, what are for me, a series of brutal gaps in the living conditions of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities both before and during the pandemic. Its also deeply revealing of the ways governments think about people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For example, the report notes that people’s relationships suffered during lockdowns. It then notes, quote “The current Olmstead Plan goals do not reference relationships”. End quote. The report advocates for people with disabilities to have free access to the internet. Then it advocates that the current Olmstead Plan should be updated to reflect advances in technology. Because of course, society can’t imagine people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in relationships. Or hanging out online. 

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One of the assumptions I make about the people who wrote this report, maybe the person who sent it to us, is that they desperately want better lives for the people they’re writing about. 

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One of the many inequalities that this report documents is what is known as the digital divide. The digital divide refers to the gap between people who have access to computers and other devices to connect to the internet and those who don’t. It makes me think about the gaps in this archive. This archive was put together by a group of people who are comfortable with remote access. Personally, I find working remote far easier than in person. Online disability communities have been an enormous sources of joy, knowledge and friendship for me over the years. But that means that we’re isolated from people who can’t get on the internet. That doesn’t mean that people who can’t get on the internet don’t practice remote access. It doesn’t mean that their practices of access aren’t important parts of disability culture. Just that they’re not here. This very plain, 61 page document, makes me think about all the people who aren’t in this archive. All the people I’ll never get to know and learn from. 

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Thank you for listening. If this document touched you somehow - sparked your curiosity, made you angry, made you feel seen - you can find it in the Remote Access Archive at www.criticaldesignlab.com/project/remote-access-archive. Remember, remote access is disability culture.

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[Rhythmic pops. Strings ripple and play as Aimi speaks]

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Aimi Hamraie: 

You've been listening to Contra*, a podcast about disability design, justice, and the life world. Contra* is a production of the Critical Design Lab. This season's episodes draw on our recent project, the Remote Access Archive, created by a team of disabled researchers collaborating remotely. Learn about our projects, including the remote access archive at www.criticaldesignlab.com. 

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If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe on Spotify rate and leave a review. 

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This season of Contra* is edited by Ilana Nevins. Kelsie Acton and Aimi Hamraie developed the episodes. 

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The Contra* Podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons attribution, non-commercial share alike International 3.0 license.That means you can remix, repost, or recycle any of the content as long as you cite the original source, aren't making money, you don't change the credits and you share it under the same license.

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[music fades out]

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