Re: learning difficulties, labelling and WCAG

On Sat, 8 Feb 2003, Jonathan Chetwynd wrote:

> If you think labelling people as having learning difficulties is 
> helpful

There's a continuum.  The people you deal with are at the extreme end
of it, but drawing a line will always be arbitrary.  In terms of the
WCAG, the best we can reasonably expect to do is to keep our sites
as clear and simple as the contents permit.

 try listening to a recent Radio 4 BBC discussion
> 
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio4_aod.shtml?youandyours
> 
> "the International Paralympic Committee has ruled that only people with 
> physical disabilities can compete in Athens next year. "

The whole paralympic thing is based on the false premise that you can
draw a meaningful line.  Perhaps I should be allowed to compete as
disabled because I'm constitutionally too lazy to spend all my time
in hard physical training, or because I don't have an athletic build?

> People with learning difficulties have been excluded because it has not 
> been possible to agree on a definition.

Wouldn't it be fair to say that a significant proportion of mainstream
sports people are, for want of a better term, intellectually challenged?

Oh, and in case that sounds harsh, the whole of professional sports
relies on drawing similarly artificial lines, between what is an
acceptable way to improve performance and what is a banned drug, for
instance, then makes a big fuss when someone gets that wrong.  Humbug.

-- 
Nick Kew

Received on Saturday, 8 February 2003 09:15:55 UTC