Everyday we are bombarded by various facts and figures that at times can leave your head spinning, but every once and a while we hear a fact that shakes up our understanding of the world and challenges our own assumptions.
This week we learned that about 3.8 million people, or 13.7 per cent of Canadians aged 15 and older, are limited in their daily activities because of a disability, according to the latest data published by Statistics Canada.
If we break that down to a local level that means there are currently about 600 people in Jasper that suffer from some form of disability.
At first glance that might seem shockingly high in a town with roughly 5,000 residents, but it’s likely because we forget a lot of people live with “invisible” disabilities.
In fact, experts consider this a relatively conservative estimate, because many people who may have a disability don't consider themselves disabled.
Now you may be wondering: what qualifies as a disability?
Well it turns out the term “disability” covers a wide spectrum of conditions including, pain, mental health conditions—such as anxiety disorder—learning disabilities, mobility issues, illnesses and diseases such as diabetes.
According to Statistics Canada, the most widely reported disability among Canadians is pain, followed by flexibility and mobility issues.
Now whether that’s surprising to you or not probably depends on whether you’re currently experiencing an ailment that limits your day-to-day activities.
According to experts, part of the reason we don’t perceive pain or diseases such as diabetes as a disability is because of the social stigma that is often attached to them.
Most people may perceive a disability as something that is negative. We often think about what somebody can’t do, rather what they can do.
This stigma has become so pervasive that in 2011, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities aged 25 to 64 was 11 per cent, compared to 6 per cent for people who did not report having a disability.
According to experts this is because employers often assume somebody can’t do something or it will be too expensive to accommodate them.
In a town that struggles to attract and retain employees, this untapped pool of talent could help ease the labour shortage if we are willing to be flexible and accommodate people, such as changing someone’s schedule or giving them a checklist.
Several studies have also shown that hiring people with disabilities can reduce turnover and related costs because people with disabilities have higher retention rates and fewer absences.
Armed with this new information, we should challenge our assumptions and biases about disabilities, because it's not just good for society, but it also makes good business sense.
