Breaking the Cycle: Ableism and the phenomenon of lowered expectations | Cheri Blauwet | TEDxBoston
The speaker, a man from rural Iowa, argues that the imposition of lowered expectations—especially against those with disabilities—is damaging because it obscures full human potential. He illustrates this by recounting how sports helped shift his identity post-paralysis, and further citing his work advocating for parity in Paralympic payments and his daughter treating his wheelchair as a normal object.
## Speakers & Context
- Speaker is from a small family farm in rural Iowa, describing a community where "everybody knew everyone and people generally support each other."
- The speaker experienced a life-altering accident in August of 1981 when he was run over by a tractor while toddling away from his mom.
- The injury caused a complete spinal cord injury, meaning he would never walk again.
- The talk took place at a time when the Americans with Disabilities Act had not yet been passed (1981 incident vs. subsequent advocacy).
## Theses & Positions
- Lowered expectations are insidious and stem from the stigma and discrimination due to "the isms" (sexism, racism, ageism, classism, and ableism).
- Simply being viewed through the lens of the ableist narrative (fragility and pity) stunts an individual's potential.
- True change requires a specific intervention at the right time to break the cycle of low expectations.
- The speaker's experiences—both in sports and medicine—demonstrate that ability is not limited by physical characteristics.
- When society lowers expectations for a group (e.g., Paralympic athletes, people with disabilities in medicine), it signals that society is okay with mediocrity.
- The failure to see potential in individuals stunts the potential for society as a whole.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Ableist narrative:** The dominant view that frames people with disabilities through themes of fragility and pity.
- **Lowered expectations:** The societal assumption that limits potential based on perceived limitations, particularly relevant to disability.
- **Parity in medal payments:** Advocated for because Paralympic athletes earned less than 20 percent of what a pure Olympic athlete earned for a gold medal.
- **Intersectionality:** Referenced as a concept under which stigma exists ("diverse or intersectional identity").
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Resilience and Creativity:** Developed by making things work despite life limitations following spinal cord injury.
- **Sports as an intervention:** Sports provided the opportunity for the speaker to "acquire skill in the sport" and experience an evolution in self-identity, moving beyond pity.
- **Advocacy/Systemic Change:** Speaking out against inequity (e.g., low medal payments) to force systemic recognition and support.
- **Normalization by Family:** The speaker’s daughter treating his wheelchair as a "just another cool way to get from point a to point b" shifts the framework away from pity.
## Timeline & Sequence
- **Circa 1981:** Incident with tractor resulting in spinal cord injury (age 11 months).
- **Elementary/Middle School:** Period where the speaker felt typecast and subject to lowered expectations; encouraged toward a desk job.
- **Eighth Grade:** Pivotal turning point when high school track coach J Roos Rosaboom invited him to try the track team.
- **Season following eighth grade:** Initial reluctance to play sports.
- **State track meet:** Met other teenage girls with racing chairs and found community ("found my people").
- **2004:** Won the women's wheelchair division of the Boston Marathon.
- **2017:** Joined the board of directors for the USOPC.
- **Later in life:** Practicing sports medicine at Spaulding Rehab Hospital and Mass General Brigham; serving as an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.
## Named Entities
- **Harvard Medical School** — institution where the speaker completed residency.
- **Spaulding Rehab Hospital** — location where the speaker practices sports medicine.
- **Mass General Brigham** — facility where the speaker practices sports medicine.
- **Stella and Spencer** — the speaker's two young children.
- **Eli** — the speaker's husband.
## Numbers & Data
- **11 months old:** Age when the speaker started walking.
- **August of 1981:** Date of the tractor incident.
- **Nine years:** Time difference between the 1981 incident and the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- **20 percent:** Percentage of medal payout for Paralympic athletes compared to Olympic athletes at the time of board service.
- **Five-year-old:** Age of the speaker's daughter during the grocery store anecdote.
## Examples & Cases
- **The early expectation:** A classmate told him he should do something he could be good at, pushing him toward a desk job.
- **The initial racing:** Racing down the home stretch of the 100 and 400 meter wheelchair race at regional meets, receiving "nice clap" from the stands.
- **The State Meet discovery:** Seeing other teenage girls with racing chairs and hearing them crack self-deprecating wheelchair jokes, leading to community.
- **The Milestone Victory:** Winning the women's wheelchair division of the Boston Marathon and subsequently earning a gold medal for Team USA at the Paralympics.
- **The USOPC Boardroom:** Being the only person with a background in Paralympic sport; advocating for parity in medal payments.
- **Cafeteria encounters:** Being asked by a well-intentioned man, "when are you going to be discharged?"
- **Daughter's interaction:** Daughter borrowing his wheelchair to "tool around the house," treating it like other wheeled devices.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Homemade scooter:** Made by a neighbor, used by the speaker when too young for a wheelchair.
- **Wheelchair:** A device treated by the speaker's daughter as normal transport.
- **Tractor:** Vehicle responsible for the initial injury.
## References Cited
- **Americans with Disabilities Act:** Legislation passed after the incident.
- **USOPC (United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee):** Governing body mentioned in relation to medal payments.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Path of Mediocrity:** Staying on the expected, low-expectation path (desk job).
- **Sports/Athletism:** The alternative path that allowed for self-actualization and changing personal narrative.
- **Paralympic vs. Olympic funding:** The disparity showing institutional failure to value ability achievement equally.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- People often view disabled individuals through the lens of fragility and pity.
- In medicine, people often equate the visible disability (wheelchair) with illness rather than empowerment.
- The "generosity" offered in public (like offering help at a store) can mask the underlying profile/assumption about inability.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- Do not accept limiting societal expectations for any person.
- When encountering people with disabilities, do not tell them to "do what you can be good at."
- Instead, challenge them with the expansive imperative: "aim for the stars."
## Implications & Consequences
- Disability and the experience of living with it can instill powerful qualities: intelligence, resourcefulness, resilience, and a unique empathy.
- Changing the narrative around disability moves it from a deficit model to one of capability and contribution in fields like medicine.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"i was run over by a tractor and i was rushed to the hospital for emergent surgery and clearly i survived but in that moment my life was redefined by a complete spinal cord injury meaning that i would never walk again"*
- *"people viewed me through the lens of the ableist narrative that was very dominant at the time where the common themes are typically fragility and pity"*
- *"i was on this very well paved path towards mediocrity"*
- *"This coach j roos rosaboom was extraordinary"*
- *"i found my people"*
- *"I can also be the first wheelchair user to attend stanford medical school and to complete my residency in harvard"*
- *"Paralympic athletes earned less than 20 percent of what a pure olympic athlete would earn for winning a gold medal for their country"*
- *"you look like you're doing really well when are you going to be discharged"*
- *"do they really think i would have brought my daughter to the grocery store if i couldn't get back in the car or do they ask anyone else in the parking lot if they need help probably not"*
- *"instead tell her aim for the stars girl because you never know what she can achieve"*