Dr Kelly Fleming

It has been some time since I have had a chance to write.

As a Deaf person, I have spent the greater time of my life fighting against discrimination.

It seems this fight is never-ending.

I have spent the past 2.5 years fighting for my basic rights for access to an important communication method which involves my safety and well-being.

Despite proving that the people involved were violating the laws of accessibility under the AODA (the laws that are in place to protect the rights of Disabled people in Ontario, Canada), I received the all too familiar runaround.

After such a long fight against discrimination, I have finally succeeded in proving the violation and won my basic rights which protects my safety and communication access.

At the same time I have faced discrimination due to being Deaf and disabled in a separate situation.

That fight is not yet resolved but I pray every day that a resolution will come into effect.

Why do I fight discrimination so much? Why do I not merely fade into the background?

Growing up, I watched my parents fight on my behalf since I was 3 years old against discrimination against the school board.

I picked up that fight for my rights by the time I was a teenager.

As a young adult I became involved in the grassroots movement in Ontario to fight for laws to be passed to protect Disabled people against discrimination.

This grassroots movement ultimately resulted in the passing of the laws of the AODA. I’m proud to have been a part of that movement.

There are many things I have not personally been rewarded for in my fight – mainly employment.

Here I am over 25 years after I became involved in that movement and I can see younger people benefiting from the hard work that so many people of my generation fought to achieve. To have a law created so that the younger generations would hopefully not face the same discrimination that we have faced.

Was it worth it? Is it still worth it? Absolutely!

As a Disabled person, I want to do everything I can to help younger generations who will become shining stars in this world and show others that disability does not change a person’s ability to be gainfully employed and have a safe living environment.

To be able to look at younger disabled individuals being granted equal access to education and employment is a testimony of the endurance of my generation who got the ball rolling.

The fight against discrimination against Disabled people still has a long way to go and I pray that each succeeding generation will take up this fight so that one day ALL Disabled people will be seen as equals amongst the larger population.