Christina Mallon: Chapter 3: What You Need To Know About the Language of Disability

It's Machine Yearning from Assist. It's a podcast where we think and dream about the future of AI, the talking internet, and how we're reshaping our culture. This chapter is an excerpt from our interview with Christina Mallon, and she's talking about a subject area that matters to every single person. Seriously, if you lead product or are a CMO or anywhere in the org chain, You need to take notes and share this one around. Christina Malin, our guest, is a designer, advocate, and authority on designing for the disabled. In this chapter, she shows how user-centric design extends to the language we use and the teams we build. This is just a taste, so make sure you grab the full episode and subscribe so you never miss a single Machine Yearning. Christina Malin.

One of the things that you were teaching me on Saturday was the language of disability.

Yes.

And I think that is something I had honestly hadn't thought about enough. After being with you for the whole day, I feel like it's all I thought about the next day and I see it everywhere. Can you tell me a little bit about some of the phrases or language we use that we shouldn't, or we need to upgrade our language or update our language and how to be more aware of that?

Sure. I think that not a lot of people know the exact way to talk about disabilities. So they end up just really saying what they hear. So one example is when people call me a disabled person, I'd rather be called a person with a disability because I don't want the word disabled to define me. And that's one thing that I have, you know, really seen that people don't understand makes a big impact on how people identify themselves with a disability. And then also Wheelchair-bound is a word that I try not to use. I say really in the seated position, because a lot of people with, you know, that use wheelchairs, they don't use them all the time. And saying you're bound to something has such a negative connotation with it. Let's just say in the seated position, and that takes away the stigma, because disabled and wheelchair-bound, they have a stigma associated with them. So we need to change the words that we use so that people just think differently.

One of the ones you told me, um, I think her name was April, she said if you're an able-bodied person working with someone who's in a seated position, then you should also be in a seated position, and how to work in groups so that you're all on the same playing field. Can you say more about that as you're actually in the process of design?

Yeah, I think that The big thing is all about user-centric design, and some of the best brands really put their user first. We look at Apple, for an example, as one of the best brands that have done that. But I think we really need to have someone with a disability on all teams at all times so that they can genuinely think about the community in the design and so that design reflects that. No brand will ever get it 100% right, but it's the brands that try. And the way to do that is to make sure that you I want to have someone with a disability on the team. And I think kind of that's what April was saying when we met on Saturday, was I want someone that understands me and is really talking to me rather than telling me what I want and how I feel.

Even when you're programming something and, you know, empathy is about what you don't know, right? When you're thinking about designing something and if you are an able-bodied person, and you're trying to design something for someone with a disability. April said on Saturday I should never use the word handicapped, but everyone uses the word handicapped.

Even the government.

Even the government. So the only solution then is to have someone and be inclusive in the team dynamics. And you— because you can't design something if you don't know what it is.

Exactly.

I want to switch it up a little bit. People don't talk about the concept of fairness in business very often. It's build the best product, take it to market, see who wins. Fairness, it seems, has a more moral component. And if people are building products that are inherently inaccessible because of the language that defines the product or the interfaces needed to access them or the hardware, does that make it merely bad business or is it actually unfair?

Product should be made to make the world better. So yes, I believe that it's unfair. My company, Possible, when we create a website or a marketing marketing campaign, we start first with looking at accessibility and representation because that's what we want our clients to think about. So they might not even ask us to do that, but we think the product that we put out, it's unfair if we don't think about accessibility in it. And that's why I work here, because I have a personal belief if you don't think about that, you're just doing an injustice and it's— you're not being socially responsible.

That's interesting too, because on the web everyone's trying to be double-A, right? But if you do it after you've built this whole website, all of a sudden you can't convert this whole thing to double-A, and everyone really struggles with it.

100%.

So you start with it.

Yeah, and that's kind of what a lot of brands have come to myself and Possible to say, hey, what's the best way to kind of backtrack this so that we can, you know, really meet the standards of AA, but everything should be AA+. Don't just solve to really check the boxes. Make the experience better and better than what the government's asking you to.

If I go back to the language AI, Alexa voice, you know, what's, what's the worst case scenario you see in the AI machine learning, uh, talking internet world if we don't think about this stuff?

People with disabilities will get left behind. And if one-fifth of the world identifies as having a disability, you're losing all the superpowers of people with disabilities, and you're just leaving that and those amazing people behind. I just— it's, it's crazy to think that a business would not think about one-fifth of its users. It just seems like bad business.

What are the problems still unaddressed that you'd like to see solved?

I think website accessibility is huge, and a lot of people are not trying to fix the problem from their— and not taking accountability. I think that clothing is still a huge barrier to people with disabilities when easy changes can be made. If you look at the button on your shirt, buttons were made when someone was dressing you. No one dresses you anymore. Why do we need buttons in the form that they are? Let's use magnets instead. So I want to see more fashion brands think like that and make those small tweaks to the clothing that allow people and anyone to really wear the clothing itself and express themselves.

When you talk about the website, is Amazon accessible? Because they're the biggest in the world. Yeah, I was curious, like, do they do it well or not?

I think that they are definitely trying, and then especially with voice, that is where they are putting a lot of their time to be able to help people with disabilities. But it's, it's not, it's not fully great. It's not AAA It only sometimes works with different disability products, but they definitely are trying. And I think that voice will allow for people with disabilities to be able to access and use Amazon more.

In the talking internet that is coming, and you know, you said it really has changed and made things easier for you. What is something you dream about? What is something you dream about saying, "Hey Alexa," and it would be magical?

That's a really good question. I think being able to have Alexa control a device. So I always think in the future when I have kids, hey Alexa, have their like bed rock them to sleep. So that since I physically can't able to do that, I would like the products to help me do that and to be that barrier because I know with, you know, the medical research is getting better and better, but during my time, I don't think I'm going to get the use of my arms back. But if I can control things with my voice and control devices that will be assisting my kids, that is probably what will be the most impactful for me, given that that's, you know, my worst fear.

What is your worst fear?

I think not being able to help my kids and be able to hold them and, and feed them and do all those type of things. But if I'm able to instruct something to do that, and it not being a human and it being an actual device, I think that would be really wonderful.

Do you have anything else to say?

I would just— I don't want people to be scared to offend someone by not doing anything. I think a lot of people are scared to really talk about disability, and they're scared they'll represent disability in a wrong way. But if you're too scared to do something and don't act on it, then nothing's going to get done. So don't be scared. Just ask someone with a disability, and they'll be able to help you. And that's what I think really is why so many brands haven't thought about people with disabilities, is because they're scared and they don't know.

What is the first question to ask?

What would you change? And what would you want?

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thanks for listening, and we hope you'll take a second and share this episode with other members of your team. It's one of those dealbreaker places we have to get right in AI and machine learning. Get in touch on Twitter @Assist. DMs are open. We're super interested to hear who you think should appear on the podcast. Machine Yearning is made by Paul Chufo and Michael Alsesser for Limina House. Have a great day.