Episode #02 - Ronan Soussa

Speaker 1  0:02  
Disability failure,

Speaker 2  0:07  
disability failure,

Speaker 3  0:14  
y'all. Mouse,

Mel Harrison  0:42  
welcome to Disability Fail 101 where we discuss the well-meaning moments that totally missed the mark, shining a light on the environmental and attitudinal barriers all around us. Join me, Mel Harrison, and my guests as we share our stories one fail at a time, so I have a very special guest, Ronan Sousa, who is somebody I massively adore, and I think is a really good person out there. They're very good with raising awareness around disability and autism. Some people might know Ronan from Love on the Spectrum Season Two, but I just know Ronan as just being like a powerful advocate out there. So I'm very excited about Ronan being on the podcast.

Speaker 4  1:37  
Thank you, Mel. I have to be honest with you, it's such an honor for me to be here today, and I'm feeling so excited to share my story.

Mel Harrison  1:48  
So, Ronan, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Speaker 4  1:52  
I have autism, but I don't really focus on that much, because I'm always thinking of the things that I can do and not the things that I can't, I have so many passions that really inspire me about what I do. For instance, I love playing the piano and tuba, I like acting, singing, and dancing. I enjoy watching all of the motor racing. I really enjoy doing karate and making some films behind the scenes throughout my filmmaking courses, and I really enjoy working at the Moxie Hotel as a food and beverage attendant. I have to say, Love on the Spectrum season two was such a wonderful experience for me, and meeting my girlfriend Katie was such a beautiful thing. So the reason why I want to educate people on disability fails is because I want to encourage people with disabilities to not let their disability prevent them from doing the things they truly love. I want to spread happiness to people and use the power of positivity, and I want society to realize that people with disabilities deserve to be seen, heard, and valued. Raising awareness is so important by what I do, it's because many people might not notice or understand how to help people with disabilities. So, I think raising awareness is very important for me, and, and I also want to create change and promote true inclusion and acceptance, as well.

Mel Harrison  3:42  
So, when you say that, Ronan, like, what does that mean for you, for yourself? Like, how does that affect you?

Speaker 4  3:51  
So, say, for example, like, if I had a different disability, then everything would be totally unexpected, and it would be so unusual to understand everything. So, basically, having autism for me is probably best, and, like I said, I don't focus on that, because many times autism can be known as a hidden disability. Some disabilities are not obvious or visible at times. If there's no visible disability, it leads to disbelief, and the reason I say that is because when people can't see the disability, they assume the person is completely fine, and they fail to see the struggles that someone with a disability may have, and that would lead to people with disabilities having to manage their struggles, but also have to explain or justify, as well, you know, people with disabilities may communicate differently and not. Social cues, which makes it very hard to build or keep friendships going.

Mel Harrison  5:05  
When you are talking about that, Ronan, like, what do you think people could do better to help with that? And there's a lot of people that just don't understand what it is around the invisible disability, and you're having to advocate around that all the time, are there things that it would make it better for you?

Speaker 4  5:27  
From my point of view, there are some solutions that can be helped. So, for instance, I would be given clear and simple language, so I would understand, and and even extra time to respond to which makes it very easy and of course patience is the key because that way you're avoiding assumptions or even laziness as well and even demonstrations shown visually or written is very easy for me to understand as well, because that way people are avoiding barriers of every disability fail.

Mel Harrison  6:11  
Yep,

Speaker 4  6:11  
it's like giving people with disabilities the opportunity to show that we are all capable of doing everything.

Mel Harrison  6:19  
Absolutely, so Ronan, is there any disability fails that you can think of that have happened in your lifetime that you would like to address or let people know, and for them to understand different ways of being able to, like, work with the disability community?

Speaker 4  6:41  
I would strongly say some social misunderstandings can lead to lots of loneliness and isolation, or even feeling left out, which makes it very miserable for people with disabilities, and behaviors can be judged as anti-social instead of understanding the disability. In fact, some certain behaviors can be a coping mechanism, not a choice, which can obviously lead to judgment for people who are being difficult or awkward at times.

Mel Harrison  7:20  
It's interesting that you say that, Ronan, because throughout all of my work working in the disability community, often people with disability are seen as having challenging behaviors, and I'm always like, well, people with disability don't have challenging behaviors, it's the fact that they're not being heard, or they're not being listened to, or they're not having the opportunity to communicate, so you know anybody that doesn't get heard or isn't able to communicate is gonna actually exhibit a behavior. It's quite sad that when it comes to disability community can

Speaker 4  8:00  
be sad at first, it can be, but over time

Mel Harrison  8:03  
it

Speaker 4  8:03  
begins to become a lot more better, because understanding the disability is important and promoting acceptance and inclusion. In fact, there is an old saying that I have learned, and it's called see the person first, not their disability, because basically their disability is just a part of who they are, and remember they have dreams, strengths, and

Mel Harrison  8:32  
interests,

Speaker 4  8:34  
and also it's very important to be patient, listen, and include people with disabilities in your community to make them feel valued.

Mel Harrison  8:47  
When did you learn all of this? Because I feel like you've learned all this and you've become really passionate about it, and you're like a massive advocate about it, but was there something that was your turning point.

Speaker 4  9:02  
Basically, I've been doing a bit of ambassadorships lately, so being an ambassador for the Autism Community Network, Buster Films, Sydney Disability Workability Expo, and International Day of People with Disability, it's given me so many skills of public speaking, and, and even like a lot of promotions too. It's like making every organization feel so inclusive, and even giving people with disabilities their opportunity to shine bright by whatever they do, because people with disabilities can do anything as long as they are being helped and support, which is obviously perfect, and yeah, loads of support means people with disabilities can be more. Confident by what they do,

Mel Harrison  10:02  
absolutely. So, if I just bring you back a little bit, have there been any disability fails that you can think of that didn't go great? And then you wanted, like, people to learn from.

Speaker 4  10:18  
So, from my point of view, I would strongly say people who don't know me assume that I don't have a disability, and there could be some higher expectations, and even people don't understand that sudden changes take me by surprise unexpectedly, and that can cause me to feel overwhelmed sometimes, and, and even I learned something important too. In accessible communication, so inaccessible communication is obviously where people are not given in a way that works for them, and obviously a lack of visual support is another good reason, and sometimes eye contact and small talk can be difficult expectations as well,

Mel Harrison  11:12  
and when these are things that may be challenging or difficult for you, what would make it easier for you.

Speaker 4  11:22  
Basically, I would say giving people like some sensory overload, for instance, like giving a space to chill and relax where it's quiet, and

Mel Harrison  11:35  
yeah,

Speaker 4  11:35  
and even avoid loud noises if they feel so uncomfortable, and even bright lights as well, that could be some solution that will make people with disabilities feel comfortable, and another way to prevent disability fails on what you're saying is having inclusion in all spaces in the community, such as making adjustments and accommodations to support people with disabilities. How

Mel Harrison  12:05  
do we do that? What kind of things do you think about that when you're thinking about that? What do you think? The

Speaker 4  12:11  
reason I say that is because it's very important to listen and learn from people with lived experience, because they have valuable advice,

Mel Harrison  12:23  
and why is it so important that we need to listen to the people with lived experience,

Speaker 4  12:30  
so that that way there will be a better understanding, and they will have some incredible realizations on what people with disabilities think is the perfect solution, and it makes them believe in themselves. It gives them loads of courage.

Mel Harrison  12:53  
I completely agree with you, Ronan. That's absolutely what I believe in, and I think it's really important, like you've said about the communication, and like move the barriers, you know.

Speaker 4  13:04  
Speaking of communications, it's also important to ask people how they prefer to communicate, because every communication is different, obviously, and

Mel Harrison  13:16  
it

Speaker 4  13:17  
doesn't matter if the communication is different, because what really matters is communication is just basically normal, having a friendly conversation with a friend or with anybody.

Mel Harrison  13:32  
Yeah, and I think exactly what you said, like communication is varied depending on who you're actually communicating with, but like you've mentioned that if communication needs to be varied, we need to look at that

Speaker 4  13:46  
exactly. We just have to be very understanding, patient, and listen, because the disability is just a part of who people really are.

Mel Harrison  13:57  
Yeah, do you think it's hard for people to understand how to communicate with people with disability,

Speaker 4  14:05  
sometimes it can be hard to begin with, but over time, the more times people with disabilities see each other more and more, they will slowly get to know each other. That's what builds the friendships going, because it takes a lot of practice to understand social cues and even how to communicate differently, and obviously we don't want any judgment because of that, we just want all the positiveness and loads of happiness to be spread and delivered to so many people with disabilities.

Mel Harrison  14:45  
Yeah, and so Ronan, if you had to think about what would you want people to know out in the community in terms of making sure that people just understand. Understand what disability is, and how to remove some of the barriers and the communications out there.

Speaker 4  15:06  
Obviously, we want to avoid any accusations and assumptions of laziness, and even we want to be fair and give people with disabilities every chance to make things fair and square, because there is one thing I can describe: having accessibility in all spaces is very important to people with disabilities. For instance, lifts for people to travel in, and even ramps for people in wheelchairs is very important, because that way there won't be any issues of traveling somewhere.

Mel Harrison  15:49  
Yep, and what other issues are you thinking about?

Speaker 4  15:54  
Even escalators as well, like that's for like people who can't walk for a long amount of time to be honest, and also this is the most important thing that I've really discovered. We want to help people with disabilities improve employment opportunities, which involves more job availability and supports to gain employment, which makes things a lot easier with better education for employers to make more inclusive workplaces,

Mel Harrison  16:31  
and for the people that are listening.

Speaker 4  16:34  
Yeah,

Mel Harrison  16:34  
what do you think are some of the ways that they could get on board to help with that process?

Speaker 4  16:40  
I want people with disabilities to know that their voice matters.

Mel Harrison  16:45  
Yep,

Speaker 4  16:47  
their voice matters, because whether it's having autism or any other disability, it doesn't matter, because what's really important is the friendships have to stay positive. We don't want any judgment at all, because, like I said, no visible disability leads to disbelief, and we don't want any disbelief at all.

Mel Harrison  17:13  
No, absolutely, I completely agree with that. So you want people with disability to realize that their voice matters, but if you've got people that don't have disability jumping on line and hearing this podcast, what would you want them to know about making sure that inclusion happens for people with disability?

Speaker 4  17:37  
So, the reason I say inclusion, it's because we want people with disabilities to feel so inclusive on wherever they are, and we always want to ensure that they feel welcome at any organization.

Mel Harrison  17:56  
Absolutely, so if we look at that, and then we look at there's someone coming in that is an employer looking at working with a whole bunch of people that have disability, what would you want them to know to make sure that you and all your friends working there are included,

Speaker 4  18:20  
so basically from my point of view, we always have to make some adjustments and accommodations to support people with disability in open employment.

Mel Harrison  18:34  
So that's what you're doing. What would you like all the employers to do to make sure that you all get what you need,

Speaker 4  18:44  
so basically I would say clear and simple language and demonstrations shown visually, and offer written, and even some extra time to respond, because the reason I say that it's because sometimes there could be expectations, such as people talking very fast or too much information given at once, not enough time to respond and expect answers immediately, which can be very confusing sometimes. So I would say clarification is the key for people with disabilities who are very confused, because it's obviously okay to speak up. Questions can be asked,

Mel Harrison  19:31  
but if questions are asked, you want some kind of response.

Speaker 4  19:36  
I would say in a positive response, because that way you're being shown a couple of times, and then people with disabilities who try to gain employment and be able to work there, they will slowly get a better understanding of what it's like to live in a workplace.

Mel Harrison  19:56  
Yep, absolutely, absolutely, it's. So, if you had to think, what is one key message you'd like people to know about helping people with disability move forward, and it's not just being about a disability fail.

Speaker 4  20:14  
So, from my point of view, I would strongly have to say that different isn't less different is necessary, because everyone's different, and it doesn't matter if it's like the same disability or it's different, because we all want people to stay positive and be able to listen and learn and understand from those people, because we want people to realize what their wants and needs truly are, so that way for the wants and needs from those people who are having difficulty with something, they will feel a lot more comfortable.

Mel Harrison  21:01  
Yep, absolutely, and Anything else you'd like to add?

Speaker 4  21:05  
So, I would strongly say, for people with disabilities, especially hidden disabilities, autism, we all want to reach new heights by what we do, because we are all capable,

Mel Harrison  21:21  
absolutely capable

Speaker 4  21:22  
of everything, and it's always important to be patient, understanding, listen, and include people with everything, because we always want to promote acceptance, awareness of everything, because we are always showing support to one another

Mel Harrison  21:43  
absolutely well. Ronan, thank you so much for coming in today. I always find this very enjoyable that I get to hear your insights on how it is in the disability community, so it's really important to have your voice heard, so I'm very, very excited that you're my number one guest on this podcast.

Speaker 4  22:07  
What I can say is not only does your voice matter, but the people's voices deserve to be heard

Mel Harrison  22:15  
absolutely,

Speaker 4  22:16  
and they have so much to offer if given the chance to do something

Mel Harrison  22:21  
absolutely, and I am a very strong advocate for that. Voices do matter. Let's keep that moving forward. Some of the stuff that you've mentioned in this podcast, around the communication and the barriers, and just actually working with people is really important, and I think a lot of people don't always understand that, or get that, or don't resonate with that, but you speak it very clearly, which I think that's really good that you've done that.

Speaker 4  22:53  
Truly appreciate it.

Mel Harrison  22:59  
Now we've got a new regular segment for you. The good friend Blind Mike pulls out people who make life way more difficult than it needs to be. All

Speaker 5  23:13  
right, so this week's Winge grabbing the back of someone's wheelchair without permission. Yep, I'm looking at you people, all right. You know, you've all done it once or twice. I know you're thinking you want to help people. Oh, you know, let's be a white knight, let's go out, help someone with a disability, cross the road or get to where they need to go. No, no, stop yourself right there. All right, blind Mike can see you, even blind Freddy can see you, not gonna work. Grabbing someone's wheelchair and just assuming that they want help without asking them is like tugging at their leg without consent. Okay, if you're going to do that, stop and ask them, "Hey, is there anything I can do for you? Where do you need to go? Just grabbing it and pushing, not only is inappropriate, it's uncomfortable, unconsensual, and you know what, it's pretty goddamn frightening for people in a wheelchair. All right, so mr. White Knight, step back, hold yourself accountable, and just ask next time, all right? Because otherwise, Blind Mike is going to fry a cane at you.

Mel Harrison  24:24  
Thanks for listening to Disability Fail 101 with me, your host Mel Harrison. Tune in next time for another episode. In the meantime, you can find us on Facebook and on Instagram at Disability Fail 101 This episode was recorded at Impact Institute with production support from radio to RPH. The program was made possible with support from the Community Broadcasting Foundation. If you'd like to hear the podcast version, head over to Disability Fail 101 on your favorite.

Unknown Speaker  25:00  
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