News and Accessibility

Well, hello there!

So, I haven't been around in... over a year?!.. oops, my bad..

There's definitely quite a bit that's gone on since then, isn't there? Let's see... the entire world being in a pandemic, the US elections, and just a few other life-altering things. On a smaller scale, I have added business coaching to my repertoire of services. New service, new business name...I am so stoked about this, guys! You may now refer to me as the owner of Zoey Schvan Business Corner! Let me know what you guys think of the website, logo, etc.!

With my past years of experience in the business world, as well as my life-long passion for entrepreneurship, I feel like I can really help people starting up their own businesses. Who am I going to help? Well, people like me, of course! People who are starting their self-employment journey, and also happen to have a disability, and/or any other health challenge(s). With my experience and empathy, I feel like I can really help these clients. From my own story, I know that this is needed, as it wasn't until I worked with Causeway (center to help disabled people gain [self]employment), that I truly felt confident enough to begin my own journey. Sadly, there is a belief in this society that disabled people aren't (or shouldn't be) able to contribute in the same ways as able-bodied people. For lack of better, more professional wording, this really sucks! If I can play even just a tiny part in changing this stigma, then I will consider myself to be so very lucky.

Over the past few months, I've fallen in love with two YouTubers, which is not usually my thing, to be honest. Squirmy and Grubs features Shane Burcaw and his wife Hannah Aylward, an interabled couple. I cannot get enough of their videos! Not only are they hilarious and entertaining, they are also doing a great job at normalizing disability. Shane himself is a super successful entrepreneur, so a great example for me to show my future clients!

So! All that to say, I wanna work towards making business more accessible to disabled people.

Here are five of the misconceptions about disability that I hope to tackle:

1) People with disabilities lead sad, empty lives. This is so far from the truth!

2) Those who have a disability cannot take care of themselves, and are therefore a burden on all those around them. Having lived with a disability my whole life, I can attest to the fact that this does not seem to be the case :)

3) Disabled people are sick. This one is a common belief, as people often think the two are interchangeable.

For this one, I actually have an example! Tully, a fellow FD adult, recently shared a personal story on Facebook, where she had to deal with this situation head-on. After having ordered takeout, and having to go down to the lobby of her building (another thing that us disabled folk have to deal with regularly), she was asked by the delivery guy what had happened, which was clearly referring to her using a walker. I have several issues with this question. Firstly, this assumption that just because someone uses a walker, something is wrong. Secondly, how is any of this any of his business? It is possible that this guy just meant well and did not know any better, but I really do wish these questions weren't as common.

4) Not sure if this one occurs often, but I've heard it before; a person with one disability has all of them. Let me explain further... It seems to be believed that if I let's say, have a physical disability, then I clearly also have a mental one as well. So untrue!

5) Okay, so this one is awkward, but important; disabled people cannot have sex. Again, this is false.

I really try not to be negative about all of this, but it does need to be talked about, so here I am starting the conversation in my own little way. I aim to stay involved with this issue, and do what I can to help educate people.

What should I add to the list?

I am really going to aim to post every two weeks from now on... some disability related and some not. I have a couple guest posts lined up as well. Stay tuned!

Until then, take care and stay safe, guys!