by Charles H. Crawford
One of Rehabilitation Services Administration Commissioner Joanne Wilson's major objectives is to insure that the system of rehabilitation empowers consumers. This theme has been repeated many times in her speeches and within the context of the following is well worth supporting.
First, we must understand the roots of Commissioner Wilson's idea of empowerment. Clearly her roots in the Federation and her administration of a rehabilitation center based in NFB philosophy coupled with a review of her talks on the subject show that her thinking is guided by her history. This is as it should be since all of us have a frame of reference which we utilize to develop our ideas and share them.
Given the above, empowering consumers is a promise well worth keeping by the rehabilitation establishment, but requires some critical thinking to insure it really is a promise of liberty rather than a reflection of a flawed process, no matter how appealing the goal may be.
Empowerment as represented by Commissioner Wilson is for the most part a highly desirable state wherein the consumer gets to be a real partner in the process and able to make informed choices that will direct the course of that person's rehabilitation. So far so good. Respecting the ability of consumers to understand information provided by counselors who are supportive of consumer dignity and choice is the way things should be. However, two issues arise that must be thought through if empowerment is really to happen.
First, we must accept consumer choice as authentic and not simply a choice between options that serve the agency more than the consumer. While some issues may be muddier than others, the fact remains that the rehabilitation system must begin to take a serious look at what it offers, so that the "jargon" of choice doesn't serve merely to maintain the trappings of the same old system. This, among other things, means a serious revamping of thinking and an examination of options, including facility access to guide dog users, and the opportunity for consumers to utilize their remaining vision within rehabilitation settings.
The second issue is even more important than the first. Simply put, empowerment is the process of nurturing the innate capacity within all of us to freely make our own decisions and take responsibility for them. This is the cornerstone of ACB. It is the value upon which we rely to assure our decisions as an organization are the product of discourse between members who are free to take positions which from time to time may challenge our conventional thinking and leadership.
If Commissioner Wilson is looking to facilitate the kind of empowerment described in this all too short article, then she will have contributed much to the advancement of people with disabilities. If her conceptualization of empowerment remains a product of her past, then freedom of thought may well remain imprisoned in a philosophy that, for all its appeal and good intentions, takes control of the person rather than allowing a person to take control of his or her own life and future.