When I connected with Alison Cernich, Ph.D., to discuss the scientific workforce and people with disabilities, she offered her perspectives and posed a crucial question that can unlock greater possibilities.
Dr. Cernich is the Deputy Director of the NIH Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and co-lead of the Disabilities Subgroup of the NIH Steering Committee Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Working Group. A neuropsychologist, she is a national leader in rehabilitation medicine.
As we recognize Disability Pride Month, her advice is particularly germane.
Contributions to Science
“Working with scientists with disabilities, I’ve learned they bring a different lens to science and how they approach methodology,” she said. “People with disabilities are often confronted with an environment that was not built for them and they often must think about things that we don't.”
The contrasts are clear to Dr. Cernich.
“As a person without functional limitations, I don't have to think about certain things,” she explains. “I get on an airplane and don't have to consider whether a mobility device is going be charged enough. And when I go to a conference, I can assume that I’ll be able to see the speaker and the slides, but if I'm a person with visual impairment, I can't assume that.”
Yet, solutions that help people with disabilities often benefit all of us.
“I’m a big fan of the curb-cut effect,” said Dr. Cernich. The curb-cut effect is an example of how laws and programs designed to benefit one group of people end up helping more people. “Many sidewalks have curb cuts that help people who use a mobility device, but if you've used a stroller, a wagon, a cart, or a bike, it also helps you.”
There are examples in science, too. Dr. Cernich described how microscopes adapted to help people who cannot bend their necks can help others avoid neck injuries and pain. Another adaptation is an exam table that moves up and down, which can help patients with various needs—and their providers.
“When we bring more people in, we potentially not only improve the science and think about problems differently, we may also improve our scientific environments so they’re healthier and more accessible.”
For instance, using large font helps more than those with visual impairments. “Having less space for words means that you get the information down to what’s essential,” said Dr. Cernich. “This saves everyone time.”
When she uses PowerPoint, Dr. Cernich takes advantage of a feature that makes presentations accessible to people who may be colorblind. “If the text is all blue, for example, not everyone will be able to see,” she said. According to the NIH National Eye Institute, about 1 in 12 men have color vision deficiency.
Discovering how scientists with disabilities may approach an issue or environment caused Dr. Cernich to look at her work differently. “For me, it transformed the way I interact with science,” she said.
The Dangers of Assumptions
Dr. Cernich’s essential advice is: “Don’t assume.”
“I've had a lot of colleagues who are wheelchair users because they had a spinal cord injury or because they had polio. It doesn't mean they're cognitively limited; it means they use a wheelchair to get around,” she explained. “There are people who will talk to them differently, or even worse, will talk to the person with the wheelchair user instead because they assume there's a cognitive disability.”
As she said, “We need to get to know the person rather than make an assumption about the disability.”
One of Dr. Cernich’s mentors had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. “Just because she used a mobility device and had difficulty speaking, didn't mean that she couldn't write articles and do amazing things scientifically. Her cognition was perfect. She gave me lots of great insights.”
For Dr. Cernich, possibility and insight are an antidote to assumptions based on appearances and stigma.
A Question Every Leader Should Ask
One way supervisors can learn about possibility and insight in the scientific workforce is to ask everyone, “What do you need to succeed in this field?”
The answers may differ depending on whether someone has a disability.
Dr. Cernich says it’s particularly important for more experienced scientists to approach their staff with this question.
“Our trainees are so worried about their performance and proving themselves that it’s hard, even for some senior-level people, to request accommodations because it could be seen as weak or having more needs than you should. In many cases, accommodations can be made at a minimal cost,” she said. “We can influence discussions and normalize that it's okay to ask for what you need to be successful.”
Consider what else you can do to unlock additional possibilities in science.