Meet the Deaf-Blind Lawyer Fighting For People With Disabilities
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It’s easy to forget how inaccessible our world is to anyone with limited vision or hearing. Even something as simple as watching a Facebook video is a challenge due to access barriers. Haben Girma is fighting to change that.
Ahead is a transcript of Haben’s interview so that it’s accessible to everyone.
Video: Haben sits on a couch
Haben: Deaf-blindness is a rare disability, so most of the time I’m the first person in a certain situation. So I’m used to being a pioneer.
Video: The first shot is Haben typing on a keyboard, and the second shot is Haben speaking at an event
Title reads: Meet the Deaf-Blind Lawyer Fighting For People With Disabilities
Video: Haben sits on a couch
Haben: A lot of my friends know better than to tell me that I can’t do something because that’s actually encouragement to try to find a solution.
Video: In the first shot, Haben communicates via sign language with a student. In the next four shots, she surfs, dances, skis, and scales a building.
Graphic: Haben Girma was born deaf-blind, meaning she has limited hearing and vision
But that hasn’t stopped her from surfing, dancing, skiing, and even scaling a building
Video: Haben smiles
Graphic: Growing up, Haben attended mainstream public schools and quickly learned to adapt
Video: Haben sits on a couch, talking
Haben: When I was in school, I had a teacher who trained me how to travel as a blind person.
Video: A bus drives down the street
Haben: I remember one of the lessons; she intentionally had me miss my stop so that I could learn how to problem solve when things go wrong.
Video: Haben works with a young student
Graphic: But not all students are so lucky
Video: Haben sits on a couch, talking
Haben: Many students with disabilities don’t have access to information when they’re in school.
Video: Close-up of a hand reading Braille on a keyboard
Haben: We need to make sure the schools have access to accessible technology, have access to qualified teachers who can provide training.
Video: In the first shot, Haben uses her Braille keyboard. In the second shot, a hearing aid is placed in a woman’s ear.
Graphic: Thanks to assistive technology, deaf-blind individuals have various ways to communicate
Video: Haben sits on a couch, talking. We see sporadic shots of her using her Braille keyboard.
Haben: Deaf-blindness is a spectrum. There are people with limited vision and limited hearing, and we use a variety of different communication styles: sign language, print on palm. What I use primarily is a keyboard and digital Braille display — so people will type on a wireless keyboard, and I’ll read in digital Braille.
Video: President Barack Obama communicates with Haben via keyboard, and they shake hands
Obama: Hi, Haben!
Haben: Hello. It’s good to meet you!
Video: Maxine, a German Shepherd, stands with Haben
Graphic: Haben also has her trusty guide dog, Maxine, by her side
Video: Haben stands outside in front of a leafy wall, talking
Haben: Her job is to navigate around obstacles.
Video: Maxine guides Haben around a trailer hitch, then walks with her down a street
Haben: I make the decisions, and she follows me.
Video: Image of Haben in a graduation gown speaking at a university, followed by an image of Haben paddleboarding across a body of water
Graphic: Early on, Haben quickly learned to be her own biggest advocate
Video: Haben sitting on a couch, talking
Haben: When I was young, I had to teach people what I need, and that process helped me build up self-advocacy skills.
Video: People gather food at a cafeteria
Haben: There was one incident when I was in college. The college cafeteria would provide menus only in print, and blind students couldn’t access the menu.
Video: Haben speaks at a TED Talk event
Graphic: Haben asked the cafeteria manager to provide an accessible menu, but her request was brushed off
Video: Haben sits on a couch, talking, followed by a shot of Haben on a laptop in the park, researching
Haben: Later, I did research. I learned that I have a right to information, and I returned to the cafeteria manager and explained, “I’m actually not asking for favors. I’m asking you to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.”
Video: Time-lapse shots of people walking through a crowded street, a busy city intersection, and traffic on the freeway
Graphic: The Americans With Disabilities Act, passed in 1990, prohibits discrimination based on disability in all areas of public life
Source: ADA.gov
Video: Haben sits on a couch, talking
Haben: It changed the whole culture in the cafeteria. They started providing menus in accessible formats. And that taught me that if I advocate for myself, I change the community.
Video: Haben, in a
