Debate on Simulation Exercises

Within the disabled community in Malaysia, there are sentiments and opinions that Simulation Exercises should not be used in training for disability awareness training for  staff working and managing the public in the public services industries such as Public Transportation and Local Authority.

The following was my email message that I sent to some members of the community

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With regards to Training on Disability, I would like to give my opinion on the use of “Simulation Exercises” as a tool or method, which is a disability awareness training module that requires the participant to experience a ‘temporary state of disability’ by having them simulate, ie using a wheelchair, blind-folded etc., which is meant for them to understand barriers.

Simulation exercises should be used in conjunction of a specific context. Let me explain a bit more. In countries such as Japan, USA and the UK, they already have (i) disability discrimination laws; (ii) the disabled people had started their campaign way back in the 70s and 80s, and also, (iii) the architects and professionals would find it unacceptable where there are legal recourse (extensive laws) if they do not plan, design and managed the built environment and public transportation according to the discrimination acts and so on. They would be deem to be unprofessional if they did not include disabled people’s needs.

Simulation exercises in Malaysia and in many other UNESCAP countries MUST be used in conjunction with an ‘activist approach’ to solving the problems at the same time.It must never be a stand-alone exercise. You need to design it with a LEARNING COMPONENT, where the participant would understand the difference between an ‘impairment’ and a ‘disabling environment’ (two different concepts) and the ‘disabling environment’ is created by society and the participants themselves. This works particularly well with engineers, architects, planners, building managers, facilities managers and the CEO of an establishment.

I believe that it is not merely by chance that MPPP and MBPJ worked closely with disabled people. It could be reasoned out that, by their staff going through these types of disability awareness training, some learning and empathy had been created. However, not all of MPPP and MBPJ staff have been ‘well-trained’ and more awareness training needs to be done. It will be a long-process.

Yes, my thesis supervisor in the UK, who is also a carer to a person with learning disability, loathes simulation exercise and also many disabled people in the UK  dislike it thoroughly as it seems to be demeaning to the disabled person and the wheelchair user. Is this a visual thing? I actually never got any complaints from blind and partially sighted people when we use blind-folds, so I think it is an “identity issue”.

I would even take this subject a bit more to the debate that disabled people in Japan, USA and the UK would just need to “demand” for accessible and inclusive environment, and they will get it (how fast or slow would depend on bureaucracy) as their rights are enshrined with disability discrimination laws and the positive perception of disabled people by their countrymen. Whereas in Malaysia and many UNESCAP countries, disabled people are in actual fact at par with the poor and depraved people in the country subjected to less or non rights.

Perhaps correct me if I am wrong. I mean, disabled people in Japan, USA and UK are ’served well’ by their countrymen and protected by discrimination laws, so they can just demand whereby we have to think and do a more strategic approach. What is our best approach?

So the question is, perhaps simulation exercise if done carefully as part of a well-designed training system, coupled with the learning on how to do access surveys and audits, understanding the difference between impairment and disabling environment, learning how to specify barrier free/ inclusive or universal design and finding solutions and ways on how to solve the problems could be a more holistic approach in countries such as Malaysia where there are no discrimination laws.