[NAGDU] Off topic/advocacy

[Marianne Denning]

I would definitely talk with the office manager and if this is not
successful I would keep going up the chain of command. You are absolutely
correct, you shouldn't have been treated that way. It is the responsibility
of the medical staff to help you complete the document since they don't
have it available in an accessible form. It is important to make sure you
are not treated like that on your next visit.

On Mon, Mar 20, 2017 at 9:42 AM, Dan via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Hello all,
> I’m writing the list to ask a really off-topic question: a little over a
> week ago I ran into a really uncomfortable situation at a doctor’s office
> and I’m wondering what I should do about it. I don’t know if I have any
> legal action I can take, or if, in fact, there is anything that can be done
> because I eventually was able to get into an appointment. The Facebook post
> in which I explained the situation is below:
> Thank you in advance for any advice,
> Dan.
>
> So, I haven't gotten a chance to write about this because i haven't been
> at a computer where I can organize my thoughts well enough. But, I want to
> tell ya'll about something unsettling that happened to me last Friday.: I
> went to a routine dermatologist examination last week and had n 8:45
> appointment time. First, the office couldn't process my primary insurance
> car so I had to switch to my secondary. By the time it all got figured out
> it was about 30 minutes past my appointment. The receptionist told me that
> she would get me into the soonest possible appointment and to take a seat.
> that's when everything went wrong: I had only been waiting for about 2
> minutes when the receptionist informed me that she was going to be unable
> to get me into an appointment. Not because there were none to be had; not
> because it would disrupt the scheduling of other patients; but because I am
> blind. She told me that because of my disability (and office policy) I was
> unable to give consent for medical treatment and sign forms. I informed her
> (and showed her my ID) that I am 22 years old and perfectly able to give
> consent. Furthermore, I am perfectly capable of signing my own signature on
> forms. Unfortunately, that was not good enough for them; they could not
> take my signature as consent and I would have to bring a family member in
> to help me. I then demanded the form that had to be filled out, (and even
> here they were unwilling to give it to me) and turned to a complete
> stranger and asked her to help me fill it out (thank you Linda). They said
> that yes, if Linda helped me fill it out they could except it. Linda and I
> got about half way through filling out the form when we were informed that
> the supervisor had finally said it was ok if one of the staff helped me
> (I'm not sure that we ever got this form filled out entirely). After all
> this, I finally got into see the doctor around 10:30 or 10:45. I have never
> been so close to crying in front of a room full of strangers. Being told
> that your word, your signature, your consent, means nothing without a
> sighted person to back it up was so demoralizing and dehumanizing. It was
> like they were saying I was less than everyone else and no matter what I
> was so broken that I needed someone else to make choices for me. y'all,
> discrimination really does exist. I am a person too; just because my eyes
> don't work doesn't mean I can't do most things a sighted person can
> do...and it sure as hell doesn't mean that I need someone to sign for me,
> give consent for me, or make decisions for me. We need to speak up against
> things like this or it's going to keep happening.
>
>
>
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-- 
Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
(513) 607-6053