Editor's Introduction, Fall 2011

Special Issue of Disability Studies Quarterly: Mediated Communication

Individuals who experience disablement often find their social participation restricted, either through an unaccommodating workplace or school environment, or in other social settings that encompass civic, cultural, or leisure activities. These restrictions can take different forms and have varying consequences depending on the specific type of disability and the environmental accommodations that are available. Individuals whose communication modality differs from the rest of society are often dependent on a form of technology to assist them in their communication or an intermediary to communicate on their behalf in order to fully engage in society. This special edition of Disability Studies Quarterly (DSQ) focuses on this group of individuals and their experiences in overcoming the barriers with which they are faced. The articles in this edition address the issue of mediated communication from various perspectives: first-hand accounts, empirical and theoretical treatises, and methodological and ethical considerations.

Mediated communication is a cross-cutting subject area that can be explored through literal applications, such as sign language interpreting for deaf people, the use of communication boards and facilitated communication for autistic individuals or individuals with developmental disabilities; or more figurative/creative representations. These topics, and more, are among the themes explicated in the papers that are included in this edition.

This edition also explores other themes, such as the dual role that mediated communication plays in society. In 1964 Marshall McLuhan wrote:

"In cultures like ours, long accustomed to splitting and dividing all things as a means of control, it is sometimes a bit of a shock to be reminded that, in operational and practical fact, the medium is the message. This is merely to say that the personal and social consequences of any medium — that is, of any extension of ourselves — result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by extension of ourselves, or by any new technology" (1964:7, Understanding Media)

McLuhan, focusing on media and human interconnectivity, wrote Understanding Media at the very cusp of the technological era — before the digital revolution and the proliferation of computer and modern communication technologies — and it would seem timely to re-visit his pop culture phraseology now, at the beginning of the 21st century — and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth. While he may have spoken as a savant before his time, McLuhan's axiom "the medium is the message" takes on a different and more potent meaning when explored within disability discourse and in particular with reference to mediated communication. McLuhan's claim was that every new communication technology alters in some way our perception of the world. The media/human interaction does not however end there — and, to use another McLuhanism, "We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us."

In an attempt to understand McLuhan's "medium" in the context of 'compromised' communication, this edition of DSQ will explore the medium as a message about society, and medium as an effect on the message. Additionally, contributors will explicate how McLuhan's medium as message relates to mediated communication.

Some scholars have suggested that the growing dependency on technology is counter to Enlightenment (Horkheimer and Adono 1972). That is, where the Enlightenment era marked the move towards reason, equality, and emancipation, the Digital Age has created more inequality and dependency. And this, in turn, leads to the loss of a great deal of our freedoms. Indeed, depending on the medium, individuals who rely on technology to aid in communication must also give up some freedoms. They are, to some extent, at the mercy of the availability of the technology on which they rely. Furthermore, the mere fact that they rely on a technology to communicate with the rest of society implies that their primary means of communication is not accepted or understood and they are thus limited in how they can communicate. However, as will be seen in some of the articles in this edition, many people also experience emancipation because of the technology they employ.

Throughout this edition, articles explore the ways in which technology, broadly defined, aids in people's participation in society. However, we would be remiss if we did not discuss the post-modern argument about the detriment of having to rely on technology. In many ways, technology has freed us. It has allowed us to travel at ever faster speeds for greater distances. Technology has improved both individuals' life spans and the quality of their lives through various medical inventions, such as the pacemaker, eye glasses, wheelchairs, prosthetics, etc. And, of course, technology has aided people who might otherwise be without the ability to communicate with the majority of society. However, in many ways technology has become a proverbial crutch that mankind is unable to live without. In many ways we have now replaced one 'religion' with another (Horkheimer and Adono 1972).

In the twenty-first century technology is often seen as the universal savior. And, just as religion has often been cited throughout the ages as the reason for the outbreak of war between nations or groups, the role of technology has also been contentious. Take for example the issue of cochlear implants in the Deaf community (Christiansen and Leigh 2002). Those who support the implantation have been accused of "genocide”, while those maintaining opposing opinions in support of American Sign Language have been said to be abusing their children by opting to not "fix" a child's deafness.

Medium as the message

While we support the thesis that nearly all communication is mediated in some way or another, certain mediated communication is a reality because members of our society have worked to make it so. There have been technological advances that have been used to increase the participation of people who experience communicative barriers; and laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the United States have stipulated the 'ground rules' for accessibility and inclusion.

Two characteristics about a given society are illuminated when one considers these types of laws. They first point to the need for such legislation. What is implicit in these laws is that some members of a given society are barred, intentionally or otherwise, from fully participating in society. These laws then are enacted to remove barriers and make it possible for more people to access society. This leads to the second characteristic. These laws also indicate that the current values of a society include the ability for members of the society to have the communicative access to their fellow citizens.

The Effects of a Medium

In most of the industrial or post-industrial world, people's worth is measured, at least in part, on their ability to articulate ideas. Often, this is viewed as more important than the actual message itself. When the person attempting to communicate is forced to rely on a particular medium, such as a communication board or a sign language interpreter, because of a disability, she or he is attempting to belong or at least participate in society. In this way, Goffman's (1963) notion of passing is useful. That is, people employ various mediums in order to mitigate (or even remove) their Otherness. Ironically, it is often the presence, not absence, of the medium that brings to the forefront a particular disability. When an individual who uses a communication board to convey her thoughts, it may not be until the board is employed that the disability is realized. However, this is only an issue when the medium is visible. For example, when a deaf person chooses to use a sign language interpreter over the telephone and does not inform the other party that they are calling through an interpreter, nobody may know about the interpreter. As Goffman (1963) points out, when the person's attempt to pass is discovered, this could lead to a discrediting.

Another way in which the medium can have an effect on the interaction is when the medium malfunctions somehow. When people are interacting or communicating through technology, it is not unimagined that the technology can breakdown. When that occurs, unless other arrangements have been made, the interaction must halt or at least change dramatically. Aside from technology, mediums, such as interpreters, can also affect the interaction. As Brunson found in two separate studies, sign language interpreters who either take a request for another interpreter as a personal affront (Brunson 2010) or who decide what a particular person's look indicates about their dialect (Brunson 2011), both have tremendous influence over the interaction. Furthermore, the medium is often seen as an extension of the person using it. While this might be productive when the medium to access is a wheelchair or a service animal, it may be counterproductive if the medium is considered a reflection on of the user.

A way forward

The papers selected for this special edition of DSQ cover a wide range of themes related to mediated communication: they reference the mediator, the receiver and the medium. They also touch on the issues highlighted here: medium as a message (about society), medium's effect on the message, and medium as message as it relates to mediated communication. These topics, and others, are covered through scholarly works that are theoretical, empirical, methodological and social commentary.

Finally, as will become apparent in the papers presented in this edition of DSQ, the issue of mediated or facilitated communication is not without controversy. Individuals without a voice of their own must, of necessity, rely on others; not only to provide the words they lack but also to, in some cases, oversee their lives. One who cannot speak for him or herself is dependent — and they often must relinquish control over part of their lives to the guardianship of others.

Such is the case with one of the authors in this edition. Uncomfortable with some of the decisions made — and requests put forward by the author, this individual's guardians determined that those choices could not in reality reflect the author's own wishes and that his/her expression was being influenced by his/her facilitator. The guardians effectively terminated the author's relationship with the facilitator and pulled the plug on his/her access to communication.

At this point, we can only bring the attention of the readership of this Journal to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008). The Convention explicitly refers to "communication" as encompassing languages, display of text, Braille, tactile communication, large print, accessible multimedia as well as written, audio, plain-language, human-reader and augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication, including accessible information and communication technology. It further promotes accessibility to all forms of communication and the freedom of expression that communication would allow. The stated purpose of the Convention is to "promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity." (UN, 2008) Clearly, the rights of those who require mediated or facilitated communication have not been overlooked by the UN Convention.

We believe that this eclectic collection of contributions will:

• advance our current knowledge of mediated communication from the point of view of mediator, receiver(s), parent, partner, child, person with a disability, as well as the research community and the general public;
• spark a renewed debate on the issues surrounding mediated communication and social participation; and
• ultimately enhance the role of people who require mediated communication in society as a whole.

In the early 1960's Marshall McLuhan foresaw not only the impact of the role of computer technology on modern society, including that of the industry of communication; but further, he predicted that that selfsame man-made technology would reciprocally impact mankind itself. Evidence of those reciprocal impacts is to be found within these pages.