Able Privilege Scorecard
Mark “True” for scenarios that fit your experience, which may include things not happening to you. Mark “False” for those that do not fit your experience. Total the “True” marks at the end to compute your score.
Part 1: The physical environment
T F Transportation and travel
It’s easy for me to get to meetings or events any time of the day, any day of the week, whether by driving or using public transportation.
When I arrive, I can almost always find a parking place that lets me exit my vehicle and is connected to a usable path or sidewalk that leads to the venue.
I can schedule my day and week with relative certainty and can spontaneously change my plans when event, trip, or meeting plans change.
Detailed information describing facilities I want to visit is easily available, and I seldom find that the information I found on-line or was given is not accurate.
T F Public gatherings and meetings
I have choices of ways to move between floors in a multi-story building, and I can generally arrive at a class or workshop at around the same time as most others.
I can sit with my peers, friends, or family anywhere I like when I attend worship, a conference, or a performance.
I can count on easily exiting a space and building in case of an emergency.
In most settings I can find spaces that are not overwhelming to me from a sensory perspective in terms of lighting, sound levels, scents, movement, décor, etc.
I can understand the speaker from most parts of a gathering space, and can follow the presentation when only spoken words, images, or gestures are used.
Handouts, agendas, etc., are provided in a format that I can use during the event.
When invited to speak or preach, I assume I will be able to safely use the chancel or speaker’s platform.
T F Dining
I can easily see, reach, and carry food offered buffet or potluck style.
When I go out to eat, I can pick from a number of restaurants, knowing I will be able to enter the building, have a choice of tables, and use the restroom.
Menus are available in a format which doesn’t require someone else to assist me.
When I dine out, the waitstaff always ask me directly what I would like to order.
Part 2: The social environment
T F Public interaction
Strangers do not typically stare or ask intrusive questions when I am in public.
I have never had anyone come up to me and grab my hands, bag, or mobility device and assist me without asking first even when I say I don’t need assistance.
Strangers do not come up to me and offer to pray for my healing.
When I express concerns or share that I have a non-apparent disability, people will take me at my word and not argue, rationalize, or dismiss what I have said.
Random people do not ask me what is wrong with me, offer unsolicited medical advice, or expect me to share personal medical information with them.
T F Everyday living and safety
I can find affordable housing that meets my needs in the area of my choice.
I can find a job as easily as anyone else and am paid the same as others.
If friends invite me to visit their home, I assume I will be able to get into the house and use its facilities without needing assistance or taking safety risks.
The supports I need for daily living cost about the same as anyone else’s.
I don’t have many medical appointments or therapy treatments that drain my energy and get in the way of work, meetings, and other activities.
If I use a cane, crutches, or other mobility aids, people don’t take them from me to an unknown location with the promise to bring them back when I need them.
T F Roles and image
When I meet new people, they don’t typically interact awkwardly with me.
I’m often asked to be in leadership, and others look to me for guidance.
In organizational leadership, in educational and church settings, and in the media, I frequently see people like me represented in a positive manner.
I’ve never sensed that I was asked to join a group as a token representative.
____/30 TOTAL SCORE
Add all the True items
Debriefing
To help raise awareness of ableism, these scenarios describe the opposite of what many disabled people experience. The scores reveal the often-unacknowledged privilege, or unearned advantages, of those of us who are temporarily non-disabled. Scores may reflect the fact that some of us have multiple identities that erase some of our privilege. The point of the activity is not to blame or shame anyone, but to help all of us come alongside each other to break down barriers to participation and belonging. May our hearts and minds be opened a little further as we engage in thoughtful reflection followed by action!
Lynn Swedberg, Disability Ministries Committee of the United Methodist Church, revised 10/14/24