A gold braille watch helps keep a legacy alive
Kim Wrigley-Archer, Disability Studies ’07, wants Canadians to know that our country has its own Helen Keller. In 1972 Mae Brown became Canada’s first deafblind university graduate. She was a tireless advocate for greater opportunities for individuals with deaf-blindness.
“Mae’s drive and persistence in working towards creating deaf-blind services was key in initiating the intervenor services we have today,” says Wrigley- Archer, who has partial sight and hearing. Like many people with the dual disability of deaf-blindness — which includes a wide spectrum of hearing and vision loss — Wrigley-Archer sometimes uses intervenors, who are trained to be mediators in communicating with the world.
When the Ryerson School of Disability Studies presented an opportunity to heighten awareness of Brown’s story, Wrigley-Archer didn’t hesitate. In 2006 she joined a group of students, faculty, alumni and activists to produce an exhibit called Out from Under: Disability, History and Things to Remember, now housed at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
It features 13 objects that recount Canadian history from disabled people’s perspective. Brown’s gold braille watch accompanies Wrigley-Archer’s narrative of her pioneering life. Before studying at Ryerson, Wrigley-Archer had a 20-year career in computer programming. While she says the work could be rewarding, the professional culture did not support accessibility at that time.
In contrast, she found the environment at the School of Disability Studies respectful and empowering. “The faculty ‘walks the talk’ when it comes to inclusion,” she says. Wrigley-Archer is now an accessibility consultant with a focus on the workplace.
She is also on the board of directors for the Canadian Helen Keller Centre, where the new Mae Brown Memorial Room will open in June. “It’s important to keep Mae Brown’s name and legacy alive to serve as a reminder to other people — whether they are deaf-blind or not — not to place limitations on anyone.”
