TikTok video awarded for exposing 5 ‘excuses’ used to exclude people with disabilities

Italian Down syndrome advocacy organization CoorDown partnered with the creative agency Small last year to release a video for a TikTok campaign calling for disability inclusion. That video, “Ridiculous Excuses Not to be Inclusive,” has just won an award.

The TikTok video, which highlights five of the “excuses” people often use to discriminate against those with disabilities, recently won silver in the Small Agency Best Use of TikTok. The video showcases five instances in which people with Down syndrome experienced discrimination.

“All the ridiculous experiences you’re about to hear have been given for real,” the video says in its opening.

RIDICULOUS EXCUSES NOT TO BE INCLUSIVE | World Down Syndrome Day 2023

Viewers first see a group of students boarding a school bus for a field trip. “So why can’t my kid come on the field trip again?” asks a mom standing next to her son.

“Because we’re not prepared for this,” says a teacher, giving the first ridiculous excuse. “It’s not you, my dear, it’s us,” she says to the boy.

Other ‘ridiculous excuses’ seen in the video include a judo instructor who says he can only take a student at 10:00 (when the boy is in school), a camp counselor who refuses admission to a young girl because “we already have one of those kids,” and a woman excluded from a meeting because “we don’t have enough chairs.” All of those discriminated against had Down syndrome.

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When the video was released last year, CoorDown noted that it used inspiration from real-life examples when creating its video campaign.

“Some of these excuses were so incredibly ridiculous that they deserved to be brought to life and properly celebrated,” the organization said. “This is where the film draws its inspiration from: in a comic, yet bitter, tone of voice it tells precisely the most frequently used excuses for denying access and legitimate space to people with disabilities.”

The video resonated with viewers; following its release, more than 3,000 people shared their stories either in the comments sections of CoorDown’s videos or in their own TikToks.

“The time has come to break down this wall as well and expose the false ‘good intentions’ of those who out of laziness or lack of understanding still exclude people with intellectual disabilities,” said Antonella Falugiani, President of CoorDown ODV following the campaign’s launch. “With this campaign we will give space and voice to boys, girls, children and adults with their families who will tell us how many ridiculous excuses they have had to listen to and how they reacted to assert their right to participate and decide on every aspect of their lives.”

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