重口味SM

U of T prof makes disability and accessibility research his life's work

Ron Buliung dedicated his professional life to studying disability 鈥 and the experiences of people with disabilities 鈥 after his daughter was born with a genetic neuromuscular disease
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Ron Buliung, a professor in U of T Mississauga鈥檚 department of geography, geomatics and environment, says his research aims to 鈥渏ust make things work鈥 for people with disabilities and their families (photo by Romi Levine) 

When Ron Buliung鈥檚 youngest daughter was born, it changed his life both as a parent and as a researcher. 

She was born with spinal muscular atrophy type 2, a genetic neuromuscular disease that causes progressive muscle weakness and requires her to use a wheelchair.

Since then, Buliung, a professor of geography, geomatics and environment at the 重口味SM Mississauga, has made disability and accessibility research his life鈥檚 work. 

鈥淚t took me a while to process what was happening in my family,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 then decided I wanted to dedicate my professional life to disability study and the experiences of disabled persons in cities. Since I made that commitment, I haven鈥檛 really looked back.鈥 

Over the years, Buliung has delved into disability and accessibility issues. One of his projects . He found that people with disabilities face both physical and economic barriers to accessing food 鈥 putting them at greater risk of food insecurity. 

鈥淭hat research was very timely, given the pandemic and subsequent rise in food prices,鈥 says Buliung, who also teaches at the St. George campus. 鈥淭he problems we identified in that work have been exacerbated by current conditions.鈥 

Much of his research鈥痠s motivated by his experiences as a father, as outlined in .鈥疐or example, when his daughter started school, he felt frustrated as he watched her face physical barriers to school transportation 鈥 an experience鈥痵hared by many other parents and caregivers of children with disabilities.  

, he and graduate students found that young learners with disabilities face excess travel time to school,鈥痑nd early departure times at the end of the day, which can result in unacceptable levels of missed classroom time and peer interaction.鈥 

鈥淲e questioned the ways in which transportation can be both an enabler and barrier to access to education,鈥 Buliung explains. 

He also , finding that people with disabilities have a significantly higher risk of pedestrian collisions, injuries and fatalities. He wanted to study this issue after walking in Toronto鈥檚 The Junction neighbourhood with his daughter and noticing the hazards she faced as a pedestrian. 

鈥淚 noticed her position and height, relative to parked cars, and the pedestrian countdown signal buttons,鈥 he says. 鈥淗er visibility is an issue when she鈥檚 sitting in her power wheelchair and she was the height of a four- or five-year-old. If she was hit, all of her vital systems were in the path of a vehicle.鈥 

Looking ahead, Buliung says he鈥檚 interested in studying the effects of climate change on people living with disabilities 鈥 for example, the barriers they face when they must evacuate due to extreme events like wildfires. 

鈥淚f you look at the casualty figures of extreme weather events, you鈥檒l find a disproportionate representation of elderly and disabled persons. It鈥檚 terrible, and unnecessary,鈥 he says. 鈥淚f you think about the pace of the recent fire in Maui ... the fire swept through so quickly 鈥 imagine trying to remove yourself if you have a mobility challenge.鈥 

Buliung was recently named a Distinguished Professor鈥痠n Geographies of Disability and Ableism for a five-year term. He joins two other U of T Mississauga faculty members 鈥 Kent Moore of the department of chemical and physical sciences and Robert Gerlai of the department of psychology 鈥 in .

Buliung describes the designation as a 鈥渧ery big deal鈥 for his research focus. 

鈥淭his designation is honouring the subject matter of the work, and bringing maybe a bit more attention to disabilities in cities and the academy,鈥 he says. 

Over the next five years, he hopes to study the experience of siblings (with disabilities and/or without) of children with disabilities 鈥 a topic that is personally meaningful and aligns with his multidisciplinary approach to work. 

As the father of three,鈥痟e thinks about the experiences of all his children.鈥 

鈥淭here is more work to be鈥痙one looking at how siblings, parents, other family members and outside care workers relate to one another and disability within a family or household,鈥 he says. 鈥淭here can be some challenges around the disproportionate amount of time鈥痶hat can be鈥痑ssociated with engaging in care work for one child.鈥 

Buliung ultimately hopes his research will draw attention to important issues and ultimately create changes that will make people鈥檚 lives easier.  

鈥淭he idea behind my research is: let鈥檚 just make things work. Let鈥檚 try to shape things in such a way that people who are disabled and their families have to do less work to basically access the same kinds of things that many other people do.鈥 

 

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