Annika Grassl uses her own experiences to create inclusive spaces for others

In celebration of Disability Pride Month, throughout July MPR News is featuring stories about Minnesotans with disabilities who are making an impact. See more at mprnews.org/changemakers. 

Annika Grassl got her start in disability advocacy work as a high school student, where she was denied the resources she needed as a student with cerebral palsy and low vision. She was able to transfer to a high school that was able to meet her needs, but she noticed that many more students with disabilities were not as lucky as her. That realization kickstarted her career.

More than a decade later, Grassl is currently finishing up work as a communicator on health equity at the Minnesota Department of Health. Grassl believes in sharing her own stories and experiences to help others and better inform the public.

Grassl explained the key to advocacy work is to make more and more people aware of what people with physical disabilities face day to day. She recently sat down with MPR News producer Ellen Finn to discuss disability equity.

Editor’s note: The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

What was your life was like when you first started thinking about advocacy work?

Grassl: I have mild cerebral palsy, which for me really just manifests in a weaker right side. I also am low vision. I do have bifocals, which have about 6x magnification on the bottom. I went to a local well-funded school district in the southern suburbs that had fantastic services all the way through starting at three months. Then, in high school, funding challenges led to the special camera I used to see the board being given to a different student.

So, I was just given a globe magnifier and basically told “good luck.” I was fortunate enough to be able to transfer schools to a small magnet school where I was immediately given any service I needed. Then, 17-year-old me just decided to run with it.

I lobbied for an increase in special education funding for the state of Minnesota, because we have what is called an unfunded mandate, which means that the federal government is supposed to cover 100 percent of special education costs. But at the time, in 2013, they only covered about 40 to 60 percent of costs, which left a large deficit to those schools. I was fortunate enough to have services and funding available, but that is often not the case across the state. That was my first entrance into public advocacy.  

Now  you’ve done way more advocacy work with your master’s degree in public health and you’ve participated inPartners in Policymaking. What have you gotten out of those programs? 

The key takeaway is just to remain tireless in your advocacy and to share personal stories, because that’s really what brings the point home. Data is also really important to drive that information home.

Is there anything you wish people knew about living with cerebral palsy or living with low vision that you think the public doesn’t get right? 

It all comes back to lack of understanding and lack of knowledge. I love even the tagline of MPR; Be curious. Even if it’s as simple as renting a wheelchair or using one at a hospital for a day to get around.

Just seeing the everyday challenge and how hard it can be to actually get through a doorway, or how even new construction that legally needs to be accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sometimes makes shortcuts. That lack of understanding and kind of pushing the questions aside and saying, “Oh, that’s somebody else’s problem,” puts disability and accessibility at the bottom of the list. 

What makes you hopeful about the advocacy work you’re seeing happening right now? 

I think just seeing the enthusiasm from different communities being in the Partners in Policy program this past year. We had everyone in the class from suburban moms to individuals with disabilities from outstate areas, and we had multiple languages spoken. We all came together with a common goal and it was really uplifting and touching.

My disabilities have really made me who I am and I wouldn’t imagine it any way else. I’ve created such a community in every workplace I’ve ever been with others who identify as having disabilities and encouraged people to ask for accommodations, which is their legal right. I’ve really taken it upon myself to use my own experience to create a more inclusive space for others. 

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