Monograph Review

Title:  Understanding and Accommodating People with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity in 
Independent Living
Author:  Pamela Reed Gibson, Ph.D.
Publisher:  Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) 
Cost: Up to 20 at no cost, $3 apiece after
From Dawn Heinsohn at ilru@ilru.org or phone 713/520-0232 ext. 130 (V), or 713/520-5136 (TTY). 
Via the web at http://www.ilru.org/Publications/dateShelf.html
Reviewer:  Susan Molloy

  Chemical and electrical exposures methodically incapacitate thousands of individuals a year, and 
slam them into isolation. Pamela Gibson, of VirginiaÕs James Madison University, has written 
several outstanding books describing the emergence of this burgeoning population, and the crisis of 
accessibility it raises.

  Now she gives us an on-target guidebook, part of ILRUÕs ÒBookshelfÓ series, to make plain the 
access and advocacy requirements of these individuals who are being driven away from society at 
large, and possibly out of your office and your campus.  

  Dr. Gibson offers a succinct, straightforward primer, a foothold in this version of reality.  She 
describes the rapid emergence of this illness in the U.S., and internationally, what many people with 
multiple chemical sensitivities and electrical sensitivities (MCS/ES) seek and what protections they 
must have to survive daily chemical and electrical assaults.

  This monograph offers a way to grasp the emergence of people with MCS/ES. She explains what 
to call this illness and where these people come from, then offers some interpretations of what they 
want and what they can offer. She backs up every point she makes with solid references, as well as 
practical suggestions about how to get started and what to expect. 

  Today, people with MCS/ES have no orientation or rehabilitation programs, no occupational or 
physical therapy, scant, if any, legal precedents, no accessible housing, and no hospitals to break the 
fall. This includes Gulf War veterans with MCS/ES Ð the armed services donÕt offer them much 
either.

  Wrongly perceived as latecomers or even Ònon-contributorsÓ to the Disability Rights Movement, 
people with MCS/ES donÕt understand why they are not welcomed with open arms into todayÕs 
disability rights programs and campaigns, let alone Universities and community colleges.

  I donÕt just recommend you get this book.  My own survival may depend on your awareness of 
what this book offers: an overview of the essential components of MCS/ES from Assistive 
Technology and Durable Medical Equipment to accessible housing, adaptive equipment, personal 
assistance, and safety from incapacitating electrical exposures and chemical assault.

Susan Molloy, M.A. in Disability Policy, San Francisco State University, Department of Public 
Administration, lives in the high desert of rural N.E. Arizona on several hundred acres with a dozen 
households of people with chemical and electrical sensitivity disabilities. Most of the houses are 
fully wheelchair accessible as well as being constructed and maintained with nontoxic materials. 
Susan has hammock hooks and plenty of room in the driveway, and welcomes non-smoking, 
fragrance free, traveling scholars. She can be contacted at: susanm@cybertrails.com