disabled pride month 2025 - person first

DISCLAIMER: EVERYTHING DISCUSSED IN THIS BLOG POST IS BASED ON LAUREN'S PERSONAL EXPERIENCE LIVING WITH A PHYSICAL DISABILITY. OTHERS WITH A PHYSICAL DISABILITY MAY HAVE DIFFERING BELIEFS, AND ALL BELIEFS ARE VALID AS EACH DISABLED PERSONS' EXPERIENCE IS THEIR OWN.

me in my happy place... A concert. My mom took this picture as I was in line to meet one of my favorite country singers, Priscilla Block. I know what you're all wondering...

yes, Priscilla and I totally vibed. (but we actually did) It was also one of my favorite concerts, and this is coming from a well seasoned concert girlie!

Anyway, WELCOME BACK TO THE BLOG!

As you've probably noticed by the titled, this month is disabled pride month, and I am a person with a disability. (AHEM calls attention to the walker in the photo*)

I call attention to it because in most of my pictures you wouldn't be able to tell that I have a physical disability.

Let's have a chat class: NOT ALL DISABILITIES ARE VISIBLE

However, I'm using this picture to call attention to the subject matter, and in my every day life my physical disability is visible.

I have an abnormal gait due to my cerebral palsy (the name of my physical disability)

gait- a person's manner of walking

Even without a mobility aid

mobility aid - devices that make everyday tasks easier and safer for older people, people with disability, chronic conditions or injuries.

With and without a mobility aid, the abnormality of my gait is very apparant.

I'm going to be honest, we're nearing the end of the month. I've been avoiding writing this because I'm salty. (as the kids would say)

I'm salty because I thought we were making progress as a disabled community of acceptance, but I was wrong because there are still ignorant people in this world who just are not educated on disability ettiquete or ableism.

disability etiquette - treating people with disabilities with respect and consideration, focusing on the individual rather than their disability, and being mindful of how your actions and words and how they affect them.

abelism - discrimination and prejudice against people with disabilities, based on the belief that typical abilities are superior Abelisn often assumes disabled people need to be "fixed" or are less capable than non-disabled people

At the age of 26 now, I'm more aware than I was growing up. I think more so because I've been thrown into this big ocean of adulthood. I'm no longer in this pool that is my college campus or my highschool, or my elementry school where people knew.... Lauren. I always have felt like I've had to prove myself because of my disability.

I had to make the grades to prove I wasn't lacking intelligence just because of my physical appearance, but I never felt the need to prove myself as a person... until now.

I don't know how to explain it, but being a "real" adult is different. I'm not just having to prove that I'm smart... I feel like I have to prove that I'm a person first... because all people see is the outside... I'm short, so they ASSUME (we don't assume here folks) that I'm a child. They see me walk and there's a look of sympathy on their face, and if I didn't have the Holy Spirit in my heart I'd punch the sympathy right out of em.

Oh, did I mention I love Jesus? Because I do, and we're gonna talk about Him too!

He ties into this as He ties into literally everything.

speaking of, let's talk about the Lord right now and what His word says:

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his outward appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

1 Samuel 16:7

Thank God for the Lord, am I right?

For you created my innermost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Psalm 139:13-15

God made you and me so intently, so purposefully, and I pray that more people will start believing that.

Cerebral Palsy is not my "thorn" it's not something that the Lord needs to "heal" It's a part of who I am and how HE made me, and my am I thankful for how He made me.

I'm honored to have Cerebral Palsy as part of who I am and how the Lord made me. What a gift it is to be able to see beyond the diagnosis--any diagnosis.

I challenge you today:

If you have questions, ask.

It is not rude to want to be educated.

love the body, the life, that God has given you. You only get one shot on this side of eternity to be the best person you can be with what God has given you, and I encourage you to think more like the God who created you and me.

This life is a journey with ups, downs, twists, and turns...

No matter what card you were dealt. Live it... because to be created by God so specifically, so loving, to live, and to live for Him... is an honor we don't deserve to live out, but He loves us so.