I’ve been thinking about this series a lot. I’ve been thinking about what I a want to accomplish, and I realized that just like every other part of my life I want to be a voice for the voiceless, an educator, an ally, a friend. Hopefully by putting those things into practice I can help change perspectives in more ways than one.
I’m just one person, I’m just one voice, but maybe if I’m loud and persistent enough, I won’t be the only one listening and more people will begin to use their voices too.
I pray all the time that maybe one day being disabled will become “normalized” that we will no longer be discriminated against. That we will be identified as people, not defined by our disabilities.
This blog post may be a little long, but I hope you’ll stick around and take in what I and so many others in my community have to say.
A few days ago I asked my fellow disabled community a question:
If one thing in the world could be changed to adapt to your disability, what would it be? What is something that people outside of the disabled community don’t think about that could make a huge difference for you personally?
I tried to expand as much as I could by getting answers from people with different types of disabilities.
Here are some of the responses I got:
Isabel (complex regional pain syndrome) - “ummm I think I would say more improved versions of what businesses are supposed to have now... adequate accessible parking that’s actually close to the door, wide enough aisles for a wheelchair, elevators, etc.”
Breanna (left side hemplegia cp) - “even though this is going to sound dumb, I guess my thing would be shoes.. with my personality, I would love to wear really girly, cute shoes, but I can’t because of my feet. They are narrow, so they turn a little. I guess I just wish shoemakers understood and could make shoes for us too, or their was someone that made shoes specifically for us because then I could wear cute shoes instead of tennis shoes all the time.”
Kiana (Muscular Dystrophy ) - “Don’t make assumptions. Don’t assume that everyone in a wheelchair or with a disability is mentally challenged. Don’t assume our abilities are the same as each other. Don’t be afraid to approach those with disabilities. We are the same as everyone else; we just have different limitations and abilities.”
Natalie - “My daughter has spastic quadriplegia cp, but I can’t decide between the physical barriers or people’s awareness/attitudes. Both can be really challenging.”
Karla (Cp) - “I think for me it would be just giving us a chance... where I live, I’ve gone to interview after interview with no results. If people were more open to allowing people with disabilities to showcase what they CAN do, I think things would be better.”
Ana (legally blind) - if I could change one thing, it would be people’s attitudes. People think because I cannot see that I always need help, and it takes away from my independence. I also wish people would speak to me like a normal person instead of assuming I am not as intelligent as they are because I am disabled.
I want to thank everyone for their input, and for all of the wonderful, helpful answers I received to this question.
I hope people reading this are hearing your voices and are taking some mental (or physical notes)
I agree with all of their answers. I think it’s so important to listen because I think I can speak for the whole community when I say, we feel that we are not being heard.
I feel like we always get dusted off and pushed aside. I think it’s funny that the world is all about inclusiveness right now yet our community gets pushed to the side as if we don’t exist.
Reality check, we do exist and we deserve as much support, as many people becoming educated, we have voices and we deserve to be heard.
We are human too.
So, how can you become an ally?
How can you educate yourself?
What can you do to be inclusive to the disabled community?
How can you help us RIGHT NOW?
Here are just a few things:
Talk about it. As Kiana said, don’t be afraid of us. Ask us questions. Don’t shush your child when they ask you why that person is in a wheelchair or why that person has a dog with them. Etc. if you don’t know what to say, don’t be afraid to let us explain or ask us to if we don’t see the incident,
The other day I was thinking about one of my favorite shows, The Secret Life Of The American Teenager. One of the main characters in the show has Down syndrome. He wasn’t the main story line, (although that’s cool too) the show didn’t focus on his disability. He was a brother, and in real life he is an actor. We need more of that. Kids need to see it and know that it’s normal. Adults need to see it and know it’s normal. The other day, I found out through Twitter that the actor on Glee who is in a wheelchair is NOT actually disabled.
THAT IS NOT OKAY!!! That is false representation and a major offense to the disabled community. So when you want someone to portray a disabled person, make sure the person you cast actually has a disability. This way proper education can take place,
3. As Karla said with jobs, DON’T DISCRIMINATE! having a disability means we are very creative and have to find unique ways to do things. Don’t underestimate our ability because of our disability.
We need jobs too.
BUSINESSES! BE INCLUSIVE! BE PART OF THE CHANGE!
One of my jobs, one of the reasons I believe I was given a disability is to educate. I hope that I did a little of that today. I hope you walk away from reading this post with a different perspective. I hope you want to be educated, I hope you want to be part of the change because we need you. Decide today to become an ally.
For those of you who read this entire post, thank you. I pray that this wasn’t just a read for you. That you will take what you’ve learned today and put it into action.
I’m going to leave you with some resources so you can begin to educate yourself and others around you.
Resources:
@disabilitytogether on Instagram (launching July, 26, 2020)
@mollyburkeofficial on Instagram
@mollyBofficial on Twitter
Molly Burke on YouTube
@sarahherron on Instagram
@lizzielizziev on Twitter
Lizzie Valasquez on YouTube
Book - “The Courage To Compete” by Abbey Curran
Book - “it’s Not What it Looks Like by Molly Burke (audio book)
Book - “Be You, Be Kind” by Lizzie Valasquez
Book - “Choose to be kind” by Lizzie Valesquez
Book - “Dare to Be Kind” by Lizzie Valesquez
Squirmy and Grubs on YouTube
Disabled Eliza on YouTube
@calistabrookexo on Tik Tok
Follow me on Instagram
@laurenvictoria__ & @beautifullybroken___ I’ll be posting more resources on my story as I find them.
The simplest way to start being an ally, an educator, a supporter today?
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