A Good Part and a Negative Part, The People We Meet, The Things We Have Around Us, and Everything That Happens to Us Have At Least Two Meanings. It’s About the Actual Significance They Have and the One We Attribute to Them Through Our Own Filters.
In the context where everything has at least as many connotations as the number of people expressing their point of view, we can look at disability from the perspective of those who have it. But we can also view it from the perspective of typical people, those without disabilities.
What Does It Mean to Have a Disability?
Disability can be one of the filters through which you perceive the world, as well as an additional reason to be more determined to overcome your limits.
You can be influenced by the problem because yes, disability is a problem, or you can learn to regard it as a fact of life and part of your normality.
What It Means to Have a Disability.
Having a disability means needing minimal adaptation conditions to be able to do certain things.
A physical or mental deficiency can give rise to an internal struggle and/or a metaphorical battle with those in your community. This happens because of the clash of perceptions.
The negative connotation that disability has in the collective understanding, and its implicit association with incapacity, does nothing but discourage and raise barriers in front of people who, despite a handicap, have various abilities/competencies.
Blind in Romania – Article taken from: https://romania.europalibera.org/
The lack of minimal conditions for people with certain deficiencies to lead a life as close to normality as possible and the label “Having a disability = not being able to do something” gives rise to the phenomenon of victimization. This leads to the self-isolation of these people and their absence/exclusion from community life.
Challenges
Today, for many people, disability translates into challenges: the challenge of going to the store (will there be a ramp at the entrance?)
The challenge of walking on the street (will it be possible to guide myself with the white cane using the curb, considering the “phenomenon” of cars parking on sidewalks, and now, electric scooters parked anywhere);
The challenge of interacting with various institutions (how will I communicate with X and Y when I can’t perceive just sign language, written communication? Will they understand this need or will they shout at each other not knowing how to proceed?).
When our difficulties are at a primary level: how to ensure our daily living, it becomes even harder to analyze life regarding other aspects: the right to education, work, leisure, and recreation, etc.
There are people who manage to overcome these challenges, but at what cost?
We do not encourage unaccountability. Everyone should work towards achieving their dreams. We advocate and act for creating equal opportunities for a normal life.
Only this way can we reduce the number of people for whom disability means isolation, exclusion, lack of access, dependence, helplessness, a feeling of uselessness, etc.
Disability, like chocolate, has a good part and a negative part.
Accessibility_is_not_a_whim.
Here is the perspective of a person with disabilities:
As a person with disabilities and the product of education and life experiences that are more complex, more beautiful or uglier, clearer or not… I can strongly state that today, we do not need pity. To evolve, social aid is not the foundation of progress, nor our future and neither of the generations to come. Creating conditions for offering equal opportunities. First of all, I want to be seen as you, society, look at a normal person. I want to be analyzed through the lens of my qualities and defects, through the potential and abilities I demonstrate. I do not want to be defined with the first and only reference point: disability.
Everything I am is beyond this. Everything that constitutes my personality is not the disability. At best, and the qualities it helped me consolidate.
The solution is to break down prejudices.
As a person with a handicap, to be able to overcome social labels and prejudices, to break the barrier between you and the world, you need to have a strong character, but where to form it? As long as you grow up and are educated in this part of the world where parents do not know how to relate to the difficulties their child faces because either they have never been taught or they have never had contact with a person with a disability before their child was born. And where to have contact with such a person?… when those with disabilities are separated from the so-called normal world.
When the state does not get involved for various reasons.
When adaptation and accessibility are mostly just on paper.
A person is not defined by their disability. In an adapted environment, they can be at least as productive as a typical person.
Do you also have stories with and about disabilities? Leave them in the comments to reach as many people as possible!
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