Your disability journey is still valid even if...
Your disability journey is still valid even if...
🚹🚺♿️People often tell you that "You don't look disabled." Not all disabilities are easily visible just by looking at and/or observing someone. Every disability journey is different, and people need to show acceptance of and respect for the fact that invisible disabilities are a part of reality.
💡People often tell you that "You are too smart to be disabled" as if people in the disability community cannot be smart, which is very insulting. Saying, "You are too smart to be disabled" also insists that smart people cannot have problems and must be perfect, which is also very insulting. This is extremely hurtful to say since there is the Multiple Intelligences Theory and everyone including people in the disability community have strengths in addition to their struggles. The Multiple Intelligences Theory acknowledges that there many different ways to be smart that show up in different ways with similarities and everyone's strengths are those smarts. Disabilities do not define people meaning that they are not the only part of people in the disability community. It is absolutely important to recognize disabilities for the purpose of accessibility, awareness, and representation; however, there should be a balance between focusing on and beyond individuals' disabilities to be inclusive since their disabilities are not all that they are. It can be very lonely for not all but many people in the disability community and people of all diverse communities if their differences are the only part that people recognize about them. People in the disability community have talents and other good qualities that may them who they are too. They deserve all of the same opportunities as everyone else while meeting them where they are at currently and they are capable.
😍People often tell you that "You are too pretty to be disabled" as if people in the disability community can't be attractive, which is very insulting. Saying, "You are too pretty to be disabled" also makes it sound like attractive people cannot have problems and must be perfect, which is also very insulting. I know of and have met many attractive looking people in the disability community. Also, looks are not the only things that count as beauty! Character, talents, special skills, strengths, and any good qualities count as beauty too and that is not recognized enough as it should be.
👧🧠Your symptoms aren't as visible as some other people's symptoms. Some people's disabilities are not as easily visible as other people's disabilities, or their symptoms do not show up in the same exact way as other people's disabilities do. This is because every disability journey is different.
👩🏻🦽Your symptoms are more visible than some other people's symptoms. Again, every disability journey is different.
🧕🏽🧑🏼🦯You struggle less or more than some other people. Again, every disability journey is different, and the frequency of struggles can also depend on exposure to opportunities for improvement and what each individual's support system looks like.
🦻🏿🧏🧠🦿🦾💊You have more or less disabilities than some other people. There are several different types of disabilities and all of them are NOT "all the same." All disabilities affect different developmental areas of each individual who has them in different ways and many disabilities tend to co-occur with other disabilities without guarantee for each individual who has them since again, every disability journey is different. The types of developmental areas that each disability affects depends on what type of disability it is. For example, physical disabilities like paralysis and cerebral palsy will affect a person's gross motor skills as well as sometimes their fine motor skills, speech, and/or communication. Social-emotional disabilities, such as autism/Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), schizophrenia, and Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) will affect a person's communication skills, concentration, and self-regulation as well as sometimes their motor skills. Some disabilities, such as Down Syndrome and some other intellectual disabilities (ID), that affect cognitive abilities also have physical appearance features.
💞You seem like you have your life altogether. Not all but many of the people who are struggling look a lot like people who are not struggling. It is also possible to live well as a person in the disability community. All because people carry it well does not mean that it is not heavy.
🗣You are articulate. A lot of people who stutter and/or have some other disabilities that affect their speech and ability to communicate are constantly criticized for "not being articulate." However, articulate means the ability to speak fluently (express oneself easily) and coherently (in a clear and understandable way). That being said, when people who stutter and/or have other disabilities that affect their speech and communication are provided with patience to finish what they are saying, they can express themselves easily in a clear and understandable way. Disabilities also do not go away. They are permanent. So, even if a person improves over time, they can still stutter (like myself) and/or have difficulties with speech and communication and be able to express themself easily in a clear and understandable way to be articulate. Again, be patient and support them as an individual.
[Image Description: The image has a light yellow background. "Your disability journey is still valid even if..." is in center-aligned dark orange text at the top of the image. "You are not as open about your disabilities as some other people" is in left-aligned bright blue text below a lock with a key. "'You are open about your symptoms" is in left-aligned bright blue text below a hugging face emoji. "You were diagnosed at a younger or older age than some other people" is in left-aligned bright blue text below a plus sign and minus sign. "You were diagnosed as an adult" is in left-aligned bright blue text below a dark skin toned senior citizen male emoji. "You have a self-diagnosis or clinical diagnosis" is in left-aligned bright blue text below a page with a curl. "You have a disability that some people have never heard of" is in left-aligned bright blue text below an anatomical heart. "You and your family never grieved your disability and have disability pride" is in left-aligned bright blue text below a disability pride flag. "You identify with People First Language, Identity First Language, neutrally inclusive language, or have no preference" is in left-aligned bright blue text below an ID button. "You have come a long way" is in left-aligned bright blue text below a red graduation cap. My First Former Buddy Club President logo is in the bottom left corner of the image.]
Your disability journey is still valid even if...
🔐You are not as open about your disabilities as some other people. Some people choose not to limit who they open up about their disabilities to due to facing so much discrimination and fearing who will discriminate against them next.
🤗You are open about your symptoms. When someone opens up to you about their disability, they are confiding in you. If people treat them differently for having disabilities or being disabled or telling them that they "don't look disabled" can make them lose this trust in that person and anyone else, especially if they have been mistreated for this far too many times. So, show some respect, acceptance for who they are, and listen.
➕️➖You were diagnosed at a younger or older age than some other people. People in the disability community get diagnosed at different ages for different reasons, such as not having the same privileges that allow them knowledge of and financial access to resources for getting diagnosed as others, not being aware of their developmental concerns, or signs of disabilities showing up earlier or not until later in development. In addition, not all disabilities are present at birth. There are some disabilities that can develop later, such as:
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which can only be caused by trauma.
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), which can only be caused by a forceful blow, bump, jolt to the head or body. FYI not all blows, bumps, or jolts cause TBI.
- Paralysis, which can be present at birth or caused by car accidents, illness, strokes, high falls, or violence.
- Blind or vision loss, which can be present at birth or caused by illness, such as diabetes retinopathy, age related macular degeneration, or glaucoma.
- Deaf or hard of hearing, which can be present at birth or caused by frequent ear infections, buildup of ear wax, or ruptured ear drum.
- Diabetes, which can be present at birth or caused by obesity, insulin resistance, autoimmune disease, hormonal imbalances, pancreatic damage.
- Fibromyalgia, arthritis, and other chronic illnesses, which can be present at birth, caused by cancer and/or other trauma, or suddenly appear later.
- Alzheimer's Disease or dementia, which can be present at birth if it is childhood dementia or caused by damage or loss of nerve cells and their connections in brains.
🧓🏾You were diagnosed as an adult. Again, when a person gets diagnosed all depends on whether they have privileges that allow them knowledge of and financial access to resources for getting diagnosed, being aware of their developmental concerns, or when signs of disabilities show up in development.
📄📃You have a self-diagnosis or clinical diagnosis. People seek clinical diagnoses and/or choose to self-identify for several different reasons. Sometimes this is because of finances, depending how privileged they are, their age, how much it affects their life, and other reasons. If a person ever chooses to seek a clinical diagnosis later, that would be up to them. All clinical diagnoses and self-diagnoses matter and deserve support and acceptance.
🫀You have a disability that some people have never heard of. Some disabilities are rarer than others and sometimes when people have never heard of a certain disability, they will act like it is not real. All because someone has never heard of something, someone, or somewhere does not mean that it is not real. Instead of acting like something does not exist all because you have never heard of it, be open to learning more about it. Rare disabilities and all disabilities deserve more acceptance.
🖤💚🩵🤍💛❤️🖤You and your family never grieved your disability and have disability pride. There are a wide range of emotions associated with receiving a disability diagnosis and living life as a person in the disability community that are different for each individual and their families. While some of these common emotions can include but are not limited to denial, anxiety, fear, depression, guilt, and anger, there are people in the disability community and their families who experience positive feelings as well. These positive feelings may include but are not limited to relief, love, strength, pride, hope, and joy. People in the disability community and their families may feel relief when a disability diagnosis is received because they are relieved to have answers to what their loved one or they themselves are going through. They may feel self-love or a stronger love for their loved one because they care so much about them. They may handle their hard times with strength and take pride in their disability because differences are okay, good, and nothing to be ashamed of. They may also take pride in their improvements and achievements along their disability journeys and show joy for this to recognize that their disabilities are not the only part of them. They feel hope for improvement when receiving hope and hearing success stories about the improvement of other people in the disability community.
🆔️You identify with People First Language, Identity First Language, neutrally inclusive language, or don't have a preference. All identities matter.
🎓You have a come a long way. Improvement is all about exposure and putting in effort. There are some people who do not want to put in all the effort that it takes to improve as a person in the disability community and then question how it is possible for some other people in the disability community to be so successful and capable. A lot of this negativity seems to come from jealousy and hatred as well. However, as a community we should all be supporting each other by showing acceptance of each other's different experiences.
Every disability journey is different. This means that not every individual who is in the disability community will experience their disabilities exactly the same while it is common for them to experience many similarities as well. People of all other differences experience their diversity with similarities and not exactly the same as well. This is called intersectionality and there many people in and outside of the disability community who are not willing to accept this, which is a part of ableism. You might also gain a better understanding of intersectionality among the disability community, how ableism affects the disability community, and disability pride by reading the following blog posts that I have written:
- The ableist statement that I can't stand the most
- My Reflective, Constructive Feedback About Disability Representation in the Media
- What Disability Pride Means to Self-Advocates
- What Parents of Individuals in the Disability Community Wish More People in Society Understood
- What Are Disability Cards?
- Quality of Influential Content and Friends Over Quantity of Followers and Friends
- Down Syndrome Awareness Week 2024: The Importance of Treating Everyone with Respect
- Free Will to be Kind
- Horton Hears a Who Lesson during my student teaching
- Discrimination Against Students in the Disability Community
- Lack of Empathy for Students is a Huge Issue in the Education Field
- Educators Need to Show More Faithfulness to Students, Families, and the Education System
- College Tips for Students in the Disability Community as Told by a College Alumni and Advisory Board Member Who Stutters
- I Have Mixed Emotions About Standardized Tests
- Are Standardized Tests Really Helping Students?
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