G00256038 ENGL 060 Essay #3 Physical Disabilities In countries with life expectancies over 70 years of age, people spend on average about eight years, or 11.5 percent of their life span, living with disabilities. The passage "A Giant Step” by Henry Louis Gates Jr is a memoir about how he came to injure his foot, and all the complications that went along with the permanent injury. Similarly “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” is a story about a teen named Junior who has hydrocephalic, we learn the many complications that come along with this disability. There are similarities and differences in how both people live their lives. Both people with their disabilities find it within themselves not to give up and still overcome challenges. On the other hand both mothers aren't the same, their motives for their children are completely different. Junior was also able to live a little more normal life, have freedom meanwhile Gates was held back a little more from …show more content…
living a normal life. Although disabilities may hold one back Gates and Junior continue to prove how they overcome these difficult challenges.
Gates pushed through his challenges by staying patient and allowing himself to embrace his hardships ” ’Your foot is touching the ground!’ I am afraid to look, but it is true: the surgeon has lengthened my leg with that gleaming titanium and chrome-cobalt alloy ball-and-socket-joint.” words Gates never thought he would hear were now a reality because he stayed motivated. As well as Gates, Junior overcame his challenge with the help of added motivation from his math teacher .“Do you understand how amazing it is to hear that from an adult? Do you know how amazing it is to hear that from anybody? It's one of the simplest sentences in the world, just four words, but they're the four biggest words in the world when they're put together. You can do it.” this quote is an example of how Junior was able to be motivated to do better for himself by the moral support he
received. Some say that fate is sealed and there's not much you can do about hardships in your life. For example Junior's parents overall accepted how things were with their life and didn't feel a need for improvement. ”Seriously, I know my mother and father had their dreams when they were kids. They dreamed about being something other than poor, but they never got the chance to be anything because nobody paid attention to their dreams." this quote accurately depicts how Junior's parents didn't fight for what they truly wanted. In contrast Gate’s mom fought to make not only her life better but also Gate’s life. “ ‘Get his clothes, pack his bags -- we're going to the University Medical Center’, which was 60 miles away.” this quote accurately shows how Gate’s mom wasn't content with how things were and fought for what she wanted. Overcoming challenges was difficult for Junior and Henry , however Junior had it slightly easier. Junior was able to push through his problems and live a normal “free” life. “He made me realize that hard work--that the act of finishing, of completing, of accomplishing a task--is joyous” this quote describes how Junior was able to complete tasks independently. As for Henry he had a more difficult time living life. He was held back from his disability and not able to experience life to the full affect. “The doctor shook his head.’Pauline,’ he said to my mother, his voice kindly but amused,there's not a thing wrong with that child. The problem's psychosomatic. Your son's an overachiever.” In my opinion this accurately shows how Gates wasn't expected to do much with himself and for doing something as simple as trying to walk on his own he is considered an overachiever. Disabilities come with happiness and hardships good times and bad times. It is a crazy roller coaster experience going through life with a physical disability according to Gates and Junior. Though their lives were different in the ways their family operates and how motivated they are to change. But they are similar in ways such as their will to overcome and make the best of their disabilities. So even though they both have physical disabilities and they overcame and dealt with them it doesn't necessarily mean their lives were exactly the same.
These two essays are about two dissimilar disabilities. Nancy Mairs and David Sedaris act as examples of how an author’s writing can change the tone and meaning of a narrative. Mairs message was educational and encouraging as she explained her life with MS and how society sees her. Sedaris use of experience and memories portrays his life with obsessive-compulsive disorder; what he calls “tics”. These two writers take similar topics and pitch them in ways so the reader can see the illustration behind them.
The experience changed her life, she learned to rethink her own attitude and self determination. I learned that people with mental retardation are not to be separated from society or even treated with less respect because of their disability. “Riding the Bus with My Sister” taught me to never neglect people with mental disabilities. Readers learned that people with mental retardation, just like everyone else, have families, desires, and determination. They cry, they laugh, they have emotions just like the rest of us. We can learn new things from those suffering from mental retardation. ‘Riding the Bus with My Sister” taught me that civil rights apply to
What comes into one’s mind when they are asked to consider physical disabilities? Pity and embarrassment, or hope and encouragement? Perhaps a mix between the two contrasting emotions? The average, able-bodied person must have a different perspective than a handicapped person, on the quality of life of a physically disabled person. Nancy Mairs, Andre Dubus, and Harriet McBryde Johnson are three authors who shared their experiences as physically handicapped adults. Although the three authors wrote different pieces, all three essays demonstrate the frustrations, struggles, contemplations, and triumphs from a disabled person’s point of view and are aimed at a reader with no physical disability.
“I am a Cripple,” when people typically hear these words they tend to feel bad for that person, but that is exactly what Mair does not want. She prefers that people treat her the same as they would if she did not have the disease. Throughout the essay, Mair discuses her disease openly. She uses an optimistic tone, so that the reader will not recoil with sadness when they hear her discuss the disease and how it affects her life. In Nancy Mair’s essay “On Being A Cripple,” Mair uses her personal stories, diction, and syntactical structures to create an optimistic tone throughout the essay, so that the audience can better connect story.
Patricia Bauer was a former Washington post reporter and one of the founders of the UCLA, a school for young adults with intellectual disabilities, although she gains most of her knowledge on the topic from raising a daughter with Down Syndrome. This article was originally published in The Washington Post, one of the most circulates newspapers in America. When this article came out in August of 2008, two major things were happening concerning mental disabled people. The first was a movie that came out
According to Ms. M, when she was a child her mother was very resolute and strong-willed. Despite Ms. M’s disability, her mother expected her to do things just like other children, and was intolerant of any excuses made by Ms. M in regard to her physical state. Ms. M described her mother’s behavior as insensitive at times. She reported her mother would often be disparaging and ridiculing towards her when she would act out her frustrations that arose from being pushed too hard. Ms. M expressed that although it was difficult for her as a child, she is now appreciative of her mother’s harsh and determined parenting because she believes that without her mother’s resolve and convictions, she would not be successful today.
Systematic discrimination against women and girls with disabilities continues to result in the denial of the rights to experience their sexuality, to have sexual relationships and to found and maintain families. While the right to integrity and the right of a woman to make her own reproductive choices are contained in a number of international human rights treaties, women with disabilities continue to be denied these rights through practices such as forced sterilization, sexual violence and the removal of their legal capacity in many parts of the world. I have always been interested in those with disabilities. My parents used to run a home dedicated to taking proper care of those with intellectual and physical disabilities and I grew up being surrounded them. Many of them I am still friends with to this day and I find it interesting to see the stigma that surrounds those who are disabled, those who I call my friends.
...r tended to her activities of daily living – feeding her, grooming her. However, her mother had no insight on her condition and how to help her take care of herself. I, personally took her to school and talked to teachers who advised to have her join a school for the disabled, she was falling behind in classes and it was affecting her mentally and emotionally. She was visually impaired and no one in the family knew until she took a vision test catered to her. She is now 22 years old, and it amazes me to see how she has flourished. A young girl who used to be glued to the television, watching cartoons and the likes, she is now on her iPad watching videos on YouTube, face-timing with friends and family. When our grandmother passed away a few years ago, she took it upon herself to console everyone. Had her growth been hindered, she wouldn’t be the person she is now.
...beld person as equal and for society to take responsibility for their ignorance and become more open minded and accepting of those who may have less functioning ability or mental awareness of what is going on around themselves. Only recently has the (dis)Abeld community been given the spotlight through television shows such as Bones, or House, Or CSI have those with disabilities been given a platform to push over society’s negative stereotypes of ignorance and shown how despite limitations, those with limitations can indeed live happy and healthy lives. Despite much of the stigma that still exists towards those who are (dis)Abled, much success has been made and continues to be made because of the selfless determination of a select few who are determined not to be restrained by society’s ignorance and to make a difference in the world around them and for others.
Disability and reactions to those who are disabled are socially constructed, and vary from generation to generation and from culture to culture. As these precepts change and alter with time and knowledge how we treat those who are labeled as disabled evolves- sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worst. Harriet McBryde Johnson’s and John Hockenberry’s experiences are all too familiar. The challenges faced by these two individuals many times were not with the disability itself, but was from how the world responded to them. Harriet McBryde Johnson had many of her work colleagues unaware and unbelieving of a dire prognosis because of how she personally handled life, how integrated she was with the world around her. Her experience in Cuba
“The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it” -Chris Joseph
Throughout the course of history, people with disabilities have often been viewed through the context of their limitations. The Disability Rights Movement, beginning in the 1960’s, strived to change society’s perceptions to consider people with disabilities through their abilities instead. Positive messages of person’s abilities have begun to permeate our media, including changing ideas of how we view disability in general. Through the use of captivating personal anecdotes and scientific information to back them up, the 2015 This American Life podcast “Batman” seeks to prove that disability is a social construct, because one’s abilities are directly influenced by those around them.
People who have physical disabilities often experience negative situations and connotations that they must overcome to thrive in society. People who offer narratives about their disabilities often give the most accurate representation about the challenges those with disabilities face. Ms. Marenge, reported that one of the hardest things about leaving the rehabilitation center after becoming paralyzed was living in a house that was inaccessible, and having to rely on her family to carry her up and down the house (Casey Marenge, 2011). Similarly, a student with muscular dystrophy, says that she wishes more places were wheelchair accessible, because when they aren’t she feels that society is holding her back, and she can’t reach her full potential. Alisha also reported that t making friends is hard because some kids would ignore her at school because of her situation and she is often separated from the mainstream students at school. Alisha, doesn’t want to be defined by her disability, however, she believes that many people who look at her only see her wheelchair (Alisha Lee, 2011). Despite the many negative ways people who suffer from physical disabilities are affected, it is important to note that they don’t always feel bad for themselves, and that having a disability doesn’t stop them from loving
Ultimately this paper will describe the various ways persons with disabilities continue to encounter several obstacles in their daily lives.
The topic of disabilities is difficult, however, even more, difficult is living life with a disability. This weekend I was able to experience firsthand how difficult living with a disability can be. Though I was able to experience something I would have never considered doing, I want to emphasize that this was a choice. In being a choice, I recognize that my experience will never carry the weight of those who endure any type of disability day in and day out without a choice. In our current time with the vast amount of change, we face as a society it is critical that experiences such as mine in this simulation experience are discussed across a broad audience. It is through such experiences and discussions that we as a society can better support