Individuals With Disabilities Misconceptions

750 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Discrimination against people living with disability

According to the CDC 1-in-5 adults live with a disability in the U.S. (more detailed information summarized in this handy infographic). This means that the majority of us have family members or close friends who are likely living with a disability. Sometimes we become detached from individuals with disabilities because we don't have them or we don't immediately recognize that others do. The reality is, it's closer to us than we may realize, but that's certainly not a bad thing.

There are an astounding amount of misconceptions about disabilities and individuals living with them. Society at large is improving in our acceptance of these individuals, but there is still a considerable stigma surrounding disabilities. Unfortunately, these individuals …show more content…

Why, then, shouldn't we push for the same for all individuals and include those with disabilities in that push? It's integral for us to be advocates for each other's potential, opportunity, involvement, and happiness. When we talk about individuals with disabilities, advocating first involves educating ourselves and genuinely accepting these individuals.

Communicating with Individuals with Disabilities

One of the most important parts of accepting others is simply learning how we can positively communicate with them. A lot of misconceptions surrounding individuals with disabilities revolve around communication barriers and assumptions. There are three main points we need to recognize when communicating with individuals living with a disability: disabilities don't define an individual, be mindful and avoid assumptions or generalizations, and mind your language.

Disabilities Do Not Define People

There are two parts of the comment, "Disabilities do not define people." One is that the statement is not a plea for neglecting disability or validate pretending it doesn't exist. The hard truth is that if you have a disability, then you have it and it's not something you can often change. The next hard truth is that a disability will often limit certain …show more content…

But that's just it, it is only part of you. You may not be able to avoid having a disability, but, fortunately, you are more than just your disability. Just because you can't do something because of it doesn't mean you don't have strengths and can't do wonderful things in your life and for others. There are plenty of famous people who live(d) with disabilities and have made a profound impact on the world. Some of the most recognized include Helen Keller, John Nash, and Stephen Hawking.

There is an additional component that surprises some people. A lot of individuals living with a disability are actually thankful for having it. Why? Because it helped them grow into the amazing person they are today. It pushed them and challenged them, and by overcoming many of the obstacles it presented they grew into a stronger, better person. I am just as guilty as others in sometimes assuming a disability is a negative experience. But they don't have to be and many people have positive experiences.

For us to communicate with others, we must recognize that they're unique individuals. All of us have strengths and weaknesses, regardless of if we have a disability or not. All of us have a past. Just seeing them as another fellow human being with strengths and weaknesses, with their own obstacles and their own successes, greatly enhances our ability to empathize and genuinely communicate with them.

Avoid Assumptions &

Show More
Related

  • Profile Essays Profile Essays - Grandfather, Grandpa

    415 Words  | 1 Pages

    As a young child, I remember how my grandfather's disability affected my life. I don't think that I even knew what the purpose of his wheelchair was. To me, it was just a toy, just another toy that my cousins and I could play with.

    Read More

  • Kathie Snow: People First Language

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    People with disabilities are seen as someone who cannot live a normal life because they cannot do what other people can do. I believe that Kathie Snow calls her company Disability is Natural because disability is a natural part of life that does not lessen the right of individuals with disabilities to enjoy the opportunity to live in our society. Disability is a normal part of life. The way we view disabilities can change when we can see that disability is a natural part of

    Read More

  • Nancy Mairs, Andre Dubus, Harriet McBryde Johnson: Disability

    1916 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Rosie Anaya's Article 'The Best Kept Secret On Campus'

    1159 Words  | 3 Pages

    Disability in our day in age is seen as being worse than death. People with disabilities should not feel like they don 't belong. They are just like everyone else and want to be treated like everyone else. Many without disabilities think that it can be contagious and stray to even look at people with disability. This is not the case for it 's not contagious and one should not be seen as a different person just because of their disability. They didn 't choose that life and shouldn 't be mistreated for what they are. “People with disability should be treated equally to everyone else.”

    Read More

  • How To Write A Persuasive Speech Outline On Intellectual Disabilities

    452 Words  | 1 Pages

    By know the other people disabilities you will interact better and will help the disable student better transition to blend in the community. Not be afraid of the unknown. As much knowledge you have on the different types of disabilities, the better person you become and more effective

    Read More

  • Andre Dubus 'Why The Able-Bodied Still Don' T Get It

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most people feel relatively uncomfortable when they meet someone with an obvious physical disability. Usually, the disability seems to stand out in ones mind so much that they often forget the person is still a person. In turn, their discomfort is likely to betray their actions, making the other person uncomfortable too. People with disabilities have goals, dreams, wants and desires similar to people without disabilities. Andre Dubus points out very clearly in his article, "Why the Able-bodied Still Don't Get It," how people's attitudes toward "cripples" effect them. It's is evident that although our society has come a long way with excepting those with physical disabilities, people do not understand that those with physical disabilities are as much human as the next person

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Unspeakable Conversations By Harriet Mcbryde Johnson

    561 Words  | 2 Pages

    She told her readers that she has a muscle-wasting disease and she could only move three fingers on her right hand. She wrote that the reactions she got from most people were “Decidedly negative” (Johnson p.98) She wrote that she would hear thing such as “I admire you for being out; most people would give up.” And “You don’t let the pain hold you back do you?” (Johnson p.98) There is often talk about how popular culture teaches people to both see and not see the people with disabilities. Comments such as these are an example of such blindness. When a child sees a disabled person a parent’s first reaction would be to tell them not to stare. We teach children that it is impolite to be curious about people who live life differently than others. We carry the “its-not-polite-to-stare” idea into adult hood therefore when we come across a disabled we try not to make eye contact not as if we are being rude but because we are taught that it would offend them. All curiosity and attempts to understand are shut down at a young age for fear of offending someone. Therefore, any attempt to encourage is met with a deep misunderstanding of how the life of someone with disabilities truly works. Just because a person has a disability does not mean they are incapable of enjoying

    Read More

  • disability

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    Historically, we have been taught that people with disabilities are different and do not belong among us, because they are incompetent, cannot contribute to society or that they are dangerous. We’re still living with the legacy of people with disabilities being segregated, made invisible, and devalued. The messages about people with disabilities need to be changed. There needs to be more integration of people with disabilities into our culture to balance out the message. Because of our history of abandonment and initialization, fear and stigma impact our choices more than they would if acceptance, community integration, and resources were a bigger part of our history.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Kevin Michael Connolly's 'Double Take'

    1268 Words  | 3 Pages

    I was always the person to shy away from a disabled person because I didn’t know how to handle it. I always thought if I avoided them I wouldn’t have to face the truth, which is I was very uncomfortable with disabled people. However, since our discussions in class, reading the book, and going to the event my views on the disabled have changed drastically since then. I learned that people with disabilities can do the same things, if not more, that a person without disabilities can do. I realized that I need to treat people with disabilities just like any other person, like an equal. People shouldn’t be ostracized for something that they cannot control. Everyone should treat disabled individuals with respect, dignity, and concern. This is why from now on I will not shy away from a disabled person I will welcome them with open arms because they are no different than

    Read More

  • Reflection On Ableism

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    I had a classmate that had cerebral palsy and was in a wheelchair. I did not feel any way about her because I did not know that she had cerebral palsy until she told me. I treated her like she was a normal person, but other people in my class feelings towards her were not so nice. She was would always ask questions in the class because she had struggles and people in the classroom would yell at her. They say come on you ask so many questions, but she never bothered me. The feelings that come up when I am around people who are disabilities like blind, deaf, cerebral palsy, are obese, and etc. is I do not feel any different when I am around someone who does not have a disability. I think that people with disabilities are normal. People who disabilities should feel like they are not different from me or another person in this world. They might have severe struggles; we should not judge someone on the struggles they have. People who disabilities describe themselves as “invisible” because people just pretend that they are not there. People tend to ignore them when they see people disabilities in public with disabilities. The words my family and community use to refer to the above groups of people is disabled because we had a family friend who was disabled. My parents hated when we or people we knew used the word “mental retardation” or just

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: My Disability

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    In middle school I was diagnosed with a disability with the way I expressed myself through writing. Ever since, I have gained multiple values and learned several lessons about self confidence. I was taught to push past my limits, in order to be successful in reaching my goals along with my dreams. Today I am a senior in high school who was once thought to struggle, but was able to succeed beyond expectations. To some, a disability may seem like a setback from achieving goals, but to me I used it as a challenge for myself. I accepted myself for who I was and looked at my disability as a unique trait of mine. I was able to provide a message to others that anything you set your mind to is possible with dedication and hard work. It might take

    Read More

  • Understanding the Disabled

    1223 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first thought that crosses the mind of an able-bodied individual upon seeing a disabled person will undoubtedly pertain to their disability. This is for the most part because that is the first thing that a person would notice, as it could be perceived from a distance. However, due to the way that disability is portrayed in the media, and in our minds, your analysis of a disabled person rarely proceeds beyond that initial observation. This is the underlying problem behind why disabled people feel so under appreciated and discriminated against. Society compartmentalizes, and in doing so places the disabled in an entirely different category than fully able human beings. This is the underlying theme in the essays “Disability” by Nancy Mairs, “Why the Able-Bodied Just Don’t Get it” by Andre Dubus, and “Should I Have Been Killed at Birth?” by Harriet Johnson.

    Read More

  • The Magic of a Dog

    1282 Words  | 3 Pages

    I was born with a disability. Although I have done intensive physical therapy since I was small and have made significant improvements over the years, I find it difficult to do some things which most people take for granted. Until I was eleven, I needed a aide at school. I could not go shopping by myself, or stay at home alone for more than a few minutes.

    Read More

  • Discrimination Against People With Disabilities

    1586 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...eglected social issues in recent history (Barlow). People with disabilities often face societal barriers and disability evokes negative perceptions and discrimination in society. As a result of the stigma associated with disability, persons with disabilities are generally excluded from education, employment, and community life which deprives them of opportunities essential to their social development, health and well-being (Stefan). It is such barriers and discrimination that actually set people apart from society, in many cases making them a burden to the community. The ideas and concepts of equality and full participation for persons with disabilities have been developed very far on paper, but not in reality (Wallace). The government can make numerous laws against discrimination, but this does not change the way that people with disabilities are judged in society.

    Read More

  • Disability Reflection Paper

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    I have always grown up in a more ‘normal’ setting and seeing people with disabilities was something that was rare to me. When I was younger, my thoughts on people with disabilities were that they could only be physically seen, nothing else (mentally, intellectually, etc.). As I reached middle school, I realized how broad the world is and how many ways people were affected by disabilities. Some of them led a more normal life and some have a harder time adjusting. Just seeing and reading how so many are affected and how harder it is for them really opened up my mind and allowed me to have a wider perception of how broad things are in the world.

    Read More

More about Individuals With Disabilities Misconceptions

Open Document