I have never broken a bone in my life, nor have gotten injured to a point that I have to temporarily immobilize an arm. This experience uncovered many strengths and weaknesses I never knew I had. Furthermore, I realized that although my 24-hour experience of having a disability was too short to be able to fully understand or to truly feel what it is like to have such physical limitation, I at least got to see the elements and multiple factors that changed my perspective on disability in many unique ways. I was initially skeptical, but I chose to wear the sling on my way home to Oregon. I felt that I would be able to get more out of the experience if I facilitate it in an environment where I didn’t have the option to avoid certain movements …show more content…
Hard was the first word that I internally uttered that morning more often than I could ever remember. I felt physically incapable. As I was lifting my luggage to get weighted in, people were looking at me as if they wanted to offer help but hesitated to do so. It could be from the look of determination on my face? I will never know. Not having my right arm opened innumerable physical challenges that at some point, I was tempted to just take off the sling. The once simple tasks such as fixing my hair, texting, or even opening a bottle of water seemed taxing. I encountered difficulties twisting the bottle cap and found myself attempting multiple compensatory strategies to successfully complete the task. I first tried using my teeth, but failed. While that may seem so simple to do, that moment I couldn’t get my brain to think of other alternatives. It almost seemed like my brain denied my capability to execute anything. I sat down and surprisingly, for some reason, I thought I could put the bottle in between my legs and use my left hand to twist the cap. I finally did it. Little victories never felt so …show more content…
I was not able to carry my dog. I was able to give him a modified hug using one arm, however, it did not feel the same. Having only one arm led me to a range of issues both external and internal, but also taught me to be flexible and recognize alternative methods to accomplish any activities. I used my legs often to compensate. I noticed myself often breaking down tasks into simpler steps. Picking up things one at a time. Doing things one at a time. Normally, I never really untie my shoelaces. I found that was helpful with only one arm as I can just slide on and go. I was able to shower independently. However, blow-drying my hair was a bit of a challenge. I sat the blow dryer on my bed as I bend down to get my hair dry while using my left hand to continuously move my hair. I think a blow dryer holder attached to a wall or an adjustable blow dryer stand would have made it a little easier for me. I think that traveling was the most challenging part of this experience. Not only it presented physical challenges, I was also confronted with the external factors I never thought would affect me and influence my attitude towards others and myself. My interactions with nondisabled people elicited attitudinal thought patterns that were strange and quite complex to express. The negative attitudes surrounding disability became especially apparent to me. I felt like everyone was looking at me while I was lifting my luggage off the
In her article “Unspeakable Conversations” author Harriet McBryde Johnson took time to inform and familiarize her readers with the details and limitations placed upon her by her disability. In her article she walked her readers through her morning routine. She told them about the assistance she needs in the morning from transferring from bed to wheelchair, to morning stretches, to bathing, to dressing, to braiding her hair. She does this not to evoke pity but to give her readers a glimpse into her world. She wants her readers to know that the quality of a disabled person’s life relies solely on another’s willingness to assist. Because those with disabilities need assistance they are often viewed as burdens. Therefore, they see themselves as
Kathie Snow believed that other people’s attitude towards others is the greatest obstacle facing people with disabilities. According to Kathie Snow (2010), “The real problem is never a person’s disability, but the attitudes of others! A change in our attitudes leads to changes in our actions. Attitudes drive actions” (P. 2). I completely agree with Kathie Snow in this regard because this is more than just language; it is the attitudes we have towards
- Increase the flexibility in your shoulders and enjoy more freedom to do what you want to do.
Sacks mentions that the sense of the body is given by three things: vision, balance organs or the vestibular system (a fluid filled network within the inner ear that helps the body keep oriented and balanced), and proprioception. These constantly work together, in a way that if one fails, the others could compensate or substitute, but only to a degree. Usually, we do not think about having the rights to our own body, because these rights, as Sacks puts, are automatic and familiar. Christina described her condition in the only way she knew how: proprioception is like the eyes of the body, the way the body sees itself. If it is gone, it is like the body is
Eloise, a supervisor at the Federal Administration Agency (FAA), was faced with trying to ensure productivity when one of her workers became ill, and was not maintaining her level of work. Brenda, who had been a computer programmer for the Management Information Systems Support Division of the FAA for nine years, was diagnosed with breast cancer in January of 1991. She left work immediately to have an operation and to start treatments. Brenda was supposed to return to work after the medical procedure so Eloise reached out to her in February. Brenda stated that she did not feel up to it, that she would continue to use her sick leave and would return in March. Seeing that Brenda would not be back in the near future, Eloise asked the other workers in the office to “pitch in” and help pick up the slack in work due to her absence. To entice one employee to pitch in, she upgraded his work status from a GS7 to a GS9 (which is what Brenda’s status was) until Brenda returned. In March, Brenda could not return to work on her scheduled date and had her medical leave extended until she became better accustomed to the chemotherapy treatments.
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
My People with Disabilities Single Story Narrative In 6th grade, I remembered seeing the ambulance outside the windows of my elementary school. I was in the classroom when there was a rush of EMTs entering the building. Students all started to run towards the door, including me, but were told to get back to our seats. Throughout the day, I was wondering who might have gotten hurt while praying it wasn't my sister or brother.
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.
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
After spending about a year volunteering at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and completing two field placements at local hospitals, I’ve found that my best work is done with the elderly population. These experiences have molded my personal goal to crusade for the civil rights of individuals with disabilities, especially those in the older generation. Additionally, I now have a better understanding of treatments and services that are provided to individuals with disabilities. Many patients at these hospitals were admitted due to an injury or life-threatening illness. There are millions of Americans with disabilities, yet feelings of helplessness, vulnerability, and depression are often evident, as if having a disability isn’t a common occurrence. In 2005, I was in a car accident, and it broke my pelvis, fractured my C1 vertebra and required emergency surgery to remove my spleen. I was unable to sit up or get out of bed for about 2 months and was re...
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
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.
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
I have chosen fine motor impairment to my dominant hand for the disability role-play and selected 15 th October to perform this role-play. I used an arm sling with shoulder immobilizer, to immobilize my right hand because it is my dominant hand. I thought that by wearing an arm pouch would be more effective than placing my hand in pocket.
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.