That's so right on. I always said, in my college years I learned so much more on the street than in classrooms. One example: I was out for a walk and outside a rehabilitation clinic saw a guy teaching himself to locomote a wheelchair. It was plainly a hard struggle for him. At first all I could see was the struggle instead of the self-teaching. I asked "Would you like some help?" He said "No." I said "OK" and let him be. It got me to reflect that empowerment means developing skills to take charge of your own stuff, and very often the most helpful thing a bystander can do is get out of the way and give others a chance to grow into their own power. Since then I've gone by the default principle to speak to people in such situations no differently than I would with anyone else, and never to made an issue of it. And I'm always glad to oblige when they initiate a request to get something off a top shelf. Otherwise, I would never think of calling attention to it. How utterly gauche.
to the disability blogosphere, but your perspective is certainly welcome... I think you did a fabulous job of reflecting on your own attitudes and biases here, and I really appreciate how much effort you put into it and this post.
Re: You may be new
anonymous
May 11 2009, 00:09:14 UTC
So few non-disabled people really take the time to an honest self-examination of their underlying attitudes and assumptions toward those of us who have disabilities. And fewer still make the time to learn about real life with disabilities from the people who know best--people with disabilities ourselves. Thank you for this post. As a person with multiple disabilities myself, I sometimes despair that other people will "get it" ... so often they don't, even after I have tried so hard for so long to explain. Reading posts like yours gives me a little hope that some people out there DO get it ... or at least they are sincerely trying to, and do sometimes learn something from the process. Thank you
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I've been slowly (obviously!) going through the BADD posts and I must say, this one is my favorite so far. I love all of the insight you have into your own thoughts and how you are able to expand your mind enough to realize that PWD are not situations to be handled. Excellent job!
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NTE
www.neverthateasy.blogspot.com
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Liesl
www.clottedcognition.com
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