(OP-ED) Stereotypes are the true 'handicaps'

I couldn't agree more!  Thanks Deborah for the reasoned approach and well 
founded examples of positivity.



posting from Emma's Family Farm
Windsor Maine;
Steve Hoad






By Deborah Kendrick

Sunday, July 15, 2007 3:51 AM
(columbus dispatch)

I received an e-mail a few weeks ago that made me shake my head and press 
the delete key, but it hasn't quite been erased from my consciousness.

I was OK with the part that called me a lousy writer and traitor to my 
country. (Well, not OK in the sense that I agree, but everyone is entitled 
to an
opinion.) And I was only mildly annoyed by the inaccurate grammar and 
politically incorrect (we no longer say handicapped) language. No, the part 
of that
letter that I found troubling was the writer's claim that she knew people 
with disabilities and that they weren't anything like those I write about.

The implication was that real people with disabilities aren't ordinary 
people with a range of competencies and another range of additional 
challenges, but
that they are instead a group apart, a group of, um, "the handicapped."

Hearing from readers who think I'm off-base or clueless comes with the 
territory. If everyone agreed with me, I'd be bored and probably unemployed. 
But
to hear from someone who claims to be a professional, interacting on a 
regular basis with children and adults with disabilities, who believes that 
a portrayal
of people with disabilities as positive, powerful or competent is a fiction, 
well, it is more than a reminder that there is still much work to be done.

Two vital principles bear repeating:

People with disabilities are probably the most diverse minority, 
representing not only an enormous variety of mental and physical 
disabilities, but also
every segment of our population. In other words, there are some who are 
extraordinary achievers, some who are slackers, and some at every increment 
between
the two extremes.

If you or those around you believe you'll fail, you probably will. All good 
teachers know that high expectations are more likely to motivate students to
set and achieve higher goals.

I wish the malcontent who sent that letter could have witnessed just two 
small slices of reality I've enjoyed in just the last two weeks.

On July 3 in Atlanta, a thousand blind people participated in the National 
Federation of the Blind's first 5K March for Independence. Rep. John Lewis, 
D-Ga.,
who worked alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., led the march and 
inspired the crowd with a rousing, impassioned speech connecting the 1960s 
civil-rights
effort for blacks with today's claiming of rights for people with 
disabilities. Participants included lawyers, teachers, business owners, 
scientists, mathematicians
and doctors -- all of them blind. There were also retirees, factory workers, 
students and people without jobs. Just a few days later, I had the privilege
of speaking to about 100 people at a conference in Cincinnati. Their focus 
was on self-advocacy, speaking for themselves and claiming equality. To me,
they were warm, welcoming and delightful. They laughed at my jokes, after 
all, and were glad that I came. Some were in wheelchairs. Some had 
difficulty
speaking. Most of them had developmental and/or intellectual disabilities. 
That means there probably wasn't a Ph.D. in the house, but I know enough to
know that any assumptions about any group are usually wrongheaded notions.

Whether employed or living independently, in school or living with others, 
every person in that group felt empowered, and was moving to the next level 
of
dignity and independence.

About 54 million Americans have disabilities, and no two of those people are 
alike. Happily, the number who believe in themselves and in their 
capabilities
is growing. The rest of the population -- those who do not have disabilities 
-- can pull their weight by dropping antiquated stereotypes --  and the 
accompanying
disparaging language -- and believe in that equality and dignity, too.

Deborah Kendrick is a Cincinnati writer and advocate for people with 
disabilities.
[email protected]

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