Below are two pictures.
The first is from Feb. 20, 2024 while I waited to participate on a disability panel. The second is from Feb. 23, 2024 while I laid on my couch because I was too tired to sit up, and holding my camera in front of my face was a struggle.
I like what the quote in the first image is saying, but I don’t I agree with it completely.
Unlike the quote, I do believe that disability reside in the individual person. The elimination of barriers does not make our conditions vanish.
But the elimination of barriers does lower the amount of struggles, frustration, and deteriorating health that we have to deal with. I don’t believe that society causes disability, but it does greatly influence how much our disabilities effect our lives. And the quality of life we live.
As for the Government:
Policy makers, and society, want to think that disability is an all or nothing bubble. That we can either live independently like an average person, or we can’t survive 5 minutes on our own. That we can either be a working, contributing member of society, or we’re a total shut-in.
I’m sure those meeting me at the panel saw a person who gets out regularly, loves socializing, and lives a pretty average life with a mostly average body.
If they had met me a few days later as I laid on my couch, struggling with my oxygen levels, and crying as I wished for the feeling of crumbling muscles to go away, they probably wouldn’t have imagined me as someone who works, drives, and enjoys socializing.
Disability isn’t all or nothing. Disability is complicated, and its part of life. Disability is an umbrella term that encompasses all the different ways that people’s lives are impacted by their conditions, and I don’t see that as a negative or positive, it just is. The amount of impact varies person to person, and the amount of assistance a person needs varies as their life requires. Life isn’t all or nothing; life is fluid and complicated, and society should be built to recognize that.
