As some of you may know from reading My Story, I have a physical disability alongside the other issues that I have described.
Up for debate today is whether a ‘disabled’ person is a person with a disability – or vice versa. This is something that has cropped up over the last few weeks after engaging the support of Bob Allen. During our discussions we talk a lot about disability, and how that can affect your mental and physical health, which is informed by his being an Oesteopath by profession.
The way I look at it, there are three different sides to this debate. Some people accept to be called a ‘disabled person’ whilst others prefer to be called a ‘person with a disability’. And then there are others that prefer to be called a ‘person’ (imagine that!). Where do you stand?
I’m not asking you to decide, because it’s not really something to be decided upon. It’s just something to think about. If you feel better about one explanation over another, then great. As with many groups of people within society, there are differing opinions on how and why a person should be addressed. The way I look at it is, first of all, I am a person. If the circumstances warrant it, then I am a person with a disability. That way, me as a person, comes before my disability. My disability is something that runs alongside it. Depending on the way you look at it, having a disability can actually add to your personality.
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I don’t particularly mind how I am addressed, because it is a means to an end, and I am me either way. I have been lucky enough to have friends and family that never make a massive issue about it. And to be honest, it is a way of life. Every person is differently abled, and yet we are not all labelled as disabled. We all do things – even slightly – differently and yet we are not all disabled. I think a disability comes into play when your physical or mental variations impact your day to day living. Also, the label of being disabled gets highlighted when society hasn’t allowed for that difference in ability. I become a disabled person, for example when I’m at the doctors, as a disability can impact how and why you are treated. Having said that though, we can’t just look at someone through the lens of disability because an illness may not have anything to with the disability. Not to mention the fact that two people with the same disability would be affected differently. On the same note, an ‘able-bodied’ person with the same illness should not be treated with any more or less importance. Though not explicitly stated, there becomes this air of ‘you’re disabled, that’s the way it’s going to be’.
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Mental health comes into the mix when you consider mindset. That’s not to say that your mindset needs to change, it’s just a way of describing what I’m going to explain.
I get the impression that being born with a ‘disability’ can feel different to being dis-abled through injury. This is because if you are born with a disability, then that’s all you’ve ever known, despite being aware of how ‘different’ you are to another ‘able-bodied’ person. So then there becomes a slightly different way of dealing with it. Whereas, if you are made disabled through injury, then your world is turned upside now very quickly, so you are having to adapt accordingly and learn to make the most of what you’ve got (though that’s a struggle in both cases). And if the injury is in slow decline, then there’s that long ‘waiting game’ of knowing your life is about to change.
Thank you for reading this discussion, I would love to read your thoughts on anything that you’ve read above. Please remember this is my perspective, and isn’t intended to devalue your own experiences.
-D
This fits within mental health, because how disability can affect your mental health- mindset
Born with it, different to being injured
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