Valuing the Experience of The Disabled Community
A few months before I left for college I received the best advice from a friend and fellow wheelchair user. She told me, "Don't hesitate to ask other wheelchair users for advice on how to do daily living activities." I thought this was strange advice. You wouldn't slip into casual conversation over lunch, "Hey, How do you use the bathroom?" People would think I was weird, and wouldn't hang out with me. I learned that it wasn't that weird.
I would watch my friends do normal activities like how they carried their lunch to a table in the dining hall. I learned that people were okay if I said "I can meet you after my home health aide finishes our visit." I realized it wasn’t weird to just pay attention to how other members of the disabled community get through day-to-day life. I saw my friends ask for plastic bags to carry their food. I wasn't embarrassed to ask the staff at whatever dining hall for a bag. I eventually carried around bags that I bought from the bookstore. This way, I wouldn't have to throw away several plastic bags a day.
I quickly learned that having a circle of friends with disabilities isn’t only good for life hacks. I'm a clumsy person and I like to push the limits of my chair. There have been several incidents where I embarrassed myself in public.
My power chair has almost died more times than I can count. I even took a nosedive down a small flight of stairs where I split my tooth. There's always someone to tell me a funny story about when it also happened to them. It helps you not feel so different from everyone else because you have a disability.
Stephanie Wyatt has Cerebral Palsy and uses a manual wheelchair. She spends her free time hanging out with her best friend Carmen and her dog Ama Angelica.
Comentarios