Let’s talk about disability
I am no stranger when it comes to talking about disability. It is actually something I am quite happy to talk about, whether this is in a blog post or in person. However, Scope have found that two thirds of people feel awkward around disability, and I believe this needs to change.
Disability is not something that should be feared by others and Scope’s Role Model scheme has set out to challenge this notion.
The aim of Scope Role Model’s is to end the awkward before it begins by delivering workshops to secondary school students (primarily in Year 8) and just letting them as questions in an open and safe environment. I understand that people may not ask questions about disability because they are worried about saying the wrong thing- or even offending that person. As a result, it has led to a stigma around disability and could even be described as a taboo topic. After delivering one of these sessions myself I have fallen in love with it even more! The hour session is a combination of information, quiz questions, videos and the chance to ask the any questions about disability in general or things that are specific to the people delivering the session.
I personally do not have any problem with people asking me questions. In fact I urge people, if there is something you would like to know then please ask me. Despite this not always been the case, I understand why I might get the odd stare or funny look. To me I am completely normal, I know why my body works the way it does- but it is not the normal for others. Now, for some reason humans do not like things outside of ‘normal’ and therefore try and work out what is going on. I will wish them luck, 19 years later and I am still figuring that one out! Despite ‘normal’ being impossible to define, because who is normal? I certainly do not fit that box.
During the Scope session that I helped to present the students asked me a lot of interesting questions. Once you get past the whole ‘yes, I can have a boyfriend’ and ‘yes, I will be able to work’ they asked me things I hadn’t really given much thought. To be able to see myself from their perspective was slightly odd, to see Cerebral Palsy as foreign and something I didn’t know anything about. Even down to the smallest detail of ‘what is a limp?‘ and ‘Surely you can’t weigh 3lb 3oz and survive?‘. But this is why disability must be spoken about! Of course I am ‘allowed‘ to have a boyfriend! We should be educating students about disability, not only someone’s likely diagnosis, but more about the bigger picture.
The question that took me most by surprise was: Do you get scared when you are out by yourself? Like what if something happens? Both very valid questions, however I hadn’t really thought about this before. Of course I understand that things can happen when I am by myself, hence why I rarely go out alone. The question stuck with me for a while, was this something I was scared of? Or was it just a component of my life that had been like that for a very long time? The answer is yes. It would be fair to say I find going out alone daunting, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to. It doesn’t mean that it will stay like this. One day I hope that more independence will be unlocked, being able to work around my difficulties, as well as keeping myself safe. This probably wasn’t the ‘inspiring’ answer the student expected- a 19 year old who is scared of going outside. My goal was for them to get a balanced view of the good and the bad, because life can’t be broken down any simpler then that!
If you have a disability then you will be faced with limitations, potentially unpleasant symptoms and years ahead of adapting to a world that is not designed for you. Yet it is equally important that the general public know that we can be capable of very normal things! Your teachers, your lawyers and your doctors, are they allowed to have a disability? Are we allowed to go on nights out? At the end of the day, our ‘normal’ fits in the category of disability, but our aim in life is just the same. I hope with more Scope Role Model sessions we will get closer to the myth that disabled people are just like everyone else.
Let’s talk about disability!
~ Chloe x
