Treatment of people with disabilities

Throughout history, people with disabilities have been treated as inferior. They were the Nazi’s first victims, they are societal outcasts, and from infancy, kids are trained to avert their gaze from a disabled person in public.

However, I, a teenager with a severe hearing disability, have found camaraderie amongst the solitude. Although sometimes the solitude suits me, myself and countless others, have at one point in our lives wished that the barriers between us and society were broken down.

Prior to a recent revelation, it was with courage behind my convictions that I asserted that my differences have isolated me from others.

I have recognized that in society, pity and avoidance are prevalent in the presence of someone with a disability. However, people have yet to realize that pity and avoidance are not the same as passing judgement.

Everyone has directed some form of pity and avoidance at least one, if not multiple, time(s) in their lives. Whether the subject of these emotions has a physical, mental, visible or nonvisible disability, all people with disabilities have been victims of pity and avoidance.

Unfortunately, gestures and influxes of sympathy often direct attention towards the subject’s disability, therefore making him/her feel isolated. Because of this frequent, all-too-familiar sequence of events, I’ve come to the conclusion that these actions should be viewed by its subjects as humanity’s natural ability to sympathize, instead of a primal instinct to assess others. Adopting this perspective allowed me to see that although I may be slightly offended by someone’s choice of words or actions, I should realize that they are most likely expressing sympathy, not discrimination.

I am in no way attempting to undermine the struggles of those who have disabilities; that said, I believe that, more often than not, society has been falsely labelled as a critic, when it should be labelled as an oblivious bystander. The inquiries and comments imposed by others are often viewed as insults (or even threats,) when they should instead be addressed and accepted as a question from someone who is unfamiliar with disabilities.

This mindset changed my view of others from ignorant and hurtful to innocent and curious, and therefore pushed me towards the realization that I am not as lonely as I thought.

In addition, another monumental struggle for me was the discovery that people subconsciously lower their expectations automatically upon learning that I am deaf. This also isolates me from my peers by degrading any achievements that I may accomplish.

Now, when I learn from others that I have “achieved” something, I wonder if I have been successful according to the regular standards, or the lower standards that might be perceived as more “realistic” for a person who is under my circumstances. Granted, while people with disabilities should accept some of their basic undeniable limitations, others should strive to treat them as equals.

Although my experiences are largely distinguished because of my circumstances, my words of advice are for people with and without disabilities. Therefore, I urge you, in view of my testimony, to improve your treatment of others. Regardless of the status of their health, no one should be isolated or discriminated against. Likewise, regardless of the status of their health, everyone should be treated equally.

Again, history has seen yet another example of how society causes a rift for minority communities, but this rift can be mended through the proper and equal treatment of others.