Tag: Disability Awareness

Hey everyone! How are you doing today? I have something to share with you: I wasn’t always into advocacy. When I was growing up, I thought advocacy was just something my parents did to make sure I had what I needed from my school. To me, people who did advocacy seemed like they were just loud and not really helpful. My parents did a great job treating me like any other kid. They celebrated when I did well and corrected me when I made mistakes. They made sure everything at home and everywhere else was set up so I could do things on my own, like having a low bed I could easily get in and out of.

My family accepted my disability because it was all they knew about me. I even played baseball with other kids who had disabilities. But my family also knew that the world wouldn’t always make things easy for me. They enrolled me in regular classes at a public school. That’s when I learned about what I call “the Disability Paradox.”

Advocacy is about teaching people and changing their minds about things they’re not used to. Even though we have laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it doesn’t mean everyone with a disability is treated equally. Think about it: When a mom is expecting a baby, she hopes the baby will be “healthy.” But what does that mean? Why should having a disability be seen as a bad thing?

Did you know that Franklin D. Roosevelt used a wheelchair because he had polio? He hid it by using special braces on his legs, even though it was really painful. But even now, many people with disabilities still feel like they have to hide who they are. People have done amazing things like going to the moon and building tall buildings, but there are still a lot of people with disabilities who don’t get the help they need.

We talk about big issues like climate change, but sometimes the solutions don’t work for everyone. Imagine not being able to drink a lemonade on a hot day because of a ban on plastic straws. This is something that could’ve been avoided if people with disabilities were included in the decision-making process.

We’re not just here to inspire or be pitied. We’re part of society just like everyone else. But why don’t we see more people with disabilities in positions of power? We’re more than just a feel-good story during prom season.

Lots of people have disabilities, but society often sees us as broken and needing to be fixed. But we’re not broken. We just need the same chances as everyone else.

This is just the beginning of many conversations we need to have. It’s okay if you don’t understand at first. Just listen and learn. Once we all know better, we can all do better.

Greetings readers, are you ready for spring? I know it seems kind of far away. I’m writing this with only a few days left in February. There is still a cold chill in the air. Although spring training games have officially begun, warmer weather must be on the way. I have observed several bloggers doing this by providing their followers with updates on their activities. I wanted to share my exciting upcoming projects with everyone to encourage them that anything is possible, even though it always seemed a bit silly to me. Hey, every few months, the president gives a State of the Union. I may not be the best writer in the world, but I can promise it’ll be better than that.

‭‭Mark 9:23 NIV‬‬   “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

Let’s start with the health stuff. As of now, I have no major health concerns or upcoming medical procedures. This is really cool because last year I had two surgeries: a hiatal hernia removal and an endoscopy. The hernia revealed a whole bunch of polyps in my upper stomach that were noncancerous. When you have a disability, it always seems like there’s some weird medical thing on the horizon, so it’s nice for now to just enjoy the sunset.

Next update on my advocacy career. I now represent seven states on a national board of directors run by and for people with disabilities. The organization is called Self Advocates Becoming Empowered or SABE click here to read about my initial reactions to joining this organization. For now, I can say it is the most challenging but thrilling adventure of my life. Helping others is what I was made for. I don’t even care about traveling across the country. Truth be told, some days I’d rather be home in bed. I don’t do this for prestige. The day it becomes about that is the day I leave people with disabilities. They should need to be at the table to make a difference.

Finally, I want to recommend something that has nothing to do with disability at all. It’s a very fun and entertaining book called Mox. It is the personal memoir of professional wrestler and sports entertainer John Moxley. Yes, wrestling is partly staged, but they’re still real athletes trying to entertain you. This book teaches you about life in a very different way. You can turn your brain off, but some important nuggets will sneak in there.

I know this is a different kind of blog. I hope you guys still enjoyed it. Thanks for your time, and have a great day. I will see you guys next week.