Disability is purely a label of differently abled people. In this essay I will-

Ok ok. Just kidding, though I probably made certain radical English teachers happy for a few seconds. Being disabled in society is very difficult. Even if ignoring the physical pain aspect associated with disability, being disabled is nothing to celebrate. As I have mentioned previously, it impacts others as well as views towards the disabled person. What I have not mentioned previously however, is how the status of disability affects how complete and total strangers see a disabled person.

Some people just find disabled people odd. An existence to stare at or pretend doesn’t exist. I personally often experience little kids staring at me. Other people infantalize me and seem to think wheelchair=stupid. The fake sweet talking down voice some people have used gets me so mad. I’d rather people tried talking to me like a normal person first but that doesn’t seem to be the default for everyone. Not even adults that should know better are completely immune.

Medical professionals sometimes refer to my parents instead of me. Granted I’m as introverted as they come and sometimes prefer people to answer questions for me, but it still hurts. It hurts because of the implication of a “less than” status that is undeserving of will or opinion. As someone who has so little control of their own life, I at least don’t want my last remaining decisions taken from me out of ignorance.

I encourage people like me to advocate for themselves. People won’t start treating us right unless we show them that we have a brain still it seems. Disabled people need to be treated like equals in all ways. At least until directed otherwise in times of needed accommodation, and even then they need to be treated as equal in value. It’s an obvious concept but one that still goes over the heads of people. I pray for the day for when that is no longer the case.