When people don’t know you are disabled, a lot of the time you will be treated normally, but as soon as people know you are disabled, a lot of the time you are isolated and treated differently. If you have an invisible disability and don’t want people to know that you have a disability, you could decide not to tell people, and people would never know, but when you have a physical disability, hiding your disability is not always a choice. There are times I wish I could hide my disability, but I have a very visible physical disability and need crutches and a wheelchair to get around, and if I were to tell people I am not disabled, no one would believe me. There is stigma with every disability, but when you have a physical disability, sometimes there is more because it is often believed that you require 24/7 assistance and can’t do anything for yourself, which is far from true. It is hard to live with a physical disability because we live in an inaccessible world, and people will have their own ideas of what they think it’s like, that is often wrong. In this post, I am going to bust a few common myths about physical disabilities that you may have heard that are not true.
We require 24/7 assistance- When you have a physical disability, it is often believed that you can’t do anything for yourself and require 24/7 assistance, but that is only true for some people. Some disabled people are completely dependent on others, but not everyone with a physical disability requires around-the-clock assistance, and it depends on what disability you have. I have a physical disability, but I am able to get dressed, shower, go to the bathroom, and cook some meals without assistance because my disability does not prevent me from being able to do those things. It may take me longer to take a shower and get dressed independently, but I don’t need help doing these things. Some disabled people require more assistance than others, but the idea that everyone with a physical disability requires 24/7 assistance is simply not true because a lot of us are very independent and only occasionally need help.
You can’t drive– As a disabled person with a physical disability I don’t drive but even though I don’t have a car that doesn’t mean every person with a physical disability cannot drive. There are a lot of people with physical disabilities who do drive because you can get your car modified to use hand controls if you are unable to press the pedal with your foot. Modifications are expensive and can cost thousands of dollars on top of the price of the car and for that reason a lot of people with physical disabilities rely on public transportation but you can drive with physical disability.
You can’t live alone- When you have a physical disability, a lot of the time people think that you can’t live alone, but that is only true for some people. Many people with physical disabilities do not live with their parents and have their own apartments because there are services that can give disabled people the ability to live independently. I still live with my parents, but it has nothing to do with my physical ability, and I live with my parents because I don’t make enough money and can’t afford an apartment. People with physical disabilities sometimes have to hire services to do things for them that a non-disabled person could do themselves, but living on your own is safe and possible because assistive living facilities exist for a reason. Disabled people can’t get modifications in their homes to make them more accessible, so you can live on your own with minimal fall risks.
It dangerous to be left alone– It is dangerous to be left alone for more than an hour- When I am left home alone for more than an hour people sometimes get worried and think that it’s unsafe. Some people with physical disabilities cannot be left alone for very long because they may require more assistance than I do but as long as I am in a safe familiar environment it is completely safe to leave me home alone for the afternoon. Most people with physical disabilities live alone and are by themselves a vast majority of the time because not everyone is going to want to have a roommate. It is not unsafe to leave a disabled person home alone as long as we aren’t in an environment where we couldn’t call for help if we were to fall.
If I am struggling I always need help- When I am struggling to complete a task, a lot of the time it is assumed that I need help. There may be a few times when I do need help, but even though I am struggling, that does not mean I can’t do the task. There are some tasks, such as making a meal, that I will always struggle with because of my physical disability, but I can still do them. I struggle with a lot of tasks, but even though you see me struggling, that doesn’t mean I need help because most of the time I want to do it myself, even though it’s a little hard. I learn how to overcome obstacles by doing hard things, and if I let people do everything that was a little hard for me, I would be less independent.
Everyone with a physical disability requires assistive devices- When people think of a physical disability, a lot of the time it is assumed that you can’t walk or require crutches to be able to walk. Some disabled people like myself can’t walk long distances and need to use a wheelchair and crutches to get around but not everyone with a physical disability requires assistive devices. There are some physical disabilities where you may only have paralysis in your arm and hands but are able to walk because there are a lot of different kinds of physical disabilities. You should never assume that everyone with a physical disability uses some kind of assistive device and can’t walk long distances, because not all disabled people need to use a wheelchair full-time, and some people may not need it at all.
We fall all the time– When you have a physical disability, it is often believed that you fall all the time because you are at a slightly higher risk. Some people with physical disabilities fall a lot but not every physically disabled person falls constantly, and some people fall just as much as a non-disabled person would. I fall more easily than a non-disabled person would, but I don’t fall as much as people think I do, and usually only fall when something is not accessible or I don’t see the piece of paper on the floor. The idea that every person with mobility issues falls a lot is only true for some people.
When you have a physical disability, a lot of the time people think that you can’t do anything for yourself and require 24/7 assistance but that is not true and there are people who have less ability than I do who have their own apartment. People with physical disabilities require more assistance than a non-disabled person would but that does not mean we are helpless because you can cook, clean, and dress yourself while living with a disability. Some tasks I have to complete in a slightly different way to accommodate my disability, but I can still do these tasks independently. Never assume that a disabled person can’t do something without asking because a lot of the time we can do things people think we can’t. My physical disability will always make some tasks more difficult and there is nothing I can do to change that but I would rather people let me try before you assume I can’t do it. What myths about physical disabilities have you heard? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
Subscribe And Never Miss A Post
My Rockin Disabled Life 