Non-disabled people will have their own opinions on disability-related issues and I am not here to tell you that your opinion is the wrong one, but sometimes it is. When talking about disability-related issues, non-disabled people sometimes get a lot of things wrong because they aren’t talking to disabled people, and believe ableism that they see in the media. Non-disabled people who know a disabled person sometimes will have some right opinions because their disabled loved ones can steer them in the right direction, but you can’t force people to change. There are some things about disability that disabled people try to explain, but can be difficult for a non-disabled person to fully comprehend because they aren’t disabled themselves. I can only do so much to help non-disabled people understand a disability they have never personally experienced and sometimes I fail with certain things. Non-disabled people do not understand disability to the extent a disabled person does, and the media play a major role in non-disabled people believing ableism. In this post, I am going to share a few things about disability that non-disabled people often get wrong.
Disability is the problem- As a disabled person, I have had far too many experiences when a non-disabled person has approached me and said, “If you weren’t disabled you would be able to navigate. If I didn’t have a physical disability, I would have an easier time navigating inaccessibility, but the lack of accessibility is not the fault of the disabled person, and it’s the fault of the business owner for not thinking about their disabled customers. My disability is not something I can change and is not the problem, but it’s the lack of accessibility and ableism that is the real issue. Please stop blaming disabled people for every barrier because it’s not my fault you don’t care about being inclusive. I can’t cure myself, but we can make the world more accessible and stop blaming someone’s disability for every accessibility barrier. It is very frustrating when people blame my disability for every barrier instead of focusing on things we can control and fix it.
Accessibility only benefits disabled people– Non-disabled people sometimes wrongly believe that accessibility is optional and only benefits disabled people. Accessibility is necessary for disabled people to function, but it’s not just for disabled people and everyone benefits from a more accessible world. A larger doorway can make everyone’s life easier, and it’s not something that only disabled people benefit from, because more space will make everyone’s life easier. Accessibility needs to be prioritized because anyone can become disabled and you don’t have to be disabled to benefit from accessibility.
There aren’t that many disabled people– Non-disabled people sometimes think that we don’t have to prioritize accessibility because there aren’t that many disabled people. There are more non-disabled people than disabled people but there are still a lot of disabled people, and it is estimated that about sixteen percent of the world’s population has some kind of significant disability and even though you don’t know a disabled person that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a lot of disabled people. Non-disabled people need to stop believing that there aren’t a lot of disabled people because there is more of us than you think, and people are always joining our community.
Disabled people need to be fixed- If you are disabled, it is likely that you have been approached by someone who has told you how to cure yourself, because non-disabled people often think we need to be fixed. Some disabled people will want to be cured, but the belief that all disabled people need to be fixed is not true. Some people are happy with their disabilities and don’t want to be fixed because you can be happy with a disability and the hardest part of being disabled isn’t the fact my legs don’t work, but it’s that people are always trying to fix me. Non-disabled people often believe that the lack of cures is the problem when the reality is it’s people not being accepting of disability. There are some challenges that I would not be sad about if they were gone, but I don’t need to be fixed, and I need people to accept my disability. The idea that all disabled people need to be fixed is not true and is something non-disabled people think we need because it would make them more comfortable.
All disabled people are miserable- Non-disabled people often think that all disabled people are depressed and hate their lives. Some disabled people struggle with depression, but the belief that everyone hates their life is something the media feeds you, that is not true. There are some days I struggle with depression because of elevated pain levels, but I am not a miserable person and am happy being disabled. My life looks a bit different because of my disability, and I struggle with everything I do, but it doesn’t mean I am miserable, because believe it or not, you can be happy while living with a disability. I get frustrated with my disability all the time but I don’t let every challenge ruin my happiness.
Non-disabled people will have their own opinion on disability, but often, people will get things wrong because of the stigma that they see in the media. I don’t expect my non-disabled friends to get everything right, but it is important to listen to disabled people because our experiences matter. Disabled people see things that non-disabled people miss, and the only way you will be able to unlearn ableism is by talking to disabled people because non-disabled people often don’t recognize it. Don’t believe everything you hear about disability in the media to be true because most times, it’s over-exaggerated or completely false to begin with. I am always open to hearing non-disabled people’s opinions on disability-related issues, but don’t get offended if I correct you on something because I am only trying to help you unlearn stigma. What things about disability do you think non-disabled people get wrong? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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