When you are disabled, there are a lot of things that you do more slowly because of your disability or may not be able to do at all. Non-disabled people tend to focus on all the things disabled people can’t do but what a lot of people may not know is that there are some things we are naturally better at than non-disabled people. Disabled people sometimes have to do things a different way to accommodate our disabilities so we can function in a world that is not designed for us. There are a lot of things that I am never going to be able to do because of my disability and there is nothing I can do to change that. My disability makes everything in life hard but it’s not all bad and there are a lot of skills I have developed because of my disability that a non-disabled person may struggle with. What things am I naturally better at because of my disability? In this post, I am sharing a few things that I am better at because of my disability.
Pushing a wheelchair- I have a physical disability and am able to walk with crutches but sometimes I do need to use a wheelchair for long disabled. Non-disabled people often are able to sit in a wheelchair and push themselves but tend to struggle more than a disabled person. It takes time to become proficient at pushing a wheelchair and it is not a skill that non-disabled people need to have. My wheelchair skills are not as good as someone who needs to use one full-time but I could easily win a wheelchair race against a non-disabled person because I have had more practice. I prefer to push my wheelchair because non-disabled people often are more jerky and the ride is not as smooth. I wouldn’t consider myself an expert but I am better at navigating my wheelchair than a non-disabled person ever will be because it’s a skill I have been forced to develop.
Scooting on the floor- When you have a physical disability and need to get to the bathroom quickly sometimes it faster to crawl than to walk. I walk with my crutches most of the time because the ground is dirty and it’s easy to pick up germs but depending on the distance I am going sometimes it makes more sense to crawl there. Crawling is not just for babies but it is also a skill that many people with physical disabilities who don’t have good use of their legs learn to develop. Getting on the floor and crawling to get something that you have dropped is often difficult for non-disabled people, but for me it’s easy because I do so much. There is no reason for a non-disabled person to need to learn how to crawl proficiently but because of my physical disability, it’s a skill I use often. I don’t struggle crawling like a non-disabled person because I have been doing it my whole life and can probably crawl faster than I can walk.
Navigating inaccessibility– I live with a physical disability and face constant barriers because we live in a world that is designed for non-disabled people. One of the sad realities of being disabled is that I expect things not to be accessible to me and when it is I am shocked. I am always facing some kind of accessibility barrier and because of my disability, I have been forced to learn ways to navigate accessibility so I am able to function in an inaccessible world. When there is an accessibility barrier often I am able to come up with a solution to navigate that barrier in seconds because learning to navigate an inaccessible world is a skill that disabled people have to develop. I don’t struggle navigating inaccessibility as much as a non-disabled person would because it’s part of my everyday life. I am pretty creative when it comes to navigating barriers and come up with ways to make my life easier that a non-disabled person wouldn’t have thought of.
Recognizing ableism- Ableism negatively affects disabled people and most people are ableist including disabled people. Non-disabled people often are ableist but a lot of the time I don’t think people realize how ableist they are because most people have not even heard of that word. I sometimes will say something ableist but because of my disability, I am better at recognizing ableism than non-disabled people and am able to stop myself. Non-disabled people often are ableist and don’t even realize it but because of my disability, I am able to educate people on ableism in ways non- disabled people can’t. Disabled people are negatively impacted by ableism and have an easier time recognizing it than non-disabled people.
I’m better at ignoring unkind comments- When you’re disabled, people treat you differently and sometimes are ruder to disabled people than they would be to non-disabled people. Non-disabled people often have a harder time ignoring rude comments but when you are disabled, you often expect people to be unkind and develop a thick skin. I don’t get offended as easily as non-disabled people because people are always saying rude ableist comments to me and I have learned not to take it personally and ignore it. Non-disabled people sometimes don’t have those skills and get offended by the smallest things that would not bother me at all.
Disability prevents you from being able to do a lot of things and there are some I will never be able to do because of my disability. Disabled people see the world in a different way and often develop skills that a non-disabled person wouldn’t need because we need these skills to navigate a world that is not designed for us. I use different skills to function than a non-disabled person because I see the world in a different way but that is not always a bad thing. There are a lot of things that non-disabled people are better at than me because my disability makes most tasks difficult but at the same time there are a lot of tasks I can do more easily than non-disabled people. Disabled people use different skills to function and sometimes that is a good thing because there are some things that come naturally to me that I can help non-disabled people with. What skills do you have because of your disability? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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