July is Disability Pride Month. During the month of July, we celebrate Disability Pride Month, which is an opportunity to break barriers, educate people on ableism, and celebrate the uniqueness and challenges of disabled people. Disability pride isn’t about loving your disability all the time, but it’s about recognizing that life with a disability is hard, but you are proud of the person you have become because of your disability. Non-disabled people sometimes will say that they have disability pride because they know someone who is disabled and think that is what we want to hear. I can always tell when someone truly has disability pride by the way you treat disabled people and talk about disability because your actions say it all. You can lie and say you have disability pride all day long, but you don’t have disabled people fooled because we always know who is accepting of disabilities and who is not. Do you have disability pride? In this post, sharing questions you should ask yourself to see if you truly have disability pride or if you don’t.
Do you refuse to use the word disabled? Some disabled people refer to themselves as differently abled or handicapable, but not all disabled people use those terms, and some people prefer to identify as disabled. Non-disabled people sometimes avoid using the word disabled and say things like handicapped or special needs because it makes them more comfortable. Do you avoid using the word disabled and use terms such as handicapped or special needs because it makes you more comfortable? If you do, you don’t have disability pride because people if you did you wouldn’t dance around the word disabled and act like it’s a bad word. The first step to having disability pride is to get comfortable with using the word disabled because that is how a lot of disabled people identify. Not all disabled people identify in the same way and should use terms the individual prefer but if you are avoiding certain words because it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t truly have disability pride.
Do you care about accessibility even if you aren’t disabled?- Non-disabled people sometimes think that they don’t have to care about accessibility because they aren’t disabled themselves. Accessibility isn’t just for disabled people because it benefits everyone, and you have probably used more accessibility features that were originally created for disabled people than you think. Do you care about accessibility even if you aren’t disabled and don’t need it? If you want to have disability pride you have to care about accessibility because if you don’t care about it tells me that you don’t care how hard life is for disabled people. Have ever said that accessibility is too expensive and we don’t need to prioritize it because there aren’t a lot of disabled people. Everyone should care about accessibility, because disability doesn’t have to affect you to benefit from it. If you truly have disability pride, accessibility for all disabled people should be important to you because when accessibility is not prioritized, disabled people are not included.
Do you think disabled people need to be fixed? Some disabled people will want to be cured, but the belief that all disabled people are desperate for a cure is not true, and that is something non-disabled people think we need. Are you one of those people who are constantly talking about how to cure disabled people? You don’t truly have disability pride if you think that I need to be fixed, because someone who has disability pride would be accepting of my differences and wouldn’t try to fix them. Disability is often believed to be something bad, but disability is not something that should be considered negative and is just a different way to live.
Do you believe that ableism isn’t real?- Non-disabled people sometimes will say that ableism is not real and is something that disabled people made up. Ableism is real and is sadly so normalized in today’s society that most people don’t even recognize it. Do you believe that ableism is not real? If you do, consider yourself lucky because it means that you have never been directly impacted by it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not real. Ableism is real, and if you have ever told a disabled person that discrimination toward disabled people isn’t real and is something made up, you don’t have disability pride. The first step to having disability pride is recognizing all the discrimination disabled people face and raising awareness instead of dismissing the struggles and blaming the Individual.
Do you think life is not worth living with a disability?- When you are disabled, often people will approach you and say, “If I had your disability, I couldn’t carry on living. If you had my disability, depending on what form you had, you may have some physical challenges, but you could carry on living because a lot of people do and are thriving. You can’t have disability pride if you think that life is not worth living with a disability because having disability pride means that you accept me for who I am and see me as an individual, not my disability. Disabled people see the world in a different way and we need them because the only way we will have a more inclusive world is by talking to people who understand disability.
Do you pity my assistive devices?- Assistive devices are often seen as something bad that you should pity disabled people over and get rid of. You shouldn’t pity my assistive devices but praise them instead because I wouldn’t have the independence I do without them. Do you tell disabled people that assistive devices are a sign of weakness and you should throw them in the trash? Disability pride is about accepting disabled people and their assistive devices because if you are making disabled people feel shame for using assistive devices, you don’t have disability pride. People who truly have disability pride would be telling disabled people to do whatever it takes to be as independent as possible.
Do you think all disabled people are inspiring? Non-disabled people often think that disability automatically makes you an inspiration, but being disabled does not make you an inspiration but actions do. If you think that my existence as a disabled person is inspirational and praise me for doing basic tasks, it’s a little insulting and tell me that you see me as lesser human being. You don’t have disability pride if you isolate disabled people and look down on me because the only way you can truly have disability pride is if you can look past my disability and see me in the same way as everyone else.
Disability is often seen as something bad that needs to be fixed, and sometimes non-disabled people struggle to understand why a disabled person would have disability pride. Non-disabled people sometimes think that all disabled people are sad and depressed, but most of us aren’t because having a disability is not the worse thing that will ever happen to you. Non-disabled people sometimes will say they have disability pride, but when you isolate disabled people and refuse to use the word disabled, it tells me that you don’t truly have disability pride. Life is hard with a disability, and I can understand why a disabled person would not have disability pride because we are surrounded by inaccessibility and ableism that makes me difficult to be proud of your disability. You can have disability pride and not love everything about your disability because I don’t know anyone who does and there are some things that you are stuck with. Do you have disability pride? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
New posts are shared most Tuesdays and Thursdays. Subscribe to my blog’s email list to be notified when a new post is published. Emails are always kept confidential and never shared without anyone, but most importantly, I will never spam you!
My Rockin Disabled Life 