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In 2 essay collections, writers with disabilities tell their own stories.

Ilana Masad

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More than 1 in 5 people living in the U.S. has a disability, making it the largest minority group in the country.

Despite the civil rights law that makes it illegal to discriminate against a person based on disability status — Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990 — only 40 percent of disabled adults in what the Brookings Institute calls "prime working age," that is 25-54, are employed. That percentage is almost doubled for non-disabled adults of the same age. But even beyond the workforce — which tends to be the prime category according to which we define useful citizenship in the U.S. — the fact is that people with disabilities (or who are disabled — the language is, for some, interchangeable, while others have strong rhetorical and political preferences), experience a whole host of societal stigmas that range from pity to disbelief to mockery to infantilization to fetishization to forced sterilization and more.

But disabled people have always existed, and in two recent essay anthologies, writers with disabilities prove that it is the reactions, attitudes, and systems of our society which are harmful, far more than anything their own bodies throw at them.

About Us: Essays from the Disability Series of the New York Times, edited by Peter Catapano and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, collects around 60 essays from the column, which began in 2016, and divides them into eight self-explanatory sections: Justice, Belonging, Working, Navigating, Coping, Love, Family, and Joy. The title, which comes from the 1990s disability rights activist slogan "Nothing about us without us," explains the book's purpose: to give those with disabilities the platform and space to write about their own experiences rather than be written about.

While uniformly brief, the essays vary widely in terms of tone and topic. Some pieces examine particular historical horrors in which disability was equated with inhumanity, like the "The Nazis' First Victims Were the Disabled" by Kenny Fries (the title says it all) or "Where All Bodies Are Exquisite" by Riva Lehrer, in which Lehrer, who was born with spina bifida in 1958, "just as surgeons found a way to close the spina bifida lesion," visits the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. There, she writes:

"I am confronted with a large case full of specimen jars. Each jar contains a late-term fetus, and all of the fetuses have the same disability: Their spinal column failed to fuse all the way around their spinal cord, leaving holes (called lesions) in their spine. [...] I stand in front of these tiny humans and try not to pass out. I have never seen what I looked like on the day I was born."

Later, she adds, "I could easily have ended up as a teaching specimen in a jar. But luck gave me a surgeon."

Other essays express the joys to be found in experiences unfamiliar to non-disabled people, such as the pair of essays by Molly McCully Brown and Susannah Nevison in which the two writers and friends describe the comfort and intimacy between them because of shared — if different — experiences; Brown writes at the end of her piece:

"We're talking about our bodies, and then not about our bodies, about her dog, and my classes, and the zip line we'd like to string between us [... a]nd then we're talking about our bodies again, that sense of being both separate and not separate from the skin we're in. And it hits me all at once that none of this is in translation, none of this is explaining. "

From the cover of Resistance and Hope: Essays by Disabled People, edited by Alice Wong Disability Visibility Project hide caption

From the cover of Resistance and Hope: Essays by Disabled People, edited by Alice Wong

While there's something of value in each of these essays, partially because they don't toe to a single party line but rather explore the nuances of various disabilities, there's an unfortunate dearth of writers with intellectual disabilities in this collection. I also noticed that certain sections focused more on people who've acquired a disability during their lifetime and thus went through a process of mourning, coming to terms with, or overcoming their new conditions. While it's true — and emphasized more than once — that many of us, as we age, will become disabled, the process of normalization must begin far earlier if we're to become a society that doesn't discriminate against or segregate people with disabilities.

One of the contributors to About Us, disability activist and writer Alice Wong, edited and published another anthology just last year, Resistance and Hope: Essays by Disabled People , through the Disability Visibility Project which publishes and supports disability media and is partnered with StoryCorps. The e-book, which is available in various accessible formats, features 17 physically and/or intellectually disabled writers considering the ways in which resistance and hope intersect. And they do — and must, many of these writers argue — intersect, for without a hope for a better future, there would be no point to such resistance. Attorney and disability justice activist Shain M. Neumeir writes:

"Those us who've chosen a life of advocacy and activism aren't hiding from the world in a bubble as the alt-right and many others accuse us of doing. Anything but. Instead, we've chosen to go back into the fires that forged us, again and again, to pull the rest of us out, and to eventually put the fires out altogether."

You don't go back into a burning building unless you hope to find someone inside that is still alive.

The anthology covers a range of topics: There are clear and necessary explainers — like disability justice advocate and organizer Lydia X. Z. Brown's "Rebel — Don't Be Palatable: Resisting Co-optation and Fighting for the World We Want" — about what disability justice means, how we work towards it, and where such movements must resist both the pressures of systemic attacks (such as the threatened cuts to coverage expanded by the Affordable Care Act) and internal gatekeeping and horizontal oppression (such as a community member being silenced due to an unpopular or uninformed opinion). There are essays that involve the work of teaching towards a better future, such as community lawyer Talila A. Lewis's "the birth of resistance: courageous dreams, powerful nobodies & revolutionary madness" which opens with a creative classroom writing prompt: "The year is 2050. There are no prisons. What does justice look like?" And there are, too, personal meditations on what resistance looks like for people who don't always have the mobility or ability to march in the streets or confront their lawmakers in person, as Ojibwe writer Mari Kurisato explains:

"My resistance comes from who I am as a Native and as an LGBTQIA woman. Instinctively, the first step is reaching out and making connections across social media and MMO [massively multiplayer online] games, the only places where my social anxiety lets me interact with people on any meaningful level."

The authors of these essays mostly have a clear activist bent, and are working, lauded, active people; they are gracious, vivid parts of society. Editor Alice Wong demonstrates her own commitments in the diversity of these writers' lived experiences: they are people of color and Native folk, they encompass the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, they come from different class backgrounds, and their disabilities range widely. They are also incredibly hopeful: Their commitment to disability justice comes despite many being multiply marginalized. Artist and poet Noemi Martinez, who is queer, chronically ill, and a first generation American, writes that "Not all communities are behind me and my varied identities, but I defend, fight, and work for the rights of the members of all my communities." It cannot be easy to fight for those who oppress parts of you, and yet this is part of Martinez's commitment.

While people with disabilities have long been subjected to serve as "inspirations" for the non-disabled, this anthology's purpose is not to succumb to this gaze, even though its authors' drive, creativity, and true commitment to justice and reform is apparent. Instead, these essays are meant to spur disabled and non-disabled people alike into action, to remind us that even if we can't see the end result, it is the fight for equality and better conditions for us all that is worth it. As activist and MFA student Aleksei Valentin writes:

"Inspiration doesn't come first. Even hope doesn't come first. Action comes first. As we act, as we speak, as we resist, we find our inspiration, our hope, that which helps us inspire others and keep moving forward, no matter the setbacks and no matter the defeats."

Ilana Masad is an Israeli American fiction writer, critic and founder/host of the podcast The Other Stories . Her debut novel, All My Mother's Lovers, is forthcoming from Dutton in 2020.

Disability Studies: Foundations & Key Concepts

This non-exhaustive reading list highlights some of the key debates and conceptual shifts in disability studies.

Disability studies emerged out of the disability civil rights movement in the late twentieth century. Early scholarship distinguishes the medical model of disability, which locates physical and mental impairments in individual bodies, from the social model, which understands the world as disabling people. The social model names both architectural and attitudinal barriers as the cause of disablement. Over the last few decades, the field has expanded to include individuals with a wide range of disabilities—not just physical conditions, but also mental and chronic ones.

This list, far from exhaustive, highlights some of the key debates and conceptual shifts in the field.  In addition to showcasing disability studies’ interdisciplinary focus, the list traces the relationship between D.S. and other minority fields of study. At its broadest, disability studies encourages scholars to value disability as a form of cultural difference. As the sources below reveal, ability should not be the default when it comes to human worth.

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Asch, Adrienne. “Recognizing Death while Affirming Life: Can End of Life Reform Uphold a Disabled Person’s Interest in Continued Life?” The Hastings Center Report , 2005

Bioethics scholar Adrienne Asch is one of the first scholars to bring a disability studies approach to bioethics. This essay addresses U.S. policy regarding decisions for end-of-life treatment and, more broadly, it critiques discourse surrounding “quality of life.” Asch attacks the slogan “better off dead than disabled” by showing how disability does not necessarily diminish one’s life. Instead, she argues, healthcare practitioners should focus on forms of care that give disabled people independence. She also offers pragmatic suggestions for how caretakers can affirm the humanity of patients receiving end-of-life treatment.

Baynton, Douglas. “Slaves, Immigrants, and Suffragists: The Uses of Disability in Citizenship Debates.” PMLA , 2005

Douglas Baynton’s groundbreaking essay foregrounds disability in accounts of American history. He assesses three U.S. debates regarding citizenship: the civil rights movement, women’s suffrage, and immigration legislation. This essay considers how disability has been used as a justification for the oppression of marginalized populations. For example, slaves were said to become “crazy” if they were granted freedom. Women were often described as mentally incapable of receiving an education. And immigrants have been cast as disabled due to racial difference. Baynton explores how attending to disability in its own right (rather than as a symptom of misogyny or racism) enables an intersectional analysis.

Brueggemann, Brenda Jo, Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Georgina Kleege. “What Her Body Taught (Or, Teaching about and with a Disability): A Conversation.” Feminist Studies , 2005

Written from the perspective of three female scholars with disabilities, this essay is one of the first pieces of scholarship to address the presence of disabled faculty in the classroom. Brueggemann, Garland-Thomson, and Kleege explore the tension between wanting their disabilities to be normalized, but also wanting them to be present in students’ minds. In addition to discussing the difficulty of disclosure in the classroom, they explore how educators might adopt different approaches to teaching to accommodate instructors’ disabilities.

Davis, Lennard. “Crips Strike Back: The Rise of Disability Studies.” American Literary History , 1999

This essay reviews three publications that address disability studies from a humanities-based perspective. While D.S. first emerged in the social sciences, Davis makes a case for the centrality of disability studies scholarship in literary studies. More broadly, he proposes that disability studies should no longer be considered a narrow or specialized field. It’s applicable to us all.

Donaldson, Elizabeth J. “The Corpus of the Madwoman: Toward a Feminist Disability Studies Theory of Embodiment and Mental Illness.” NWSA Journal , 2002

This essay takes up the figure of the madwoman in literature. Adopting a feminist disability studies approach, Donaldson critiques the way feminist scholars read madwomen as merely symptomatic of patriarchal oppression, which discounts the reality of mental disability. She is resistant to framing disability as a metaphor and advocates for readings that consider disability alongside questions of gender.

Erevelles, Nirmala. “Race.” Keywords for Disability Studies (2015)

This short essay gives an overview of the relationship between disability studies and critical race studies. Erevelles shows how disability has been aligned with race. However, analogizing race to disability (or saying, “disability is like race”) eliminates the specificity of both identity categories. She uses special education as an example because it is a site where racial segregation takes place on the premise of disability. By attending to disabled people of color, she argues that we can achieve a more nuanced analysis, which accounts for how social forces like poverty and involuntary institutionalization exacerbate different forms of social marginalization.

Garland-Thomson, Rosemarie. “Feminist Disability Studies.” Signs , 2005

In placing feminist studies and disability studies in conversation, Garland-Thomson argues that both fields work to de-naturalize assumptions about embodiment and social roles. Her essay explores a range of pressing social issues, including selective abortion, caretaking, and reproductive rights.

Ginsburg, Faye and Rayna Rapp. “Disability Worlds.” Annual Review of Anthropology , 2013

Ginsburg and Rapp call for a critical approach to disability in the field of anthropology. Bridging the gap between the medical and anthropological fields, they shift toward understanding impairment as both environmental and cultural. They also consider what ethnography can bring to questions of disability within anthropological study.

Hershey, Laura. “Disabled Women Organize Worldwide.” o ff our backs , 2003

Recounting events from the NGO Forum on Women in China (1995) and the International Leadership Forum for Women with Disabilities in Maryland (1996), disability activist Laura Hershey moves beyond Western definitions of disability to offer a global perspective. In addition to showing how disabled women are doubly discriminated against, Hershey outlines how gender can influence the international movement for disability rights. She also considers how issues like poverty and illiteracy speak to the feminist and disability movements.

James, Jennifer C. and Cynthia Wu. “Editors’ Introduction: Race, Ethnicity, Disability, and Literature: Intersections and Interventions.” MELUS , 2006

This essay brings ethnic studies into conversation with debates regarding disability representation. From the nineteenth-century freakshow to forced sterilization, people of color have been disproportionately disabled, and James and Wu call for an intersectional approach to these complex subjectivities.

Kleege, Georgina. “Blind Rage: An Open Letter to Helen Keller.” Southwest Review , 1998

In this more personal essay, Kleege interrogates Helen Keller’s status as a disability icon. Kleege critiques the way disability has been individualized, refuting both tragic and triumphant representations of impairment. In describing her experience navigating everyday life as a blind woman, Kleege attends to the realities of living in a world not made for disabled people.

Kudlick, Catherine. “Disability History: Why We Need Another ‘Other.’” The American Historical Review , 2003

In this groundbreaking essay, Kudlick moves to situate disability studies in historical scholarship. Reframing disability as valuable, she argues that a renewed attention to bodily and mental impairments can revise our accounts of nearly all events in history—from women’s rights to labor movements. Her essay offers a comprehensive overview of books and articles pertaining to disability history, and, more specifically, deaf history.

Linker, Beth. “On the Borderland of Medical and Disability History: A Survey of Both Fields.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 2013

This essay addresses why the history of medicine and disability studies fail to interact. Linker begins by critiquing disability studies’ resistance to medical discourse. She argues that certain disabled people, especially those who are living with chronic conditions, often rely heavily on medical care, which is why the “medical model” should not be so readily dismissed. In turn, while disability history is typically understood as different from medical history, especially in the U.S., Linker argues for a greater need for cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Linton, Simi. “Reassigning Meaning.” Claiming Disability: Knowledge and Identity ,1988

One of the most foundational essays in the field of disability studies, Linton outlines how language has been important to naming disability as a political rather than medical category. She also addresses the problem of “overcoming rhetoric,” which fails to address disabled people’s need for access.

McRuer, Robert. “Crip Eye for the Normate Guy: Queer Theory and the Discipling of Disability Studies.” PMLA , 2005

McRuer is one of the first scholars to assess the relationship between disability and queerness. In this essay, he analyzes how the popular show The Queer Eye for the Straight Guy normalizes the disabled body. While representations of queer life often resist disability, he argues that queer and disability studies share a resistance to normalization, which should be embraced in future scholarship and activism.

Price, Margaret. Mad at School: Rhetorics of Mental Disability and Academic Life . University of Michigan, 2011

Price offers one of the first substantive accounts of mental disability, which has come belatedly to studies of physical disability. She focuses on higher education as a site that stigmatizes mental disability in its focus on rationality, cohesion, and cognitive agility. Her book offers a range of suggestions, many of which are pedagogical, for how mental disability might revitalize academic life.

Siebers, Tobin. “Disability in Theory: From Social Constructionism to the New Realism of the Body.” American Literary History , 2001

Siebers critiques the social model of disability, arguing that it fails to account for the experience of individual bodies. His term “the new realism of the body” calls for an assessment of the bodily effects of disability, which often cannot be altered through environmental transformations alone.

Wendell, Susan. “Unhealthy Disabled: Treating Chronic Illness as Disabilities.” Hypatia , 2001 

This article broadens the definition of disability to include individuals with chronic illnesses.  While people in the disability community often distinguish themselves from people who are ill, not all disabled people, she observes, are healthy. Wendell questions some of the main assumptions in disability activism and scholarship regarding social justice and reform. Dismantling the environmental effects of disablement will not always eliminate a body’s suffering, she argues.

Williamson, Bess. “Access.” Keywords for Disability Studies (2015)

This short essay gives a comprehensive account of the history of access and why it is a key term in D.S. Williamson argues that paying attention to access turns our focus away from the individual, highlighting instead the disabling makeup of the social world. Although access is easy to define, Williamson notes that it is hard to implement in practice because disabled people have conflicting needs.

Editor’s Note: This list has been updated to include publication dates.

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Other Diseases & Conditions — Disability

Disability Essay Examples

Navigate the complexities and diverse narratives surrounding disability with our extensive collection of disability essay samples. These essays offer a wide range of perspectives on disability, highlighting the challenges, triumphs, and societal implications associated with physical and mental disabilities. Whether you're seeking to deepen your understanding, gather evidence for an argument, or find inspiration for your own disability essay, our collection serves as a valuable resource for any student engaged in this important discourse.

Understanding Disability

Disability encompasses a broad spectrum of conditions that impact individuals' daily lives and abilities. Essays on disability cover various themes, including accessibility, discrimination , legislation, and personal experiences of living with a disability. By exploring these essays, students can gain insights into the lived experiences of individuals with disabilities, the societal barriers they face, and the ongoing efforts towards inclusion and equality. These essays encourage a deeper reflection on how society perceives and accommodates disability, challenging stereotypes and advocating for change.

Highlights from Our Essay Collection

Our disability essay samples address a multitude of topics, ensuring that students can find essays that resonate with their specific area of interest or research focus. From analytical pieces on policy and rights to reflective essays on personal growth and resilience, our collection provides a rich source of information and perspectives. Each essay not only enriches your research but also helps in crafting compelling narratives that bring to light the realities of living with a disability.

Leveraging Our Essays for Your Academic Success

• Idea Generation: Use our essays as a springboard for developing your own unique thesis or research question on disability.
• Research Aid: Employ these essays to identify key issues, trends, and scholarly debates surrounding disability.
• Structural Guide: Analyze the structure and argumentation strategies used in our essays to enhance the organization and persuasiveness of your own writing.
• Citing Sources: Observe how our essays incorporate and cite evidence, providing a model for academic integrity and proper referencing in your work.

The exploration of disability through academic writing is an opportunity to engage with critical issues affecting millions of individuals worldwide. Our collection of disability essay samples is designed to support students in navigating this complex topic, offering a foundation for informed, empathetic, and impactful essays. By delving into our essays, you can contribute to a more inclusive and understanding discourse on disability.

Begin your journey through the multifaceted world of disability by exploring our disability essay samples today. Allow these essays to inspire and guide you as you contribute your voice to the vital conversation on disability and inclusion.

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Essay on Disability

Students are often asked to write an essay on Disability in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Disability

Understanding disability.

Disability means having a condition that makes it tough to do certain things. Some people are born with disabilities, while others get them from accidents or illnesses. Disabilities can be seen, like when someone uses a wheelchair, or unseen, like trouble with learning or hearing.

Types of Disabilities

There are many kinds of disabilities. Physical ones affect the body, like trouble walking. Sensory disabilities impact senses, like being blind. Mental health and learning disabilities affect the mind, making learning or feeling good harder.

Living with Disability

People with disabilities can do many things. They go to school, work, and play sports. Sometimes they need tools or help to do these things. It’s important to treat everyone with respect and kindness, no matter what.

Support and Rights

Laws protect people with disabilities, giving them the same chances as others. Ramps, special software, and support in school are examples. These help make sure that everyone, regardless of ability, can join in all parts of life.

250 Words Essay on Disability

Disability is when a person has a condition that makes it more challenging for them to do certain things. This can be because of problems with their body or their mind. Just like everyone is different in their own way, disabilities are different too. Some people are born with disabilities, while others may get them because of an accident or illness.

There are many types of disabilities. Some people might have trouble seeing, hearing, or walking. Others might find it hard to learn or remember things. It’s important to know that just because someone has a disability, it doesn’t mean they can’t live a full and happy life. They can still play, learn, and work; they might just do these things in a different way.

People with disabilities use tools and help from others to make their lives easier. For example, someone who can’t see well might use a cane or a guide dog to walk around. There are also special computers and programs that help people with different kinds of disabilities to study or do jobs.

Being Kind and Respectful

It’s very important to be kind and respectful to everyone, including people with disabilities. They should be treated just like anyone else. You can be a good friend by understanding their needs and helping them when they ask for it. Remember, having a disability doesn’t stop someone from being a great friend, artist, scientist, or anything else they want to be!

500 Words Essay on Disability

When we talk about disability, we mean a condition that makes it hard for a person to do certain things. This could be because their body or mind works differently from what most people consider usual. Disabilities can be seen, like someone in a wheelchair, or unseen, like someone who has trouble learning.

Disabilities come in many forms. Some people are born with them, while others might get a disability because of an accident or illness. Physical disabilities affect the body, making it tough to walk, see, hear, or move around. Mental disabilities can make learning, communicating, or handling emotions challenging.

Life with a Disability

Living with a disability means facing challenges that others might not think about. Simple things like climbing stairs, reading a book, or remembering directions can be hard. But it’s important to know that having a disability doesn’t stop someone from living a full and happy life. People with disabilities go to school, work, play sports, and enjoy time with friends and family just like anyone else.

Accessibility and Support

To help people with disabilities, we need to make places more accessible. This means creating ramps for wheelchairs, having books in Braille for those who can’t see, and using sign language for those who can’t hear. Support also comes from friends, family, and helpers who give their time and love to make sure everyone can join in.

Respect and Understanding

Sometimes, people don’t understand what it’s like to have a disability, and they might act in a way that is not kind. It’s very important to treat everyone with respect, no matter how they look or what they can or can’t do. By learning about disabilities, we can be better friends and help make sure everyone feels included.

Technology and Disabilities

Technology has done a lot to help people with disabilities. There are computers that speak for those who can’t talk, wheelchairs that can climb stairs, and apps that help people who have trouble with learning. These tools open up a world of possibilities and help break down barriers.

The Power of Positivity

Having a disability might make some things tougher, but it can also teach us about strength and courage. Many people with disabilities have done amazing things and have shown that it’s not the disability that defines them, but their talents and personality. With a positive attitude, anyone can overcome challenges and reach their goals.

Disability is part of the human experience, and it touches all of us in one way or another. By learning about it and creating a world that is good for everyone, we build a kinder, more understanding society. Remember, it’s not our differences that matter, but how we treat each other. With care and support, we can all help make life better for people living with disabilities.

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Disability Visibility

75 pages • 2 hours read

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part I: Being

Part II: Becoming

Part III: Doing

Part IV: Connecting

Key Figures

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Summary and Study Guide

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century (2020) is an anthology of 37 nonfiction essays collected by disability rights activist Alice Wong. Each essay concerns a different aspect of what it means to be disabled, and the volume includes writings from people with physical, intellectual, psychiatric, and sensory disabilities. These essays center a broad array of topics, including medical trauma, personal relationships, career success, family dysfunction, art, activism, history, and politics.

Disability Visibility ’s model of disability studies and activism is thoroughly intersectional. Most of the contributing authors are queer, women, and/or people of color. Many of them draw specific attention to how these identities intersect with their disabilities and disabled status. Many are also multiply disabled, which they explore in varying degrees of detail.

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This text is one part of a broader effort called the Disability Visibility Project (DVP). Spearheaded by Wong, DVP is an ongoing multimedia project and digital community dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing disability media and culture. This banner includes several other books, a digital archive, a podcast, and a blog. Like DVP, Disability Visibility aims to capture and share a broad range of disabled experiences and perspectives. To make the text widely accessible, it is available in a variety of formats including an audiobook, a braille edition, a plain language summary, and an adaptation for young readers.

This guide references the eBook edition from Vintage Books, published in 2020.

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CONTENT WARNING: This text (and this guide) contains extended discussions and depictions of ableism , medical abuse/malpractice, sexual assault, racism, sexism, classism, antisemitism, islamophobia, anti-queerness, eugenics, Nazism, physical injury, serious illness, and compulsory institutionalization. This book also contains frank discussions and depictions of human bodies, bodily fluids/waste (e.g.: blood, vomit, excrement, urine), sex and sexuality, and physical pain.

In her Introduction , editor Alice Wong introduces her work and the ethos behind this book: “I want to center the wisdom of disabled people […] Collectively, through our stories, our connections, and our actions, disabled people will continue to confront and transform the status quo” (xxii). The anthology comprises 37 nonfiction essays written by people with disabilities.

Harriet McBryde Johnson’s “Unspeakable Conversations” recalls her formal debate with Dr. Peter Singer at Princeton. On a personal level, Johnson finds Singer respectful and pleasant, but she regards his beliefs as genocidal towards disabled people.

“For Ki’tay D. Davidson, Who Loved Us” is a eulogy for disability rights advocate Ki’tay Davidson written by his surviving partner, Talila Lewis. Lewis celebrates Davidson’s identity as a Black, disabled, transgender man.

“If You Can’t Fast, Give” is a reflection by Maysoon Zayid, a Muslim performer with cerebral palsy. She writes about her experiences fasting during Ramadan .

In “There’s a Mathematical Equation that Proves I’m Ugly,” Ariel Henley describes the difficulties of growing up with facial deformities. The essay is built around a seventh-grade art lesson in which she recalls being taught “the golden ratio,” a mathematical formula created to objectively measure facial attractiveness.

“The Erasure of Indigenous People in Chronic Illness” recalls Jen Deerinwater’s experiences with anti-Indigenous racism in medical settings.

June Eric-Udorie’s “When You Are Waiting to Be Healed” charts her journey of self-acceptance. She grew up in a deeply religious family; her family members only acknowledged her disability when praying for God to “heal” it. As a young adult, Eric-Udorie finds a greater level of independence and self-esteem by acknowledging and accepting her disability.

“The Isolation of Being a Deaf Person in Prison” describes Jeremy Woody’s traumatic experiences as a deaf prisoner.

“Common Cyborg” concerns author Jillian Weise’s exploration of cyborg identity. She uses a prosthetic leg and defines cyborgs as disabled people who have technology incorporated into their bodies. She also refutes transhumanism from a disabled perspective .

“I’m Tired of Chasing a Cure” follows Liz Moore as they navigate life with chronic pain and bipolar disorder. Though they identify many things “wrong” with their body, they are tired of seeking relief through medicine and spiritual healing.

“We Can’t Go Back” by Ricardo T. Thornton Sr. is an excerpt from his statement before the US Senate. In it, he recounts his life’s story and argues that the intellectually disabled are fully capable of participating in society.

“Radical Visibility” discusses Sky Cubacub’s clothing brand, Rebirth Garments. Rebirth’s stated mission is to create fashionable and functional clothing for disabled and gender-nonconforming people.

Haben Girma’s “Guide Dogs Don’t Lead People. We Wander as One” centers on the dynamic she shares with her seeing-eye dog Mylo and describes the sensory experience of navigating together.

“Taking Charge of My Story as a Cancer Patient at the Hospital Where I Work” follows Diana Cejas through her residency at a hospital, centering on the fallout from her stroke and cancer diagnosis. She notices a unique social element to working at the hospital where she received treatment and struggles to adjust. As she recovers and progresses in her career, Cejas starts talking about her experiences on her own terms and hears other people’s stories in return.

Sandy Ho’s “Canfei to Canji” contends with her intersecting identities which are often in tension with each other. She is a disabled Asian American and the child of immigrants. Her parents immigrated to the United States in the 1980s, just prior to the rise of disability acceptance in China. As a result, they struggled to parent Sandy while contending with the assumption that disabled people are canfei— “a useless burden.”

“Nurturing Black Disabled Joy” is a reflection on hard-won hope by Keah Brown. Though she was initially a pessimistic, angry, and skeptical person, Brown now embraces the pursuit of joy and “living unapologetically.”

“Last but Not Least” describes Keshia Scott’s exploration of her sexuality. As a blind person, she initially took umbrage at the thought that she might be asexual because she’d been exposed to the ableist myth that all disabled people are either sexless or hypersexual. At the time of writing, she gladly embraces asexuality .

In “Imposter Syndrome and Parenting with a Disability,” Jessica Slice describes the way her disability limits her movement and how that impacts the way she raises her son.

“How to Make a Paper Crane from Rage” uses origami folding as a metaphor for suppressing one’s rage. Elsa Sjunneson writes about losing her father to AIDS, enduring sexual assault, and experiencing ableism.

“Selma Blair Became a Disabled Icon Overnight. Here’s Why We Need More Stories Like Hers” praises actress Selma Blair for her poise and confidence in the public eye after announcing her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis. As a disabled person herself, author Zipporah Arielle is moved by seeing her experiences reflected in mainstream media.

“Why My Novel Is Dedicated to My Disabled Friend Maddy” by A. H. Reaume is an acknowledgment and celebration of disabled collaboration. Reaume and her friend, Maddy Sloan, have each sustained brain injuries that impact their abilities to function on a day-to-day basis. Reaume writes that she physically could not have finished her novel without Sloan’s help.

Rebecca Cokley’s “The Antiabortion Bill You Aren’t Hearing About” is a 2019 response to Texas Senate Bill 1033, which would ban abortion in the case of “severe fetal abnormality.” Though the bill is framed as a defense of disabled lives, Cokley identifies it as an assault on bodily autonomy.

“So. Not. Broken.” is Alice Sheppard’s exploration of what it means to be a dancer who uses a wheelchair.

“How a Blind Astronomer Found a Way to Hear the Stars” is a transcription of Wanda Díaz-Merced’s TED Talk on how her blindness led her to innovate as an astronomer.

“Incontinence Is a Public Health Issue— and We Need to Talk About It” addresses the shame and stigma attached to incontinence. Author Mari Ramsawakh demonstrates why this creates health risks for the people who suffer from it and presents her own experiences with incontinence as a case study.

In “Falling/Burning,” Shoshana Kessock uses comedian Hannah Gatsby’s special Nanette to explain her experience of being an artist with Bipolar II. Kessock refutes the idea that artists must suffer to achieve greatness by sharing her history with medication and productivity.

In “Six Ways of Looking at Crip Time,” Ellen Samuels explores the concept of “crip time,” defined by author Margaret Price as a “flexible approach to normative time frames” (175). Samuels explains the solitude and confusion she feels by creating six different iterations of crip time .

“Lost Cause” follows Reyma McCoy McDeid from early childhood to the time of writing. The essay is structured around moments in which she was told that she or something she was pursuing was a “lost cause.” She also explores the intersection of ableism, sexism, and racism and how it affects her.

“On NYC’s Paratransit, Fighting for Safety, Respect, and Human Dignity” recounts Britney Wilson’s experiences with Access-A-Ride, New York City’s paratransit service. Wilson’s testimony depicts Access-A-Ride as an extremely flawed service that overworks its drivers, wounds its disabled user base’s dignity, wastes their time, and even puts them in danger.

“Gaining Power Through Communication Access” is an excerpt from an interview with Lateef McLeod. The interview was conducted by Alice Wong on the Disability Visibility podcast. McLeod uses augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) as disability aids. He describes his history with AAC and other assistive technologies.

“The Fearless Benjamin Lay” simultaneously celebrates the life of the titular 18th-century abolitionist and little person. Author Eugene Grant, a self-identified dwarf person himself, also challenges Lay’s modern-day obscurity.

“To Survive Climate Catastrophe, Look to Queer and Disabled Folks” urges the reader to use multiply oppressed communities’ knowledge of survival to avert climate disaster.

“Disability Solidarity” is a document undersigned by the members of the Harriet Tubman Collective. It argues that social justice movements and discussions around police violence against Black people are incomplete without active anti-ableist praxis.

“Time’s Up for Me, Too” contains author Karolyn Gehrig’s appraisal of the “Time’s Up” and “Me, Too” movements, especially in Hollywood. As a disabled survivor of sexual assault, Gehrig feels that she and her disabled aunt, Virginia, are excluded from these movements.

“Still Dreaming Wild Disability Justice Dreams at the End of the World” consists of both poetry and prose . It concerns what it means to be disabled in times of widespread crisis and explores what disabled people can provide to social justice movements, including climate justice and protests against ICE concentration camps.

Jamison Hill’s “Love Means Never Having to Say… Anything” reflects on his relationship with his girlfriend, Sharon. Both have myalgic encephalomyelitis. Although they are unable to care for one another as able-bodied partners might, their shared experiences result in an extremely strong bond.

Stacey Milbern’s “On the Ancestral Plane” uses her favorite pair of shoes (“crip socks”) as a framing device to explore her ideological and cultural heritage as a disabled person.

“The Beauty of Spaces Created by and for Disabled People” describes what it feels like to be a disabled person in a majority-disabled audience at a dance recital created and performed by disabled people.

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Guest Blog: How to Effectively Write About a Disability in a College Essay

Diane Diamantis June 13, 2016 Blog Posts , Non-Profit

Today we are pleased to feature a guest blog by Shirag Shemmassian, Ph.D. We met Dr. Shemmassian at the 2016 national conference of the Tourette Association of America. His work as a consultant helping students with disabilities fits well with our goal of helping college students who have Tourette Syndrome. Here, he covers a topic that can benefit students with all types of disabilities. We hope you find it useful!

–Dollars 4 Tic Scholars

How to Effectively Write about a Disability in a College Essay

by Shirag Shemmassian, Ph.D.

Parents often ask me whether their student’s college admissions chances will be hurt if they discuss a disability in their college essay.

The answer is a resounding “No.” In fact, disclosing a disability in a college essay or elsewhere on a college application can help your student gain admission to their dream school .

Colleges aim to recruit a diverse student body, and disability is seen as one form of diversity. Disclosing a disability can provide admissions committee members with the proper context in which to evaluate your student’s academic and personal achievements.

Nevertheless, I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as a good or bad college essay topic, only strong or poor execution . Therefore, merely disclosing a disability won’t be enough to get your student into great colleges. They will have to go a step further and discuss specifically how their disability makes them them .

So, how can your student produce a standout essay about their disability? Following the dos and don’ts listed below will help your student avoid common mistakes and wow admissions committees the nation over.

• Don’t write a story with the intention to make the admissions committee feel bad for you. Do write a story that demonstrates your unique qualities and how you will be a good fit with a particular school.

Every time an admissions committee member reads a college essay, the question in the back of their mind is: “Will this applicant be a good fit at our school?” The best way for your student to demonstrate fit with a college is to tell a compelling story that conveys their positive traits, such as grit, resilience, and optimism. On the other hand, telling a story that exclusively highlights the challenges your student faced with their disability will unfortunately lead the reader to doubt whether they will be able to handle the rigors associated with college life.

• Don’t simply write about how you dealt with your disability. Do communicate how working through your disability has transformed you or helped you grow.

Your student’s disability, and the way they have dealt with it, have likely contributed significantly to their identity development. Admissions committees want to know how your student’s experiences with their disability has shaped them into the wonderful person they are today. For example, overcoming the teasing and self-advocating for my educational rights associated with my Tourette Syndrome diagnosis has helped me embrace the fact I am just as capable as anyone else and to help others do the same. How has your student been transformed positively because of their disability experiences?

• Don’t present yourself as someone who has overcome every issue related to your disability. Do present yourself as someone who makes the most of every difficult situation you face.

Your student’s disability may impact their friendships, schoolwork, and relationships with family members. And while your student is likely an incredibly resilient individual who has overcome multiple barriers at school, at home, and in the community, they inevitably continue to face challenges due to their disability or otherwise. Therefore, your student’s goal for their college essay should be to authentically discuss their responses to life’s challenges, regardless of whether or not they have figured everything out. I mean, which of us has?

Final Thoughts

Your student should not shy away from discussing their disability when completing their college applications. Doing so may help them present a side of themselves that is likely a major part of the person they uniquely are. Nevertheless, there are multiple fine lines your student must straddle when discussing their disability to come across as authentic and resilient, and to demonstrate fit with their dream schools.

Dr. Shemmassian channeled his passion for empowering families to found Shemmassian Academic Consulting , through which he helps students with disabilities get into America’s top colleges. His work has been featured on television, conferences, and various blogs and podcasts. You can receive Dr. Shemmassian’s top 10 college admissions secrets for free to help your student get into their dream school—without the stress—by clicking here .

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3.2: “Disability” by Nancy Mairs

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In  “Disability,”  writer Nancy Mairs discusses the experience of being a disabled person in a world focused on the able-bodied.

Click on the link to view the essay: “Disability,” by Nancy Mairs

As you read, look for the following:

• What “points for comparison” does the author use?
• How does the author go beyond the obvious similarities and differences to surface interesting ideas and insights?

Disability is not Inability: A Different Perspective Essay

Introduction, experiences, works cited.

As human beings, we generally fear what we do not understand, and this predisposition underscores why in most cases we react with a defensive approach to an unfamiliar environment or behavior from other people by either keeping off completely where possible or keeping contact to the utter minimum.

The same disposition is evident when most people encounter other people with disabilities. We all have heard of someone who did not go to a certain school, get a certain job, or join a certain sport because of a certain disability. We have even heard of parents who hide their children away from visitors or leave them alone at home for they do not want to get the feeling of disapproval from what people might say or how they might look at their children.

Some even go a step further and send them away to boarding institutions because they are afraid of the responsibilities that come with these conditions. This tendency underscores stigma, which is “a bad reputation that something has because many people disapprove of it, often unfairly” (Falk 71).

Several institutions deal with such disabilities, and each of them is specially designed depending on the nature of the disability. For instance, there are special schools for the blind, others for the deaf, and others for people with various physical disabilities and deformities and mental disorders.

This paper looks at two such instances of disability namely the Tourette’s syndrome as illustrated by Dr. Oliver Sacks, a famed medical writer, in his work “A Surgeon’s Life” and a real life example from my neighbor, Daniel, who is a 12-year old living with Autism. The paper looks into the lifestyles and behavior of Dr. Bennett, a character in Dr. Sacks’ story, and Daniel and how they cope with the challenges that face them.

The Tourette’s syndrome is a condition that affects the normal functions of both the body and the mind of an individual, hence causing them to do or utter inappropriate things given the circumstances and environment. This aspect tends to have a profound effect on the social life of the individual. It mainly manifests in early childhood and may progress as the child grows into adulthood.

Earlier definitions looked at it as a ‘moral’ disease affecting the will of the individual, a psychiatric disease to treatable through psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, and later on as a chemical disease resulting from an imbalance of the neurotransmitter dopamine. However, Dr. Oliver views these definitions as inadequate and suggests that the complexity of the disorder requires us to look at it not from these one-sided angles, but from a combination of all these angles, as a biopsychosocial disorder.

Autism, on the other hand, “is a neurological disorder that affects how information is processed in the brain leading to impairment in social interaction and communication” (Volkmar et al. 315). Daniel’s speech, for instance, is partially slurred and one would need to be around him for a while in order to make out familiar sounds and words, and thus understand what he is saying. It is also characterized by repetitive behavior.

Daniel moved into my neighborhood two years ago with his father. When I first saw him, he seemed like every other normal 12-year-old boy. It took me a while to notice some of his unique behavior. He rarely went outside to play and when he did, he would sit alone staring at pieces of broken glass and occasionally smiling.

He would also stand abruptly, pull his pants up, and dust them off at the knees. He has slurred speech and prefers to greet people with a hug rather than a handshake. This is similar to Dr. Bennett’s behavior in Dr. Sacks’ story. Similarly, Dr. Sacks talks of Bennett’s obsessive touching of both objects and people. He describes this tendency as Dr. Bennett’s impulsive need to keep things in symmetry and synchrony.

For instance, he talks about Dr. Bennett’s obsessive stroking of his beard and aligning coupled with realigning his glasses just as Daniel is obsessed with broken glass and pulling up his pants. In the story, Dr. Bennett explains that these actions feel instinctive and primal. He sometimes calls Tourette’s “a disease of disinhibition” (Sacks 3).

Daniel becomes unsettled and enraged whenever someone tries to keep him from doing this “pull and dust” maneuver and it usually takes his father’s experienced persuasion methods to calm him down, as he tends to get very destructive. This aspect in effect puts him in danger of hurting himself and other people around him and destroying property without his intention. This trait is similar to that of Dr. Bennett who throws things at the refrigerator when he is angry.

This kind of behavior tends to have a negative impact on both the autistic individual and the people around him or her. For instance, Daniel barely has any friends, as kids in the neighborhood are afraid that he might throw things at them and those who want to play with him cannot understand what he is saying, and thus they just keep off altogether. Therefore, he has learnt to play on his own and he seems comfortable with it, much like Dr. Bennett who used to go on long walks and hikes alone when he was a boy.

Aside from the fact that Tourette’s turns Dr. Bennett into an introvert, it also brings out his ingenuity and natures his passion. Daniel too seems happier playing alone and seems especially intrigued by glass. He collects pieces of broken glass and sometimes sits outside his house for hours staring at them. He just recently moved to a boarding school for kids with special needs, mainly because he was becoming a victim of bullying and element of derision by kids at his former school.

Besides the fact that he is a grade behind kids his age, he does quite ok in school. Maybe someday, he will work in his dream career, whatever it is, just like Dr. Bennett who does his work as a surgeon remarkably well despite his compulsive behavior and extreme impulsiveness.

The most outstanding aspect from Dr. Bennett and Daniel’s story is that people with disabilities and can live completely normal lives and do extraordinary things. They can get married and have children. Their lives are hard enough even without everybody else treating them with disapproval.

The more people learn about disabilities, the less afraid of they will be, and thus there would be less stigma regarding the same. It would also make it much easier for normal people to understand victims of disability and in the process get to know them for the incredible people that they are, viz. human beings with special abilities as opposed to disabilities.

Falk, Gerhard. Stigma: How We Treat Outsiders, New York: Prometheus Books, 2001. Print.

Sacks, Oliver. “A Neurologist’s notebook: A Surgeon’s Life.” The New Yorker Magazine 16 Mar. 1992:1-9. Print.

Volkmar, Fred, Kasia Chawarska, and Ami Klin. “Autism in infancy and early childhood.” Annual Review of Psychology 56.1 (2005): 315-36 . Print.

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IvyPanda. (2019, November 26). Disability is not Inability: A Different Perspective. https://ivypanda.com/essays/disability-is-not-inability-a-different-perspective/

"Disability is not Inability: A Different Perspective." IvyPanda , 26 Nov. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/disability-is-not-inability-a-different-perspective/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Disability is not Inability: A Different Perspective'. 26 November.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Disability is not Inability: A Different Perspective." November 26, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/disability-is-not-inability-a-different-perspective/.

1. IvyPanda . "Disability is not Inability: A Different Perspective." November 26, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/disability-is-not-inability-a-different-perspective/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Disability is not Inability: A Different Perspective." November 26, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/disability-is-not-inability-a-different-perspective/.

• What Is Tourette’s Syndrome and People With It in Society
• Tourette’s syndrome: Causes and Treatments
• Tourette Syndrome in "A Surgeon's Life" by Oliver Sacks
• Analysis of Article The Mind’s Eye by Oliver Sacks
• Rhetoric Analysis of The Mind's Eye by Oliver Sacks
• Medical Syndromes in Special Education Populations
• Sagging Pants' Culture in the U.S. and The Romanticization of Criminals
• The Article “Against Gay Marriage” by William J. Bennett
• "The Last Hippie" by Oliver Sacks
• Types, Causes and Theories of the Psychiatric Disorders
• Homelessness and Schizophrenia
• Medication for Foster Children
• Diagnosis of Joan based on the DSM IV classification
• Mental Health: Bipolar Disorder Problem
• Language Development Problems in Children: An Indicative Characteristic of Autism

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Disability studies initiative, why disability studies.

• Disability@UVA Blog

Most people think of disability as a medical issue − the kind of thing studied by doctors, rehabilitation specialists, and healthcare providers. But thinking about disability in purely medical terms misses so much of what is interesting about disability and what is important to the lives of disabled people. Disability studies grew out of the disability rights movement in the late twentieth century.  Scholars in the field are committed to exploring the social, political, and cultural aspects of disability.  By bringing together researchers from the humanities, social sciences, education, and beyond, we study disability’s complexity and mutability. In doing so, we emphasize the importance of seeing disability, not as a problem or tragedy, but as an integral aspect of human diversity. 

Most of our students here at UVA know someone who is disabled. Many have disabled family members or are disabled themselves. Most will eventually be disabled themselves at some point in their lives. Thinking critically and carefully about disability is a crucial part of helping our students understand their society, their relationships, their families, and their own experiences and to making the world more accessible and accepting.

How to Write a College Essay When You Have Learning Differences

Should You Address Your Learning Difference in Your Common App Essay?

It’s a valid question! But in the end, the answer is probably not.

Your personal statement is your chance to speak to admissions officers in your own voice. It should focus on your strengths, background, or goals. We understand why writing about your learning difference might be important to you. But does it define you?

Try to brainstorm a few other ideas before you make your final decision. Is your learning difference the one thing that you want admissions to remember about you? What else drives, motivates, or inspires you? We bet you’ve got a secret skill or passion, too!

Maybe you will decide that your learning disability* is so important for admissions to know that you want to write 650 words about it. Then you have to make another decision…

Should You Write A Personal Statement or Additional Information Essay about Your Learning Difference?

If you want admissions officers to know about your learning disability, you don’t have to write about it in your personal statement. You can write an additional information essay instead. This is an optional essay that you can add to your Common App.

The additional information prompt reads: “Please provide an answer below if you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application. You may enter up to 650 words.”

The additional information essay is the perfect space to explain personal difficulties like:

• learning differences
• low grades or test scores
• special accommodations like extra time on exams
• disciplinary issues

If your learning difference hasn’t had a negative effect on your life, we suggest skipping the additional information section.

If you choose to write an additional information essay, you won’t have to choose between writing about your learning disability* or a different topic. You can save your personal statement for a more unique topic. Maybe your knack for knitting sweaters for penguins , love for Papa John’s pizza , or deep knowledge of Costco !

What If You Really Want to Write Your Personal Statement about Your Learning Difference?

As we have said, you should only write your personal statement about your learning difference if you absolutely can’t think of another topic! But at the end of the day, it’s your choice.

If you decide to write about your learning difference, then the Common Application’s Prompt 2 is a great option to back your essay into.

That prompt reads: “The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?”

This prompt asks for a story about resilience, which is exactly how we think you should write about your learning difference.

How Should You Address Your Learning Difference in a College Essay?

If you decide to write about the learning disability* in your application (preferably the additional information section), you should tell a story of success. Write about a struggle you overcame.

You don’t want your essay to present you as a victim. You also don’t want admissions officers to question your ability to keep up with college-level work. So do not dwell on your struggles or setbacks. Instead, celebrate your solutions and achievements!

A few questions to think about as you write your essay:

• How do you make lemonade out of the lemons that life has given you?
• How has your learning disability* affected the way you understand the world?
• How has overcoming your challenge made your more confident or assertive?

Whatever you write about your dyslexia, ADD, or LPD, we would recommend getting a second opinion before you submit your application. Ask a trusted friend, family member, teacher, or essay expert for honest feedback. At the end of the day, it is most important to tell a story that shows who you really are!

*You might have noticed that we used the terms “learning difference” and “learning disability” interchangeably in this article. The reason we did so is because the Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) doesn’t count learning differences or learning challenges as disabilities. In order to receive support, services, and equal access to employment, people need to be classified as having a Specific Learning Disability (SLD). More information on this here.

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Written by Kat Stubing

Category: Admissions , advice , College Admissions , Essay Tips , Essay Writing , Tips , Topic Selection , Uncategorized

Tags: add , additional info , additional info essay , additional information , additional information essay , adhd , Admissions , admissions essay , admissions help , application , applications , applying to college , college admissions , college admissions essay , college applications , college essay , college essay advice , college essay advisors , college essay tips , common app essay , dyslexia , learning challenges , learning differences , learning disabilities , personal statement , writing about add , writing about dyslexia , writing about learning differences , writing about learning disabilities

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People with disabilities essay

Disability is one of the most important issues in the contemporary society because stigmatization of people with disabilities contributed to the formation of biases and prejudices which put them into the disadvantageous position compared to people, who did not have problems of disability. Such biases and prejudices contributed to the discrimination of people with disabilities which has been eliminated consistently since the emergence of the Civil Rights movement and introduction of legal changes, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act. Nevertheless, today, the problem of people with disabilities and their discrimination persists because many biases and prejudices are resilient. In this regard, education is particularly vulnerable to the problem of the integration of students with disabilities into the learning process since the modern education system attempts to provide equal opportunities for all students, eliminating the discrimination of students with disabilities. Moreover, the modern education system confronts another problem, the problem of students with excessive abilities, who also face problems with the integration into the classroom environment and development of positive relations with their peers. In such a way, the concept of disability/ability is fulcrum of the contemporary education system in relation to students interaction and elimination of discrimination of students based on abilities/disabilities.

Disability is the complex notion that involves limited opportunities and special needs of people but it does not mean the inferiority of individuals compared to those, who do not have disability. At the same time, ability is a set of skills, knowledge and opportunities to exercise them to perform specific tasks. In such a situation, the risk of the widening gap between individuals with disabilities and those, who do not have them because disability can limit opportunities for individuals to exercise their knowledge, skills and opportunities to the full extent, while those, who do not have disabilities, can take the full advantage of their skills, knowledge and opportunities (Kudlick, 2005). In this regard, the attitude of the social environment to people with disabilities may be crucial for their social standing and opportunities to stand on the equal ground for others.

One of the major challenges people with disabilities face is the challenge in their professional training and development. Disability may limit learning abilities of individuals that prevent them from obtaining the target education and making a successful career. For example, many students with learning disabilities, such as ASD, have difficulties with learning that prevent them from successful learning. In such a situation, they cannot complete their education just like other students do, while the lack of education limits their career opportunities consistently. On the other hand, many researchers (Mansell, 2003) point out that students with disabilities may be as successful as other students, while some students may be even more successful than the average student in certain subjects.

In such a situation, disability may be a substantial obstacle on the way to the professional development of individuals and to their career. On the other hand, often it is not the disability proper but the prejudice of employers that becomes an obstacle on the way of people with disabilities. However, such discrimination tends to disappear due to legal changes, including the introduction of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and current policies aiming at the inclusion of disabled people. In this regard, the discrimination of people with disabilities persists because the power of prejudices and biases is very strong.

At the same time, educators should be aware of special needs of students with disabilities. They should understand that students with disabilities are no different from other students but they have special needs, which educators should match to help them to succeed in their learning and reach a considerable academic progress just like other students do. In fact, students with disabilities are not inferior compared to their peers but they just have special needs. For example, some researchers (Mansell, 2003) admit that even children with serious mental disabilities may be integrated in the learning process successfully on the condition of meeting needs of those students but the problem is that educators are not trained to work with such students. This is why they have difficulties while working with students with disabilities and the integration of students into the learning process and into their peer groups becomes quite difficult.

On the other hand, the modern education focuses on such issues as Knowledge, Enquiry, Empathy, Pluralism, Social Commitment to prevent the problem of discrimination of students with disabilities and to set educators free from their biases and prejudices in relation to students with disabilities. Knowledge is essential for educators to understand needs of students with disabilities. The enquiry is essential for the research of latest advancements in the field of education and exploration of the problem of disability. The empathy is essential for educators to treat students with disabilities, which educators should treat on the equal ground compared to other students. The pluralism is essential for educators to develop the personalized approach to each students, regardless of their abilities and disabilities. The social commitment is essential for educators to treat students with disabilities as an integral part of the school community. The social commitment means that educators should serve to interests of the community and help students with disabilities to integrate into their communities and help communities to accept children with disabilities as equal community members.

At the same time, there is another issue related to abilities, which often remains unnoticed by educators and researchers, which is the issue of excessive abilities. What is meant here is the fact that some students are gifted in certain fields, which make them different from other students and, to a certain extent, put them in the position similar to the position of students with disabilities (Enns, 2013). Excessive abilities lead to the focus of students on the specific subject, which is particularly interesting for them and where they are particularly successful. For example, gifted students may be successful in math that will put them in quite a challenging position. On the one hand, conventional math classes will be boring for them because instructions educators provide for other students may be not even necessary for gifted students, who understand those instructions perfectly and know more than other students, while their math skills may match standards which are normally attributed to higher grades. As a result, such students feel bored with the classroom environment and the learning process because math classes are not interesting for them because they do not contribute to their progress that discourages them from paying much attention to their math class. This trend can be traced in relation to other subjects, which gifted students may be particularly strong in.

On the other hand, gifted students may have difficulties with developing positive interpersonal relations with their peers. In fact, peers may feel the difference of gifted students because of their excessive abilities that may lead to the development of the sense of inferiority-superiority in relationships between the average and gifted students. In addition, gifted students may stay too focused on their favorite subjects or particular interests that also prevent them from developing positive interpersonal relations with other students. In such a way, students with excessive abilities have difficulties with building up positive interpersonal relationships with other students just like students with disabilities.

Thus, the concept of ability/disability turns out to be pivotal for the modern education system and society at large because it influences consistently the development of students and position of individuals with disabilities and excessive abilities. In this regard, disability and excessive ability are two extremes which may raise problems in the personal and professional development of individuals because they face the risk of the development of poor interpersonal relations with their peers. At the same time, both students with disabilities and excessive abilities need the integration into their classroom environment and development of positive interpersonal relationships with their peers.

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Disability inclusive education and learning

Inscribed in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (1948) , education is a basic right. A range of declarations and conventions highlight the importance of education for people with disabilities: the Salamanca Statement on education and special needs in 1994, as well as article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) adopted in 2006. The importance of education for all is also included in the Convention against Discrimination in Education 1960. In 2015, the Incheon Declaration recalled the importance of inclusive education for all. Targets 4.5 and 4.a call for access to education and the construction of adapted facilities for children with disabilities (Education 2030, 2016).

WHAT WE KNOW

There are few data on school enrolment figures for children with disabilities. However, we do know that there are between 93 and 150 million children living with a disability and, according to the Learning Generation report, in low- and middle-income countries as many as 33 million children with disabilities are out of school (Grant Lewis, 2019). Moreover, children with disabilities are less likely to complete primary, secondary and further education compared to children without disabilities.

In all countries of the world, people with disabilities have lower literacy rates than people without disabilities (Singal, 2015; UIS, 2018; United Nations, 2018). There is also a difference based on the nature of the disability i.e. illiteracy is higher in children with visual impairments, multiple or mental disorders compared to children with motor disabilities (Singal, 2015).

When they do attend school, children with disabilities score lower in mathematics and reading tests, as shown in the PASEC learning assessments (World Bank, 2019; Wodon et al, 2018). Girls with disabilities are penalized even further due to their gender (UIS, 2018). Generally, disability tends to compound social inequalities (e.g. poverty or place of residence). That said, in Pakistan, the learning gap between children with disabilities and children without disabilities enrolled in school was lower than the gap between these two out-of-school groups (Rose et al., 2018: 9). Moreover, studies in the United States of America have shown that students with disabilities achieve better academic outcomes and social integration when studying in a mainstream environment than students studying in segregated or specialized classes (Alquraini and Gut, 2012).

TOWARD A MAINSTREAM SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

Inclusive education means including students with disabilities in a mainstream school environment. In many countries today, children with disabilities attend ordinary schools but follow a specific curriculum. Moving toward a more inclusive model (i.e. students with disabilities follow an inclusive curriculum along with able-bodied students) is a long-term process.

As countries move toward more inclusive education, special schools and their staff can play a key role by acting as specialized experts and helping mainstream schools achieve greater inclusion (UNESCO, 2017). The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) studied the inclusion of students with disabilities in education sector plans in 51 countries. Seventeen of them are considering a two-pronged approach: to integrate disability in education and to invest in actions and services aimed specifically at meeting the needs of children with disabilities (GPE, 2018).

Many obstacles prevent children and young people with disabilities from attending a mainstream school.

• Identifying pupils with disabilities . Prejudices and social attitudes lead to under-declaring the number of children with disabilities (GPE, 2018). Certain families, fearing stigmatisation, do not send their children to school (Singal, 2015; EDT and UNICEF, 2016). Due to the hidden nature of certain learning difficulties, the total population of these children is largely unknown (World Bank, 2019). Identifying these children at school is rare (Wodon et al, 2018). Recognizing disabilities may be limited to observable disabilities and not necessarily those that affect the child's ability to learn (EDT and UNICEF, 2016). Obsolete and inadequate data complicate effective educational planning and hinder decision-making and resource allocation (GPE, 2018). In addition, countries use different measurements, methods and definitions to classify disabilities thus affecting their ability to compare data (GPE, 2018; Price, 2018).
• Lack of trained teachers. In many countries, teachers do not have the confidence or the necessary skills to deliver inclusive education (Singal, 2015; Wodon et al, 2018). Inclusive education is only a small component of the training received by teachers and is not always assessed (EDT and UNICEF, 2016).
• Poorly adapted school facilities and learning materials. Poorly adapted infrastructures and a lack of accessible learning materials are significant obstacles. This is particularly true in rural areas where increased levels of poverty, poor services, and recurrent infrastructure failings exacerbate these existing problems for children with disabilities (SADPD, 2012). School curricula that solely rely on passive learning methods, such as drilling, dictation, and copying from the blackboard, further limit access to quality education for children with disabilities (Humanity & Inclusion, 2015).
• Lack of resources. Whether it concerns building adapted schools, reducing class sizes or teacher training, financial and human resources are required (Grimes, Stevens and Kumar, 2015). Funds earmarked for special needs are often insufficient. Where funding is available, it is primarily intended for schools and special units, rather than being used for the needs of students enrolled in mainstream schools and removing existing barriers (Mariga, McConkey and Myezwa, 2014).
• Assessing learning. There are few data on the learning outcomes of students with disabilities. Examinations and tests rarely make accommodations for these students putting them at a disadvantage. Most international performance tests exclude students with disabilities, which, in turn, reinforces low expectations (Schuelka, 2013 cited in Price, 2018; World Bank, 2019).

POLICY AND PLANNING

• Defining a policy for inclusive education. Inclusive education requires a systemic examination of education systems and school cultures. Promoting social justice and inclusive education requires drawing up, implementing and assessing plans and policies that favour inclusive education for all. Every country needs to formulate its own set of solutions that reach down to the level of individual schools (Grant Lewis, 2019).
• Facilitating access to learning. The first step to including children with disabilities in mainstream schools is the provision of adapted school facilities e.g. ramps, toilets, special equipment, and apparatus, as well as making appropriate teaching and learning materials available (SADPD, 2012; Malik et al., 2018). To encourage the enrolment of girls with disabilities, special measures could comprise grants or allowances (GPE, 2018).
• Strengthening partnerships. Inclusive education requires creating partnerships with local stakeholders i.e. parents, schools, communities, countries, ministries, and development partners (Grant Lewis, 2019). Partnerships which capitalize on local knowledge and resources have proven to be effective (SADPD, 2012; EDT and UNICEF, 2016; GPE, 2018). One recommendation is to give particular support to parents to raise their awareness of the importance of inclusive education and to integrate them into the educational community, for example by participating in school activities (GPE, 2018).
• Ensuring adequate teacher training. The ability of teachers to provide quality education to students with disabilities depends on their training and qualifications (European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2015). However, teachers often struggle due to already overcrowded classes. Offering upstream pre-service training for future teachers, investing in in-service teacher training comprising practical stages and a mentoring system are approaches that have proved their effectiveness (Ackers, 2018). However, it is important to train specialized teachers as it is not possible to train all mainstream teachers to be sufficiently fluent in Braille, national sign language, and augmentative and alternative communication modes (EDT and UNICEF, 2016). The Global Partnership for Education has also highlighted the importance of training teachers to identify disabilities (GPE, 2018).
• Statistics to reinforce human support. Although data are rare, there are tools which can be used to monitor the participation and learning of students with disabilities. Data from household surveys are used to monitor school attendance and success rates for children, as well as to examine factors linked to non-attendance; Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) collect administrative data about school attendance, student behaviour, and progress. However, qualitative data are also needed to shed light on the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the lives of students, teachers, and parents (Mont, 2018). Equally important is the collection of data on the school environment, such as the physical accessibility of schools, information on policies and legislation, teaching materials, teacher training and the availability of support specialists in schools (Grant Lewis, 2018).
• Assessing students. The Salamanca Statement advocates formative assessment to identify difficulties and help students overcome them (Salamanca Statement, 1994). Sæbønes et al. (2015) recommend classroom assessments for individual learning. They recommend that regional and national examinations and international learning assessments systematically include all students and provide reasonable accommodations for learners with disabilities. A study conducted in Kenya shows that it is possible to carry out large-scale learning assessments of deaf and blind children. However, in order to design these adapted tools, human, material and financial resources are necessary (Piper et al., 2019). For an overview of the issue of learning assessments and students with disabilities see World Bank, 2019.
• Investing in technology. According to UNESCO “ICTs can be a valuable tool for learners with disabilities who are vulnerable to the digital divide and exclusion from educational opportunities” (UNESCO, 2014: 10). To reduce barriers, their model policy recommends the use of inclusive ICTs, commercially available products that are, as far as possible, accessible to all, as well as assistive technology to enable access when this is not possible using products available on the market. (UNESCO, 2014: 11).
• Cost. It is important to find ways to meet the needs of the most marginalized without additional funding (UNESCO, 2017). Approaches, such as analysing data from household surveys, suggest that the returns on investing in education for children with disabilities are high and similar to those for people without disabilities. Therefore, investing in the education of children with disabilities is both smart and profitable (Wodon et al., 2018). UNESCO recommends setting up or strengthening financial monitoring systems, as well as creating partnerships between governments and donors (UNESCO, 2017). Finally, the comparison between the cost of specialized institutions and inclusive institutions reveals that the inclusive system is more efficient (Open Society Foundations, n.d.; Inclusion International. n.d.).
• Proposing inclusive pedagogy. The type of disability (autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilities, language, hearing, etc.) influences the learning method. Inclusive pedagogy requires a shift in the educational culture within teaching and support practices i.e. moving away from ‘one-size-fits-all’ education towards a tailored approach to increase the capacity of the system to meet the diverse needs of learners without the need to categorize or label them (European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2017). We move away from the idea of inclusion as a specialized response to certain learners, to allow them to access or participate in what is offered to most students (Florian, 2015). Inclusive pedagogy implies having resources and services that can be used by all students without the need for adaptation or specialized planning (UNESCO, 2017: 19).

Plans and policies

• Fiji: Policy on special and inclusive education (2016)
•  Kenya: Sector policy for learners and trainees with disabilities (2018)
• South Africa: Policy on screening, identification, assessment, and support (2014)
• Fiji. Ministry of Education; Australian Agency for International Development. 2017. Fiji Education Management Information System (FEMIS): Disability disaggregation package. Guidelines and forms.
•  Bulat, J.; Macon, W.; Ticha, R.; Abery, B. 2017. School and classroom disabilities inclusion guide for low- and middle-income countries. Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI Press.
•  Ethiopia. Ministry of Education. 2015. Guideline for establishing and managing inclusive education resource/support centers (RCs). Addis Ababa: Federal Ministry of Education.
• Hayes, A. M.; Bulat, J. 2017. Disabilities inclusive education systems and policies guide for low- and middle-income countries . Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI Press.
• UNESCO. 2017. A Guide for ensuring inclusion and equity in education. Paris: UNESCO.

Ackers, J. 2018. “Teacher education and inclusive education”. The IIEP Letter 34 (2)

Alquraini, T.; Gut, D. 2012. Critical components of successful inclusion of students with severe disabilities: International Journal of Special Education 27 (1): 42 59.

Convention against discrimination in education.

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Education 2030: Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4: To ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning . 2016.

Education Development Trust; UNICEF. 2016. Eastern and Southern Africa regional study on the fulfilment of the right to education of children with disabilities. Reading: EDT.

European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. 2015. Empowering teachers to promote inclusive education: A case study of approaches to training and support for inclusive teacher practice. Odense: European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education.

European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. 2017. Inclusive education for learners with disabilities. Study for the Peti committee. Brussels: European Union.

Florian, L. 2015. Inclusive Pedagogy: A transformative approach to individual differences but can it help reduce educational inequalities? Scottish Educational Review 47 (1): 5 14.

Grant Lewis, S. 2019. ' Opinion: The urgent need to plan for disability-inclusive education'. Devex. 6 February 2019.

Grimes, P.; Stevens, M.; Kumar, K. 2015. 'An examination of the evolution of policies and strategies to improve access to education for children with disabilities with a focus on inclusive education approaches, the success and challenges'. Background paper prepared for the Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2015, Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and challenges.

Humanity & Inclusion. 2015. Education for all? This is still not a reality for most children with disabilities.

Inclusion International. n.d. FAQs - Inclusion International .

Male, C.; Wodon, Q. 2018. Disability gaps in educational attainment and literacy. The price of exclusion: disability and education. Washington, DC: World Bank; GPE.

Mariga, L.; McConkey, R.; Myezwa, H. 2014. Inclusive education in low-income countries: A resource for teacher educators, parent trainers and community development workers . Cape Town: Atlas Alliance and Disability Innovations Africa.

Mont, D. 2018. Collecting data for inclusive education . IIEP Learning Portal (blog).

Open Society Foundations. n. d. ' The power of letting children learn together'.

Global Partnership for Education (GPE). 2018. Disability and inclusive education - a stocktake of education sector plans and GPE-funded grants. Washington, DC: GPE.

Piper, B.; Bulat, J.; Kwayumba, D.; Oketch, J.; Gangla, L. 2019. Measuring literacy outcomes for the blind and for the deaf: Nationally representative results from Kenya. International Journal of Educational Development 69 (September)

Price, R. 2018. Inclusive and special education approaches in developing countries. K4D Helpdesk Report.

Rose, P.; Singal, N.; Bari, F.; Malik, R.; Kamran, S. 2018. Identifying disability in household surveys: evidence on education access and learning for children with disabilities in Pakistan. Policy Paper, 18/1. Cambridge: REAL Centre. University of Cambridge.

Sæbønes, A.-M.; Berman Bieler, R.; Baboo, N.; Banham, L.; Singal, N.; Howgego, C.; Vuyiswa McClain-Nhlapo, C.; Riis-Hansen, T. C.; Dansie, G. A. ' Towards a disability inclusive education '. Background paper for the Oslo Summit on Education for Development, 6-7 July 2015.

Salamanca Statement and the Framework for Action on Special Needs Education. 1994.

Secretariat of the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities. 2012. Study on education for children with disabilities in Southern Africa. Pretoria: SADPD.

Singal, N. 2015. Education of children with disabilities in India and Pakistan: an analysis of developments since 2000. Background paper prepared for the Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2015, Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and challenges.

UIS. 2018. Education and disability: analysis of data from 49 countries. Information Paper 49. Montreal: UIS.

UNESCO. 2014. Model policy for inclusive ICTs in education for persons with disabilities. Paris: UNESCO.

UNESCO. 2017. A Guide for ensuring inclusion and equity in education . Paris: UNESCO.

United Nations. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2018. ' Realization of the Sustainable Development Goals by, for and with persons with disabilities'. UN Flagship Report on Disability and Development 2018. Advanced unedited version. New York: United Nations.

Universal Declaration on Human Rights . 1948

Wodon, Q.; Male, C.; Montenegro, C.; Nayihouba, A. 2018. The challenge of inclusive education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, DC: World Bank.

World Bank. 2019. Every learner matters: Unpacking the learning crisis for children with disabilities . Washington, DC: World Bank.

Related information

• Global education monitoring report, 2020: Inclusion and education: all means all
• IIEP, planning for inclusive education
• UNESCO: Inclusion in education
• Inclusive education

27 Eye-Opening Quotes From People With Disabilities

"Stop saying I am inspiring or amazing when I do ordinary things."

We spoke to a variety of people from all over the country who have both visible and invisible disabilities about what they wish people outside the community knew, misconceptions that they encounter and things they wish people would stop doing or saying.

What do you wish people outside the disability community knew or understood?

• “ That having a disability can be a positive part of who you are . My disability has shaped my career and has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people! ” — Arielle Silverman, 39, is blind. She is d irector of research at the American Foundation for the Blind.
• “ Deafness does not prevent people from being successful — discrimination is the main barrier we face.” —Sheryl Emery, 64, is deaf. She is President of National Black Deaf Advocates .
• “ Ableist ideas and beliefs affect people with disabilities in all aspects of life , including employment, healthcare, education, housing, transportation, etc. These ideas and beliefs create systems that discriminate and oppress people with disabilities.” —Theo W. Braddy is paralyzed from the neck down. He is executive director of The National Council on Independent Living .
• “Autism can be an incredibly debilitating disability— there’s an extremely high prevalence of loneliness in the autism community. Individuals with autism die 16 years younger than the average human. 85% of college educated autistics are unemployed. I like to say that with autism I can excel at the extraordinary, but I can really struggle with the simple .”— Russell Lehmann , 33, has autism, OCD, depression and anxiety. He is a speaker, poet and activist.
• “ People with disabilities are just as worthy as those without disabilities to live happy, productive lives.” — Sydney Badeau, 30, has dyspraxia, a nonverbal learning disorder and a sensory processing disorder. She is an advocacy and outreach specialist at The Arc Wisconsin .
• “ Recognizing the importance of accessibility and inclusivity is vital . For example, having ramps and wider doorways not only benefits wheelchair users but also individuals with mild cerebral palsy, who may experience difficulty with coordination or movement on one side of their body. This promotes equality and empathy for everyone. —Ashley Glears, 30, has cerebral palsy with right hemiplegia. She is a chapter associate at The Arc of the United States.
• “It’s important to understand that disability is a natural part of the human experience and that people with disabilities deserve equal rights, opportunities, and respect. I wish people outside the disability community understood the significance of inclusive practices and the value of diverse perspectives in all aspects of life. ” —Dr. Yvette Pegues, Ed.D., 45, has a traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injuries. She is D&I Executive & Chief Diversity Officer at Your Invisible Disability Group.
• “ People with disabilities are individually different from each other . We have different goals and views. We have different approaches to life. We are just human beings who want equal access to reach our different goals.” — Sean Pevsner, 53, has cerebral palsy. He is a law firm partner with Whitburn & Pevsner, PLLC .

What do you wish people outside the disability community would stop doing and/or saying?

• “ I wish they would stop saying I am amazing or inspiring when I do ordinary things. ” — Arielle Silverman
• “ Stop asking Deaf people if we can read your lips. Communication is the responsibility of all parties in a conversation . Asking the Deaf person to read your lips places all the responsibility for communicating on the Deaf person. ” —Sheryl Emery
• “ Stop saying people with disabilities are a vulnerable population. People with disabilities are not weak and fragile - this characterization does more harm than good. ” — Theo W. Braddy
• “I wish people would refrain from making assumptions or judgments about individuals with disabilities based solely on their appearance or perceived limitations. It's important to approach each person with respect, understanding, and open-mindedness.” — Ashley Glears
• “I wish people would stop constantly infantilizing adults with disabilities , especially those who are nonspeaking or minimally speaking.” —Elizabeth "Lizzy" Graham, 34, has Asperger’s/Autism, ADHD, Anxiety with OCD tendencies, eczema and obstructive sleep apnea. She is service coordinator for Medicaid HCBS Waiver Services at The Arc of Prince George's County.
• "I wish people would stop using derogatory terms about people with disabilities and assuming that having a disability means you can't do something. For example, I enjoy 20+ adapted sports and my activity is a form of activism." — Dr. Yvette Pegues
• “People should stop automatically assuming that we are brave for dealing with our disabilities. People should stop considering us vulnerable people who cannot work and contribute to our community.” — Sean Pevsner
• “I wish they would stop making fun of and looking down on people with disabilities. I also wish they would stop treating people with disabilities like children . Often time, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are treated like children. They’re not - they’re adults.” — Melody Cooper, 54, has cerebral palsy and intellectual disability. She is self-advocate specialist at The Arc of Indiana .
• “One thing that I wish people would stop assuming is that people who experience disability are living off the government . This is not the case at all. We need the assistance to live a normal life like everyone else in the world and we are trying to make something for ourselves with the support we have provided to us.” — Ric Nelson, 40, has cerebral palsy. He is an executive director of Peer Power .

What's a misconception people have about you and your abilities?

• “ That I am lacking something or 'living in darkness .' Or that I am perpetually afraid of the world around me just because I can’t see it. My life experience is rich with many other sensations, thoughts and emotions that have nothing to do with vision or lack thereof. ” — Arielle Silverman
• “ There are Deaf people in almost every profession. Don’t assume because a person cannot hear that they are incapable. Not everyone lip reads and we do not have better sight to make up for not being able to hear . We enjoy music, we drive. The biggest barriers we face are attitudes.” —Sheryl Emery
• “ The biggest misconception is they're underestimating me and the 61 million others like me - this comes from a long history of devaluing people like me.” —Theo W. Braddy
• “ Society has taught me from a young age that I can’t show my autism in public . So, a lot of my struggles are in my house, alone. A lot of the struggle is behind the scenes.” — Russell Lehmann
• “One big misconception is that I am not able to follow directions, learn, or be employable . I want to work, so I can be independent and get my own apartment.” —Marcus Stewart, 23, has Down Syndrome.
• “That not everyone with a disability presents in the same way. Some may struggle with something while others may not, and each person may need different or unique accommodations.” — Sydney Badeau

• “One common misconception people have about me and my abilities is assuming that I'm only capable of simple tasks or responses, when in reality, I'm capable of understanding complex concepts and engaging in meaningful conversations across a wide range of topics.” — Ashley Glears
• “I operate at the intersections of a woman of color with visible and non-visible disabilities, so I encounter many layers of misconceptions in my life. Nevertheless, I’m a proud wife, mom, engineer, educator, and advocate. My daily fight for the cessation of stereotypes and stigmatizing language surrounding disability is not for me, but others without the voice to fight for themselves. I wish people understood the innovative contributions that disabled people bring to communities and society .” —Dr. Yvette Pegues
• “ People have the misconception that I cannot represent people in cases . They assume incorrectly that since I have a speech impairment, I cannot argue for my clients’ best interest. It is very tiring to have to constantly prove myself.” — Sean Pevsner
• “People have thought that I would never be anything or do anything, that I don’t know what’s going on in the world. Having an intellectual disability does not mean you’re dumb . They work harder than most just to do things others take for granted. They may need help with certain things, but don’t we all?” — Melody Cooper

Beth (she/her) is the executive editor of Good Housekeeping , where she oversees all print content and manages features, personal essays and special projects for the brand. She is a former executive editor at Woman’s Day and features director at Reader’s Digest and a current adjunct professor at New York University in the School of Professional Studies. As a former college and semi-professional soccer player, she twice had the unfortunate experience of playing against Abby Wambach.

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2 NCWV students win 2024 Disability History Essay contest

B RIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) - Winners have been announced in the 2024 Disability History Essay contest in West Virginia, that includes 2 winners from North Central West Virginia.

The contest gave high school seniors the task to show their knowledge of the Disability Rights Movement, selected students won cash prizes and an award from the statewide independent living council.

From our area, Lane Siciliano won first place in District Two from University High School.

The second place winner in district 2 was Jordan Cox from North Marion High School, who won a thousand dollar prize.

The winners and their essays will all be issued in a special edition newsletter from the living council later this year.

The full list of winners can be found below:

• State Winner –Caleb Messer – Scott High School- $3,250
• District 1 – First Place – Joscelyn Camargo – South Charleston High School - $1,750
• District 1 – Second Place – Alexandria Harper – Riverside High School - $1000
• District 2 – First Place – Lane Siciliano – University High School - $1,750
• District 2 – Second Place – Jordan Cox – North Marion High School - $1000
• District 3 – First Place – Connor Dorsey – John Marshall High School - $1,750
• District 3 – Second Place – Kathryn Prather – Wheeling Park High School - $1000
• District 4 – First Place – Reagan Bennett – Shady Spring High School - $1750
• District 5 – First Place –Megan Griffey – Tug Valley High School - $1750
• District 5 – Second Place – Piper Cook – Wyoming East High School - $1000
• District 6 – First Place – Kyra Biser – Kyser High School - $1750

The WV Statewide Independent Living Council says to “please visit https://wvsilc.org/essay-contest for more information on the WV Disability History Essay Contest.”

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