All throughout Elementary school teachers and parents would say, “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you”, but in a way they were wrong. My father married my step-mother who had two children around my age. The oldest was a very normal kid, but the second was autistic. Despite his autism, he was a very sweet kid and when it came to the subject of animals he was a genius, however this made no difference to his peers. He would be referred to as “retard” or other hurtful names behind his back. His brother, himself, and myself all went to the same school and his brother and I would have to deal with these immature students. They would pick on him constantly, but the saddest part is he could never tell that they were picking on him; in his mind he thought that was how everyone played. I would have to talk to these students, but they never understood the problem, “he can’t tell” or “he’s having fun” they would say. In no way does that make it right. Just because someone can’t tell that you are picking on them or doesn’t hear you say the hurtful comments, shouldn’t allow you to disrespect them. …show more content…
My step-brother was born with autism, but in some ways he is even more intelligent than myself. He has made me a better person and made me want to help others with disabilities in any way I can. In my lifetime I hope that we can eradicate the negative perception that is so commonly associated with mental disabilities. This change will not be brought by time; we can only bring an end to this delusion through education and exposure. It is my goal in life to one day start a charity to educate society on mental disabilities as well as ensure that people with disabilities can get the treatments and accommodations they need. We are all human beings. we all have flaws. No one has the right to feel superior to someone with a
I have accomplished many things that people would always doubt of especially attending college which requires a higher academic standard. But, I’m here to inspire others with autism that God is in control and our faith is what unites us.” He has dedicated his life to spreading his message through churches and on social media informing others that there is hope. Everyone can relate to the question since we all face challenges throughout life that others wouldn’t understand. In the eyes of God, Rudy is an average person who is a disable person, but it didn’t stop him from attending college. Also, Rudy explains that “Autism defines me and he understands others who have experience and related to them.” On numerous occasions, I asked my brother if he would wish wasn’t born with a disability but always replied with no. Personally, I would have never wanted my brother to be born with autism since he has experienced many difficulties in
They are human beings determined to make something good in their lives. Across the world, people with disabilities have poorer health outcomes, lower education achievements, less economic participation and higher rates of poverty than people without
Most people feel relatively uncomfortable when they meet someone with an obvious physical disability. Usually, the disability seems to stand out in ones mind so much that they often forget the person is still a person. In turn, their discomfort is likely to betray their actions, making the other person uncomfortable too. People with disabilities have goals, dreams, wants and desires similar to people without disabilities. Andre Dubus points out very clearly in his article, "Why the Able-bodied Still Don't Get It," how people's attitudes toward "cripples" effect them. It's is evident that although our society has come a long way with excepting those with physical disabilities, people do not understand that those with physical disabilities are as much human as the next person
Historically, we have been taught that people with disabilities are different and do not belong among us, because they are incompetent, cannot contribute to society or that they are dangerous. We’re still living with the legacy of people with disabilities being segregated, made invisible, and devalued. The messages about people with disabilities need to be changed. There needs to be more integration of people with disabilities into our culture to balance out the message. Because of our history of abandonment and initialization, fear and stigma impact our choices more than they would if acceptance, community integration, and resources were a bigger part of our history.
Some students that I’ve met with disabilities were some of the nicest, happiest, and most caring people I’ve met. They were always smiling and talking with other students who were nondisabled. My peers would acknowledge their presence and actually engage in conversations with them rather than pretend to care. People genuinely liked these students with disabilities because of how they were and not their outer appearance. I even engaged in talking to some of these students with disabilities. It really made me happy to always hear them say positive things, smile, and laugh. It was really great to know that students who were nondisabled genuinely accepted and cared for these students with disabilities. However, not every student with disabilities was like this. Some were very mean and agitated. Because of their mean attitude and their harsh personality, they were made fun of and
Having worked in an Autism program first hand I can tell you these people are doing everything they can to help these kids into functioning members of society. Though some will need to be assisted their entire lives some can lead semi-normal lives. In these classrooms these programs not only focus on learning the fundamentals like all children in school (english, math, science, etc..) they also teach social skills and activities, they teach the kids things like proper etiquette in public places, safety on the phone, all the things that that isn 't 'common sense ' to them because of their disability. They work hard to help the students who are more high functioning to integrate into normal classrooms and the children who are more so low functioning to be able to do the basics and beyond for themselves. These programs are continually developing and reshaping to best fit the needs of their
I had a classmate that had cerebral palsy and was in a wheelchair. I did not feel any way about her because I did not know that she had cerebral palsy until she told me. I treated her like she was a normal person, but other people in my class feelings towards her were not so nice. She was would always ask questions in the class because she had struggles and people in the classroom would yell at her. They say come on you ask so many questions, but she never bothered me. The feelings that come up when I am around people who are disabilities like blind, deaf, cerebral palsy, are obese, and etc. is I do not feel any different when I am around someone who does not have a disability. I think that people with disabilities are normal. People who disabilities should feel like they are not different from me or another person in this world. They might have severe struggles; we should not judge someone on the struggles they have. People who disabilities describe themselves as “invisible” because people just pretend that they are not there. People tend to ignore them when they see people disabilities in public with disabilities. The words my family and community use to refer to the above groups of people is disabled because we had a family friend who was disabled. My parents hated when we or people we knew used the word “mental retardation” or just
Disability: Any person who has a mental or physical deterioration that initially limits one or more major everyday life activities. Millions of people all over the world, are faced with discrimination, the con of being unprotected by the law, and are not able to participate in the human rights everyone is meant to have. For hundreds of years, humans with disabilities are constantly referred to as different, retarded, or weird. They have been stripped of their basic human rights; born free and are equal in dignity and rights, have the right to life, shall not be a victim of torture or cruelty, right to own property, free in opinion and expression, freedom of taking part in government, right in general education, and right of employment opportunities. Once the 20th century
In middle school I was diagnosed with a disability with the way I expressed myself through writing. Ever since, I have gained multiple values and learned several lessons about self confidence. I was taught to push past my limits, in order to be successful in reaching my goals along with my dreams. Today I am a senior in high school who was once thought to struggle, but was able to succeed beyond expectations. To some, a disability may seem like a setback from achieving goals, but to me I used it as a challenge for myself. I accepted myself for who I was and looked at my disability as a unique trait of mine. I was able to provide a message to others that anything you set your mind to is possible with dedication and hard work. It might take
Children with disabilities are more in the public eye than years ago, although they are still treated differently. Our society treats them differently from lack of education on special needs. The society labels them and make their lives more difficult than it has to be becau...
People with disabilities may already have mental health issues which makes it harder for them to make friends due to peers making fun of their conditions. Recent studies have shown that “Children with disabilities are 2 to 3 times more likely to be bullied in the United States” (Stephens and Villano). Studies have also shown that “ Children with visible physical conditions or disabilities, such as cerebral palsy and Down syndrome, can be more likely to be excluded from social activities and called names” ( Stephens and Villano). Due to this they have have a harder time trying to fit in and make friends, The mental health issues they already have might be more likely to increase in severity because of them being
During my 17 years, I have met many who are unfamiliar with hearing disabilities and deal with their ignorance by stereotyping me. In elementary school my principal told my parents I belonged in a school for the deaf. My classmates told me ...
Whether born from ignorance, fear, misunderstanding, or hate, society’s attitudes limit people from experiencing and appreciating the full potential a person with a disability can achieve. This treatment is unfair, unnecessary, and against the law (Purdie). Discrimination against people with disabilities is one of the greatest social injustices in the country today. Essential changes are needed in society’s basic outlook in order for people with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to succeed in life. To begin with, full inclusion in the education system for people with disabilities should be the first of many steps that are needed to correct the social injustices that people with disabilities currently face.
I have always grown up in a more ‘normal’ setting and seeing people with disabilities was something that was rare to me. When I was younger, my thoughts on people with disabilities were that they could only be physically seen, nothing else (mentally, intellectually, etc.). As I reached middle school, I realized how broad the world is and how many ways people were affected by disabilities. Some of them led a more normal life and some have a harder time adjusting. Just seeing and reading how so many are affected and how harder it is for them really opened up my mind and allowed me to have a wider perception of how broad things are in the world.
I always knew that making fun of students with learning disabilities was wrong. However, I never felt that inclusion of special education students in general education classes was plausible or made sense. I felt that special education students belonged in their own classrooms; and that is why we have special education educators.