Disability Awareness

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Disability Awareness
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Pity? You dont wanna be pitied because youre a
cripple in a wheelchairstay in ya house!
Hmmmmm...
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Disability Awareness 101

• Myths Facts
• Disability Etiquette

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Disability Myths and Facts

• Myth - 1. A traditional story of unknown
  authorship, 2. Such stories collectively, 3. Any
  fictitious story, 4. Any imaginary person or
  thing spoke of as though existing
• Fact - 1. A thing that actually happened or that
  is really true, 2. The state of things as they
  are reality actuality truth

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Disability Statistical Facts

• 19.4 (1 in 5) or 48.9 million people have a
  disability
• 9.9 (1 in 10) have a disability that is not
  considered to be severe
• 9.6 (1 in 10) have a severe disability
• 80.6 (4 in 5) are not considered to have a
  disability

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Employment and Disability Facts

• 82.1 of people without a disability are likely
  to have a job or business
• 76.9 of people with a non-severe disability are
  likely to have a job or business
• 26.1 of people with a severe disability are
  likely to have a job or business
• 79 of those not working want to work! (Harris,
  1990)

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Where do I start?
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A few myths debunked

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• 7
• 10
• 13
• 15

• 18
• 19
• 21
• 23
• 24

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Disability Etiquette

• Definitions
• Some basic lessons
• Language

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Define Disability!

• Websters definition
• Legal definitions
• Do we need terms (labels)?
• Focus is on the PERSON and their ABILITIES!!!

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Websters definition

• 1. A disabled condition
• 2. That which disables, as an illness or injury
• 3. A legal disqualification or incapacity
• 4. Something that restricts limitation
  disadvantage

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Legal Definitions

• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Social Security
• Rehabilitation Act

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Some basic lessons in etiquette

• Use person
• person with
• person who
• Focus is on PERSON

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Handicap

• The Story
• The Real Story
• The Timeline
• 1653 - Lottery Game
• 1754 - Horse Races
• 1883 - Concept of Equalization
• 1915 - Children with physical disabilities
• 1950 - Adults with disabilities

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Its OK to offer assistance

• Just dont assume...
• a person needs any
• a person wants any
• that you know what they might want

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Be inclusive in conversations
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Theres no need to YELL!
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Remember, theyre the expert
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Its OK to make mistakes. Old habits are hard to
break!
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Whats the problem?

• The disabled, though not truly normal, should
  be applauded for their courage in admitting their
  handicaps and daily struggle to just get by.
  Whether they be deaf, mute, crippled, mentally
  defective, retarded or are stricken with CP or
  MS, their defects deserve our most sincere pity.
  Though many are confined to wheelchairs, their
  deformities can only serve as an inspiration to
  us all in their attempt to become healthy, whole
  and normal persons.

• 20 of them!

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Disability Language

• Whats in a name?
• Perceptions
• Attitudes
• Beliefs
• Actions

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Hearing Disabilities

• The Deaf
• Deaf and Dumb
• Mute
• Deaf-Mute
• Hearing Impaired
• Suffers a hearing loss

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Motor Coordination Disabilities

• Cripple
• Crip
• Spastic
• Spaz
• Cerebral Palsied
• CP victim

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Wheelchair Users

• Confined
• Wheelchair Bound

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Cognitive Disabilities

• Retarded
• Moron
• Idiot
• Simple
• Mentally Defective
• Slow
• Mongoloid

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Mental Illness

• Crazy
• Insane
• Psycho
• Maniac
• Nut Case

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Other Disabilities

• Midget
• Birth Defect
• Epileptic
• Freak
• Vegetable
• Deformed

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Specific Words

• Stricken
• Afflicted
• Suffers
• Impaired?
• The
• Normal
• Victim
• Defect

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What about.

• Dead
• Alive
• Bald (my destiny)

• Metabolically different
• Temporarily metabolically abled
• Follicularly challenged

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Seriously thoughIts all about people

• Person with
• Person who
• Best way By their name

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Try to be flexible and open
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The point is...

• We all have abilities
• Many of us have disabilities
• The focus is on the PERSON and their ABILITIES
• And now, a word on ility

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The ility song
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Thank you!