Dr Kelly Fleming

These three words carry a lot of power.

While Systemic Attitudinal Discrimination against Disabled People is out of control in general society, I’m going to limit this post to religious communities.

I am Deaf. My primary language is ASL. I’m also fluent and conversational in several other languages.

I’m Disabled. I use a power chair, I require physical assistance to do a number of things.

I have low vision. I can see clearly up to 5ft and then things start getting blurry.

In every religious community I’ve been involved in throughout my life up to this very day, I feel discrimination.

People ignore me or they talk to people who are with me – but not TO ME. When they do talk to me, they speak as if they were talking to a hearing person, assuming I can read lips. I can’t!

Almost everyone I know has a cell phone and if they don’t, there is always the paper and pen method.

I want people to talk to me as a person in a manner in which I can communicate.

Please approach me and not someone who is with me. Please don’t ignore me when I’m alone.

Use your phone and open the notepad and type or if you use your voice to send texts, you can talk into your phone to create written messages. I don’t care if your typing skills are slow or if there are typos. Take some time to get to know who I am. Include me in conversations. Introduce yourself by name and introduce the people whom you are with.

I am Deaf, I am Disabled – I am still as much a person as you, who are not Deaf or Disabled. I am still a social person.

Just like most people who want to get to know the people around them whom they see every week or even once in awhile, so do I.

So, my request is that we break through systemic attitudinal discrimination. Take the step forward to get to know each other.

We are all God’s children and He did not create us to segregate us.

❤️🙏🤟🏼