Dr Kelly Fleming

Disabled people need to learn to embrace their disability as a gift from God rather than trying to “fix” it or hide it from others. Perhaps it is not the gift they would have chosen if it had been offered to them as an option, but it is a gift that they have and one that can be used for many good purposes. When disabled people are faced with “able”ism and the concept that they must be “fixed,” it can invoke feelings of despair and depression. They should be able to feel comfortable within their bodies, however, when they are told they should be like non-disabled people, this causes great emotional pain. For people who were born disabled and know no other body or way of doing things the way they do, the concept of needing to be “fixed” can cause them to be ashamed of themselves, feeling that they are not good enough. These feelings should never have to be experienced by anyone. A person born disabled or who acquired a disability at a young age, never lost anything, even those with acquired disabilities, for the memory does not retain immediate feelings of loss as time passes. They learnt rather quickly or by nature through their own experience, how to live with their disability.

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