Why We Need More Education About People With Disabilities

Disability education has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember.

Education as a whole gives us the knowledge to help ourselves and those around us continue to grow into who we are meant to be. Many of us also know that the Americans With Disabilities Act is in place to make sure people with disabilities are not discriminated against. Although the ADA protects people with disabilities from discrimination, not everyone has enough knowledge about or experience around people with disabilities to understand just how to help them grow into who they are meant to be. Therefore, people with disabilities often receive less understanding and respect than we deserve, even with the ADA in place. It is true that positive changes in attitudes towards the disabled community have come a long way, but there is so much further to go.

We deserve to stop being pushed aside, and I believe this can be accomplished by educating others to acknowledge our abilities as opposed to our disabilities. According to the Arc, approximately 40,000 teachers are not properly educated on how to support students with disabilities. I have experienced this firsthand. Those educators who were properly trained would strive towards including me and encouraging me to reach my full potential. Those who were not properly trained would often push me aside, forcing me to be responsible for my own education.

On a similar note, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation indicates that about 80 percent of doctors graduate medical school without ever interacting with people with disabilities. When I have gone to doctors’ appointments or hospitals with my mother, healthcare providers often look at and communicate only with her and act as if I’m not there. It is a matter of respect and necessity that everyone be included in their own plan of care.

Let me give you something to think about for just a moment. What if the cure for cancer is inside the mind of someone who has never been empowered or even respected enough to be listened to? I am an educated woman with so much to offer this world; however, I find it sad that many times I have not been heard simply because people are too focused on the fact I am in a wheelchair.

As an advocate for those with disabilities, I will work with those in authority to make sure it is mandatory for educational institutions to increase the number of courses focused on interacting with and supporting people with disabilities. A person with a disability going into a teaching, health care, or any career should be able to obtain their degree, and people with disabilities should be able to count on people in these professions understanding and respecting their needs.