Society and The Disabled

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Society and the disabled.

Since I was born I was disabled.  At birth, my mother had toxemia and they thought that somehow during my birth process, I had a stroke( where a red blood vessel bursts in your brain), thus causing the disability, also known as Cerebral Palsy.  This is my classification:

• Spastic hemiplegia (one side being affected). Generally, injury to muscle-nerves controlled by the brain’s left side will cause a right body deficit, and vice versa. Typically, people that have spastic hemiplegia are the most ambulatory, although they generally have dynamic equinus on the affected side and are primarily prescribed ankle-foot orthoses to prevent said equinus.[11]

Only one side of my body is affected.  Though I feel that society can only see the afo brace on my leg and nothing else.  I walk a little funny, my right arm goes waaaay up when I walk and I do everything one handed. 

I have a handicap placard, and yet everyone thinks that they can park there who is not disabled.  And I get the stink eye almost all the time  because I wear long pants, and most people would not notice the brace on my leg while I am walking in the parking lot

I work at a daycare and recently, I was told that I couldn’t change diapers because I do it one handed.  I have worked there for 4 years and I have never ever ever had any issues with diapers that would pertain to my disability.  No issues other than the normal wiggle bottoms and stupid tabs on the diapers that break.  

I could see that if I had issues I would be set aside, but I have never had any issues at all.  What if someone who had no disability change a diaper on a child and something happened? 

I know for a fact there is a girl at a sister daycare of ours that is deaf. She reads lips and whatnot, changes diapers and so forth.  What about her?  Are they going to tell her that she couldn’t do something because she is a liability? She is the nicest lady and she does a damn good job.

I was told a few years back, while taking a cooking class in school, that I could not “actually cook” because I had a disability.  No, I couldn’t step NEAR the stove, nor attempt to try to make crepes or omelette’s. Me, I was assigned dish duty. And of course, maybe breaking apart things, or measuring Worcestershire sauce and the like.

Course, if I felt discriminated, in which to a point I do, I could sue. But I cannot afford a lawyer, nor do I want to make a mess. Too much drama with courts and lawyers.

I feel that even though we are protected under the disabilities act, we are discriminated against, based on what they see on the outside: a wheelchair, a brace, an prosthetic arm, a walker.  It seems like society sort of accepts us, but then not.

I don’t let my CP interfere with my life.  My brain may be damaged, but not my feelings or my heart.  My soul is just as alive as my body wants to be.  I am ME.  I just wish that people could see past what is clearly visible.