Over the years, I have come across people who have felt pity for me because they see that I have cerebral palsy and rely on a wheelchair to get around in society.
They often tell me things like I feel so sorry for you it must be hard for you
My response is always the same when it comes to hearing people say that to me: why I’m a typical human being who just uses a wheelchair to get around.
I don’t want you to feel pity for me. I want you to embrace me for who I am outside of the chair that is built behind me and the wheels that reflect my journey and the places I’ve been and what I have to offer you.
Ultimately what I want people to understand is there’s more to my story than just my diagnosis of spastic cerebral palsy there is more to me than just being a woman who uses a wheelchair to get around I’m more than that.
So don’t pity me just because you see a wheelchair on the outside, embrace me take the time out to see my strengths and not my weaknesses take the time out to read the words to my story.
But don’t pity me cause I have a condition that you don’t necessarily understand. Take the time out to see how I adapt to the world and how I view the world but embrace me for it.
As a person with a disability that all, I want to accomplish. I want people to understand that people with disabilities do live their lives to the best of their abilities. It may take time but we do it so please just embrace us for who we are and what we could achieve as individuals.
I think that if society just embraced us for who we are than ableism will become a thing of the pass and people with disabilities would have such
an easier time with adapting and becoming comfortable with their journeys and their different abilities.
My hope for the future is that it does get easier for people with disabilities to go on in society and be the individuals they want to be and not be so afraid of going out in society and being who they are because of people’s perceptions of them.
I hope that people learn the people with disabilities don’t want petty we just want acceptance and guidance
