The Stigma of Hidden Disabilities
Here is a copy of a blog post I just wrote over on Disaboom.com. Look me up as “JesterCMK” over there:
I am 42. I have always had CP. I have never walked as an actual means of transportation. I have always used some sort of wheelchair preferring powered scooters since 1981. So, yeah, maybe life hasn’t been terribly easy, but I still went to school, graduated college, got into radio broadcasting, switched to computers and web accessbility for the past 14 years, got married (and divorced), got married again, own my own house, and am raising 4 kids. There are difficulties related to my CP in accomplishing all of these things, but all are things I can get around with a bit of creativity, technology, or a friend or loved one’s assistance. CP hasn’t stopped me.
And, I still think things have not been that hard besides being a quad. Why? My only disability is my visible one. The CP never got me from the neck up so I talk (constantly). And, while I’m no genius, I have no learning disabilities that I know of. No communication issues and no hidden issues. I have for a long time maintained that if you can read, write, and talk, you can manage our society, be successful, get a job, have a family, etc. But, in our world, if you cannot hear or speak, if you cannot read, or if you learn in a diferent way, society will be filled with barriers to you. If I had a speech impairment to go with my CP, I would be treated much differently. I’m convinced of it.
Joelle Browner recently wrote an op-ed piece for “The Olympian Online” entitled Cruelty less likely to those with visible disabilities where she eloquently tells the story of a man with learning disabilities who struggles with success and acceptance due to stigmas associated with his impairments. I recommend it as a prime example of how hidden disabilities carry stigmas as damaging as any other prejudices in our society.
I thought it was a good article. I don’t agree with the title (”Cruelty less likely to those with visible disabilities”.) Outside of the fact that someone with a hidden disability can decide when or if he or she tells another about the disability, I think all the issues are something most people with any type of disability have to deal with.
I do not think the author directly intended to comment on the topic, but it seemed to me that she implied that “the worst disability to have is…” I reject the whole notion that there is a worst disability. Which disability is worst depends solely on the circumstances. The fact is defining disability is difficult to do outside of a social context–so its definition can depend on the circumstances as well.
Maybe there is not a worst disability, but I sometimes think that the worst thing about having any disability is how it impacts relationships. Relationships with self, family, friends, strangers, and society.