You know them. We all know them. They start off looking harmlessly curious, then concerned, then … oh, there we have it, the blatantly obvious, headlight intensity stare.
It’s not the children, their brains are still being hard-wired. You can understand that they might genuinely be curious and innocently perplexed by ‘difference’ … No, it’s the ones above the age of 12, more interestingly the biggest culprits seem to be those above 60 years of age.
You know how I mentioned that one of my jobs is to go into schools to talk to kids about disabilities? Well, I thought it was about time that I share some of those adventures with you.
Hold on to your hats people. It’s going to be an interesting ride!
The thing I’ve learnt is that kids, unlike most adults, have no inhibitions. They have absolutely no qualms about saying or asking whatever they are thinking. This can lead to some great insights and learning – on my part and on theirs. There are also a few ‘what the …’ moments and many just plain amusing moments.
Freya
Welcome to freefall… I'm in my late twenties. My great loves are the creative arts, particularly music and creative writing. I have cerebral palsy (CP). In my case it means that I can't walk very easily - I use a chair most of the time. More about me…
Five common misconceptions about people with a physical disability
5. If we have a physical disability, we must also have a hearing impairment. Unless you can see the hearing aid or we ask you to speak up, we don’t have a hearing impairment. Yelling at people is just rude and makes us question your intelligence … While we’re on this topic, you don’t need to speak to us like children. It only makes you look silly.
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