Make the World a Better Place Pt.1

 Stop Ignoring and Mistreating those with Disabilities

Your Author and Friend: David L. Asselstine

My name is David L. Asselstine; it's a pleasure to meet you! I am a grateful pet owner to my dog Bear, an Uncle to 3 amazing nephews: I'm also blind in one eye. The last part shouldn't matter to be completely honest but most people will ask because when I look at them it's easy to see that I have a lazy eye but to be specific strabismus. (I have some medical training but I'm not a doctor ... yet). It makes meeting people and having conversations with people really hard because I enjoy talking to people but some people just stare at my eye the entire time sometimes interrupting to ask: "are you looking at me?" I ignore it and say: "yes of course, I'm talking to you." The truth is it hurts just a little each time- I know where it's coming from so it's not the sort of hurt that lingers but just the same I wish people could see the world the way that I do- without prejudiced and without judgement. Disability means according to the Webster's Dictionary:

" 1. [count] : a condition (such as an illness or an injury) that damages or limits a person's physical or mental abilities. She has learned to keep a positive attitude about her disability. disabilities such as blindness and deafness."

--https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=websters+definition+of+disability

It doesn't say anywhere in there that having a disability makes you less of a person it says that it damages or limits a person's physical or mental ability. When I see someone in a wheel chair I see someone who has either difficulty or near impossibility to ambulate and thus the remedy for that particular person is a wheel chair. They are a person not a person in a wheel chair. I don't stare at the person or whisper or laugh... (the laughter really pisses me off) but most of all I don't make assumptions about the person either. Too often I've seen this! People in wheel chairs seen as being Developmentally Challenged or the term that I absolutely hate without exception: retarded. I hated even typing that in this blog but I am making a point.  
What about asking the person what their disability is? Let's illuminate this point really well because there are well wishers out there who definitely try to understand beyond assumption and/ or plain ignorance and they truly mean well but to be honest we don't consider in our impulsiveness that answering these kind of questions can be extraordinarily embarrassing for some people and even degrading. Would you like to announce to the world and to everyone you meet what kind of underpants you're wearing? It doesn't matter what type of disability any person has- they are a person and they have a beautiful heart and a beautiful soul like the rest of us. Keep your hearts open and love will find you. We'll talk more about this later.

For Now,

Much Love,

Dave, NLP, PSW, RLC