#Invisible disabilities quotes how to

They truly want to know individuals and how individuals are affected by certain situations. Good allies are good listeners and good observers. They’ve treated me in a lot of ways like just another family member, which I think was helpful when I was growing up. “I’m the only one in my family that has the condition, so in a lot of ways, they’ve been my biggest allies. What does it mean to be an ally? What are the qualities of a good ally? Get to know me as a person first.” “a lot of people want to be allies, but they want to act before they think.” 3. Often people ask me ‘what would you like to be called?’ and I just respond with ‘I’d like to be called Logan.’ I’m a teacher and a grad student. I just think it’s most important to think about the person first. I’m not opposed to, and I know it’s better than some of the historically-used phrases. I don’t view my diastrophic dysplasia as a disease I just view it as a condition that makes me different than someone without dwarfism. I’m very intentional when I teach about calling them genetic conditions instead of diseases or disorders. D here, and we teach a unit on genetic conditions. I’ll try to say ‘this is a researcher who has dwarfism’ or ‘this is a person with a disability.’ That’s a big movement in disability advocacy rights now. I’m also trying to be really mindful about the language that I use.

Society isn’t built for people with disabilities, so the attention should be put on society and not the person that is said to have a disability. How do you feel about the word “disability?” I drive a car, but it has pedal extensions on it for me to reach the pedals.” 2. I do 99% of what someone else would do, just in a slightly different way. It’s a recessive genetic condition, so neither of my parents have it, but they’re both carriers of the condition. I use crutches and a scooter to get around campus. I’m shorter in stature, and I have some bone and muscle abnormalities that make it difficult to walk. “I have diastrophic dysplasia it’s a form of dwarfism. His research broadly focuses on equity and access issues in undergraduate science education with a specific focus on student identity, such as students with disabilities and mental health issues. D student in biology education at Arizona State University. I learned a lot from talking to my interviewee, and I hope you do as well. We must make sure that we are advocating for our community members that have different accessibility needs if we truly want to create equity for all.

#Invisible disabilities quotes how to

This is the fourth article in my How to Be an Ally series in which I interview people that identify with different minority groups to understand how they define an ally, why it’s important to have allies in the workplace, and what people can do to become allies.įor a variety of reasons, the diversity conversation is usually focused is on racial and gender minorities or on the LGBTQ+ community, but people with disabilities are often left out. Disclaimer: The quotes and opinions reflected in this article are those of the interviewee, and do not represent the companies that he works for.