Thank you for sharing your personal experiences with us, Oyedayo. Doing so takes a lot of courage, and I appreciate your willingness to educate others. Your story highlights the importance of creating a truly inclusive society, where everyone feels safe, valued and accepted.
I was particularly struck by the ending of your story. Overall, this was a great read that was both compelling and insightful. Your message is an important one, and I hope that more people will take the time to listen to the experiences of others and work towards a more equitable future. I look forward to reading more from you.
structural, social, and procedural realities that exclude/discriminate especially resonated with me.
I subscribe to the social model of disability, so I'd go as far as to say that these exclusions are what create disability, not our indiviual impairments.
If societies were set up and constructed in a way that was accessible for people with impairments, no one would be restricted from full participation in the world around them, and thus not disabled.
Alas, here we are in this ableist world instead, but voices like yours truly help to open our minds and created opportunties for improvement.
I'm happy the stories touched & resonated with you.
Experiences over the years have continuously awakened my "sleepy" awareness of ableism in society and the need for society to embrace the social model of disability, immediately.
I hope that we will eventually come to the unquestionable understanding that disabled lives are worth living.
Change needs to reverberate through everyone’s mind. I hope it gets spread, fast.
I have read this write up a couple times now, every time I did, it brought tears to my eyes as I imagined my lil sibling living with down syndrome, and how I would never be able to know his innermost feelings because of his inability to communicate the way the ablist society deems normal.
I know the feeling of feeling like a plague, just by being related to him, whenever we went to church as kids, all the other kids were scared and didn't want to be around us and the adults were not any better. I have also been a victim of treating my sibling like a secret as a result of the way my family handled his welfare and well-being. I am definitely on a journey to unlearning the many ways in which we've all been indoctrinated into acting oblivious to the needs, proper care and support for People living with disabilities.
One thing I am for sure proud to say out loud today is that, I have learnt more about love and myself from my sibling living with down syndrome than I have from all the supposed abled people around me.
And on that note, I am grateful for you and you sharing your story as a voice to the voiceless like my sibling. I appreciate the nuanced context your experiences bring to the ongoing struggles of persons living with some form of disability and speaking to the actual plague, which is "the mistreatment and seclusion of people on the spectrum of disability".
I definitely enjoyed reading and would recommend others to read.
Thank you for sharing your personal experiences with us, Oyedayo. Doing so takes a lot of courage, and I appreciate your willingness to educate others. Your story highlights the importance of creating a truly inclusive society, where everyone feels safe, valued and accepted.
I was particularly struck by the ending of your story. Overall, this was a great read that was both compelling and insightful. Your message is an important one, and I hope that more people will take the time to listen to the experiences of others and work towards a more equitable future. I look forward to reading more from you.
Thank you so much for reading and leaving such a thoughtful and generous comment, Ruky. We share your hope for a better future.
Thank you so much for sharing your truth with us.
The parts about
structural, social, and procedural realities that exclude/discriminate especially resonated with me.
I subscribe to the social model of disability, so I'd go as far as to say that these exclusions are what create disability, not our indiviual impairments.
If societies were set up and constructed in a way that was accessible for people with impairments, no one would be restricted from full participation in the world around them, and thus not disabled.
Alas, here we are in this ableist world instead, but voices like yours truly help to open our minds and created opportunties for improvement.
I'm happy the stories touched & resonated with you.
Experiences over the years have continuously awakened my "sleepy" awareness of ableism in society and the need for society to embrace the social model of disability, immediately.
I hope that we will eventually come to the unquestionable understanding that disabled lives are worth living.
Change needs to reverberate through everyone’s mind. I hope it gets spread, fast.
Thank you :)!
I have read this write up a couple times now, every time I did, it brought tears to my eyes as I imagined my lil sibling living with down syndrome, and how I would never be able to know his innermost feelings because of his inability to communicate the way the ablist society deems normal.
I know the feeling of feeling like a plague, just by being related to him, whenever we went to church as kids, all the other kids were scared and didn't want to be around us and the adults were not any better. I have also been a victim of treating my sibling like a secret as a result of the way my family handled his welfare and well-being. I am definitely on a journey to unlearning the many ways in which we've all been indoctrinated into acting oblivious to the needs, proper care and support for People living with disabilities.
One thing I am for sure proud to say out loud today is that, I have learnt more about love and myself from my sibling living with down syndrome than I have from all the supposed abled people around me.
And on that note, I am grateful for you and you sharing your story as a voice to the voiceless like my sibling. I appreciate the nuanced context your experiences bring to the ongoing struggles of persons living with some form of disability and speaking to the actual plague, which is "the mistreatment and seclusion of people on the spectrum of disability".
I definitely enjoyed reading and would recommend others to read.