Kindness or Pity?

I hate to be skeptical but after 36 years of cerebral palsy I am.

Last Saturday I went for a haircut, which I needed. When I got to the place to get a haircut, I noticed a man who had on an Illinois Rose bowl shirt, so I ask him was the Illinois Missouri game that day or the next Sat. He said the next Sat. So I went back to reading my Magazine. As I was getting my hair cut, he paid for mine also.

I thought quietly how offend I was toward this act. Did he see the disability and felt sorry for me? Or was it true kindness. I wish I knew. I know some people feel sorry for us, even though some of us are in the top half of wage earners in the U.S.

Questions and Answers please

It is a pretty simple question what accommodations do you need. But is it. I have found that when an accommodations is given, not all the questions are asked at that time. Because the logistics have not be able to be thought thru or worse yet the answers are assumed before and never asked. When I was 18 I went to my college for placement tests , when we got there we forgot to request a note taker, Whoops assumed I would have one because I always had one. I had a friend who asked for a handicapped accessible Hotel room only to realize they forgot to ask the width and found his chair did not fit. Basic questions but over looked. Then after the accommodation is made realizing not all questions were asked, like who is responsible for what.

I’d like to think 50% of the discrimination we as disabled professionals face is because people 1. Don’t know the question to ask 2. Don’t know how to ask it or 3. Feels the laws prevent them from asking. Its up to us the disabled professional to deal with these issues, and concerns. We are self don’t have the answers but through building a network we can educate ourselves and others.

How are we Viewed

It is sad when I saw a member of congress have a father of a disabled child removed from a town hall meeting on Health care. I would love to have seen the son speak for himself. However, it puzzles me on why congress would put billions in to stimulus to educate the disabled only to have to amend the health care bill to make sure we are covered? Once again does the fact we are educated make the one in powers feel good? We need more; we need people to see what we can do. Only when we are accepted by society can we grow. This will happen when the numbers get together and demand it.