Thursday, September 4, 2014

I'm So Sorry My Daughter's Disability Is Such an Inconvenience for You

From Huffington Post's Parents blogger Jamie Davis Smith.
I read the article "I'm So Sorry Our Disease is Such an Inconvenience for You" with a wry smile and an understanding of how individuals with severe allergies are treated, even though no one I know deals with the issues faced by the piece's author, Gluten Dude -- and others whose health and lives are put at stake with an innocent-looking piece of birthday cake or an itty-bitty peanut.
You see, my oldest daughter has multiple and severe disabilities that have left her with the need to use a wheelchair, an inability to speak and low muscle tone, amongst a host of other significant developmental and medical issues. Although the types of "inconveniences" she and her disability apparently pose to others are different from the "inconveniences" Gluten Dude's disease seemingly foists onto the world, the level to which people seem bothered, put out and downright annoyed at what my little girl and other individuals with disabilities need to do in order to be able to access the same places and activities they do is similar. With thanks to Gluten Dude, I wanted to share my perception of how disability inconveniences others and why I don't care.

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