Your outward appearance does not determine your IQ!

Just because someone is disabled does not mean that they have a low IQ.  An Individual with disability may use a walker or wheelchair for mobility. They may talk funny or even possibly drool. They may look funny and make funny noises. That does not mean they have a low IQ.

I had a discussion with a young woman and her aide recently. She mentioned how people she meets treat her. They get really close and talk to her like they would a very small child.  She is in her twenties.  She has cerebral palsy and uses a walker for mobility.  She lives independently, but needs some assistance.  She attends college.  There is nothing wrong with her mind.

My son is treated the same way.  Why is it that the individuals who interact with him speak really slow and really loud? Sometimes they do not address him at all they only address the speaking individual with him. There is nothing wrong with his hearing. There is nothing wrong with his understanding of the English language.  What is wrong is that he cannot speak due to cerebral palsy.  He can communicate.  He can understand.

Many individuals throughout my son's life only chose to focus on what he couldn't do.  They never really looked or considered what he could do. They never thought what about what he accomplish with switch access. He's very visually impaired, but he can recognizes what is familiar to him.  If he could recognize colors could he recognize symbols.  They didn't recognize that he was quite teachable.

I think it is an inherent desire by all individuals to be treated with dignity and respect as thinking, feeling individuals.  It is in our nature to desire knowledge and stimulation from our environment.  The severely disabled are not objects in rooms, they are people.  People who are watching and observing and thinking.  People who have physical challenges  may have speech that is impaired or difficult to understand, but they are the same thinking, feeling individuals as the rest of the community.  Just as we would like to be treated with dignity and respect and to seek out and build friendships so do they.

Here is something to think about the disabled community is the ONLY minority group that any individual can join at any time.  It does not discriminate against your color or your status in life.  One head injury, one tragic accident, one tragedy can reduce your body to less than fully functioning.