Increasingly, the difference between being disabled, handicapped, differently abled, or much like everyone else, really comes down to more and more just a matter of perceptions, attitudes, and opinions.
“My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you doing well, and don’t regret the things it interferes with. Don’t be disabled in spirit, as well as physically.” -Stephen Hawking (Stephen William Hawking (1942 - 2018))
A disability or handicap is a condition that in some way effects life or some aspect of life. For example, being dependent on a wheelchair, cane, or walker for mobility could be considered a disability. Other examples of disabilities or handicaps include physical disfigurements, dyslexia, stuttering, and seeing and hearing impairments. A condition can at times be a disability and at other times a handicap, depending on circumstances and perceptions.
“Here is how to live without resentment or embarrassment in a world in which you are different from everyone else: be indifferent to that difference.” -Al Capp (Alfred Gerald Caplin (1909 - 1979)): “My Well-Balanced Life on a Wooden Leg” (1991)
“Focus on your abilities rather than your limitations.” -Author Unknown
“Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” -Author Unknown: Special Olympics, motto (Special Olympics is a program of competitive sports for athletes with physical or mental challenges. The first Special Olympics event was held on 26 July 1969 in Los Angeles, California, United States of America)
Julius Caesar, Martin Luther, and Jonathan Swift all suffered from Ménièr’s disease, a condition in which the hearing and balance senses cause hissing, roaring, or whistling sounds to be perceived.
Affirmation: Today I will rejoice in my abilities.
“I was the last one picked on every team when I was a kid. I was a klutz. If you had ever told me that I would make being an athlete my profession, I would have laughed at you.” -Dianna Golden (1963 - 2001), United States one-legged World Champion skier, as quoted in Bill Littlefield: “Champions: Stories of Ten Remarkable Athletes” (1993)
“My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you doing well, and don’t regret the things it interferes with. Don’t be disabled in spirit, as well as physically.” -Stephen Hawking (Stephen William Hawking (1942 - 2018))
A disability or handicap is a condition that in some way effects life or some aspect of life. For example, being dependent on a wheelchair, cane, or walker for mobility could be considered a disability. Other examples of disabilities or handicaps include physical disfigurements, dyslexia, stuttering, and seeing and hearing impairments. A condition can at times be a disability and at other times a handicap, depending on circumstances and perceptions.
“Here is how to live without resentment or embarrassment in a world in which you are different from everyone else: be indifferent to that difference.” -Al Capp (Alfred Gerald Caplin (1909 - 1979)): “My Well-Balanced Life on a Wooden Leg” (1991)
“Focus on your abilities rather than your limitations.” -Author Unknown
“Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” -Author Unknown: Special Olympics, motto (Special Olympics is a program of competitive sports for athletes with physical or mental challenges. The first Special Olympics event was held on 26 July 1969 in Los Angeles, California, United States of America)
Julius Caesar, Martin Luther, and Jonathan Swift all suffered from Ménièr’s disease, a condition in which the hearing and balance senses cause hissing, roaring, or whistling sounds to be perceived.
Affirmation: Today I will rejoice in my abilities.
“I was the last one picked on every team when I was a kid. I was a klutz. If you had ever told me that I would make being an athlete my profession, I would have laughed at you.” -Dianna Golden (1963 - 2001), United States one-legged World Champion skier, as quoted in Bill Littlefield: “Champions: Stories of Ten Remarkable Athletes” (1993)
“Rebellion against your handicaps gets you nowhere. Self-pity gets you nowhere. One must have the adventurous daring to accept oneself as a bundle of possibilities and undertake the most interesting game in the world - making the most of one’s best.” -Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878 - 1969): statement (1937 or earlier), as quoted in Herbert Victor Prochnow, editor: “The New Speaker’s Treasury of Wit and Wisdom” (1958)
When people think of guide animals for the blind, they usually think of dogs. However, there are also other types of working animals, such as guide horses, which are miniature horses about the size of very large dogs. Unlike regular horses, guide horses do not wear metal shoes nailed to their hooves, but instead wear shoes that can look similar to the casual shoes and dress shoes that people wear.
“It’s not our disabilities, it’s our abilities that count.” -Chris Burke
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A World of Smile
About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college, I was working as an intern at my University’s Museum of Natural History. One day while working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in a wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was kind of perched on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck, and torso. She was wearing a little white dress with red polka dots.
As the couple wheeled her up to me, I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink. As I took the money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the cutest, largest smile I have ever seen. All of a sudden, her handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. She took me from a poor, unhappy college student and brought me into her world, a world of smiles, love, and warmth.
That was ten years ago. I’m a successful business person now and whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.
by Author Unknown
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The first seeing-eye dog was presented to a blind person on 25 April 1938.
Alexander of Macedonia (also known as Alexander the Great (356 B.C.E. - 323 B.C.E.)) and Julius Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar (100 B.C.E. - 44 B.C.E.)) were both epileptic.
“The worst thing about a disability is that people see it before they see you.” -Author Unknown: Easter Seals organization at www.easterseals.com
Thomas Edison (Thomas Alva Edison (1847 - 1931)) was one of the most prolific inventors of all time. He was also hearing impaired from the age of twelve.
Some people say everyone should be ‘sensitive’ to people with disabilities, but taken too far, their so-called sensitivity is really an attempt to baby people - and an insult. Politically correct tyrants who claim they know what it’s like often don’t know and should let the disabled speak for themselves on what life is like for the disabled.
Steve Austin, the “Six Million Dollar Man,” was technically a disabled person who was enabled by ‘bionics.’
“When a blind man carries a lame man, both go forward.” -Author Unknown: Swedish saying
When people think of guide animals for the blind, they usually think of dogs. However, there are also other types of working animals, such as guide horses, which are miniature horses about the size of very large dogs. Unlike regular horses, guide horses do not wear metal shoes nailed to their hooves, but instead wear shoes that can look similar to the casual shoes and dress shoes that people wear.
“It’s not our disabilities, it’s our abilities that count.” -Chris Burke
[-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-]
A World of Smile
About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college, I was working as an intern at my University’s Museum of Natural History. One day while working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in a wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was kind of perched on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck, and torso. She was wearing a little white dress with red polka dots.
As the couple wheeled her up to me, I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink. As I took the money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the cutest, largest smile I have ever seen. All of a sudden, her handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. She took me from a poor, unhappy college student and brought me into her world, a world of smiles, love, and warmth.
That was ten years ago. I’m a successful business person now and whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.
by Author Unknown
[-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-] [-]
The first seeing-eye dog was presented to a blind person on 25 April 1938.
Alexander of Macedonia (also known as Alexander the Great (356 B.C.E. - 323 B.C.E.)) and Julius Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar (100 B.C.E. - 44 B.C.E.)) were both epileptic.
“The worst thing about a disability is that people see it before they see you.” -Author Unknown: Easter Seals organization at www.easterseals.com
Thomas Edison (Thomas Alva Edison (1847 - 1931)) was one of the most prolific inventors of all time. He was also hearing impaired from the age of twelve.
Some people say everyone should be ‘sensitive’ to people with disabilities, but taken too far, their so-called sensitivity is really an attempt to baby people - and an insult. Politically correct tyrants who claim they know what it’s like often don’t know and should let the disabled speak for themselves on what life is like for the disabled.
Steve Austin, the “Six Million Dollar Man,” was technically a disabled person who was enabled by ‘bionics.’
“When a blind man carries a lame man, both go forward.” -Author Unknown: Swedish saying
Be more than compliant . . . be welcoming . . . signs by http://www.hsisign.com.
In 1973, two blind Peruvian soccer teams played a match using a ball filled with dried peas. The sound made by the dried peas as the ball moved made it possible for them to know the direction and location of the ball.
We never know who might have a disability of which we might not even be aware. What some people might call ‘invisible disabilities’ includes a wide range of conditions, from dyslexia to depression, autism to color blindness, and realistic prosthetic limbs to cochlear implants.
Just as some people talk in their sleep, sign language speakers have been known to sign in their sleep.
“When you hear the word ‘disabled,’ people immediately think about people who can’t walk or talk or do everything that people take for granted. Now, I take nothing for granted. But I find the real disability is people who can’t find joy in life and are bitter.” -Teri Garr
Highlight of a capable disabled person: Edward Lear (1812 - 1888) traveled extensively, including to Egypt and India, as a talented watercolor painter of birds, animals, and landscapes. He made marvelous paintings of parrots and did whimsical illustrations for the many limerick poems he wrote. For a time, he even gave drawing lessons to Queen Victoria. Yet Edward Lear had poor eyesight and suffered from epilepsy and asthma. He was a lonely man, often terribly depressed, and was convinced that those who met him were repelled by his appearance. He took refuge in the wonderful nonsense of his poems. Edward Lear can be counted as one of the persons with disabilities who have made our world a better place, and you will find many of his limericks on the Make Fun Of Life! Website.
“Learning too soon our limitations, we never learn our powers.” -Mignon McLaughlin (1913 - 1983): “The Neurotic’s Notebook” (1960)
An artificial hand with fingers moved by cogwheels and levers was designed in 1551 by Frenchman Ambroise Paré. It worked so well that a handless cavalryman was able to grasp the reins of his horse.
“Your disability will never make God love you less.” -Author Unknown
People who are blind from birth smile despite never having seen anyone smile before. Smiling is a natural, or instinctual, human reaction.
“The severity of one’s disability does not determine their level of potential. The greatest barriers that persons with disabilities have to overcome are not steps or curbs, it’s expectations.” -Karen Clay
“Argue for your limitations and, sure enough, they’re yours.” -Richard Bach (Richard David Bach (born 1936)): “Illusions” (1977)
“Disability does not mean inability. Perhaps disability does not even mean disability in the sense it did just a short time ago.” -Nathan Thomas Taylor (born 1966)
“You don’t have to be handicapped to be different - everybody’s different.” -Kim Peek
“Every person deserves the chance to reach his or her full potential.” -Author Unknown
Disabled and handicapped and differently abled people sometimes have to ignore the remarks of people who say things such as, “People like you can’t do that,” “People like you should just go home, watch television, and stay out of public life.” Such remarks are as ignorant as when people say, “Women can’t do that,” “Women should stay in the home and let their husbands do all the earning and men only should have the career opportunities.” Some of the people who try to limit what people can do even sound very much like the people who say, “People with your skin color/hair color/eye color/freckles/height/baldness/weight just can’t do those kinds of things and should keep out of mainstream life.” The people who say such things are wrong, and while it is sometimes possible to just ignore them, at other times it becomes necessary to bring their words and actions to the awareness of others or even to take legal measures in extreme cases.
“People with disabilities have abilities too and that is what this course is all about - making sure those abilities blossom and shine so that all the dreams you have can come true.” -Mary McAleese
In 1973, two blind Peruvian soccer teams played a match using a ball filled with dried peas. The sound made by the dried peas as the ball moved made it possible for them to know the direction and location of the ball.
We never know who might have a disability of which we might not even be aware. What some people might call ‘invisible disabilities’ includes a wide range of conditions, from dyslexia to depression, autism to color blindness, and realistic prosthetic limbs to cochlear implants.
Just as some people talk in their sleep, sign language speakers have been known to sign in their sleep.
“When you hear the word ‘disabled,’ people immediately think about people who can’t walk or talk or do everything that people take for granted. Now, I take nothing for granted. But I find the real disability is people who can’t find joy in life and are bitter.” -Teri Garr
Highlight of a capable disabled person: Edward Lear (1812 - 1888) traveled extensively, including to Egypt and India, as a talented watercolor painter of birds, animals, and landscapes. He made marvelous paintings of parrots and did whimsical illustrations for the many limerick poems he wrote. For a time, he even gave drawing lessons to Queen Victoria. Yet Edward Lear had poor eyesight and suffered from epilepsy and asthma. He was a lonely man, often terribly depressed, and was convinced that those who met him were repelled by his appearance. He took refuge in the wonderful nonsense of his poems. Edward Lear can be counted as one of the persons with disabilities who have made our world a better place, and you will find many of his limericks on the Make Fun Of Life! Website.
“Learning too soon our limitations, we never learn our powers.” -Mignon McLaughlin (1913 - 1983): “The Neurotic’s Notebook” (1960)
An artificial hand with fingers moved by cogwheels and levers was designed in 1551 by Frenchman Ambroise Paré. It worked so well that a handless cavalryman was able to grasp the reins of his horse.
“Your disability will never make God love you less.” -Author Unknown
People who are blind from birth smile despite never having seen anyone smile before. Smiling is a natural, or instinctual, human reaction.
“The severity of one’s disability does not determine their level of potential. The greatest barriers that persons with disabilities have to overcome are not steps or curbs, it’s expectations.” -Karen Clay
“Argue for your limitations and, sure enough, they’re yours.” -Richard Bach (Richard David Bach (born 1936)): “Illusions” (1977)
“Disability does not mean inability. Perhaps disability does not even mean disability in the sense it did just a short time ago.” -Nathan Thomas Taylor (born 1966)
“You don’t have to be handicapped to be different - everybody’s different.” -Kim Peek
“Every person deserves the chance to reach his or her full potential.” -Author Unknown
Disabled and handicapped and differently abled people sometimes have to ignore the remarks of people who say things such as, “People like you can’t do that,” “People like you should just go home, watch television, and stay out of public life.” Such remarks are as ignorant as when people say, “Women can’t do that,” “Women should stay in the home and let their husbands do all the earning and men only should have the career opportunities.” Some of the people who try to limit what people can do even sound very much like the people who say, “People with your skin color/hair color/eye color/freckles/height/baldness/weight just can’t do those kinds of things and should keep out of mainstream life.” The people who say such things are wrong, and while it is sometimes possible to just ignore them, at other times it becomes necessary to bring their words and actions to the awareness of others or even to take legal measures in extreme cases.
“People with disabilities have abilities too and that is what this course is all about - making sure those abilities blossom and shine so that all the dreams you have can come true.” -Mary McAleese
“My ability is stronger than my disability.” -Theresa Sherida
Peter Falk, the actor who portrayed the detective “Columbo,” on the television series by that name, had a glass eye. So did entertainer Sammy Davis, Junior. Stevie Wonder is blind. A large number of people who have become actors, musicians, comedians, and other types of entertainers, as well as people in the creative professions such as art and writing, have some condition which might have been an impediment not only to their success but to their even attempting to work in their fields - but they went ahead anyway.
“It is a waste of time to be angry about my disability. One has to get on with life and I haven’t done badly. People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.” -Stephen Hawking (Stephen William Hawking (1942 - 2018))
“We differ, blind and seeing, one from another, not in our senses, but in the use we make of them, in the imagination and courage with which we seek wisdom beyond the senses.” -Helen Keller (Helen Adams Keller (1880 - 1968))
“The only true disability is a crushed spirit.” -Aimee Mullins
Blind
I pitied him in his blindness
But can I boast, “I see”?
Perhaps there walks a spirit
Close by, who pities me.
by Harry Kemp (1883 - 1960)
“It is as simple as this: Treat people who might seem different from you as they want to be treated, or at the very least, as you would want to be treated if you were in their position.” -Author Unknown
“You’re not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have.” -Author Unknown
At the end of World War One, the German government trained the first guide dogs for war-blinded soldiers.
“Handicaps can only disable us if we let them. This is not only of physical challenges, but of emotional and intellectual ones as well . . . I believe that real and lasting limitations are created in our minds, not our bodies.” -Roger Crawford
Some disabilities are noticeable, and some disabilities are not immediately noticeable. Can you name some of each?
“Don’t make fun of people with disabilities, regardless of what the disability is. It may be a physical one, it may be a mental one, but these disabilities do not stop them from being wonderful human beings. Everyone has feelings and everyone can feel hurt.” -Author Unknown
“Being disabled should not mean being disqualified from having access to every aspect of life.” -Emma Thompson
“Our attitudes determine how we evaluate our life’s experiences. They determine how we evaluate ourselves. They also govern how we look at other people. Are we inclined to judge an eternal soul by the appearance of an earthly body? Do we see the beautiful soul of a brother or sister, or do we only see that person’s earthly tabernacle? Bodies can be distorted by handicap, twisted by injury, or worn by age. But if we can learn to see the inner man and woman, we will be seeing as God sees, and loving as He loves.” -Dallin H. Oaks (Dallin Harris Oaks (born 1932))
“Be kind to people with limitations . . . you may feel awkward for a brief moment . . . they know awkwardness over a lifetime . . .” -Author Unknown
“However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.” -Stephen Hawking (Stephen William Hawking (1942 - 2018))
“Disability is a matter of perception. If you can do just one thing well, you’re needed by someone.” -Martina Navratilova
José Feliciano was born poor and blind on 10 September 1945 in Lares, Puerto Rico. Some of the neighbors suggested that he get a cup and beg for money like blind people were supposed to do, but José refused. He found an “old piece of guitar” and taught himself how to play. He practiced day and night, night and day, often until his fingers were painful or lost feeling. Today José Feliciano is considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He wrote the popular song “Feliz Navidad” (1970), the eighth all-time most popular digital single of the Christmas holiday season. Website: www.josefeliciano.com.
You are the handicap you must face.
You are the one who must choose your place.
-James Lane Allen (1849 - 1925)
“My disability is just one part of who I am.” -Steve Louie, Skills Inc., www.skillsinc.com
“Know me for my abilities, not my disability.” -Robert M. Hensel
Always tell people, “If you are seeing only my disability, you are not seeing the real and complete me.” . . . we can’t wait to see what is coming next . . . on MFOL!
Peter Falk, the actor who portrayed the detective “Columbo,” on the television series by that name, had a glass eye. So did entertainer Sammy Davis, Junior. Stevie Wonder is blind. A large number of people who have become actors, musicians, comedians, and other types of entertainers, as well as people in the creative professions such as art and writing, have some condition which might have been an impediment not only to their success but to their even attempting to work in their fields - but they went ahead anyway.
“It is a waste of time to be angry about my disability. One has to get on with life and I haven’t done badly. People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.” -Stephen Hawking (Stephen William Hawking (1942 - 2018))
“We differ, blind and seeing, one from another, not in our senses, but in the use we make of them, in the imagination and courage with which we seek wisdom beyond the senses.” -Helen Keller (Helen Adams Keller (1880 - 1968))
“The only true disability is a crushed spirit.” -Aimee Mullins
Blind
I pitied him in his blindness
But can I boast, “I see”?
Perhaps there walks a spirit
Close by, who pities me.
by Harry Kemp (1883 - 1960)
“It is as simple as this: Treat people who might seem different from you as they want to be treated, or at the very least, as you would want to be treated if you were in their position.” -Author Unknown
“You’re not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have.” -Author Unknown
At the end of World War One, the German government trained the first guide dogs for war-blinded soldiers.
“Handicaps can only disable us if we let them. This is not only of physical challenges, but of emotional and intellectual ones as well . . . I believe that real and lasting limitations are created in our minds, not our bodies.” -Roger Crawford
Some disabilities are noticeable, and some disabilities are not immediately noticeable. Can you name some of each?
“Don’t make fun of people with disabilities, regardless of what the disability is. It may be a physical one, it may be a mental one, but these disabilities do not stop them from being wonderful human beings. Everyone has feelings and everyone can feel hurt.” -Author Unknown
“Being disabled should not mean being disqualified from having access to every aspect of life.” -Emma Thompson
“Our attitudes determine how we evaluate our life’s experiences. They determine how we evaluate ourselves. They also govern how we look at other people. Are we inclined to judge an eternal soul by the appearance of an earthly body? Do we see the beautiful soul of a brother or sister, or do we only see that person’s earthly tabernacle? Bodies can be distorted by handicap, twisted by injury, or worn by age. But if we can learn to see the inner man and woman, we will be seeing as God sees, and loving as He loves.” -Dallin H. Oaks (Dallin Harris Oaks (born 1932))
“Be kind to people with limitations . . . you may feel awkward for a brief moment . . . they know awkwardness over a lifetime . . .” -Author Unknown
“However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.” -Stephen Hawking (Stephen William Hawking (1942 - 2018))
“Disability is a matter of perception. If you can do just one thing well, you’re needed by someone.” -Martina Navratilova
José Feliciano was born poor and blind on 10 September 1945 in Lares, Puerto Rico. Some of the neighbors suggested that he get a cup and beg for money like blind people were supposed to do, but José refused. He found an “old piece of guitar” and taught himself how to play. He practiced day and night, night and day, often until his fingers were painful or lost feeling. Today José Feliciano is considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He wrote the popular song “Feliz Navidad” (1970), the eighth all-time most popular digital single of the Christmas holiday season. Website: www.josefeliciano.com.
You are the handicap you must face.
You are the one who must choose your place.
-James Lane Allen (1849 - 1925)
“My disability is just one part of who I am.” -Steve Louie, Skills Inc., www.skillsinc.com
“Know me for my abilities, not my disability.” -Robert M. Hensel
Always tell people, “If you are seeing only my disability, you are not seeing the real and complete me.” . . . we can’t wait to see what is coming next . . . on MFOL!
