Success, in both the social and academic sense, is obviously not something that happens by itself, and undoubtedly it is takes hard work to reach your goals. This is especially true for people with a physical disability. Simple actions that most people just take for granted can be big projects for the physically disabled because their condition is not like anyone else’s. However it is important to note that nothing is impossible and that anyone can get achieve success.
As Darwin said; “survival of the fittest.” One of the examples he used to prove his theory involved peacocks. For male peacocks, the big colorful tail that is actually a disability, as it renders the peacock less mobile. It is reasonable to wonder why then it is the peacock with the biggest tail that attracts all the female peacocks. The reason is, that the peacock with the biggest tail is one how has survived, and thereby shown that he is a survivor and can manage with a disability.
The example shows pretty well that you can get success even if you have a disadvantage in form of a disability. Personally I am visually impaired, so I know a lot about trying to catch up with people who have a physical advantage to you.
It’s not directly possible to see that I have a disability, because I´m not using a wheel chair, a white stick in normal light etc.
I remember clearly in the lower grades that other children did not understand this, and that didn’t have the words to explain it. At the time I didn’t want to be kept outside, and often I then just had to work twice as hard as the other children to keep up. If you want to get the ball in soccer, but you can’t see it, you just have to run twice as much as everybody else, or if it is hard for you to see when somebody send the ball to you in basketball, you just have to learn to be better than all the others at hitting the basket. This was my philosophy.
But this does not solve all the problems in the long run, and as I grew up and met more challenges, I realized that new tools had to be used in order to manage. I have to stress that you should never be afraid to commence on a task that looks impossible. Everything is possible, but needs to be prepared properly.
You always have the see possibilities, not limitations. I’ll never be a pilot, get a driver’s license or even ride a bike, but I found other competencies that I have dived into, and these gives me self-esteem.
I know way too many visual impaired people who just stay at home day after day because they feel inferior to the people around them. And yes, their vision is poor, but this doesn’t make them disabled in all respects. It’s all about building on your interests and abilities, because it’s only when you are doing your best and have something to offer that you’ll gain respect.
Beside having a healthy appetite for life and proper self-esteem, communication has been my major source to success. Communication with everybody; my family, friends, fellow students and the authorities. You are the only one who knows your own needs and it’s your job to communicate them so that you can actually get the help you need. Asking for help is not always easy because everyone has a desire to be as normal as possible. But I’ve learned that the disappointment in not managing an otherwise achievable task is always bigger than the minimal loss to your self-esteem by asking for help.
Actually, I’ve noticed that most people do not mind helping and they respect you more. For example, it is much more beneficial to ask someone to point out all the different dishes in a buffet than to loose your food on the floor.
Communication between the disabled person and the authorities and schools, is often more difficult. I remember clearly when I turned 18 and the first question they gave me was if I wanted an early retirement scheme. But I can’t see myself as just an expense for society, no I’m an income for society, the investment for getting me there is just a little bit bigger. They concluded “this guy is disabled, just another expense” But they didn’t even ask be for my needs, or what they could do to help me contribute to society.
Unfortunately, I find that the authorities and the education system often are very slow in handling the adjustments needed to make it possible for the disabled person to function on an even level with the other students. Frequently you have to send numerous reminders to get what has been agreed. Once or twice my parents even had to say that they would contact the press if nothing happened.
Another great improvement would be if the education system would contact the disabled students before the other students. As mentioned it takes far more time for the disabled persons to as well prepare as carry out the all tasks. This point is valid both for start of the study, where it often takes too long time to organize the aids and prepare the systems that the disabled need. If all these not are ready at start of terms you easily get weeks behind from the start, and have a hard time following the lessons. The same point is valid during the terms, it would be a great improvement if the lecturer contacted the disabled students in advance when a new project, subject or course were about to start. Then the disabled student would know what were about to happen and could prepare himself. It’s very hard to receive new papers in the middle of a lesson, without having the faintest idea what it is all about. Your fellow students will manage to get a lot done while in school, but you will have to go home and work hard to find out what it is all about. If you had received the material in advance in the format you needed, you could have managed in the same time as the other students.
In the end this is all about simple planning and preparations, it’s a bout good systems and a dialogue between the lecturers and the disabled students
When I have been really down, I often thought that I should have taken the early retirement scheme. Being down is something everybody experiences, and you have to learn to live with them, but I think it can be tougher for persons with disabilities, as they can arise from more than the everyday problems we all know; hard work, love affairs, feeling lonely, but the feeling can arise due to your disability. It is extremely important to have a family and close friends that understand you, and support you, so you get by. But I know nothing is impossible if you see the possibilities and prepare yourself.
This article was written by Gustav Kallan Lauritsen, a partially sighted student from Denmark
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