{"id":4057,"date":"2019-03-28T21:35:13","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T02:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.honorsphere.com\/wp\/?p=4057"},"modified":"2026-09-17T14:52:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T19:52:55","slug":"disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honorsphere.com\/wp\/blog\/disabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"People With “Disabilities” – They Are Absolutely Amazing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I struggle to not say something that I may not intend to say. People with disabilities overcome a lot of obstacles. I admire them. Having grown up with people with disabilities gave me a little insight into their struggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I truly respect all people and expect to get that same respect in return. When I get a whiff of disrespect, my respect for such a person begins to wane. Nothing in the section is meant to be disrespectful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Define “disabilities”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDisability\u201d is a legal term. Do people really have \u201cdisabilities?\u201d \u201cDisabilities\u201d is a term that implies (to me) that someone is less than other people, maybe even inhuman. I disagree! The government throwing money at \u201cdisabilities\u201d does not guarantee good treatment of the \u201cdisabled.\u201d It does guarantee that someone will make money off of a person’s \u201cdisability.\u201d That’s OK if the person with the \u201cdisability\u201d gets some benefit. This is not always the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some Laws<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At one time, a disability meant institutionalization. The Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act<\/a> did not become a federal law until 1980. \u201cSuch institutions include state and locally operated jails and prisons, juvenile correctional facilities, public nursing homes, mental health facilities and institutions for individuals with intellectual disabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)<\/a> did not become law until 1990. The people I knew had obvious difficulties long before either of these laws existed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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People with \u201cDisabilities\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Disabled people can be different than the average person. But isn’t everybody different than everybody else? Wouldn’t it be awful if everybody was just alike? Sometimes I inquire about a diagnosis, but not for the purpose of looking down my nose at someone. Let me give you examples of some of the different people I have known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sandy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sandy was blind. He did not become blind until he was in high school. And he refused to let his blindness limit him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is blindness a \u201cdisability\u201d when every other sense compensates by being better than the average person’s senses? He could hear you close to him by recognizing your footsteps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he also played the guitar. He knew how to get around in a room, as long as you didn’t rearrange the furniture. If you did rearrange the furniture, he probably could still get around. I saw him jump off a swimming pool diving board without any help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He learned to use the label of \u201cdisabled\u201d to his advantage. But I never considered him \u201cless than\u201d anyone. He learned to adapt to his situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He passed away when the tumors that took his sight also took his life. Never had the words of \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d meant so much to me as at his funeral – \u201cI was blind, but now I see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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