Disabled?

It just occurred to me 2 days ago during my PPD presentation of the group visits to various centres for the disabled,

That there're in fact 2 diff kinds of responses that the disabled require from society.

Kok Joo's Pbl group presented a very touching representation of the life and needs of (uh oh I 4got where his group went) umm.. generally mentally or physically disabled children and adults. I nearly cried. (nearly. bt didn't!!) (no la actually its bcz of the gimicks la they put emo song and etc etc…) ok jk here dun get mad..

 

From their presentation, it was about telling society that these ppl just want some love, care n affection they were deprived of. It's about telling us just because they're mentally or physically impaired n thus it becomes inconvenient for us 2 take care of them that we give up on them and throw them to some centre whr ppl care. And it's about telling us that walking that extra mile for the disabled goes a long long way. N nothing beats the smile and joy on their faces when u give them ur love.

 

 

These are the disabled that cant lead a normal life because they hav to depend on others for life.

 

 

But there is in fact ANOTher group of disabled ppl. Those whom with a little assistance from young and proper avenues in education, can go as far as any1 of us and live independently.

 

I'm referring to the deaf. (not sure about the blind or dumb but I'll be talking primarily about the deaf here)

Generally, they hav the same IQ an EQ lvl as any1 of us, can manage companies, become accomplished architects, chefs, designers etc… just unfortunate to not have the gift of hearing, or appreciating the BOOM BOOM BOOM coming from ah beng 'zheng'-ed (modified) -scorpion/ dragon stickers, huge exhaust pipe, skirting, black tinted windows- cars.

 

So if they're so independent, wad's stopping them from living a normal life?

 

YOU and ME.

And THEM.

*points accusing finger* Neh. Neh. Neh. ALL OF THEM TOO.

 

Because

1. We regard being deaf as an insult, as if it's a crime to be deaf. "Din hear wad she said meh? U deaf ar?"
   
2. We tend to think deaf ppl are unintelligent just because they cant hear.
   
3. Most ppl generally think they're inconvenient.
   

If u find urself denying the 3 statements above, try answering these:

 

1. Ur son/daughter calls u 1 day and tells u he/she wants to marry a deaf person. Would you agree?
   
2. U're doing a group project and u hav to select people as group members. Would you select a deaf person? (by now of coz u'd say yes cz u dun wana be accused of being inhumane.) but admit it, would u put him/her first on ur list.
   

   
    

   
    

Just trying to put my point across here.

It's called STIGMATISATION.

Sth we are all guilty of. Because we weren't borned to stigmatise ppl, but some ppl were borned w disabilities, and we make their lives difficult, we deny them the right to live normally, to join social circles because we stigmatise them.

 

 

Of course many of us are caring n responsible members of society. But the fact is, there aren't ENOUGH ppl out there like that who care more for others than for themselves.

 

 

bottom line is, for this 2^nd group of disabled ppl, a mere response from us to treat them as equals is enough. Enough to give them equal opportunities in life and enjoy priviledges just like any1 of us. I'm not painting an emo picture. I just realized that for the deaf, the future is bright, the grass is green, as more is being done to integrate them into society.

 

 

Just throw away the preconceived ideas u have about the deaf. STAMP out stigmatization. TONK.