Corner Post Editorial
Get to know the person, not the disability

by Aimee Gutshall, posted May 4, 2010

The feeling of always being looked at can be uncomfortable, but how would you feel if everywhere you went people were always pointing fingers or whispering about you?

Last year, this is how I felt when I walked with a friend of mine who is autistic. While chatting away, I soon began to realize how many people were staring at us. It made me feel uncomfortable. Then, I noticed that my friend didn’t seem to care. He just smiled away and had so much joy despite the fact that he is always being looked at.

This incident made me re-think my own body language and how I view people with disabilities. The saying to take a walk in someone else’s shoes really hit home to me.

“I think people often see the disability before they actually see the person,” said Marcia Gutshall, Trenton R-9 special education director.

"When my daughter Stephanie was 20 months old she wore a Becker Torsion Cable to correct an internal tibial problem, said Gutshall. “The apparatus made her look like she was physically disabled although she was not. I was surprised at the stares and whispering that took place. I also had a number of strangers that would just ask, 'What's wrong with her?'"

“I realized for those 9 months she wore her brace I had experienced what a parent of a child with a disability must endure for a lifetime,” Gutshall said. “Your perspective can be changed when you experience it firsthand."

Experiencing it firsthand is all it takes to feel what people with physical and mental disabilities feel on a daily basis.

“My brother Sam is 27 and has autism,” said Jessica Denker, agricultural business junior. “I remember growing up how embarrassed I was if Sam threw a fit in a store and everyone turned and stared, or when I would bring my friends home and they would see how different things were around my house.

“However, as I've grown up I've learned that my brother has the gift to make friends wherever he goes and bring a smile to anyone’s face,” Denker said.

Joy is the word that makes me think of people with disabilities. They have a type of joy that none of us can quite understand. They not only have internal joy, but their joy can have a large impact on others.

The attitude we have towards people with disabilities is important in today’s society. For some reason, we’re usually first to judge. If we were to actually take the time to get to know someone with a disability, the disability tends to fade and the person is who you begin to notice.

“The hardest part of living with a disability is the awkward period before understanding surfaces,” said Sami Jo Freeman, agricultural journalism major. “It's all about understanding. If we can push ourselves to truly understand the situation that disabled persons are in, and that they shouldn't be looked at differently, then we can finally bridge the gap of understanding."

People with disabilities often face judgment from others. But our society today has the chance to make a difference.

"Due to research and information shared the public is more aware of and knowledgeable of disabilities today than say 10-20 years ago, said Gutshall. “I believe that has improved the attitude and perception the general public has today toward people with disabilities."

The next time you see someone with a disability, what will you do? I suggest sending them a smile or a friendly hello. Sometimes the smallest gestures can make the biggest difference.

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