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What do apples have to do with disability?
A green apple is more like red apples
than different,
and a person with a disability is more like people without disabilities than different.
From the U.S. Developmental Disabilities Act:
“Disability is a natural part of the human experience.”
Yes, Disability
is Natural!
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DISABILITY
IS NATURAL
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WHICH ARE YOUR FAVORITE SAYINGS?
Click on the links below to see your favorite designs as a bookmark, poster, magnet, note card, badge, or t-shirt transfer!
Ask Me, Don’t Assume
Attitudes are the
Real Disability
Children with Disabilities are Children, First
Within Families,
Among Friends,
and in the Community,
Disability is Irrelevant
Got Manners?
No Staring, Please
I Have Dreams!
Do You Know
What They Are?
What a Great IDEA: Inclusion Works!
Know Me, By My Name, Strengths, Abilities, Hopes, and Dreams;
Not My Diagnosis
Listen to Me:
With Your Ears,
Your Eyes, and
Your Heart
Nothing About Me
Without Me
When You See, Meet, or Think About a Person
with a Disability,
Presume Competence
People with Disabilities
Want Real Lives
Thumbs Down to Pity
Work with Me, Not on Me.
Do with Me, Not for Me.
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Question Yourself!
Our language does our thinking for us. Wendell Johnson
Perhaps we’re in another age of enlightenment, and that would be a great thing. In the last few years, I’ve seen or heard the following expressions as book titles, on bumper stickers, and in other places:
- What If Everything You Knew Was Wrong
- Don’t Believe Everything You Think
- Thinking Errors
And I’ve recently read two fascinating books: Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman, and Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson. Like the phrases above, these books ask the reader to question assumptions and beliefs. Wendell Johnson’s decades-older book, People in Quandaries: The Semantics of Personal Adjustment, also encourages us to rethink our beliefs and the language we use. None of these books is specific to disability issues, but each has valuable lessons we can apply.
In the Sway book, the authors describe the “diagnosis bias” this way: “…the moment we label a person or a situation, we put on blinders to all evidence that contradicts our diagnosis.” Read more…
And in the spirit of questioning ourselves, this handout on Revolutionary Common Sense and New Ways of Thinking can generate new conversations that can lead to more positive outcomes for children and adults with disabilities.
You may make copies of the PDFs of these articles to share with others, for personal use or in trainings. Do not republish on websites, in newsletters, etc. without permission; see our Terms of Use. Copyright Kathie Snow, 2015, all rights reserved.
Click here for other articles to generate conversations and spark positive change. You’re welcome to make copies to share with others as handouts for trainings and more!
 Please click on the icon to forward this Email, instead of using your Email’s forward. This will prevent you from being inadvertently unsubscribed if the recipient(s) of your forward report this as spam or click on the unsubscribe link.
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THINK ABOUT IT…
Only those who attempt the absurd can achieve the impossible.
Albert Einstein
Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.
W. Clement Stone
To go against the dominant thinking of your friends, of most of the people you see every day, is perhaps the most difficult act of heroism you can perform.
Theodore White
Revolutionaries are seen as dangerous–and there is no doubt that they are dangerous to the established order.
Carl Rogers
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NEW WAYS OF THINKING
Regular Lives for Families with Children with Disabilities (featuring yours truly, Kathie Snow) is a series of 22 video segments on a variety of important topics of interest to families, professionals, and people with disabilities. Thanks to the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities for providing this series, as well as many other valuable learning opportunities on their site.
FACT/Oregon (Family and Community Together) offers a series of online learning modules, featuring yours truly and others, for families, educators, and others, including Spanish versions.
Being Autonomous – The Positive Impact Technology Can Have on Autonomy, was created by my son, Benjamin, for his Master’s degree project. The site features powerful testimony from people with disabilities. Could technology make a difference for the people with disabilities in your life?
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The 3rd edition of my Disability is Natural book is a life-changing book for parents, educators, and/or anyone who cares about children with disabilities. This valuable “how-to” manual covers birth to young adulthood, and focuses on inclusive education, alternatives to traditional services and therapies, living ordinary lives, and much more! 350 pages and still only $30.00.
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PRESENTATIONSI’ll be presenting in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Florida, Missouri, Oregon, and Idaho in the coming weeks and months, and events are pending in other locations.
I’d love to see you at any of those events, and I’d also love the opportunity to present for your organization! Click here to learn more. |
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THANK YOU!
Thanks for your interest in Disability is Natural!
Feel free to forward this Email to others. Please use the link at the bottom of the page (instead of the “Forward” button in your Email program).
Before using the contents of this E-Newsletter on websites, blogs, newsletters, etc., click here for our Terms of Use.
Remember to Presume Competence in people with disabilities!
Kathie
Disability is Natural; BraveHeart Press
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