Friday, March 5, 2021

Do you play the disability comparison game?


This is when someone with a more severe disability discounts another persons experiences due to the fact they still have the ability to walk or only use a mobility aid part-time. Making a huge mistake of believing that due to this their story simply doesn't matter.

I believe stories shared from a wide variety of people with disabilities to be a great thing, especially since a disability can affect everyone differently. There's no well if you can still walk or simply just use a cane or walk differently your story doesn't matter. I am pretty sure those of a wide range of abilities agree that we're all in this together - right? Am I onto something or is this complete BS?

You see the reason why I created the my BS posts is to touch on subject matter many within the disability community are reluctant to talk about. It's all about sparkling a conversation to gain everyone's point of view. There's no right or wrong answers after all this is meant to be a discussion. As a person living with a muscle-wasting disorder which slowly takes away my ability to do many things people take for granted, I believe it's important to share my story.

Sure at times some of my challenges may seem like nothing compared to what others face. That shouldn't lessen my value within the disability community. In the end all our stories are important and need to be shared. It's truly time for us to join together no longer failing our own community by playing the disability comparison game. After all aren't we fighting for the same things?

Can't we all learn from each others stories?


I say don't limit anyone within our community because doing so only results in holding all of us back. Goals are only achieved when we work together.

Things we all can do


#1 When using social media don't strictly follow those with disabilities similar to yours. Follow a wide range of people within our community, this helps you to gain a better understanding or other people's experiences as well.

#2 Try not to only focus on your story or feed, give others in our community attention - leave an encouraging comment or give them a quick like. After all aren't we all in this together?

#3 Never participate in the disability comparison game.