The word disabled is a word can mean many things. I am an example of what the society calls a disabled person (I’m the person who’s always driving a scooter in the halls if you don’t know who I am). But what does the word disabled mean to my eyes? Here I’ve written an entire article on the definition of the word disabled in the dictionaries and in my eyes.
There are according to the online dictionary, 2 disabilities, physically and mentally disabled. I would fall under the category of those who are considered physically disabled. The difference is that physically disabled people are people who have an impairment that affects their ability to act physically. For example I can’t walk like a normal person who doesn’t need help. I need help. Mentally disabled people cannot think properly like most people, including me, can or that’s what the medical definition says at least. Despite these impairments, us disabled are able to do some tasks other can do. For example, we can all think even if some people don’t think as mature for their age as they should. Let’s discuss some of the things people can do despite being considered disabled.
I am considered a physically disabled person but I’m not disabled otherwise because otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this article that is discussing such a topic like I am now. I may be considered disabled but I can still work hard like I am with a chromebook at my hands and I’m, typing away right now working on this article which you’ll be reading (hello from the past). Stephen Hawking on technicalities could have been considered disabled but he managed to overcome it by inventing devices to help him with his everyday life. Stevie Wonder is blind but yet he’s still a musician. What is the relation between all three people? We are/were all considered disabled but we can still overcome them and manage to live our lives like normal people’s lives.
Mental disabilities are defined as disabled in mind and thought and not able to think as most people do. They are defined as to having a very childish train of thought. However they usually aren’t disabled physically and can function like normal people do except as like a child. They can walk, talk, eat, sleep. These are all the things normal people do. Then what is the reason to define them as disabled? Just because we all have different maturity levels doesn’t mean we’re disabled in mind and thought. I went to a bowling alley and met a 17 year-old who would be considered by medical forces mentally disabled. However, he was a completely normal person in my eyes. If people have different maturity levels, then does it really matter whether somebody acts like a child or not?
In case it wasn’t already clear, I’m trying to say that people who are considered disabled by the definition of it are completely fine and can usually live lives most people who aren’t considered disabled would live. In fact, disabled people are completely normal people just like the LGBT or people of different race. The matter of the fact is, as disabled people, we aren’t disabled. Does the fact I can’t walk like most people make me disabled? No, even normal people who just had a surgery can’t walk immediately. Their body needs rest. Does the fact some people can’t think like a person their age make them mentally disabled? No. They can still live their life like a normal person. Does a combination of not being able to walk properly or think maturely make somebody disabled? No. There are thousands of explanations as to why someone can’t walk more than just being physically disabled. Also everybody has different levels of maturity. Some of us just have a more mature understanding of things than others. I just have a very mature understanding of what the word disabled means but somebody who has a childlike understanding of the same word isn’t necessarily mentally disabled. Also disabled means according to the english online dictionary means “incapacitated by illness or injury.” We are not supposed to be disabled. It’s our diseases or injuries that limit our ability to do things anyone in the normal world can. I binge watch my favorite TV series on TV and I watch horror movies on Netflix. I may not be able to run a cancer funding marathon like a normal person but that doesn’t make me disabled. There are plenty of people who cannot do that. Some people may not be able to understand the meaning of some stories like more mature people can but that’s ok. The point is that, people themselves are not disabled so stop calling them disabled just because they can’t do something like most people would.
Disabled is rather more derogatory rather than actually representing a true medical condition that people in society have. Blind people can know where to go via hearing. Deaf people can interpret words via sign language. People who can’t walk use wheelchairs. In fact anybody is normal. Whether not able to or able to do something, whether able or not able to think as maturely as people of their age are said to think, nobody in reality is disabled. Next time you see someone in a wheelchair, think before you call them disabled.
Grover Middle School's Jagazine 