"The autistic kid." "The deaf woman." "The disabled guy." These are all labels we put on people with disabilities. Society puts labels on people no matter their color, gender, race or disability that someone may or may not have. What we need to realize is that people are more than their disability.
Being a former special education major, and current therapeutic recreation major, labeling people is something I frown upon. Just because someone may have a disability, does not mean it defines who they are as a person. A child with autism goes through daily struggles, but they're still a person. Having autism, for example, has its ups and downs, but can never define a child as "being autistic." They are more than that. They are still human beings who have feelings and personalities just like everyone else. Children with autism are some of the smartest and most understanding people you will ever have the opportunity to work with. Although frustrating and difficult at times, it is rewarding to get to know them, see who they are and discover their personalities.
Having learning disabilities myself, I would hate for someone to refer to me as "the girl with learning disabilities." I am so much more than that. I have a name. I am not any less of a person because of the struggles I may sometimes face. Having a disability should not put a label on a person. Even though they may communicate in different ways and have varying ways and levels of function, they deserve to be treated like every other person who may not have a disability.
It's currently 2016, which means that we need to come to terms with the fact that if we have a disability or not, everyone is different in their own unique ways. Overcoming obstacles is a part of life, and sometimes they are a part of who we become as a person. We've been taught our whole lives that we have to jump over hurdles that may be in our way, and having a disability may be one of them. Society needs to realize that having a disability is just a small obstacle in someone's life and that they have all the potential in the world to overcome it. Accepting others for who they are should be common sense at this point in time. Labels need to be forgotten and society needs to look past whatever differences there are in others.
So the next time you come across someone with a hearing loss or a child with autism, pay attention to what you refer to them as. Learn their name, and call them by that name. There is no need to define them based on one obstacle they have in their life. They are not "that deaf girl" or "the autistic kid." They are simply people, like you and me, who just happen to have a disability. We cannot define them based on whatever struggle they are facing. Labels cannot be put on people because they are different.
As stated before, everyone is different in their own unique way. Otherwise, I would be, along with others, "that blue eyed girl" or "the girl with the short brown hair." Unfortunately, this happens all too often in society, and it needs to be taken note of. Allowing people to be themselves and looking past their differences will make each of us more accepting. Allowing ourselves to accept everyone as they are will let us all become better people. Each one of us is unique, but there is no need to put unnecessary emphasis on others' differences.
