What’s the power of a few words?
On April 20, 2022 the Australian Prime Minister said he was blessed to have children without disability. He has since apologised for the way in which he responded, accepting it has caused offence.
There are strong views in response to these statements, quite rightly. This is mine.
One of the most wonderful things about being a Disabled Person, is having been embraced by the broader disability community. We often talk about it being a group that anyone can join at any time. With this, brings a vibrant diversity of views on what it is to be disabled, what it is like to be disabled, and how we view and experience our disabilities. Myself, I’m generally ambivalent – I recognise that were I not disabled, I wouldn’t be where I am today, doing the things that I do. My experiences have – and will continue to – changed over time as the curve of impairment changes as a result of the continued progression of my condition.
I most certainly wouldn’t have encountered barriers that I’ve come across in my lifetime. Some of us prefer person-first language because of historical attitudes towards disability, and seeing people as nothing but their disability. Others (myself included) use identity language, recognising it is an inherent part of us and that seeing only the person overlooks part of who we are, and what we experience.
Others in our community will speak to feelings of loss, anger, despair – citing their own experiences with disability, reflecting how challenging it can be to get onboard the Disability Pride movement. The way in which we experience disability is deeply personal, and reflects not only who we are, but our day to day – living in metro Sydney it is much easier for me to access specialist medical interventions than for peers living in a remote community having to board a plane, travel and stay in Sydney to do the same.
It is important to recognise that comments that speak to feeling ‘blessed’ to not have Autistic children were not seeking to upset or offend. It is, however, important to recognise that commentary like this ties into broader dehumanising experiences that disabled people face. Irrespective of your relationship to the disability community there are issues that we can all agree are terrifying:
- It is estimated that Autistic children are three times more likely to die by drowning than neuro-typical peers
- People with Intellectual Disability have an average life expectancy in Australia of 54 years – 26 years less than those without Intellectual Disability
- Statistics speaking to the violence experienced by women and girls with disability* are horrifying with statistics demonstrating that First Nations women, LGBTQIA+ women and women with Intellectual Disability (noting that there is an intersection in these groups) are significantly and disproportionately victimised
- Mainstream systems built to support all of the community have time after time failed people with disability, especially Autistic children.
It stands to reason that there are people who will feel generally positive that their children – or themselves – are not beholden to this (non-exhaustive) list of issues, before taking into account more intricate experiences of people who have disabled family members.
The Disability Royal Commission, in response to their rights and attitudes issue paper note
“Numerous responses reported that people with disability are often perceived to be of lesser worth than people without disability, or as being incapable of knowing what is best for themselves”.
It’s important to recognise that whilst it may not have been intended to upset, there are many people in and around the disability community that experience views like this daily, and the role that these attitudes have in shaping our experiences.
We can, and must, come together to do better.
In
Written by
Chris Meaney (guest contributor)
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