The
Disability Fiction
A D*A*R*T Publication
FICTION 1
“Disability is a tragedy from which
there is no escape”
FACT
Most disabled
people are very able to live life to the full. We are often only disabled by the
attitudes of others and the environmental barriers which prevent us from taking
a full and active part in our society.
FICTION
2
“All disabled people are ill.”
FACT
Disability is not about being ‘sick’. Some disabled people are sick and,
like everyone else, they are also vulnerable to illnesses. DART see disability
as much more of a social problem than a medical one.
FICTION
3
“Children
are being rude if they ask people about their disability.”
FACT
It
is important that children do not see disability as a negative thing. Children
are always likely to ask straightforward questions and have openness that many
adults find embarrassing. Punishing a child for asking questions in this
situation can leave the child with a lasting impression that there is something
unspeakable and bad about disability. This is why DART
spend so much time and effort working with young people in schools.
FICTION
4
“Disabled people are very brave”
FACT
We might be brave! The implication of this fiction
however is that a high degree of courage is needed for disabled people to
see themselves as ‘normal’. Disability actually requires adaptation of
lifestyle, the kind of adaptation everyone has to make when something
significant happens in their life.
FICTION 5
“Disabled people do not have any sexual feelings.”
FACT
Having a disability does not mean we stop being human. Disabled people have both
relationships and children.
FICTION
6
“Disabled people have to be helped to do everything. This makes them
dependent.”
FACT
Most disabled people want to do as much as they can for themselves and to be
able to choose the services we need to help with things we find difficult. Being
dependent suggests apathy and helplessness. DART
feels that this only occurs when people are not allowed to do things for
themselves and have choice taken away.
FICTION
7
“A wheelchair is like a trap.”
FACT
A wheelchair is a positive thing. It allows disabled people to get to
places we otherwise wouldn’t be able to get to. Like a car, it’s a mobility
aid. The modern world however is designed to allow maximum accesses for cars but
not so for a wheelchair. The problem is with the built environment not with the
wheelchair.
FICTION
8
“Disabled
people don’t expect much from life.”
FACT
Disabled people are getting on with their lives and trying to get the
most out of what life has to offer. Essentially, our dreams and expectations are
as varied and as unpredictable as everyone else’s.
FICTION
9
“People
with a speech impediment appreciate having their sentences finished off for
them.”
FACT
NO! Forcing
your interpretation of what you think someone is about to say on them is not
only intensely annoying, it also implies that you know better. This erodes the
confidence, dignity and self-esteem of the recipient of your ‘good deed’.
FICTION
10
Blind
and sight impaired people acquire a ‘sixth sense’.”
FACT
Other
senses may have to be used to gain information but most blind or sight impaired
people do not claim to have a sixth sense!
Copyright
© 2000 D*A*R*T
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