BADD2011 Blogging Against Disablism Day

So, BADD has been going for long enough now that I feel vaguely guilty that I have never contributed and this is for 2 reasons:
A) I have a disability and
B) I have a blog

The thing is, do either of these things actually qualify me to speak 'for the disabled' - in fact, on that subject, who are 'the disabled'? Are these disabled people we are talking about, individuals, with hopes and dreams and likes and dislikes, or are the disabled some kind of sub-group of society who are all somehow rather alike - joined at the hip by a shared set of values and needs? Well, let me give you a couple of examples from my day today....

First thing that happened was that I saw a friend. He has spina bifida but you might not realise it to look at him - sure he has a bit of a limp, but it's so mild that you might out it down to poor posture. He is a great guy, loves Iron Maiden and has the maddest hair I know. Despite his disability, he helped me unload my car, which was very sweet and earned him a cwtch. Within a few minutes I was grabbed by a lovely lady I know who is deaf - she is mad keen on cars and has just had her (long) hair cut short - we spoke about her new hair and new job - her hair isn't mad in the slightest and I don't think she goes for Iron Maiden at all. After talking to a few able bodied people, I talked to someone temporarily disabled by a torn leg muscle - she was using a stick and was having to sit down a lot - we compared notes on painkillers and talked about dogs (which neither of us own) before I started chatting at lunchtime, about gardening, with a full time wheelchair user. I saw a lady I know a little and said hi - she has tunnel vision and is registered blind - I don't know a lot about her, but I am guessing she's not an Iron Maiden fan either!

So, we have different likes and dislikes and are affected by different disabilities too, disabilities which make us full time chair users, stick users, hearing aid users and guide dog owners. Its true that our common thread is that we all have a disability - we are all people with disabilities. The only thing I know that links us apart from that blanket description is that we all have good and bad days. Now I can hear you all saying that everyone has good and bad days and of course, that's true, but imagine that being completely able bodied and fit and beautiful, sexy and intelligent is 100% (nope I don't know anyone like that either!) - anyway, try and imagine it...So, if you are fit and able bodied you operate at 100% - maybe if you have a bad day, you're suddenly operating at just 80% - so not great. OK - let's take my disabled friend with the spina bifida - he's probably only 80% to start with - if he has a bad day, he drops down to 60%, which is only a bit more than halfway to great - and that doesn't sound great at all. The thing is, he's a top bloke - he helped me unload my car after all - and he doesn't complain, so he's suddenly down to 60% and he hasn't said a word about how tough that can be. So, that's what I think 'the disabled' have in common, they start on the running track with their blocks set behind everyone else's, to start the race of life. It's what is often missed by people who assume that a hearing aid or a wheelchair levels the playing field when in fact it doesn't - it doesn't make up for the 20% (or more) that you're missing - it just makes it a bit easier to catch up than it would be without it.

I hope all of this makes sense and doesn't just sound like mad ramblings. It's late after all, and I hit my 60% some hours ago...