Last week I went to a workshop on communication and people with disabilities. There were parents, professionals and adults who experience developmental disabilities in attendance. The speaker was good, but the person who had the most profound effect on me was one of the self-advocates. He is a young man who is supported by the agency that I work for. I had only met him briefly once before, but haven't yet had the chance to get to know him.
He uses facilitated communication. While someone supports his wrist, he points to the letters which spell out what he wants to say. The speaker was talking about respect and this man signaled that he had something to say. He spelled out, "Respect is important to everyone. To me, respect is life or death."
A week later, I am still thinking about what he communicated. He is someone who people have underestimated for most of his life. His words cut to my heart. I know that Kellen feels the same way...life or death. Respect.
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2 comments:
That is powerful.
Respect... or rather to DISrespect someone is to say that they are not worth the effort, and that is like 'killing' them socially.
As human beings, we are social creatures... I cannot imagine the pain and the frustration of being spoken down to, under-estimated or even worse... ignored.
Very thought-provoking post! Thank you!
Sounds like a very interesting workshop. Its great to come away with something to think on.
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