My Disability Studies Program                                              

     At last I have managed to reach the end of my academic career here at the School of Professional studies. I am extremely grateful that I chose the Disability Studies major. I have gained so many insightful understandings of the concept of disability and what it truly means to be disabled.

     Starting out in the disability program, I had the idea that disability was purely something we as professionals treat as, suppose to the consideration of the many different aspects within disability that most of us within society do not consider. This program has advanced my understanding of disability from its previous understanding of ones inability to my current understanding of ones ability. This new understanding has helped me to realize that a person’s disability does not define them.

    In this program, I have had the opportunity to put my foot in the shoe of a person with a disability and I have to say I am fully aware now. The difference in my thought process concerning disability from the beginning of the program in comparison to now, is incomparable. My eyes are now opened and I am now aware of the environmental factors that a person with disability faces in our society today. I find myself walking into establishments and taking notices of the access pathway or lack thereof for people with a disability.

      In addition, I am more alerted to the preconceived notions that society holds about a person with disability. Many of these notions I realize that I myself harbor. One of the first big lessons I learned in this program is how to address a person with a disability.  In my professional life, I now know to always put people first before their disability. I have noticed the difference when my clients change the agitated look in their faces to a more pleasing grin. Prior to my enrolment in this program, I noticed that I usually feel a sense of discomfort when I am in the presence of a person with a disability. I realize at some point during the semester that this was mostly because I have a sense of pity for a people with disability, which caused me to feel that I cannot relate to them. I have learned however that a person with a disability is just as much of a human as a non-disabled person and that they do not need my pity. I have learned that what they desire more than anything else is to be treated like the human being that they are.

      I find that treating a person with a disability like I treat a person without a disability takes away the discomfort I usually feel when I communicate with a person with a disability. This has helped me in my field of Occupational Therapy tremendously. Now I find that my clients with disability enjoy the therapy sessions so much better. I now have all kinds of conversations with my clients with disability. Because I now do not see them any differently than I see a non-disabled person, we are able to have meaningful conversations that help them to open up to me so much more.

    The different disability classes I took connect with each other in the sense that they all address different factors of disability. Some classes focus on society’s perception of disability, while other focused on disability from the prospective of the person with disability. Some classes focused on the impact on disability on a family while others focused on the history of disability. My favorite disability class is Disability and Family. I like this class because it gives me a perspective into how families view their love ones. Before this class, I had the preconceived notion that disability is a burden to parents. However, this class actually taught me differently. I had the opportunity of writing a case study on a family I know who happened to have a daughter with a disability. This assignment, as well as other parents' accounts of disability, taught me that family members really do love their disable ones just as much as a parent love their non disabled child. In fact, many say that having a child with disability have really taught them lessons that change their lives in such magnificent ways that they would not have it any other way.

     All in all I am leaving the Disability Program with the feeling that I am now a part of a larger community. Because I am now so much aware of the past history of a person with a disability as well as the daily struggles they endure, I can now better identify with them. Because of this I feel as though I am a part of the disability community. I feel as though their struggles now become my struggles. The newfound knowledge I gained in this disability program has not only shaped me as an individual but it also changes me on a professional level as well. I am truly grateful to all my professors and classmates who have helped me to grow and progress over the past semesters. I am aslo greatful tthe School of Professional Studies for putting togather this Disability Studies major so profoundly.