After completing this weeks interactive lectures and reading chapters 1 and 2 in the textbook, I've decided to analyze in greater detail the importance of language and attitudes when it comes to interacting with individuals with disabilities. Last semester for my Educational Psychology course, our professor had us watch a Ted Talk done by a woman by the name of Aimee Mullins. Mullins was born with fibular hemimelia, a condition in which an individual is born without shin bones. As a result, she had both of her legs amputated below the knee only a year after being born. Her early years were characterized by numerous doctors visits and countless hours of physical therapy. According to society, Aimee Mullins was characterized as "disabled".
She begins her speech by showing the audience the definition for the word disabled. The powerpoint slide that she shows contains words such as mutilated, unhealthy, unable, unwell, useless, along with several other simialr words. She then goes on to discuss how lucky she was to have not seen the defintion for the word disabled during her youth because she could imagine that the frightening negative connotation of the word could have potentially caused her to have immense self-esteem issues.
After viewing this Ted Talk, my eyes were opened to the vast impact that labeling an individual as disabled could potentially have on them. By seeing a person for their disability rather than as a person first, you are, in a sense, judging a book by its cover. The risk with making such presumptions about someone who has a disability is that such an attitude toward them can be debilitating. This goes for people without disabilities as well. Imagine if for your entire life you were constantly looked down upon and told that you could never achieve your goals. You were told that you were useless and unable. Such language and attitudes can evoke a sense of learned helplessness among people. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you believe that you are incapable of doing something and nothing you do will change the circumstances that you are in, this will eventually become your reality. In Aimee Mullin's case, she acknowledged her disability, but did not become a victim to it. Instead, she used it as a fuel to her fire and is now one of the world's most prominent examples of what people are capable of if they don't limit themselves.
It truly is amazing what an immense impact something as simple as an attitude can have on an individual or a situation. After watching this Ted Talk, I have become much more aware of how important it is to define an individual by their strengths, rather than placing unnecessary energy on their weaknesses. I will definitely be aware of my own attitudes and will do the best in my ability to implement similar ideas in my own work.
She begins her speech by showing the audience the definition for the word disabled. The powerpoint slide that she shows contains words such as mutilated, unhealthy, unable, unwell, useless, along with several other simialr words. She then goes on to discuss how lucky she was to have not seen the defintion for the word disabled during her youth because she could imagine that the frightening negative connotation of the word could have potentially caused her to have immense self-esteem issues.
After viewing this Ted Talk, my eyes were opened to the vast impact that labeling an individual as disabled could potentially have on them. By seeing a person for their disability rather than as a person first, you are, in a sense, judging a book by its cover. The risk with making such presumptions about someone who has a disability is that such an attitude toward them can be debilitating. This goes for people without disabilities as well. Imagine if for your entire life you were constantly looked down upon and told that you could never achieve your goals. You were told that you were useless and unable. Such language and attitudes can evoke a sense of learned helplessness among people. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you believe that you are incapable of doing something and nothing you do will change the circumstances that you are in, this will eventually become your reality. In Aimee Mullin's case, she acknowledged her disability, but did not become a victim to it. Instead, she used it as a fuel to her fire and is now one of the world's most prominent examples of what people are capable of if they don't limit themselves.
It truly is amazing what an immense impact something as simple as an attitude can have on an individual or a situation. After watching this Ted Talk, I have become much more aware of how important it is to define an individual by their strengths, rather than placing unnecessary energy on their weaknesses. I will definitely be aware of my own attitudes and will do the best in my ability to implement similar ideas in my own work.