To define this compound word we will have to consult Webster's dictionary for its two root words. The first is self and the second is determination. • According to Webster, Self is:
• 1 : the essential person distinct from all other persons in identity • 2 : a particular side of a person's character • 3 : personal interest: SELFISHNESS
According to Webster, Determination is: • 1 : to fix conclusively or authoritatively • 2 : to come to a decision: SETTLE : RESOLVE • 3 : to fix the form or character of beforehand : ORDAIN; also : REGULATE • 4 : to find out the limits, nature, dimensions, or scope of • 5 : to bring about as a result
Now how does this apply to the disabled?
Under self we see that this entity is a person who is distinct from all other individuals, and under determination we see that this word implies to fix conclusively or authoritatively; to come to a decision which may ultimately bring about a desired result.
Put these two together and you can see that self-determination implies the ability of an individual acting on his own to come to a conclusion or to fix a problem conclusively. Therefore can the disabled truly have self-determination? The answer is a resounding no for it appears that there is always someone waiting to make the decisions for you.
To have self-determination and self self-reliant, the disabled must be allowed to make decisions on their own and live by the consequence of their decisions. If we aren't allowed to learn from our mistakes then we have been made to appear to be incapable of independent thought and incapable of making decisions. So long as this prevails then we will continue to find employment to be all illusive. Until we are allowed to make mistakes and learn from them; we will continue to be perceived as liabilities to the workplace? If we continue to be perceived as liabilities then we will never become self-reliant much less regain the right of self-determination. Only when we can obtain and hold full time employment can we truly say that we have become self-reliant. When we are employed and self-reliant then and only then can anyone maintain that we have regained our right of self-determination.
Society must realize that self-reliance and self-determination are the flip sides of the same coin. You can't have one without the other and neither is possible if employment is all illusive. Therefore to become employed you must first be considered to be capable of independent thought or self reliant. When you are so considered; then you will discover that you have been made into an asset to the workplace.
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