Who is better qualified to inform leaders how to help us? Is it us or someone who may not be disabled? Who will the public listen to? Is it someone with a disability who offers solutions to problems or is it someone they preceive as being out for the Research money?
Last month I told you that I was a survivor of TBI(Traumatic Brain Injury), and that I had been left with multiple limitations. Here is my list. First the five obvious ones:(1) some people believed that I was Mentally Retarded but I wasn't;(2) some people beleived that I was Mentally Ill. TBI can cause you to act strangely at times.(3) some people thought that I had Ceberal Palsy;(4)some people assumed that I had had a Stroke;(5)some people assumed that I had Spinal Chord injury;I limped and was not able to use my left side very well. None of these assumptions were correct. All problems stemed from the TBI. Most recently some people have asked me if I have Multiple Sclerosis because I now walk with a cane.
I rehabilitated myself and overcame all visible manifestations. I graduated from college, became certified to teach in graduate school, became a certified Paralegal, and a certified microfilm technician. None of this helped me become employed because my rehabilitation was incomplete.It had failed to address the hidden limitations. Here they are:(1)controlled Epilepsy,(2)A learning disability,(3)cognitive dysfunction,(4)short term memory loss,(5)bilaterial hearing impaired,(6)speech impairment(Aphasia),(7)sight impairment(Strabismus),(8)partial paraysis,(9)ataxia,(10)spastic muscle responses,(11)behavior problems and(12)loss of IQ. I overcame Seventeen limitations with no professional help. I wonder how many more,like me, are out there in the World. How many could now be productive if they were given help and support?
I am from a Progressive Country yet I was forced to overcome my limitations without help. This made me realize that the disabled must speak for themselves. If we don't then all we will hear are two words-EDUCATE and RESEARCH. Both are necessary but both must work together. Education should lead to Enlightenment,and Research should lead to Employment. Enlightenment comes when the stitus quo is changed. Employment comes when Research solves todays problems. Research which doesn't do these two things is wasted money because it hinders Enlightnment. Without Enlightenment,the status quo remains unchanged and it's business as usual.
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