The Reality of Being Physically Disabled

By Théo Rogier 

Disability, by its very nature is broad and expansive. That being stated, the growing sentiment within the community is one of frustration. Our mutual frustration is one of ignorance and the fading acceptance that we have in general society. Even though, we are still physically present. 

In general, my intentions in writing this come about from having a need for greater acknowledgement about disability and our presence as disabled people in society.

The disabled reality is a struggle. A struggle, in the sense that we are present but we are put aside as an access issue or an inconvenience administratively, physically and from the perspective of government. Even in social settings, the disabled reality is still an issue.

Social Setting and Social Interaction 

For readers that are able-bodied, let me ask you to think about the times where you have interacted with someone who is physically disabled. In those situations, if you aren’t familiar to the person prior, did you act differently than what you would have with a fellow able-bodied person? Regardless of what you answered, why do you think people would treat someone with a physical disability different? 

Because to be honest, I’d like to know too. My experience with this, range from being infantilised to being talked down too upon meeting people in new settings. I still think there is a mentality or at least an unspoken one in which able bodied individuals have a level of awkwardness in their interactions with disabled people.

Access And the Accessibility Complex

To be honest, “What is access?”.  It’s an important question. Access is the precedent of what disabled people fear more than anything. Access in it's physical meaning is ‘the approach or entry to a place via means or opportunity’. That in itself, as a person with reduced mobility and a wheelchair user does not guarantee my confirmed access to a location or place.  

When Thanos in The Marvel Cinematic Universe, stated “Dread It. Run from It. Destiny arrives All the Same. And Now It’s Here”, apart from the mention of running, he accurately describes my fear when I’m told that there is no level access or that there is no disabled toilet at the location I am at. That’s something I’m rolling away from. 

 Humour aside, the issue of access is pivotal to the nature of how society either interacts with disability or improves its relationship with the disabled community. Personally, that’s how I identify Ableism. In my mind, the fact that an establishment, institution or location cannot offer disabled people level access or facilities like able-bodied people, is the actual discrimination that disabled people face on a day-to-day basis. Constructively, I’d go further to say that discrimination of access for a disabled person is more damaging than being called a “Spastic”, “Spaz”, “Retard” or “Crippled”. 

I’d like to mention the aggravating circumstance that a disabled person goes through when a website relating to a location advertises itself as accessible but only to find that they are not accessible or have a lack of arrangements to be so. This in my mind is a form of false advertising and ruins the trust that disabled people have in sources of information relating to accessibility. 

Let me ask you this. Have you ever looked around your surroundings and thought about how a building is badly designed or poorly built? 

If so, I have a great expansion pack for this game of surroundings, hear me out. Next time you’re at a public building, question and observe the level of accessibility and start applying those queries to every building, location or institution you frequent. By developing this mindset, you’ll get a closer understanding of the disabled reality.

Politics, Representation and Social Mobility for The Disabled   

Now, apart from the conversations of individuality and the personal life of being physically disabled in society. I think it’s important to discuss the representation and class aspect of disability. It’s more than likely, that disability can be an economic burden on a parent or carer. As such, the experience of physical disability, is felt as an issue of the working class to lower middle class. Beyond this, depending on the level of independence that a disabled child gets from their disability as they transition to being an adult, their own personal and physical mobility becomes an issue that is increasingly dealt by the state.

As such, the modern disabled reality of consecutive governments raising austerity policies on disability benefit shows a disregard for the livelihood of the physically disabled in society. Furthermore, the incentive of disability as a minority group, has always been assumed to be a non-powerful voting influence. The consequences of that being the lack of representation for disability in our parliamentary system is obvious. This brings about a certainty of political apathy in the disabled community.

If you conclude that the disabled reality is a combination of increased cuts on disability benefit, economic uncertainty from birth and political apathy within the disabled community. Then social mobility for the disabled as a concept becomes a genuine fantasy. Which in turn, sets a limitation on physically disabled people in society and can create notions that disabled people are at the lowest echelons of society. Further establishing, that any individual success by a disabled person is because they are different from the mould and are hard workers that broke the social ceiling. When in fact, society keeps lowering the social ceiling for disabled people and only lifts it when Paralympic season comes around. 

What Can Be Done? 

Acknowledgement with the right balance of societal involvement without being a token gesture of a tick box exercise. This is what the solution could be to start the conversation about the disabled reality and the need for disabled integration within society.