Getty
Almost daily issues arise that highlight the uniformity of needs and aspirations across the disability community, but also the many differences between individual disabled people.
Why do some people with disabilities think about their disabilities in this way and others not? Why do some people with disabilities necessarily strive to be kind and patient while others are outspoken, assertive, or even aggressive? Why do some people with disabilities focus on self-improvement and achieving personal goals while others are committed to advocacy and social change? Why are some people with disabilities perceived as bright, optimistic, and “can-do” while others have a reputation for being angry, harsh, and pessimistic?
When we face physical, administrative or attitudinal barriers in our daily lives, do we take a deep breath and do our best to adapt or move forward into friendlier territory? Or do we call out the barriers and confront ableism head on? As disabled people, do we fight only for our own rights and accommodations and get out of our personal predicaments? Or do we also work for broader changes that will benefit other people with disabilities?
Part of the answer is that many of these contradictory characteristics reflect disability-specific stereotypes: stock images of some simplified disabled “type” that the public habitually tries to fit us all into: superficial, lazy, stuffy. Making these snap judgments of “good” and “bad” disabled people, lumping us into “positive” and “negative” groups, does us all a disservice.
At the same time, there are some recognizable patterns in the differences between us, and it can be useful for both non-disabled and disabled people to examine some of the factors that influence how disabled people handle their disability and represent themselves as disabled within their communities.
Common answers revolve around the fact that different people have different types of disability and, on some arbitrary scale, different people have different “levels” of disability. While this makes some sense, these categories are difficult to quantify and do not, by themselves, explain the diversity of the disability community. There are at least three other major influences that are essential to understanding both the commonality and diversity of disability:
1. Personality
Of course, it’s worth remembering that people with disabilities have the same personality differences as people without disabilities.
Some of us are introverts and some are extroverts. Some are analytical and some are emotional. Some are strategic and some are reactive. Some take a cynical, sarcastic or sarcastic approach to fighting disability while others are sincere, serious and grimly determined. Some people with disabilities are mostly gloomy and pensive while others are always cheerful and joyful. Some people with disabilities pride themselves on their individualism while others are equally proud to identify and fight as part of the whole disability community.
These are all traits found in people with and without disabilities. Having a disability influences the development of our disabled personality, but it would be more accurate to say that our underlying personality influences how we live with our disability and how we present ourselves as disabled.
Whether we make black jokes about our disabilities, whether we treat our disabilities as our disabilities, or whether we talk about our disabilities in serious terms only with those we trust most, depends not so much on the type of disability we have, but rather on the kind of person we are or have become. Whether we are better off fighting for ourselves or for others like us, whether we focus on very local and concrete issues or on larger national and international issues, depends on how our minds work and where our attention naturally goes. Optimism and pessimism also seem only partly related to the characteristics of our disabilities. People with seemingly “less severe” disabilities are more likely to be dissatisfied and cautious than those with “more severe” disabilities. These differences are often blamed on the disability itself or on our “moral” character, but in many cases they simply reflect different innate personalities.
2. Social status and politics
Personality is important, but outside influences can be even more powerful: our perceived position in society not only constructs the particular world in which each of us finds ourselves, subjecting us to different problems, but also helps shape the personality traits and choices we make when facing those problems.
This is a complex issue to discuss because disability is often seen as a social category in its own right. And we are, in important ways. “Disabled” is increasingly recognized as a significant, and in some ways independent, demographic and social category. But disability also intersects with other social identities and experiences. Race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, age, religion, political background, income and wealth, education, and social class all have a profound impact on how disabled people understand their disability, how they respond to challenges, and how they express themselves in everyday interactions. For example,
Disabled people who are white, educated, and generally financially stable often have a more positive view of life with a disability than those who also have to deal with racism, sexism, homophobia, or constant worries about money and access to needed support services. Relative privilege and disadvantage influence what aspects of life with a disability each of us is able to see and experience. It also influences our perceptions of what works and what doesn’t to lead successful and happy lives. While some of us see the world as essentially friendly, perhaps in need of disability-specific modifications and misunderstandings, others see through experience that our society has more serious flaws and is disadvantaged in ways that cannot be solved by mere reform or “awareness-raising.”
Relatively privileged people with disabilities may focus on different, more targeted disability issues, such as restaurant accessibility and adequate disabled parking, unlike those who must fight for the more fundamental, life-or-death issues of life, such as home care, health insurance, and basic economic survival. When the necessities of life are secured, the issues we face are those related to our inclusion in society and our ability to enjoy all of society’s amenities. When food, housing, personal care, and medical services are constantly at risk, we focus even more attention on these issues, even though we also recognize the importance of less pressing disability issues.
Multiply marginalized, disabled people also tend to be more sensitive to existential threats, such as the risk of police brutality, punitive behavioral control, and sexual violence. Black disabled people are more acutely aware than ever before of how racism and ableism put their lives at risk. And disabled women remain at higher risk from the combination of ableism and sexism, in the form of discrimination in the workplace and sexual assault anywhere.
Meanwhile, different beliefs, cultural norms, and political philosophies all have a profound impact on how disabled people understand their disability experiences. Disabled people with more traditional and conservative values and political views may see issues like employment, government benefits, and the culture and practices of the disability movement differently than similarly disabled people who are invested in more secular, progressive, and ambitious disability policies. While many of us have no choice but to rely on benefits like Social Security Disability Pensions, Medicaid, and Medicare, the worldviews of our backgrounds and the cultures in which we were raised make us feel very differently about these programs: as a necessary evil to be avoided at all costs, or as a reasonable and useful right to be embraced as fully as a source of income or a necessity of life. This can affect our politics and voting habits. Indeed, studies of the 2016 election show that, despite all the unique issues that disabled people commonly face, our politics are as evenly divided and polarized as society as a whole.
3. History of disability
How we understand a disability also depends greatly on where and how it fits into our lives; whether we have had the disability for months, years, or decades; and whether the disability was caused by birth, accident, or illness. The timing, cause, and duration of a disability do not entirely determine how we respond to a disability, but they are strong indicators of how much we think about and understand it. A 16-year-old with lifelong muscular dystrophy and a 70-year-old who is just beginning to have difficulty walking may have similar physical disabilities, but they may understand and feel quite differently about their disability. Similarly, a person who has used a wheelchair for 20 years may view disability and disability issues differently than a person who has used a wheelchair for six months, regardless of their age. Trauma is also a factor. A disability that strikes suddenly or violently has a different emotional impact than one that was present at birth, almost regardless of the nature of the disability itself.
Those who have only recently become disabled through illness or accident tend to see their disability as a hostile intruder, a purely medical problem, not necessarily something politically or socially significant, or as a vibrant and rich community that they have just joined. Those who have been disabled for years or decades, or who grew up with a disability, tend to have a more equanimous attitude toward their disability. First, they have no memory of a time when they were not disabled, or it was so long ago that it has become a distant, intangible memory. Also, spending more time with a disability teaches deep lessons about what the real problem of disability is, what abilism is, and the difference between how society expects disabled people to behave and how they actually function. Spending more time with a disability does not necessarily bestow wisdom, but it at least gives you useful experience and perspective.
Another important variable in personal history is the environment we have lived in and how those around us have responded to us and our disability. Some people with disabilities are fortunate to find themselves in a supportive, affirming community of family, friends, colleagues and quality helping professionals. This provides a solid foundation for building a successful and happy life, and a strong emotional foundation for tackling the inevitable challenges of disabled life and the injustices of everyday ableism.
But many people with disabilities don’t have this support system. Not all family members are supportive, and some are downright cruel. Not all friends are understanding. Coworkers can be sneaky and backstabbing. Bosses can be cold and vindictive. Doctors, therapists, and teachers, even if well-intentioned, can have wrong and harmful ideas about what’s best for us. This is another factor that could explain why some people with similar disabilities always seem to “get over” adversity, while others seem to struggle or “wallow” in the negativity. Most of us are honest about our attitudes.
These three elements, mixed with countless other variables, help shape how disabled people interpret and adapt to disability, and how we view and respond to the ableism we all face. This is an important reminder for non-disabled people to avoid oversimplifying their understanding of disabled people. Succeeding with a disability requires different approaches that all should understand and accept. Disabled people can also contribute to strengthening the disability community by acknowledging our differences instead of being quick to judge each other. Although disabled people share many experiences and challenges, our experiences are so different that it is impossible and foolish for anyone, disabled or not, to stick to a particular idea of how to “rightly” handle disability or who is “handling disability wrong.”