Lessons from Living with a Disability | Zina Jawadi

Having a disability is not about overcoming the actual disability but rather about overcoming society’s attitudes towards the disability.  The media portrays disabilities in a pitiable fashion and emphasizes the barriers of overcoming a disability; however, often times, reaching out to those without disabilities is more challenging than the disability itself.  Fortunately, research in contact theory has found that people who learn more about certain disabilities start to feel more comfortable with the disabilities and act more normally around people with disabilities.  Certainly, I can affirm this hypothesis through my personal experiences.  Explaining my hearing loss to my peers has influenced my peers positively and has increased their respect and appreciation of what I go through daily.  While hearing loss is considered a disability, my hearing loss has strengthened and shaped my personality, attributes, abilities, and outlook.  For example, hearing loss has taught me to focus intently in class in order to speechread and comprehend, to communicate better with my teachers, and to work hard to make up for what I do not hear in class.  Hearing loss has also taught me self advocacy.  And for these positives outcomes, I am proud of my disability, and I embrace, not shun, my disability.