Eliminating Ableism - Hehir
Connection
This text made me think about a video I had seen on TikTok, posted on March 21st, World Down Syndrome Day. The video is titled, "Assume That I Can," and I was excited when Dr. Bogad ended up showing this video to the entire class. I think it is a perfect example of everything Hehir was trying to prove through their text. The video follows a woman named Marta Sodano as she narrates the experiences of someone with a disability. Her message is that often, society assumes that people with disabilities cannot do certain things or experience life the same way able-bodied people do. Society tends to put people with disabilities into a narrow box, thus creating an unfair system. Sodano includes examples of exclusion in social life, education, home living, and daily life. She says,
"You assume I can't live on my own, so you don't encourage me to live on my own. So I don't live alone," and "You assume that I can't learn Shakespeare, so you don't teach me Shakespeare."
Her words are direct and powerful because they highlight the reality that so many people with disabilities face every day. Sodano then goes on to end the video by saying,
"Assume that I can live on my own. So I live on my own."
"Assume that I can learn Shakespeare. So I learn f***ing Shakespeare!"
In the text by Hehir, he describes a model/narrative that is placed on people with disabilities. Hehir quotes Joseph Shapiro, saying, "the idea that disabled people are childlike, dependent, and in need of charity and pity" (4). I believe that this quote has a strong connection to the message in Sodano's video. I love this video because of how immediate and direct the call for change is. All too often, our biased assumptions become the reality of other people. It will take time to undo these types of biases and reactions within society, but I am hopeful that with time, adamant advocacy, and effort, we can adapt our society to be welcoming, accepting, and accessible for everyone.
https://www.ds-int.org/blog/assume-that-i-can
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