20 Things Every Person With a Disability Should Hear

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I recently read an article that's been sticking with me...and not in a good way.  I thought I'd write a post of my own to affirm and reassure those of us who live with a plethora of negative messages every day.

Here are 20 things every person with a disability should hear:

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1.  We have the right to be accommodated.

2. We are enough.

3.  We have the right to play.

[Me, left, and Tara, right.  Age 6.  Ready to play.]

4.  We are not hard to love.  It does not take someone exceptional to love us.

5.  It's okay to rest.

6.  We deserve emotional support.

7.  Our worth is not dependent on what we can do.

8.  We deserve the dignity of risk.

9.  Making mistakes is okay.  Making mistakes is how we learn.

10.  We are not burdens.

11.  We are not consolation prizes.  We are amazing.

12.  We have the right to self-determination.

13.  We don't have to pass or be nondisabled to be loved.

14.  We deserve comfort.

15.  We deserve to try new things if we want to.

16.  Our bodies belong to us alone, no one - not even parents or doctors -  have the right to touch it (or our adaptive equipment) without our consent.

17.  We have the right not to suffer through surgery and / or therapy if it is not something we choose for ourselves.

18.  Our milestones count, regardless of when we achieve them.

19.  We have the right to exist in the world.

20.  We have the right to be believed, acknowledged and affirmed, regardless of how we communicate.

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