True/False Quiz in honor of #LiveOn and Suicide Prevention Month
1. True or False: Every time a person living without a disability thinks or states the words — I’d kill myself if I suddenly acquired a disability (like yours) this person perpetuates an ableist and false notion that disability is a fate worse than death.
2. True or False: People with disabilities face many more barriers to finding access to therapists and mental health treatment due to inaccessibility of facilities, lack of available public transportation, and a lack of affordability for quality treatment.
3. True or False: People with disabilities need to hear from the greater society that their lives are just as worthy and important as the lives of people who do not live with a disability.
4. True or False: Quality of life is 100% subjective and no one person has the right to assume another’s quality of life as being lesser or greater than his or her own.
5. True or False: People with significant physical disabilities, who rely on other people for personal care to complete activities of daily living, experience higher rates of abuse and neglect. Caretaker burden is not only common, but extremely dangerous.
6. True or False: When people acquire disabilities and elect assisted suicide, they often do so for reasons that have nothing to do with pain and suffering, but for fear of future pain and suffering and, most importantly, of burdening their family and loved ones. Fear of becoming a burden has nothing to do with end-of-life, it has to do with our society’s lack of services and supports for families who will face challenges and needs associated with disability.
7. True or False: Our media and Hollywood perpetuates the stereotype that disabled lives are either 1 — Not worth living, or 2 — Inspirational with no in-between. Therefore, people on the outside of disability looking in see disability this way as well. The true story behind that stereotype is that life for everyone, disability or not, is a lot of in-between.
8. True or False: Charities that raise money to “cure” people with illnesses and/or disabilities often show disability with a skewed lens that evokes an emotional response of pity in order to earn donations.
9. 5. True or False: Until our ableist society takes action to ensure equal rights, full access to healthcare and long-term community services and supports, and inclusion for the disabled in every aspect of life, the “right” to commit suicide does not exist because it’s not a true choice.
10. True or False: If you sense that a friend with a disability is considering suicide, you should encourage them to seek Resources to Live On.
Answer key: True X 10 = 100%
