Disability Doesn’t Define You
Disability is a disease that can be taken down through faith.
How to define “disability”?
According to ‘CDC”, disability is “any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation restrictions).” — (CDC, 2020)
Simply put, disability is a disease that cripples your growth.
There are millions of people who have either encountered or were born with a disability. Disability can mean many things. It can be someone who has a loss of hearing. A baby who is born with a birth defect (it affects how the body looks, works, or both). Even disabled athletes experience their leg impairments for track and field.
Nevertheless, these disabled athletes didn’t let their disability define them. They pushed through criticism, being laughed at by ignorant people, and even not feeling supported by loved ones who made them feel left out.
Personal Experience
Another disability is stuttering, which is worldwide known across the world. According to the “Employment Discrimination Report”, stuttering is a
speech disorder that involves frequent problems with the normal fluency and flow of speech. Also, stuttering has continued involuntary repetition of sounds, especially initial consonants. Finally, it produces a series of short, sharp sounds.-
(Fox Rothschild, LLP, 2014)
I was one of those individuals who suffered from this disability at the age of six. Whenever there was something exciting to share with my family, the anxiousness would settle in and my speech would rise up to the point where the repetition of sound would stumble. Furthermore, the flow of my speech dwindled and the vowel constants would be a stumbling block to express freely.
As a result, my mother would send me to a speech therapist (Ms. Lewis), who would later be transferred to a public school where I would continue my speech therapy sessions. The nervousness would kick in every time I would visit and the self-esteem went downhill.
My Speech Therapy Experience
In my experience of speech therapy, I would undergo basic sessions and do matching blocks, matching pictures, counting numbers, and comprehension. However, I was never involved in any speaking activities. That was very odd going through those sessions growing up.
The realization during those speech therapy sessions was never participating in actually doing speaking exercises, which didn’t help me grow in my speech. The best way possible to eliminate the stuttering is simply breathing slowly and having patience with my speech. I don’t have to talk fast and be anxious to speak what is in my mind.
All I had to do during those early years was to slow down within each speech so that my words can be evoked clearly. That was my main problem throughout my life as a stutter. Compared to then, my stuttering has dwindled a lot and it was all thanks to God and my family for continued conversations.
After going through the speech process, I realized that stuttering doesn’t define me. What defines me is overcoming the “disability” and inspiring others to overcome their stuttering, not accepting it just because it’s who you are.
I have a question for you.
Have you gone through a similar journey in your life? If so, please feel free to share your story and how you overcame it.
Conclusion
Never let any disability slow down your progress.
Always find a way to bounce back and remember the people who supported you throughout your journey.
Don’t let disability define you, or else it will be a part of you for the rest of your life.
Believe that God can eliminate your disease if you come to him with a humble and meek spirit.
Keep the faith and don’t give up!
Here are the links to my personal story:
The Truth About Overcoming a Learning Disability — https://medium.com/manaa-international-church-redemption-program/the-truth-about-overcoming-a-learning-disability-28dbf005b45
Should Stuttering Be Considered a Disability? — https://medium.com/manaa-international-church-redemption-program/should-stuttering-be-considered-a-disability-dca297ba7cde
Being an Older Sibling with a Disability, an Uphill Climb — https://medium.com/manaa-international-church-redemption-program/being-an-older-bibling-with-a-disability-an-uphill-climb-9344a8a1401c
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