Speaking Up for Those Who Aren’t Heard
Some groups have been so oppressed by society that when they try to speak out and stand up for themselves no one is willing to listen.
The disabled community is one of these groups.
Being heard is important. Being heard is something that people who aren’t oppressed take for granted. Being heard can make all the difference.
Women, people of color, immigrants, the poor, LGBTQ, and those with disabilities have always had a problem being heard in society. These are the subaltern groups. The subaltern groups are groups of people who aren’t heard in society. These people are oppressed by those in power (generally rich, straight, white men). The subaltern groups can’t fight their way out of oppression because they either can’t get their voices heard, or they speak out and nobody listens to them so there are no changes.
Personally, I am a middle class, straight, white woman and I have been my whole life. Despite being a woman, if I’ve ever had an issue my voice would likely be heard over those who are oppressed more than me. That being said, I have family members who are a part of the LGBTQ community, I have direct relatives who are immigrants, and friends who are people of color. Most recently I have been working with children with disabilities. For the last two and a half years I have worked in both a group home where our residents suffered from disorders such as schizophrenia and depression, and for the last year I have been working with children with autism. In working with both of these groups I have learned of the struggles these people and their caregivers deal with.
Those with special needs have to fight to be heard, and a lot of times they still don’t get the recognition and help that they always need.
So let’s start with a crash course history lesson of how those with disabilities have been treated throughout history. In early times, having a child with disabilities was sometimes seen as punishment from God for a families sins or as something shameful. These families would often hide their special needs children, or sometimes even kill the children. Later, people began to realize that those assumptions were wrong. People began advocating for the disabled community and they even began setting up programs and education help for those with disabilities. Awesome! Problem solved. This group was finally being heard! Right? Wrong.
Even with all of the research and knowledge about those with disabilities there is still a stigma against the group today. These people are still hidden away in society. People with disabilities are seen, but generally ignored.
From my own observations and experiences, I’ve noticed that people without disabilities, or relationships with people who have disabilities, tend to be uninformed and unwilling to acknowledge the issues that people with disabilities deal with.
An example of this is parents with typical children don’t have to learn about IEPs (individualized education plans) because there children don’t need them. Parents with children who have disabilities rely on IEPs to make sure their children can get the help and education that they need. Before I worked at the group home I had no idea what an IEP was. You mean the school doesn’t just figure out what the kids need and provide it willingly?! You have to ask for and sometimes even fight for a one-on-one aide?! This was crazy to me. How could the education system in the western world not provide the care and education needed for every student? These were questions I asked myself because like most Americans, I was unaware of many of the challenges people with disabilities and their caregivers face.
What is really sad is that the schools aren’t always willing to help these families either. (Don’t get me wrong, I know there are many wonderful school who are very forth coming with help, but not all schools are.) I work in California, which provides many services to families of people with disabilities, however the areas I work in aren’t the most funded. Due to this, the schools don’t always have enough resources and therefore they don’t always tell the parents what their child needs. Most of the parents I work with only knew they could ask if their child qualified for a one-on-one aide because another parent in their network shared information with them. A lot of the families I work with have formed strong relationships within a network of other parents of children with disabilities. These parents advocate for themselves and they try to spread awareness, however their voices still aren’t being heard.
Today, America provides many opportunities for different kinds of services for those with special needs. There is speech therapy, occupational therapy, special needs classrooms, IEPs, behavioral interventionists and many others. However, getting access to these services generally isn’t an easy process. These families have to fight for every service they get. These families, and even those with disabilities who are higher functioning and able to advocate for themselves, try and speak up but they’re not heard.
It’s time society stops ignoring the disabled community. The disabled community is still a subaltern community because we force them to be.
