Parents of this and future generations hold the key for engineering an inclusive society where everyone belongs. It\u2019s up to them to teach the next generations to embrace disability as diversity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the disability rights movement has made immense progress over the years, we still have a long way to go. We must ensure that our kids understand the experiences of disabled people so as to create a more accessible world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am a disability and inclusion specialist, and do community outreach in Kampala\u2019s slum communities. I engage families raising children with disabilities in physiotherapy and inclusive home schooling. In addition, I encourage parents to talk openly to their children about disability and the most common question I\u2019m asked is: \u201cWhat\u2019s the best way to approach these conversations?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think the most important principle that parents should bear in mind is that disability needs to be normalised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People have different ways of living and moving through the world. When deaf people are using sign language, it\u2019s not a lesser form of communication. If someone is spinning or rocking by a fountain, it\u2019s not weird or freakish \u2013 it\u2019s simply another way of expressing joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parents can point out that a friend uses a cane to walk or that a cousin has a hearing aid. Make it clear that disability is a normal part of the human experience by talking about it in a matter-of-fact way. Disability is just another part of our diverse world, not something frightening or sad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t be afraid to use the words \u201cdisability\u201d and \u201cdisabled\u201d. Dancing around these words can instill the idea that disability is something to be wary or scared of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parents should work through their own discomfort with the concept of disability and focus on talking about it in a way that doesn\u2019t use a lot of \u2018cutesy\u2019 descriptors and euphemisms. The more straightforward we are in our language, the easier it is to have conversations with our children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One thing we should say a lot when talking to kids is: \u201cDisability isn\u2019t a good thing or a bad thing – it\u2019s just a thing. It\u2019s value neutral. Don\u2019t treat disability as something negative to fear, pity or feel awkward about. Statements such as \u201cOh that\u2019s so sad that they don\u2019t have an arm\u201d or \u201cYou\u2019re so lucky you\u2019re not like that\u201d are harmful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a tendency to say, for example: \u201cLook at that disabled person, you should really admire them. They\u2019re so brave. They\u2019ve overcome so much.\u201d That may sound like a compliment, but it\u2019s actually objectifying disabled people. It creates the idea that disabled people only deserve respect for \u2018overcoming\u2019 their disability and that disability is something bad that needs to be risen above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not uncommon for children to ask their parents about disabled people they see in public. They may say something like: \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with that lady\u2019s arm?\u201d or \u201cWhy is that man walking funny?\u201d This curiosity is totally natural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s so important that children aren\u2019t shamed for asking these types of questions. When I\u2019m out in public, I\u2019ll sometimes hear children ask their parents: \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with her leg, why is she using a wheel chair?\u201d as they point at the person with a disability. So often, parents will ignore the question or tell the children to be quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s okay for your children to ask these questions! I believe that the more honest and open the dialogue that we can have about disabilities, the less those types of questions will be taboo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shushing your child or telling them they\u2019re being rude sends the message that disability is shameful. Instead of scolding, make it clear that their questions are welcome and give a straightforward answer, such as: \u201cThat person is using a wheelchair to move around \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Children often ask why someone they observe has a disability. In this situation, it\u2019s totally fine to say that you don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSometimes I overhear parents answering with their own assumptions about disability, and they\u2019re usually inaccurate. If it\u2019s not feasible to talk to the disabled person in question, parents can simply say they don\u2019t know and explore some possible explanations, such as: \u201cMaybe they were born with one arm, or perhaps they had an accident. Lots of people have one arm or no arms for different reasons, and that\u2019s part of who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your conversations about disabled people don\u2019t have to centre 100% around differences. You can also point out similarities, whether it\u2019s a stranger in a wheelchair who\u2019s picking out the same brand of ice-cream your child likes or a friend from school who\u2019s in the same club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You could say: \u201cYour friend has ADHD but also loves playing chess like you do, Those similarities matter to make the point that whatever differences may be presenting are a part of who that person is but not the entire picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The conversation around disabilities should be ongoing. Start when your children very young; talk about how everyone has differences and that difference is just part of the human experience. For younger kids, it\u2019s about concrete thinking, humanising other people around them with a balance of curiosity and respectfulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As kids get older, they can develop an understanding of what this looks like in practice. Parents can engage their older children in the social justice side of disability, such as learning about the history of the Disabilities Act, the disability rights movement and current activism in that space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most important thing to remember is that non-disabled people can be the best possible allies of the disability rights movement by engaging in open and honest conversation. The sooner we do that with our children, the more easily we will start to create a ripple effect of inclusivity and acceptance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Godfrey Nanyenya Parents of this and future generations hold the key for engineering an inclusive society where everyone belongs. It\u2019s up to them to teach the next generations to embrace disability as diversity. Although the disability rights movement has made immense progress over the years, we still have a long way to go. We must […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4406,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,19],"tags":[172,314,102],"class_list":["post-4941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-focus","category-lifestyle","tag-disability-inclusion","tag-disability-kids","tag-disability-rights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}