I hate the words 'handicapped' and 'disabled'. They imply that you are less than whole. I don't see myself that way at all.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I don't think of myself as being disabled, or able-bodied.
People presume my disability has to do with being an amputee, but that's not the case; our insecurities are our disabilities, and I struggle with those as does everyone.
We all feel disabled in some way. We all feel imperfect. It's hard to be looked at for various reasons.
When you hear the word 'disabled,' people immediately think about people who can't walk or talk or do everything that people take for granted. Now, I take nothing for granted. But I find the real disability is people who can't find joy in life and are bitter.
I still find it strange, I suppose, when I say to someone, 'Can you just pass me my leg?' But I don't ever think about my disability.
It's not our disabilities, it's our abilities that count.
I don't see myself as disabled. There's nothing I can't do that able-bodied athletes can do.
Disability is a matter of perception. If you can do just one thing well, you're needed by someone.
I used to think of myself in terms of who I'd be if I didn't have this pesky old disability.
I use the term 'disabled people' quite deliberately, because I subscribe to what's called the social model of disability, which tells us that we are more disabled by the society that we live in than by our bodies and our diagnoses.