By Claire Theriot Mestepey

I thought it might be fun to research some of the myths going around about us folks with disabilities. I found an excellent article about this at www.easterseals.com and took my favorite five. Here they are: Myth 1: We are heroic. Myth 2: We are sickly. Myth 3: We are more comfortable with “our own kind.” Myth 4: It is all right for “norms” to park in accessible parking spaces, if only for a few minutes. And myth 5: We want a lot of help. Let’s dissect each of these myths.

Myth #1

I am Wonderwoman. Truthfully I’d loved to be because that magic lasso was cool. I could tie up my husband, never letting him play with that stupid video game again. Sorry, I digress. Seriously, why are people with disabilities seen as courageous? If you ever seen me try to wait in line for a rollercoaster, big chicken. I think they let me stop trying the 3rd time I wet myself. I’m trying to think about how my friends would describe me. I think, hands down, it would be annoying and stubborn. My girls might say persistent because they are nicer but yeah, never been called heroic and/or courageous.

Myth #2

I’m always sick. Unless you’re counting sick thoughts I’m healthier then a horse, a saying I never really understood. My philosophy is if advil can’t cure it, it will eventually go away on its own. I’m not proud of this fact but on the rare occasion that I am on antibiotics, there are always some left over. It’s not my fault, I inherited this from my mom, if you feel better, you’re cured. Silly idea, finish all your medicine. I’m in deep ka-ka if I had to take meds everyday. In this way, I know how lucky I am to be so healthy.

Myth #3

We are more comfortable with “our own kind.” I have to admit, this one is true. Even though I have a husband, and a son, I have to say they are weird. They would rather slip on a plastic grocery bag then pick it up. They laugh at purposely self-made body sounds… Males are just yucky. Oh, oh, I just reread the article, the myth was “norms” vs. “disabled”. Sorry. Never mind.

In my opinion, I think we gravitate to the group we fit in with. I was thinking of my husband and his friends. Met at different times, one at word, one through a group, ect. But I always tease that they are the evil trio. Even though they were raised in different parts of the country, with varied backgrounds, all three are computer nerds, enjoy RPG’s, share very similar views and worse, all very annoying while playing board games. In high school and college I just gravitated to friends with common interests. Because there were very few kids with disabilities at my high school and college, as an adult, I admit I don’t have that many friends with disabilities. But it was not a conscious decision. So my theory is as long as you fit in somewhere. And hopefully we with disabilities do not discriminate. Norms can be entertaining.

Myth 4

It is all right for “norms” to park in accessible parking spaces. In the future, I will dedicate a blog to this subject. Hopefully not about how my hubby got his ass kicked for asking a biker dude to move his bike from the “striped” area. It’s a rational fear because my husband is a bit outspoken about people who park illegally. Me, I got bigger fish to fry but just don’t do it. It’s rude, inconsiderate and oh yeah, illegal.

Myth 5

We always want help. If you ask my son, does your mommy need a lot of help, he would probably say yes. But that’s because he’s 12 and he draws everything painfully out. But in reality, as a severely disabled woman, I don’t think I really need that much help. Maybe 10 minutes a day of “weird” stuff, like pouring my day’s milk. And maybe 20 minutes of light housework split between hubby and son. Oh not because I’m handicapped, because I’m just cruel and lazy.

I hope this defunked a few of the popular Myths, but I probably just made the waters murkier… and I’m kinda proud of that. Maybe next week I’ll do a few more. That’s me, here to inform a little and entertain a lot.

Reproduced from: TheCripClassified