FROM BEARING TO SHARING

E X P L O R I N G D I S C R I M I N AT I O N , I D E N T I T Y D E V E L O P M E N T A N D A D V O C A C Y F O R P E R S O N S

W I T H D I S A B I L I T I E S

Dr. Emma J. Wood

Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Baylor University Counseling Center

DISABILITY ON CAMPUS

• National Center for Education Statistics, Students With Disabilities at Degree-Granting

Postsecondary Institutions. US Department of Education, 2011.

– 11.1% of college students have some form of disability

– Over 64% are “invisible disabilities”

• Learning Disabilities (31%)

• ADHD (18%)

• Mental Health (15%)

Mobility

7%

Health

Condition/Chronic

Condition

11%

Hearing

3%

Vision

3%

Mental Health

Condition

15%

Learning Disability

32%

ADHD

18%

Autism Spectrum

2%

Cognitive/Intellectual

3% Brain

Injury

2%

Speech/Language

1%

Other

3%

Disability in Higher Education

DISCRIMINATION

– Societal discrimination is rampant against people with disabilities

– Discrimination is both institutionalized and environmental and personal and subtle.

– The effects of subtle discrimination (microagression) have significant impact

• Low quality of life

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Self-esteem issues

• Poorer physical health

PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION

• Ableism favors those without a disability and implies that those possessing a disability

are inferior

• Individuals may be evaluated on a deficit perspective, or understood as wanting to be

“normal”

• Many health care professionals and educators hold negative views toward the disabled

• Language such as “retarded,” “dumb,” “lame,” “crazy,” “psycho,” and “stupid” creates

stigma and a negative social climate

• The general public has low expectations for people with disabilities

EMPLOYMENT RATE

MEDIAN EARNINGS

POVERTY RATE

AN DISABILITY NARRATIVE

• Pitiable and pathetic; sweet and innocent; a miracle cure

• Victim or an object of violence

• ‘Super-crip’/ triumph over tragedy/noble warrior

• Laughable or the butt of jokes

• Having a chip on their shoulder

• A burden/ outcast

• Non-sexual or incapable of a worthwhile relationship

• Incapable of fully participating in everyday life

COUNTERING NARRATIVE SUSPENSE AND STRENGTHS

• Narrative Suspense- diagnosis is not defining

– Locate other sources of identity

• Sister

• Artist

• friend

• Humor, coping strategies, hope, and optimism are associated with a higher quality of life.

• Qualities such as creativity, resilience, self-control, and the ability to make positive connections

can be tapped into during therapy.

ADVOCACY FOR INDIVIDUALS AND ALLIES

• Identify your beliefs, assumptions, and attitudes about individuals with disabilities.

• Understand the prejudice, discrimination, inconveniences, and barriers faced by individuals with

disabilities.

• Redirect internalized self-blame for the disability to societal attitudes.

• Help family members reframe the problem so that positives can be identified. Strengthen

positive attributes.

• Develop self-advocacy skills for both the individual with the disability and the family members.

IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

• Diagnosis

• Desire to be “normal”

• Denial

• Fear and shame

Rejection

• Anger

• Helplessness

• Unfairness

• Deficit perspective

Acknowledgement

• Research disability

• Seek understanding

• Find community

• Seek out role models

Ownership

• Dealing with chronicity

• Renewed anger

• Renewed denial and Depression

Fatigue

True Acceptance

• Has good personalized

coping strategies

• Looks for opportunities

to advocate and

educate

• Wants to help others

Denial and

rejection of

impact of

disability

Disability takes

over life and

causes anger

DISABILITY IDENTITY PENDULUM AKA “COMING TO TERMS”

DIFFERENCE IS ESSENTIAL

• "In order to harness the power and diversity and innovation of our society, we

have to realize that our minds and bodies experience the world in very

different ways. If we are able to create access and be more intentional about

how we create access, then we are doing everyone good.“

-Allie Cannington

MY STORY…

“If Emma would choose to pay

more attention to her learning in

class rather than her neighbors I

bet she would get much more

out of class and earn the scores

she is capable of.”

“Emma continues to be forgetful-

often times not bringing needed

materials to class and on occasion

forgetting to do homework

assignments. Emma needs to

make a real effort to listen

carefully in class. She socializes a

bit too much causing her to not

complete classwork. Emma does

work slowly on assignments so she

can’t afford socializing/fun time

which slows her work even more.”

“She has the self-confidence or

natural curiosity (or both) to ask

good questions, and her essays show a

strong mind accompanied by spelling

so unorthodox that it gives me some

concern. We are all to some extent

‘learning disabled’ but we all have it

within us to discipline ourselves to

challenge ourselves in those areas

needing work, and I hope Emma will

work much harder to improve her

written work.”

THE GOOD

• “Its been a difficult year for her in many ways, I know, but she has carried herself with dignity

and courage through it all, and that, to me, is a true measure of character.”

• “Emma has the ability to simplify a complex idea and state it clearly. As well, she can consider a

fairly wide range of information and extract salient facts, which support an idea. Plenty of ability

there. Her spelling, of course, is a problem. Our arrangement: on in class writings I’ll forgive

misspelled words as long as she strives to spell better. Out of class spelling must be good.”

IMPACT OF BEING DIFFERENT

• Bullying

• Name calling

• Significant weight gain

• Family stress

• “problem child”

• Missing recess, computer, and other “fun” classes for tutoring

MAKING MEANING

ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL WORLD

The impact is

not benign:

You end up

broken…

ACCOMMODATING DIVERSITY MIGHT LOOK MORE LIKE THIS

INTERNALIZED STIGMA

• Lowered Expectations

• Self-blame

• Shame

• Fear

• Silence

• Judgment

LABELS THAT HURT AND LABELS THAT WORK

• Stupid

• Lazy

• Forgetful

• Unorganized

• Undisciplined

• Slow

• Neuro-Diverse

• Person with Dyslexia

• Person with ADHD inattentive type

• Person with Bi Polar II

For those who are abled I have noticed that

they advocate for “no labels” thinking that

people may be offended or hurt. I think its

internalized stigma, and worse I believe it

teaches shame.

ADVOCACY

• Teach Self Advocacy!

• Teachers, therapists, friends, loved ones

• Organizations/Systematic

POSITIVE IDENTITY

• Role models

– Memoirs

– Documentaries

– Blogs

• Messages

• Diversity competence

• Community

– Online

– Support groups

– Universality

WHO AM I?

• My disabilities are part of me. They make me unique, empathic, therapeutic, they are a

wonderful part of Gods work in my life.

• I’m a mom, a therapist, a person with ADHD and Dyslexia, a person with a Bi Polar II Disorder,

a friend, a speaker, a writer…

FOR RESOURCES OR QUESTIONS:

E M A I L M E

E M M A _ WO O D @ B AY L O R . E D U