My Brother George

He doesn't act like normal people.
Nor mature as quickly.
At eleven he still wears diapers
And walks around slowly banging on his chest.
He makes all kinds of weird noises.
He can't hear or see too well.
When anyone talks to him
They have to yell.
Some things he can understand.
Things like "yes" or "no" or "stop."
The one thing he adores is music.
Light music is his favorite.

He is capable of so much love,
Shares anything given to him.
Tries to play with other kids.
He hugs people. Tries to talk.
There is a look of innocence on his face.
I wonder if he wishes he weren't disabled.
I wonder if he knows.

Miray

Invisible disabilities cause their own set of problems. A student named Michelle who was once a member of the Connect-Ability editorial board (then called the Disabilities Awareness Newsletter) wrote that the "hardest part" of having a disability (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, in her case) is the "suspicion" and lack of understanding from people in the community." She was continually accused of "faking it" or being a hypochondriac. She was frustrated by her peers who thought she wanted to be sick so she could skip school. She only wanted people to be more considerate to those who are different from themselves. She wrote, "even though something can't be seen, it doesn't mean it isn't there." And she advised people to "look" a little harder.

To the Stars to the Moon and Back Again

To the stars to the moon and back again
It once was nice
But now it's not
Go away far away
Let the storm flow downstream
Don't be afraid don't scream
To the stars to the moon and back again
Fly away to the southern world
Where no one can see you not even once more
We stay in one piece
And we love the world
So no matter what
We will be around
Around to see all we've found
To the stars to the moon and back again
Let's say this once more
To the stars to the moon and back again

Majorie Rubel
Myers Center
WSWHE BOCES

An old friend of mine who is pretty savvy about most things describes his disability (hearing impairment) as an inconvenience more than anything else. At first I thought this was a pretty fair definition. Then I looked it up in the freedictionary which defines inconvenient as "troublesome, annoying, awkward, embarrassing, disturbing, unsuitable, tiresome, untimely, bothersome, and vexatious."  Really? Is that the definition we're aiming for?

Read the poem by Steven Dobyns called The Bleeder. It's a story of a teenage camp counselor and his experience with a camper who had hemophilia. He uses the expression shared meanness when he talks about the other campers' treatment of him. From the safety of their group they view the camper with hemophilia as a loser, someone totally separate and different from them. They consider him already dead. As individuals they might not have acted so cruelly but together their bullying was successful at getting the camper sent home. Not surprisingly, they missed him once he was gone because he had given their bullying a common cause.  Who's to blame for the campers' ignorance and fear?  Their lack of information and discussion? The camp director? The counselors?  Things go wrong for everyone when we don't have a chance to ask questions and talk about disability.

I used to think it was almost rude to use the term disabed when referring to anyone. It was another one of those things we were never supposed to talk about. You know, avert your eyes if you see one coming. Disability awareness relies on talking about it.