By William G. Stothers
Brenda Corbett is proud of her son Nick Hirst, and she wants everybody to know it. Nick is 18 and has distinguished himself as an Eagle Scout in Gainsville, Florida.
Ms. Corbett has read articles in this magazine about the successes of people with disabilities, and believes Nick qualifies. He does. "He has surmounted many obstacles that professionals said would be impossible for him," Ms. Corbett wrote to me.
That is the key. When Nick was nine, he nearly drowned in the family pool. He was in a coma for two weeks and doctors did not expect him to live. He exhibited no brain activity and was blind and paralyzed. The doctors told his parents to put him in an institution and concentrate on his two older brothers and sister.
Ms. Corbett did not buy it. She took Nick home. His eyesight returned. He has a mild form of cerebral palsy. Now he is an Eagle Scout with 45 earned merit badges and is still in school.
I relate to Nick. When I lay significantly disabled in a polio isolation ward many years ago, the doctors told my parents to put me in an institution and concentrate on their lives and my sister. Like Ms. Corbett, they did not buy it. I was pushed into rehabilitation for more than 18 months and finally returned home.
These are not isolated or unique cases. Many of us have heard stories about families being urged to institutionalize a loved one with a disability. Most recently, in the battle against doctor-assisted suicide, Not Dead Yet collected stories of people with disabilities who feared for their lives from medical professionals.
The common thread in these anecdotes is the advice (however well-meaning) from doctors and other medical industry professionals to put us away, in one way or another.
In a society in which disability is viewed negatively þ "confined to a wheelchair;" "wheelchair-bound;" "stroke victim;" "aged and infirm;" and Jerry Lewis' favorites such as "half-human" and "my kids can't do anything" -- it is little wonder that medical professionals profess similar attitudes. Historically, one can trace such attitudes and their effects; just look at Fred Pelka's article "Guinea Pigs" in this issue.
Many persons with disabilities believe they are at risk when they go to a hospital, or get picked up by an ambulance. We have heard more than enough stories to frighten the best of us.
On the other hand, I have talked to doctors, even a few doctors with disabilities, who believe such fears are groundless.
I have yet to see a solid scientific study of the attitudes of doctors and other medical professionals toward disability and persons with disabilities.
The population of this country, because of advances in medicine and technology, is becoming increasingly disabled. The census bureau tells us that about 49 million people, or 20 percent of the population, have a disability of some kind. That number surely is growing, especially as the boomer generation grows older.
It is an interesting thought, isn't it? The medical-pharmaceutical-technological juggernaut battling disease and disability is actually creating more people with disabilities. And these people are living longer and functioning better.
This fact is bound to challenge those long-held negative attitudes about disability. Even more reason to undertake serious study of this topic.
Then again, maybe the idea of deep-seated negative societal attitudes toward disability is itself out-dated. We talk a lot about the attitudes of non-disabled people toward us. Maybe it is time to explore our own thinking; look at Steve Brown's article in this issue.
What do we think about disability and persons with disabilities? What do we think about ourselves?
We have a long tradition of fighting among ourselves along disability-specific lines. Some people and some groups look down on other people or groups. The blind against the mobility impaired. People with spinal cord injuries over people with cerebral palsy. People with physical disabilities distancing themselves from those with cognitive disabilities. Like most everyone else, our group þ that is, people with disabilities of all kinds þ is beset with issues of race, class and caste. A serious study of this subject is warranted also.
If we are to achieve equality and independence as persons with disabilities, we will have to examine our own attitudes about disability and other people with disabilities. Otherwise we will be like those doctors who told Brenda Corbett to abandon her son.
William G. Stothers is editor of MAINSTREAM.
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