Disability: everyone talks about it... The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), handicapped parking, disability insurance like Aflac, FMLA (Family & Medical Leave Act), Social Security Disability... It's odd to me that it's never fully defined by the folks discussing it. Does it mean people in wheelchairs? People with canes and walkers? The blind? The elderly? The deaf? The mentally handicapped? The retired football player? The mentally ill? The accident survivor?
Yes, but rather than develop a long list, I'd rather supply a definition that, while not original, might be the best way to put it. A disability is a physical or mental condition that prevents a person from doing an activity that they would like to do, whether they've done it before or not. Obviously, I'm assuming two things, a usual set of desires and a typical set of activities.
From the abstract to the practical: How does my disability apply to me? I cannot do a lot of things I would like to. In the past, I have climbed mountains, played sports--soccer and racquetball were my favorites, flown in an airplane, sat at the computer for long periods, bought clothes, lifted weights, danced, swam, ran... all these things I can no longer do in any significant capacity because of my disability. This is a loss that impacts every aspect of my life. Lifting weight alone is a crusher. What dad hasn't lifted his child over his head and looked into his child's eyes? No longer an option. Work in a job--even a sedentary one--is impossible. These are activities that define daddy-ness, fatherhood, and the inability to express fatherhood through these actions cuts at the heart of my identity.
Disability is more than the mere lack of ability. It's a marker, a line that is vividly drawn around the individual, excluding them from the group that they should be able to join if they wanted to. It's the invisible bubble that separates in the most profound way: our ability to demonstrate and act out of our heart's desire. That is disability.
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