Hello! Hope everyone is doing well!
First, I want to say that this week's Zoom call will not be taking place. After the storm on Tuesday, my house lost power until very recently and because of that, my wifi is not up and Zoom will not connect. I am very sorry and will try to have a Zoom call next week.
But, there are actually two topics I want to bring up today to make up for not being able to have a meeting. These topics are about the correlation between crime and disability and another is trying to understand the perspective of having a learning disability.
One thing that I learned fairly recently is how often there is violence against those with disabilities. Did you know that people with disabilities are more than twice as likely to be victims of violent crime? I know, it is a very scary statistic. The reason why this happens is because people in power, the police, are not able to tell the difference of having a disability and being, for example, intoxicated. Here are just a few examples (trigger warning)<https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/05/misunderstanding-disability-leads-to-police-violence/361786/>
"In 2008, Ernest Griglen was removed from his car by police who thought he was intoxicated. He was subsequently beaten. Griglen was, in fact, quite sober, but he is diabetic and was in insulin shock. Judging by media reports alone, people who are diabetic are often mistaken as threatening or drunk."
"In 2010, Garry Palmer was driving home from visiting his wife’s grave when a dog darted in front of his truck and was hit. Palmer reported the accident as he should have, but because he was slurring his words and shaking, he was arrested for drunk driving. Palmer has cerebral palsy."
As you can see, it is almost appalling how people can get hurt or possibly even pass away because people in POWER are not educated. As I have said before, it all comes down to education. People who are given power need to be educated. Those with disabilities cannot defend themselves so there needs to be a solution.
Switching topics, I just want to provide some links. The first link is a very interesting and interactive website that focuses on how students with learning disabilities feel like in a school setting. It focuses on attention, reading, writing, and mathematics and the different challenges students with learning disabilities face. The second link is a hour long "movie" that I strongly encourage you to watch. It is a group of random "abled" people who are experiencing what it feels like to be a student with a learning disability. Once again, it is all about trying to understand someone else's perspective and what their "normal" is.
I know this is long but I'll end with this. There is an AMAZING YouTuber called Special Books by Special Kids. It is a man that interviews and talks to kids who are disabled or have a neurological disorder. Watch some videos and open your eyes to how people should really act towards those who are disabled. He doesn't focus on their disability but who that person really is. Thank you so much for reading this, I know it was longer than usual. As always, stay safe and have a great rest of the week!
Links:
Interactive Website: <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/>