Disabilities come in many forms and not all of them are obvious to others. Take deafness, it is very common and because deaf people lip read very well, most of us hardly, if at all, notice someone is deaf. As we get older many of us start to lose our hearing and we unconsciously start to rely more on lip reading.This has become very noticeable now we are all wearing masks. Personally I am finding it much more difficult to understand what is being said to me.
People with Dyslexia, Asperge Syndrome, Autism and othe learning difficulties, may appear able bodied to most of us and are, but we don't recognise the difficulties they encounter and have to overcome in their lives.
Other forms of disability
Other forms of disability are more obvious such as those in wheelchairs. We all see and admire those ex-service men who have lost a limb or two defending our country and our way of life. We recognise the victims of accidents both of birth and life. We admire those who don’t give in to their disability and create rich and meaningful lives for themselves such as those participating in the Paralympics.
Many people will have had experience of being moved around in a wheelchair, even temporarily with a broken leg or whilst recovering from a stroke. As we age most of us lose our strength and become infirm in one way or another. Thinking of my father with Alzheimer’s who often has the strength to walk but can’t remember how. At some point in our lives we all eventually encounter disabilities in one way or another. How we choose to deal with them is our choice. We can avoid the situation or we can embrace it. One thing I know for sure, every person I have ever spoken to with any disability wishes to be respected and treated as ordinary people.
United Nations' (UN) International Day of Persons with Disabilities is annually held on December 3 to focus on issues that affect people with disabilities worldwide. The UN’s Decade of Disabled Persons was held from 1983 to 1992 and organisations and implement measures to improve the life of disabled persons all over the world. Disabled toilets in public buildings for a start. In 1992, as this decade drew to a close, the UN General Assembly proclaimed December 3 as the International Day of Disabled Persons. This day was first observed on December 3, 1992. On December 18, 2007, the assembly changed the name to the "International Day of Persons with Disabilities". The new name was first used in 2008.