Ableism, the discrimination in favor of able-bodied people. What does it mean to be able-bodied? “Fit, strong, and healthy; not physically disabled,” Oxford language dictionary. The majority of people in the United States are considered able-bodied, meaning people with disabilities or who are disabled are the minority.

And if you are part of the majority you don’t think about the minority if you don’t have any connections to them/it. So systemic ableism is rooted in all of us, because if you don’t know someone who is disabled then you won’t think about it and do ableist things without even knowing. Example, using the big stall. How do we stop this, well the first step is thinking “how am I ableist and how can I change?” Without the awareness of being ableist yourself, you can’t help this cause. Spreading awareness and taking everything with a grain of salt is the next step. Taking everything with a grain of salt is important because everyone’s truths can and are different. Also be wary of fake news. Now there isn’t much fake news in this movement of stopping ableism because it hasn’t hit mainstream yet. But make sure that you research what you are saying before you repeat it. Be courteous and kind to your peers and others that you might not know are struggling. Half of disabled people in America are mentally disabled and have chronic pain because of it, so adults don’t ask if “the doctor told you to,” when it comes to using aids because the only ones who know our bodies the best are ourselves.

Natasha Lee Clark

Ashfield

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