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Claire Farrington

Erin Garriott

ED242

October 21 2021

Power of Disability Reflection

Firstly, I would just like to note that I have loved every story in every chapter of this

book. I thought Etmanski's conclusion was incredibly poignant and really functioned to drive

home his message that we are all in this together. He accentuated that the sooner people

acknowledge and begin to accept this, the sooner we can begin to empathize more with others

and give everyone the respect they deserve.

I have always believed that people with disabilities have the right to full inclusion in all

aspects of society but prior to reading Etmanski’s Power of Disability I did not really know how,

as a society, we could/would achieve this. Now, I believe that we should encourage more

communities to adopt approaches and perceptions which echo those evident in Pond Inlet. The

Pond Inlet community believes that everyone should be embraced and celebrated no matter what,

and they lived out this ideal with the way they treated Zoe. Thus, after reading stories like this, it

has become evident that people with disabilities deserve to be raised in environments where they

are whole-heartedly and unconditionally embraced, in fact, this is their right.

Furthermore, I believe that people with disabilities should be able to determine and

decide on their own labels. In the story about Edith Sheffer, we learned that sometimes when a

child is labelled with a certain disability, other children avoid interacting with them simply

because they don't understand, and sometimes are even afraid of what such a label means. This

then deprives the labelled individual of critically important social interactions and thus reinforces
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the label placed on them and compounds their feelings of otherness. With these consequences in

mind, I believe people with disabilities should be able to choose what labels they want to

embrace, if any. Although I wish this was easy to achieve, I am aware that the wide scale

misconceptions and stereotypes about people with disabilities must be addressed for this to ever

occur.

In addition to this, after reading stories like Deborah Dagit’s and Ing Wong-Ward’s it has

become blatantly evident that people with disabilities should have the same access to every

opportunity people without disabilities have. People with disabilities shouldn’t be discriminated

against by being denied their right to get a job, be in a relationship, travel, marry, have children

or experience any other common human achievement. People with disabilities undoubtedly have

the right to do everything that an abled person can do and should not be subject to stigma or

judgement based on the decisions they make about their own life

On another note, I really love how in the preface Etmanski clearly states his purpose

behind writing this book, which is that "after reading this book, you will help rewrite history and

change the conversation about disability" (xii). Keeping this in mind, my ongoing role is to be an

advocate for people with disabilities and their rights. People outside of the disability community,

like myself, have a large role to play, and this comes mainly in the form of advocacy. However, it

is important for me to remember that I should never attempt to speak on behalf of anyone with a

disability, instead I must use my privilege to advocate for and amplify the voices of others

without such privilege.

Furthermore, I have a responsibility to attempt to invalidate harmful stereotypes that

impact the way people with disabilities move through, and interact with the world around them.

After reading The Power of Disability it has become clear that disability isn't synonymous with
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failure or invalidity. As such, it is my duty to combat such stereotypes and work to give power

and independence back to those who have been unwillingly stripped of it. Finally, I, myself, need

to be constantly acknowledging my own biases and assumptions. In cases where these are

harmful or degrading to others, I must attempt to change them.

As Etmanski’s book is far reaching and covers many aspects of life --including personal

life, work, and leisure-- we are able to see the positive impacts of disability in every part of life.

In many of our book club discussions, the group I was in often spoke about the positive influence

people with disabilities have on our lives. For me personally, weekly TOPsoccer sessions have

been the highlight of my week since I first got involved in them. I didn’t realise how much joy

they bought me until they stopped. Both Ashlyn and Sarina also agreed that their life is only

enriched by interactions they have with people who have disabilities of varying nature.

In every environment, disability adds diversity and representation- two pivotal

characteristics that should be evident in all situations and circumstances. In workplaces, the

presence of people with disabilities offers new perspectives and skills that people without

disabilities may fail to see or lack. This idea most stood out to me when I was reading The

Sounds of Science in which we met Wanda Diaz-Meced, a woman who uses the process of

sonification to make new discoveries in the field of astronomy. Adapting her work to her

disability resulted in her niche understanding of sonification which allows her to make

contributions to her field that no one before her has.

Finally, in my personal life, increased interactions with people with disabilities of late

have helped me to become a more empathetic person and have opened my eyes further to access

and equity issues. When the needs of people with disabilities are considered, accessibility in

public spaces is increased, meaning that everyone feels included and can make the most of such
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places. As I spend more time with people with disabilities I am continually learning about how I

can simultaneously be a friend, ally and advocate.