Essay about Rising Above My Disability

My name is Rainee McDaniel and I am an 18 year old freshman at Texas State University. 1. My college experience is unlike any other because I am a quadriplegic. Quadriplegia is damage to the spinal cord around the area of one’s skull and neck, (Nathalie Smith, 2013). I can’t use any of my limbs, my arms and legs are basically useless to me. My wheelchair is what gets me around, I depend on it. (Józefowski, P., & Bolach, E) 1. There are many things I can’t do. I’m not given the opportunity to live that wild and crazy college life Nobody could even begin to understand what I go through on a daily basis, until they live it. “Quadriplegia involves paralysis of arms and legs” (Nathalie Smith, 2013), 4. I can’t even use the bathroom on my own.

In conclusion, I was able to express myself, relate to my peers, and make many memorable experiences. All of these things helped shape the person I am today. However, not all experiences were pleasant. During the sixth grade all state choir, a girl fell down and started having seizures. I did not know who she was; I had never met her. Nevertheless, I felt curiously concerned for her wellbeing. I will never forget that experience. After the incident, we had a closer

In 1817, the American School for Deaf was founded in Hartford Connecticut. This was the first school for disabled children in the Western Hemisphere. Although this was not the beginning of the Disability Rights Movement, it was a start to society, making it possible for people to realize that there were those with disabilities out there in the world and something had to be done. The Disability Rights Movement fought for equal access, opportunity, consideration, and basic human respect along with dignity for those born blind, deaf, or anyone with other forms of physical or mental disability. The purpose of social movements is to provide social change regarding a specific issue in which a particular group of

     When a child doesn’t seem to be learning, some teachers and parents in his/her life might criticize the child and think of them as stupid, or maybe just too lazy to want to learn. What they don’t realize is that the child might have a learning disability. But how are these children being helped? There are many programs, special schools and facilities, home teaching methods and many other ways in which children with Learning Disabilities are being helped.

In chapter two of No Pity, the author Joseph P. Shapiro brings to life the story of Ed Roberts. Ed Roberts was just your everyday kid, who had a passion for sports. When he was fourteen though, he was diagnosed with Polio. The Polio left him in an iron lung and in the hospital for twenty months. During this time, Ed really struggled with himself. Eventually, he realized even though he now had disability, no one could take away his education and intellect. Ed later attended University of California at Berkeley, where he created innovative programs to help individuals with disabilities. When Ed attended the university, he had no other option but to live at the university hospital. Here, Ed met another quadriplegic named John Hesser. Together, through the “Rolling Quads” club, they fought against stereotypes and wanted to change the way individuals with disabilities were treated. Even making significant progress by putting ramps up on campus. Additionally, the created the Physically Disabled Students’ Program. This program advocated for big issues, such as individual rights, independance, and a better standard of living for individuals with disabilities.

Similarly to Christy Brown in My Left Foot, everybody has experienced significant moments in their lives that have shaped the people they are. There is one specific moment in my life that stands out to me as a substantial event in determining my character as a human being. Likewise to Christy Brown finally being able to use writing as a form of communication, I was finally able to appreciate how lucky I am and realize that many other people are not as fortunate. When I was in fourth grade, I stepped outside of my comfort zone and unknowingly gained information that was difficult for me to comprehend at the time, but ended up having an immense effect on the way I view other people. That very day, I learned to treat everybody with kindheartedness because you never know what he or she may be going through in his or her life.

Immediately after graduating high school, Jason will attend Old Dominion University, where he will get his bachelor’s degree in education. Jason is very excited about graduating college and attending Old Dominion University. Mr. Reynolds is worried about Jason disclosing his disability to professors when it’s time for him to start classes at Old Dominion University. Therefore, Mr. Reynolds is going to set up some training programs for Jason, so that he can become more comfortable with engaging in conversation about his disability. This will allow Jason to receive the modifications and accommodations that is necessary for him to succeed in college.

When some people think of someone with a learning disability they often think of someone who is not able to contribute to society. It is often assumed people with learning disabilities are people who have low intelligence, work the school systems, and are socially awkward. As someone who has a learning disability these misconceptions have made it difficult for me to be open about it and prove these stereotypes wrong. Most of these misconceptions stem from people not understanding what alearning disabilities are, a learning disability “results from a difference in the way a person's brain is wired. Children with learning disabilities are as smart or smarter than their peers. But they have difficulty reading, writing, spelling, reasoning, recalling and/or organizing information if left to figure things out by themselves or if taught in conventional ways” (idonline.org).

Samantha Abeel’s memoir My Thirteenth Winter is a prodigious example of how a learning diablility can affect someone’s life. “You have a learing diability?But you can’t be learning diabled. . . . .I mean. . . . . you don’t look it at all!”Many teachers like in the sentence above don’t know or understand the enormity of what a learning disability is.When she started kindergarten she knew something was wrong.She was different from everyone else.She couldn’t tell time or remember her schedule.she slowly started to fall behind in school.Causing her feelings to be formidable about it.Her learning disability caused her aloofness to increase,as she gradually became less closer to her friends and family.Since she was a savent in most classes especially

In high school, I knew that she had a learning disability, but I never knew what type or her story behind it. During this interview, I learned how she felt as a seven-year-old find out that she had a learning disability. At the time she felt as If she was different from the other kids at school and she would not be able to learn the information in a timely manner. However, with the help of her mother, she learned different learning style methods that help her never get behind in class. Having a learning disability did not stop her from being in the top ten percent in high school or discourage her from attending one of the top ten colleges in North Carolina. The respect I have for my best friend now push me to reach my highest potential no matter how big the

Living with disabilities on a daily basis can be more difficult then some realize. Many people who are born with developmental disabilities start their education and therapy at a very young age and there are also those people who have been diagnosed with a disability sometime during their lifetime. But what is there for them to do once they have graduated from high school or are told they are too old to continue in a regular school or they are simply told they aren’t accepted in the “normal” community? In all reality there really

Disability Inequality is an issue which society often ignores but is an alarming topic. People tend to assume they are ill-equipped mentally since they are disabled physically. It has immense effect on people with disabilities.

In my essay you will learn about Jamaican and Haitian culture and their outlooks on disability. Laster on you will see the comparisons between those two cultures and the American culture. I selected the Jamaican culture because it has always been a dream of mine to visit Jamaica. I selected Haiti because I am not well educated on their culture.

ICF stands for International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. It views disability in terms of body functions and structures, activities, participation and important contextual factors, as stated in the ICF PowerPoint presentation (Francaviglia). At the top of the diagram, shown in the ICF PowerPoint presentation, the health condition is described as any disability, disorder, injury, or trauma, but also includes important conditions such as pregnancy or aging (Francaviglia). Moving to the next level of the diagram, the body structures may include the specific limb or organ deficiency, functioning defect, or impairment from the health condition. These body structures effect “the execution of a task or action by individual”

be protected by the A.D.A. this person must have a long standing record of this