Thanks for sharing your perspective, Ira. Disability of any kind freaks people out. They are afraid of saying the wrong thing. They’re afraid it’s contagious. Some are so afraid, they decide the disability is exaggerated. Disabilities remind us that the advantages we were born with can be taken away. That’s a hard thing for people to contemplate.

I had an autoimmune response in college that left me disabled. Nobody wanted to believe it was real, not even my family. The kids in my dorm thought I was either faking it or nuts. They harassed me so much, the college let me change dorms, which, at that time was a rarity. (Helpful Hint: There are fewer assholes in a study dorm.)

Thank you for sharing this. It demonstrates why it’s so important that we hear diverse voices.