Poem on Ableism

I wanna share something that I’ve personally experienced and still deal with today: Please from the bottom of my heart treat people with disabilities the same way you would treat someone without a disability! We’re the same as anyone else—we have feelings, we like to have fun, and we just wanna have a normal way of life. We didn’t choose to have a disability. Do not define someone by their disability. We’re so much more than it. I’ve personally dealt with people treating me like I’m a little kid or like I’m less than them, and let me just say it’s one of the worst feelings in the world. Feeling like you don’t belong, feeling so alone, really sucks. Please don’t be afraid to come up to us, be our friend. We don’t bite, we want people to talk to us. Include us in your groups, just talk to us. Make us feel like we belong and that we matter. Lastly, you’re not weird if you talk to people with disabilities. We should be able to feel like we’re just like everyone else and not like the outcast. Start making a change: Treat others the way you wanna be treated.