Just Think About It Raihan El-Naas | Medical Student, WCM-Qatar

Just Think About It

Raihan El-Naas Essay

A girl wakes up to the sound of her alarm clock and prepares breakfast. Getting dressed, she goes downstairs to the lobby of her apartment block. Taking a walk to a park nearby, she recognizes a friend from afar, meets, and begins to chat. Soon afterward, she gets on a bus to work. Nothing strikes us as unusual nor grabs our attention. Why? Because we, as abled individuals, often take these activities for granted. These actions are a rudimentary part of our daily routine. We forget that there are people with special needs who would find it difficult to carry out many of these activities. Go back to the opening sentences and read them with a specific disability in mind. Start to ponder and process each phrase in depth. You will begin to see the story in a different light. How would she hear her alarm clock if she was deaf? How would she go down the stairs if she had paraplegia? How would she see, let alone recognize her friend from afar, if she was blind? Do these thoughts ever cross our minds as abled individuals, and raise our awareness about disabilities and how those with them live and thrive?

Sadly, we tend to overlook the needs of the disabled, neglecting their perception of life. We may fluctuate between being thoughtless, and possibly insensitive towards them and being exceedingly sympathetic and concerned. It is disheartening how we grow tired of having to make accommodations for the disabled such as parking spaces or ramps. We are frustrated by a few simple adjustments that

may be critical for their safety and impact their lives significantly. We do not think twice when we have to accommodate the abled. It is time to eradicate the boundaries set and divisions created and view those with special needs in perspective. The days of stereotyping their disabilities, categorizing them, and regarding them as deficient are now over. Disabled individuals are not unhealthy, ill, or weak, and they should not be limited or condemned for any shortfall. They do not need anyone’s approval as they journey through their lives. They are successful as long as they are content with their own pace because that is what truly matters.