| O.K. You've gotten the news from your doctor and | | | | to be right-handed. My writing was slow and sloppy at |
| gone through all the stages of grief over the loss of an | | | | first, but I focused on the ability of my right arm rather |
| ability. You could have arthritis or asthma, be blind or | | | | than the impairment of my left. Don't focus on you |
| deaf...your disability could be mental or physical. This | | | | blindness but on your hearing, smell, taste, touch and |
| article isn't about a specific condition. Instead, let's | | | | mental abilities. Take an inventory of all the skills, |
| consider what to do once we've emotionally | | | | talents, and abilities you have left and begin to find |
| processed the loss and found ourselves alive on the | | | | things you can do to capitalize on them. My former |
| other side. How, then, do we live in a way that | | | | abuse, addictions, mistakes, losses and chronic illnesses |
| capitalizes on what we have left? If we can focus our | | | | make me particularly sensitive and useful to people |
| attitude, ability and resources in a positive direction, | | | | going through similar stuff. I guess, in a way, my |
| most of us, regardless of disability, have a good | | | | disabilities have become my abilities. Take some time |
| chance at a happy, productive life. | | | | to make an honest inventory of what you've got, |
| Disabled-vs-Handicapped: Attitude plays a huge role in | | | | rather than what you lost. You probably have a lot |
| our future. How do we see our own condition? I didn't | | | | more resources than you imagine. |
| like it when they changed the terminology from | | | | Getting Disability Information and Resources: After |
| handicap to disability. Words mean things! Handicap | | | | you've adjusted your attitude and assessed your |
| means you're playing with a disadvantage, whereas, | | | | abilities, it's time begin assembling your other resources. |
| disabled means you can't be in the game. Do you | | | | When I built my own home, it took me as long to |
| want to be in the game? The first thing to do is to | | | | arrange and collect the materials and subcontractors |
| stop seeing yourself in terms of disability. I've known | | | | as it did to actually build the house. Developing |
| people who had productive jobs and happy families | | | | resources will be a full-time job until you have a |
| who were blind, deaf, suffered from Cerebral Palsy | | | | full-time job. You can learn a lot about resources on |
| and amputation. Though they qualified, they refused to | | | | the Internet. Disability Info is a great place to begin your |
| accept the unnecessary support of others. I also knew | | | | research on what resources are available to help you |
| a man with vast creative talent and intelligence who | | | | overcome your particular handicap. Collect and read |
| used a criminal record and a dustup with a co-worker | | | | everything you can find. Once you've decided on a |
| to qualify for full disability support. If you want to live a | | | | field of interest you'd like to pursue, research |
| happy, productive life, you must begin to see yourself, | | | | everything you can find on it to figure out how you can |
| not as disabled, but as having a handicap to overcome. | | | | work around your handicap. Don't forget your family |
| Sure, there are severe physical and mental disabilities | | | | and friend resources, with one caution...only accept help |
| that require the full support of others to survive, but if | | | | you actually need from people. Dependence is easy to |
| you can understand this sentence, you don't have | | | | develop but harmful for you and for the person helping. |
| anything that severe...so start focusing on what you | | | | So, you've adjusted your attitude, focused on your |
| have rather than what you lost. | | | | abilities and assembled your resources. Now it's time to |
| Ability-vs-Impairment: To focus on your ability, you | | | | get out there and stub your toe, bang your head, fail, |
| need to dump all the labels that classify you by your | | | | get up and try again...just like everyone else. Welcome |
| impairment. When my left arm was disabled, I decided | | | | to the mainstream! |