Disable = Able

If you met someone with a disability, what would you do or say?

To play the guessing game, you would probably: stare at the disabled area or their medical equipment if any, or, pretend it isn’t there because it makes you uncomfortable and squeamish. You would probably: insist you lend a hand out of some strange sort of social etiquette and responsibility, or, cast a pitying glance without even knowing it.

These motions may sound like nothing out-of-the-ordinary, nothing offensive; however these actually do harm PWDs and make them feel excluded and less important. You may be doing such acts to be kind and feel less awkward, but in the end, one man’s meat is another man’s poison. Why is this so?

It’s not as talked about as sexism or racism, but ableism, or disability discrimination, is another thing that runs amok in the Filipino community to the point of normalcy.

As stated on an article in the Journal of Counseling and Development, ableism is the notion that persons with disabilities “need to be fixed or cannot function as full members of society” and that their disability is “a defect rather than a dimension of difference.”

In result, this causes PWDs to feel discriminated, marginalized, underestimated, or devalued in society. More than that, ableism is ultimately married into our understanding of the disabled person’s experience; this, in a way, immortalizes ableism in the country.

There is a stigma around PWDs that, more often than not, they always need to be helped, watched over, and cared for. There is this notion that PWDs are helpless and must be treated with special attention and care when really, that is not the case. A disability does not make a person unable to do something; people just do not see that.

The problem spills over to other aspects. A research in Quezon City and Ligao City reveals that PWDs have significantly reduced access to healthcare, work, education, rehabilitation, government social welfare, and disaster management.

Digging deeper, another study in Luzon shows that only 10 to 30 percent of employable PWDs are engaged in regular and paid work. According to the study, most Filipino employers do not hire PWDs because of negative stereotyping, their lack of business value, the extra costs and efforts needed to manage them, and the possible negative reactions from customers and co-workers alike.

As with all things, though, ableism can be stopped. Mindsets can be altered and something can be done for our PWDs and this can be summed up into one, all-encompassing word: inclusivity, or the inclusion of all members of society regardless of gender, race, class, sexuality, disability, and so on.

There are plenty of ways to make our society more inclusive for the PWD community. Don’t make assumptions of what they can and cannot do. Be mindful of your jokes and expressions. Respect resources allocated for them, from ramps to handicapped bathroom stalls. See them as valuable consumers and customers in the market. Employ them into the work force. Promote social inclusions in schools. Raise disability representation in the political scene, the academe, and the media. Most of all, see them as they are: humans, just like you.

Intentional or not, ableism reaffirms the notion that people with disabilities are lesser than able-bodied persons, and that is just not the case.

Look at the half-Filipino Raymond Martin; he cannot run with two legs, and yet he raced his way towards numerous victories and gold medals (and counting). Look at Michael Barredo; he lost his vision, and yet he became a successful business owner, radio personality, and sports commissioner. Look at Fernando Kabigting; he is a hand and an eye short, and yet his paintings have traveled from Bacolod, Makati, and all the way to New York City. Look at Apolinario Mabini; he was a person with a disability, and yet he became an educator, a lawyer, a prime minister, and most of all, a revolutionary leader and Philippine hero.

Truly, the disabled is still able.