~Discrimination~

Last month a disability services provider called Pace Solano violated federal law when it withdrew a job offer made to Katrina Holly solely because of her disability. Holly was offered a job to teach developmentally disabled adults. After completing the pre-employment physical exam, Holly told the examiner that she had partial paralysis in one of her hands.Even though it had received written verification that cleared Holly for this job, Pace Solano withdrew its job offer because of Holly's hand. This shocked Holly and when she confronted the company it only said, "Your injury makes you a liability; you don't want to get hurt any more than you already are, do you?" Pace Solano's actions were in direct violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under ADA law qualified applicants and employees are protected from discrimination from their employers.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a suit against Pace Solano on behalf of Holly. They sought back pay, lost wages, and compensatory and punitive damages. As a student with a disability attending the University of Southern Mississippi, I very often face this notion of my disability being a liability. I am denied help from various staff members that I really need because the school is more concerned with being sued for whatever reason. When did life become some cold? When did it become one man for himself? Could it ever become one group of people working and growing together? We all strive for a better life. Is that luxury only meant for the physically-able? Only we hold the answers.

~Strength~

Jenna Johnson will continue her job search which is five years in the making. Yes. Despite assistance from a five -member employment board working tirelessly on her behalf, Johnson hasn't found work beyond a four-hour-a-week job at Target where she restocks returned items. Johnson has cerebral palsy and as a result uses a wheelchair. She speaks with difficulty and reads at a fourth-grade level. Johnson requires 24-hour care because of the constant threat of seizures, and she can't drive. "But would-be employees overlook Johnson's potential," says Beth Behling, one of Johnson's personal care assistants, "Jenna is really smart and intuitive. But when they see that she's disabled and in a wheelchair, they think that she can't think." Her strengths include reliability, friendliness, and a steady 12-year-record at Target. As a fellow person living with a disability, I can attest to notion of being disregarded as less because I have the label of "disability". I am also a smart person, but on the same token, I am talked to like I'm stupid only because I can't talk or walk. People don't take individuals with disabilities seriously and that is really sad because out of the population we are the people who will work the hardest, care the most, and never complain about what it is we have to do. They should regard their disabilities not as limitations but as assets  because they have overcome so much and will overcome so much more.

~Acceptance~

Zachary Fenell is a 25-year-old resident of Cleveland, Ohio who was born with a mild case of cerebral palsy. This disease affects 750,000 Americans and their ability to control their muscle movement. Fenell said,             "I walk okay but have a slight limp. Balance is an issue. To go up and down stairs safely now, which most people take for granted, I have to hold the railing. And because my hand-eye coordination and right leg strength isn't the greatest, I don't have a car." A physician diagnosed Fenell with Scheurmann's disease when he was 13 years old. A corrective operation that would straighten his back with a rod bruised his spine and caused temporary paralysis in his right leg.Months later he still used a cane and never fully regained function in his right leg. He began his high school years with a cane. He expressed how embarrassed this made him feel because all he wanted to do is fit in. We have all been at this place in our lives. Just wanting to be apart of something. Fenell should not have been so ashamed of his disability. It is what makes him who he is and what set him apart during those awkward high school years. It is so true that this world would be a pretty dull place if everyone was the same. There would be nothing learned if we existed in a world like that. We wouldn't get to witness how truly extraordinary the human spirit is when we see how others overcome their struggles.  It occurred to me earlier today that I am so unbelievably grateful for every struggle that I've been able to overcome and because I am not like everyone else.

~PCA~

In Oct. 2011 Philadelphia police freed four mentally-challenged individuals from captivity in a basement. The individuals were discovered by Turgut Gozleveli, a janitor. Three people pretending to be caretakers chained them to a basement while the caretakers were collecting their social security disability checks. Why would someone do this? I will never understand. We are not made from the same cloth, equipped with the same tools, but that doesn't mean we all don't deserve to be treated like we are human beings. I recently had a similar dealing with a personal care attendant.  I went through the process of certifying this person to be able to help me, but it didn't work out. There were a lot of things that couldn't be overcome no matter what solution we offered. When I realized this, I let her go as gracefully and as nicely as I could. She met my kindness with hatred and unkindness, however. She said a lot of  horrible things to me that really hurt my feelings. One thing that she told me was she was going to have to drop out of college now that I fired her as my PCA. And she hoped I was happy now. If she wanted to be in school badly enough, and this is just my philosophy, she wouldn't let anything, loosing one job or the next stop her. That is just the way I see it. Grow up. Don't be so quick to point your fingers, you know?

~Normal~

Many people with disabilities recently got the opportunity to enjoy themselves and forget about their struggles for one day at the Range and Outdoor Adventure Fair. These individuals enjoyed many activities such as fishing, shooting guns, shooting bows and arrows, and arts and crafts. They did so with a little assistance from the adults there. "These people are just like you and I are. Sometimes they just need a little extra assistance," Mike Brooks, with the Missouri Department of Conservation, said, "So they be successful at catching that fish or shooting those targets." People should be be able to enjoy themselves no matter their problems. People with disabilities are like everyone else in the world. We want the same things as any other person. We may need your help but that shouldn't give you the right to treat us like we are anything less.

~Victims~

Thieves are now adding those with developmental disabilities to their targeted audience. The theft usually comes in the form of theft of the individual's bank account. It is usually someone the individual knows such as a family member. How completely lame is it of these thieves to be actually doing this to people? What makes it worse is the notion that these people can not defend themselves and are incapable of leading completely normal lives so trust these people to assist them in the things they can not do themselves. Debbie Mitchell, of the agency Toward Independence, has remarked,  "They're horrible people. I don't know how they sleep at night." I completely agree with her. This infuriates me. How dare these people take advantage of these people in this situation? This reminds  me of the time when I asked a friend to go to a convenience store for me and she did not return with the correct change. She went on to deny it when I confronted her when she knew that she had stole from me. This is so wrong. I hope these thieves can live with the punishment they get.

~Fighter~

Bernice Johnson Reagon once said, Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they are supposed to help you discover who you really are." Rob Salter is a 33- year- old avid outdoors man who enjoys hunting. Salter lives in Ashford, AL with his mother and step father. He was also born with spina bifida. But do you think think this has stopped him? No. With the support of his parents and those around him, Salter continues to live his life not letting his circumstances keep him down. And he is much stronger for it. When life throws us curve balls we are not supposed to just resign with our heads down. We are supposed to meet every challenge head on and by learning to live with it shapes who we are, stronger individuals. When I was nine years old, my little sister and I were involved in a car accident. My sister did not survive and I lost the use of my legs and my voice but that has never stopped me. There was a reason why I was meant to live and though my life is more difficult than the average person's life because of my day to day struggles I love every minute of it.