Diversability vs. Disability

Diversability v. Disability 

When people hear the word “disability” they automatically think of what people can’t do.  The whole idea of getting a disability or having a child born with a disability scares people like crazy. 

But is it simply about what the person can’t do?  What if we used the term “diversability” which means that a person may be lacking in some areas but may be excelling in others.  It challenges the idea that disabilities are only there to weigh people down.  But is it an accurate term?

There was once a boy who was very different.  He didn’t say his first words until he was 3.  He did very poorly in school. He ended up getting expelled from high school. Sounds like a hopeless case, right? But what was his name?

Albert. Albert Einstein.

That’s right. As a child, everyone considered him to be disabled. But history remembers him as the smartest person who ever lived. Why such a difference? Although he was never officially diagnosed, Einstein showed very significant signs of autism.

Autism is a condition that makes it harder to communicate with others. Some people with autism never learn to speak. And then there are those who can speak fine but have trouble with social skills.  People like me.

My experience

Although I wasn’t diagnosed with autism until I was 15 I showed signs from an early age.  I had trouble with pronouncing many words when I was 4 so my parents took me to a speech therapist.

When I was 5, I was speaking fine but was having trouble socializing at preschool. My parents took me to see a child psychologist. The psychologist thought I was fine. Despite this I had many struggles socializing.

I never had more than 2 or 3 friends at a time. And the friends I did have had many problems.

When I was 15 I finally got my diagnosis and it just made sense. I believed that I was doomed to a life of not having friends. But then I turned it all around. And what turned it all around me?

Autism.

You see, a few years ago I joined a group for adults with high functioning autism.  All of my friends are from there.  I’m up to 7 which is crazy good for me.  And none of that would’ve been possible if I hadn’t been born different. Irony at its finest.

It’s so hard to tell how a child’s life is going to turn out. Parents of children with disabilities oftentimes are so scared for their child.

• Will they be able to go to a normal school? 
• Will they be able to get a job?
• Get married? 
• Live a normal life? 

There are so many legitimate worries for these kids. But also there is unlimited potential.  I would like to present you all with a list of people who used their disabilities to make themselves successful.

Sucess from disability

1. Helen Keller.  Hellen Keller became deaf and blind as a baby.  Luckily she got help with her communication skills by an amazing teacher and it allowed her to have many accomplishments.  She went to Harvard and became the first deafblind person to receive a bachelors.  After college she became a successful writer who stood up for the rights of others with disabilities.

2.  John Nash. You may know him from the movie A Beautiful Mind.  John developed schizophrenia during his 20s. Schizophrenia is a mental illness that causes people to have conspiracy theories and see and hear  things that aren’t there.  Despite his many challenges, John Nash became a very successful mathematician.  He is regarded as one of the best.  People with schizophrenia have shown to be above average in math even if they’re not as genius as John Nash.

3. Ludwig Van Beethoven. You may have heard of his symphonies.  Beethoven started to go deaf at the age of 4.  Despite this he still could grasp the magic that music can be. He wrote many symphonies that were so popular they are still played today. It’s hard to believe that a deaf person would have written such beautiful music but Beethoven did not let being deaf stop him.  

4. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Although Mozart was never officially diagnosed with anything, psychologists have noticed by looking at his personality and lifestyle that he may have had autism and Tourette’s.  Despite his challenges to connect with others and control his mood he managed to compose over 600 pieces during his very short life.  His music is famous to this day.

5. Satoshi Tajiri. You likely have not heard of him but there’s a very good chance that you’ve heard of his invention: Pokemón.  Tajiri was diagnosed with autism when he was younger.  He could be obsessive, a common trait of autism, about insect collecting. The idea of “have to catch them all” allowed him to create Pokemon which has brought so much joy to children all over the world.  This would likely not have been possible without his autistic tendencies.    

6. Stephen Hawking. You’ve probably heard of this famous physicist. While he was alive he had become the most respected physicist since Einstein. His books have sold millions of copies and he was so influential in the field of physics. And he achieved all of this while suffering from ALS. AlS is a condition that leads people to lose the ability to control their movements. It’s a very debilitating condition but that did not stop Stephen Hawking from living a full life. In addition to being a brilliant physicist, he was also married multiple times and had 3 healthy children.

Now, of course, having a disability does not guarantee that you’ll be as successful as these people. 

But I hope that learning about the challenges these individuals faced and overcame will inspire you to know that you or your child may have a secret talent that is currently hidden away.

By embracing your DIVERSABILITY, you or your child can become successful and live a perfectly happy life. 

~Rachel Alison Kaplan, Life coach