Lesson Length : 30 -40 minutes
The Weight of Persistent Judgment
During our focus groups with families of children with disabilities, parents told us the biggest barrier to enjoying parks and playgrounds is the judgment of other parents and the intolerance, staring, ignoring, and excluding of children with disabilities.
Most families go to the park to relax. They know their child will be able to play freely, let off steam, and may even make a new friend. For children with disabilities, their siblings and parents, a trip to the park can be anything but relaxing, easy, and fun. The kids may face play equipment that they cannot enjoy. Parents may worry about busy streets and no fences to keep their “runner” inside the park. Parents may have difficulty managing siblings with different play styles and needs. Siblings may worry about the other kids’ reactions to their brother or sister. They may themselves feel conflicted about wanting to both protect them and play themselves.
All of these challenges may be manageable, but when the family feels socially isolated, judged, or ignored it can all become too much. They are excluded from activities and the playing field is anything but level. Parents stated how exhausting this steady exposure to stigma is and how tired they are of “fighting the fight.”
Instructions:
Dear Everybody,
We live with our disabilities every day. You might think that’s the biggest problem but it isn’t. The biggest problem is the world that’s full of stigma around living with a disability. People are afraid to offend so they avoid asking questions or making conversation. But we need to get these answers out there, we need to start talking. So we’re putting it all out there. Every line of our letter helps people understand our lives, puts a little information into our world and takes a little stigma out of it. So read and share because a world without stigma is a better world for everybody. Here we go.
Thank you for reading. If you discovered one new thing about living with a disability, then we already live in a better world. Please share this letter and help us start an even bigger conversation. – From the kids of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. (2020, September 30). Dear Everybody-Letter. Retrieved from Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital: https://deareverybody.hollandbloorview.ca/learn/dear-everybody-letter/
Pause and Reflect: