postr/StutterApril 1, 2016

Do you consider yourself "disabled"?

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Do you consider yourself "disabled"? I'm a lifelong stutterer, now in medical school. We recently had a unit on treating people with disabilities, and I was a little surprised to see speech disorders classified as a disability. I know I really shouldn't be that surprised, since I guess it is a disability by definition, but I've never really thought of it that way before despite all the grief it's caused me. It was an even bigger mindtrip to think of myself as a disabled person. It's not that there's anything wrong with being disabled--I have just never felt like that was part of my identity. In a way, I wonder if calling myself disabled diminishes the struggles of people with physical disabilities? I was just wondering if anyone else has grappled with feelings like this before. How would you react if someone referred to you as disabled?

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Community & SupportIdentity & Disability

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Personal StoriesPublic Awareness / Media