Disability Awareness Quotes

“Disability is not something an individual overcomes. I'm still disabled. I'm still Deafblind. People with disabilities are successful when we develop alternative techniques and our communities choose inclusion.”
― Haben Girma, Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law

“I am disabled
but I'm not my disability.
Disability is just
a little piece
of me but
it is not
my whole personality”
― Jenni Johanna Toivonen

“It's a sighted, hearing classroom, in a sighted, hearing school, in a sighted, hearing society. They designed this environment for people who can see and hear. In this environment, I'm disabled. They place the burden on me to step out of my world and reach into theirs”
― Haben Girma, Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law

“The hyping of disabled athletes into superhuman status by Channel 4 only deepens our wounds, inflicted by continual assaults on our daily lives. It truly seems that the only acceptable disabled person is a Paralympian – and then only for a few weeks.”
― Penny Pepper

“Communities designed with just one kind of person in mind isolate those of us defying our narrow definition of personhood.”
― Haben Girma, Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law

“Sighted or blind, Deaf or hearing, each of us holds just the tiniest fraction of the world's wisdom. Admitting we don't know everything will aid us on this Trek for Knowledge.”
― Haben Girma, Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law

“Disability is both apparent and nonapparent. Disability is pain, struggle, brilliance, abundance, and joy. Disability is sociopo- litical, cultural, and biological. Being visible and claiming a disabled identity brings risks as much as it brings pride.
The peculiar drama of my life has placed me in a world that by and large thinks it would be better if people like me did not exist. My fight has been for accommodation, the world to me and me to the world. -Harriet McBryde Johnson
Taking up space as a disabled person is always revolutionary. -Sandy Ho
There is so much that able-bodied people could learn from the wisdom that often comes with dis- ability. But space needs to be made. Hands need to be reached out. People need to be lifted up. -A. H. Reaume
Disability justice exists every place two disabled people meet-at a kitchen table, on heating pads in bed talking to our loves. -Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha”
― Alice Wong

“... I REALISE MY DISABILITY IS A
BIGGER PART OF ME THAN I
ADMIT. IT’S DEFINED ME ALL
MY LIFE.”
― Soulla Christodoulou, Alexander and Maria

“There is no such thing as a disability, and we say diffability, because we know you are all different, and possess different abilities.”
― Troian Anderson, The Light of Winter

“My pronoun is people,
I'm divergent, yet invincible.
I am straight, I am queer;
I am civilian, I am seer.
Spirit of life, I - am universal!

Call me disabled or differently able,
Call me collective or individual.
Fleshly forms I've got plenty,
All run by same love and liberty -
Culture supreme is inclusion.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Yaralardan Yangın Doğar: Explorers of Night are Emperors of Dawn

“There is a growing emphasis on acceptance and inclusion across the globe. This shift is fostering more inclusive societies where people of all backgrounds can thrive. As we continue to break down barriers and promote equality, we can look forward to a future where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
― J. Edwards Holt

“I told you every flower can blossom,” Fara said through the glass. “But too many people want to stroll through artificial gardens that produce oh-so-important shite or are the same ole pretty to look at. And they hire gardeners like your doctor to hide the rest.” Her soft expression turned into a feral grin. “Well, too bad— I’m gonna ruin their fake perfect gardens, because real nature is fragile and beautiful and wild, and if you ask me, a duck of a lot more interesting.”
― Casper E. Falls, Artifice & Access: A Disability in Fantasy Anthology

“People with disabilities should not be considered unadvataged because they can high self esteem as others to fulfill their potential. People should be aware that a disability is something that some people can be born with and it is not a choice for them. Therefore, they should be treated with respect and should not be discriminated because this kind of behavior can socially isolate them from being part of the rest of their community.”
― Saaif Alam

“People with disabilities should not be considered as unadvataged because they can have high self esteem as others to fulfill their potential. People should be aware that a disability is something that some people can be born with and it is not a choice for them. Therefore, they should be treated with respect and should not be discriminated because this kind of behavior can socially isolate them from being part of the rest of their community.”
― Saaif Alam

“Your limitations can become limitless if you use your mind and body to overcome a particular challenge.”
― Saaif Alam

“Despite his disability he is a man I already admire, am connected with; there’s nothing wrong with his mind or his desire... I see his disability but feel his wholeness more.”
― Soulla Christodoulou, Alexander and Maria

“You learn to read people by the way they act ... When people shy away from Doug, I think, Oh, they have so much to learn. You see, the disabled person has no problem interacting with them. They're the ones with the problem.”
― Cheri Fuller, Extraordinary Kids: Nurturing and Championing Your Child With Special Needs

“Zengie felt a presence as if he was being watched. He couldn’t shake the feeling of fear from his shoulders. Were the henchmen catching up to him, or was a hungry lion waiting to pounce on him? Could it be one of those animal-changing spirits? Zengie had no idea what that feeling meant.”
― Maggie Bain, Whispers in the Breeze

“Destiny plays a great role in life. No one can control what happens. Everything happens for a reason, but sometimes, we don’t know why. Sometimes nature has a cruel twist, or it is full of joy.”
― Maggie Bain, Whispers in the Breeze

“When Zengie finally spoke, he just stared at his mother and said,

“Why did the henchmen take me away from you? Why did they blame me for all the bad luck?”

Mallee thought carefully about how she was going to tell him. She wasn’t sure how to say it.

“Zengie, it’s because you are different from the other children,” she whispered.”
― Maggie Bain, Whispers in the Breeze

“Social Progress: There is a growing emphasis on acceptance and inclusion across the globe. This shift is fostering more inclusive societies where people of all backgrounds can thrive. As we continue to break down barriers and promote equality, we can look forward to a future where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
― J. Edwards Holt

“He admitted to me that he was beginning to feel invisible, especially in his wheelchair. He said people didn't take him seriously in that thing, said people wouldn't look him in the eyes.”
― Karie Fugett, Alive Day: A Memoir

“To me, the inaccessibility of most places sent the message that people with disabilities weren't welcome unless they were willing to adapt.”
― Karie Fugett, Alive Day: A Memoir

“I am not my chronic illness. I am a person. LOL.”
― Jonathan Harnisch, Jonathan Harnisch: An Alibiography

“Crip doula, a term created by disability justice organizer Stacey Park Milbern to describe the ways disabled people support/mentor newly disabled people in learning disabled skills (how to live on very low spoons, drive a wheelchair, have sex/redefine sexuality, etc.). A doula supports someone doing the work of childbirth; a crip doula is a disabled person supporting another disabled person as they do the work of becoming disabled, or differently disabled, of dreaming a new disabled life/world into being.”
― Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, The Future Is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes, and Mourning Songs

“My matured view on stories is that it's not always about the hero conquering the big, scary tumor, being seizure free, and coming out the other side unscathed. Sometimes it's about finding peace where I am and realizing that God is using me as a plot point in His story.”
― Maggie Bushway, Pearls: A Memoir On Childhood Brain Cancer and Hope

“Kindness grows fastest in hearts that understand struggle.”
― Sasha Dietze