"I Am. . .So Much More Than You See!"

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people speak for those with disabilities because they feel they can't speak for themselves or understand what others are saying. I believe that every person should have the ability to express their wants and needs, whether that be through speech, a communication device or even eye or body movements.  I recently encountered a situation where a family told me that the person I would be working with can't understand. This threw my whole intake off because I am not used to talking to the family of a person without talking to the person I will be helping. I ended up asking the person with the disability the majority of the questions and I believe she understood what I was asking her. While I understand that her family is trying to help her by speaking for her, I believe that it is teaching her to not communicate her wants and needs and one day she will have to live without them.  Additionally, I recently attended a conference and listen

While I don't want people to bend over backwards for me, sometimes an offer to help would be nice. I was recently going to teach at a local school and as I was walking into the building, some papers fell out of my folder and onto the ground.  I went to bend over and pick them up but I was really struggling to lean down that far. As I was struggling, two people walked by me without offering to help. One was a student and the other was an adult. I feel the adult should have had the manners and common courtesy to stop and at least ask me if I needed help. I was kind of shocked because I know if I saw someone struggling to do something I would at least offer to help them. On a positive note, recently a cashier in a convenience store gladly helped me when I was struggling to see the credit card machine in order to check out. I kept apologizing because I felt like I was holding up the line. He said to me,"You are a customer like everybody else and they can wait." I actu