Fostering Stigmas

As a hearing aid wearer since age three, I’ve often received mailings from hearing aid manufacturers and clinics regarding special offers. Recently, I’ve been receiving mailings from one specific organization (which I will not name here) with a preferred customer discount coupon to buy new hearing aids from them.

While the value of the coupon is significant -- $1,500 to be exact – the messaging of the letter has been somewhat of a turnoff. In each mailing the organization bolds and underlines the following sentence: “This allows the hearing instrument to be smaller, less noticeable – and definitely more comfortable.”

The key words above are “smaller” and “less noticeable”. In each mailing I receive this organization speaks to new hearing aids being smaller, less noticeable, blending in with skin color, better than ‘old fashion’ hearing aids, discreet looking, in the canal, etc…

I realize there may be a stigma associated with wearing hearing aids among individuals who lose hearing in old age, but what message does this send to younger folks who are long time hearing aid wearers like me? Does it suggest that wearing hearing aids is abnormal or embarrassing? I think it is great that technology is advancing, but do these letters really help us move beyond any stigma? Or do these letters foster the stigma?

Little River Band - Cool Change LIVE with John Farnham

One of my favorite songs -- and an inspiration for moving forward in a positive direction...a direction of change.

Bold Statements from A Life Worth Living

A life worth living.
All life is precious.
We are all created equal.
My life is worth living.
I am unique.
I am beautiful.
I am happy.
I am not suffering.
I am not a mistake.
I am part of the Creator’s grand plan.
I am God’s will.
Disabilities are natural.
People with Disabilities are not broken and they don’t need to be fixed.
I have 47 chromosomes but it is not a genetic weakness.
I may be slow at some things but I am not stupid.
Don’t measure my worth by my IQ.
Look for my ability not my disability.
My therapist says I am doing well because I AM!
I will walk and talk and blow your socks off.
I might be a grocery bagger. Is that OK with you?
I am stubborn . I get that trait from my mom and dad.
I will not spit or bite.
I’m huggable and kissable.
The truth is I am lovable.
My love is unconditional. Is yours?
I am special and it has nothing to do with having Down Syndrome.
You say I look “normal”. I AM NORMAL!
Don’t try to measure my worth. I’m priceless.

“Just when you think you have learned what you need to know in life someone truly special comes into it and shows just how much more there is.”

From: A Life Worth Living on YouTube. My dream is for the world to see that all children are blessings, even children with Down syndrome. Down syndrome is one of the most common genetic anomalies in the world. It is time that the public is made more aware of this. I want the world to understand that every child, whether they have a disability or not, deserves equal opportunities to grow and develop. Children with Down syndrome are more similar than different when compared with other children. I want to change the world one person at a time so that everyone can see that people with Down syndrome have a life worth living.

Here is my first article for With-TV

Managing Perception is Key to Success

Buzzing in the Workplace
By: Rob Roy

While some might still consider me ‘fresh’ in the workplace, the past couple years have provided me with wisdom that has left horizontal impressions on my forehead! The growth I’ve experienced was most evident to me when I met a group of new hires who recently began working at my firm. I recognized the gleam of enthusiasm and anticipation in their eyes and the innocence of their smiles – a familiar look I know I had two years ago.

If I could share my nugget of wisdom with the new hires, I would tell them the following: managing perception is key to success.

What do I mean? How people perceive you in the office and how confident you feel about your contribution to your team ultimately impact the substance of work you receive as well as the availability of opportunities that can advance your career. With substantial work and solid opportunities, you are well equipped to demonstrate potential that (I hope) will lead to a promotion.

So, how to begin managing perception? (Obviously, it is easier said then done.) The following five tips have worked well for me and my co-workers:

Praise in public and criticize constructively in private. When a peer does well leading a team meeting or presentation, congratulate them on doing a good job. If an organizational process has improved, commend the person in charge of leading the change. When feeling disgruntled because of a policy change or the printer doesn’t print correctly, leave the criticism for you to discuss with your manager. Avoid raising any criticism in front of a large group.

Act engaged at all times. Ask good questions - even if you think you know the answer – and follow-up with additional insight or observation on what you learned. Active participation shows you are not a silent observer and that you are engaged in the content of your job. Be wary though – peers often recognize and dislike excessive participation. Don’t go overboard!

Always know the next step. Understand the different responsibilities between your current and any future position you desire. Seek out opportunities to demonstrate capability for tasks that are part of the next job. Perform these responsibilities well and utilize peers for guidance and direction when uncertain about how to approach the tasks.

Work on ad hoc projects or participate on a task force. Extra points are usually earned when you participate on a task force or ad hoc project outside the scope of your day to day responsibilities. However, it is important to be proactive about finding a project or task force as it typically doesn’t drop in your lap. You could participate on anything as big as a team devoted to positively impacting how your company is structured to as little as creating a committee that plans out-of-office social events.

Record, record, and … yes, record. Keep a documented log of your project work and a description of your contribution to each project. Focus on contributions that positively impact the business. Share the log when moving to a new team or transitioning to a new manager to demonstrate your experience and manage your new leader’s expectations. Also, reference this list – strategically, of course – when approaching your performance review to ensure the scope of your accomplishments are captured in your review.

Cheers to all you new hires that are beginning your careers and best of luck! May you strategically manage perception and have a year filled with success!

Positive Discrimination

Nice article, Victoria. Love how you provide an alternative perspective on having a disability. It's not a tragic event or pitfall in one's life...that is for sure.

Rob

Being tetraplegic isn't a lifestyle choice
By Victoria Bringell
August 8, 2007

Becoming tetraplegic isn’t a lifestyle choice I would necessarily recommend. It’s not exactly a bed of roses. On the other hand, it would be a mistake to think that having a disability is always a problem. Every cloud has a silver lining and disability is no exception. Indeed, us crips do enjoy certain advantages over all you able-bodied people.

For a start, having a mobility impairment is incredibly helpful at weddings, parties and any other function where society may expect you to dance – but you don’t want to do so. A wheelchair provides the perfect excuse not to get onto the dance floor and make a fool of yourself. (Indeed, I feel my presence at these events fulfils an important social need, as anyone who similarly wishes to avoid public humiliation can insist they are deep in conversation with me whenever someone encourages them to get up and dance.)

Then there are situations when being a wheelchair user like myself can save you money. Generally speaking, disability is an expensive business. You may need to buy specialist equipment, make alterations to your property and spend more on travel arrangements. But looking on the bright side, certain theatres do offer generous discounts.

At the Royal Opera House, tickets can cost up to £180, yet I can obtain a wheelchair space with an excellent view of the stage for as little as £15. It’s most satisfying to look around at the other ‘patrons’ nearby, knowing I’ve only paid a fraction of what they have for the same quality of seat!

The National Theatre is another venue where it’s financially beneficial to be disabled. Tickets for a wheelchair user and one companion at the National are always £10-12. What’s more, I discovered a few weeks ago that the National has a policy of automatically refunding wheelchair-users if they find they cannot make a performance after all. Unfortunately, I had to work late on the same evening I was meant to be seeing the play Philistines. When I rang the box office to find out if they could sell my tickets to someone else, I was told that would be impossible as the play wasn’t sold out – but as I was a wheelchair user they would reimburse me anyway.

Thanks to my disability, I often gain an insight into the kinder side of people’s natures. I travel regularly to work by train and on most journeys at least one fellow passenger will ask me if I want a hand. Frequently it’s two or three. I’m always touched when a commuter offers help, especially on a Monday morning when they are probably stressed about work or in a hurry to get to the office on time.

I remember on one occasion, as the train pulled into the station, a scrawny youth leant over towards me. He looked like the kind of young man who collects ASBOs in the same way others collect stamps. I was therefore slightly taken aback when he enquired, “Do you have someone looking after you? Do you want me to get you off the train?”. That will teach me to judge people by their appearance! At a time when we are bombarded by news stories about crime, anti-social behaviour and the apparent breakdown of communities, my disability enables me to witness plentiful examples of people’s thoughtfulness and concern for others.

Using a wheelchair sometimes gives you access to places which are normally out of bounds to the public. Stately homes are notoriously wheelchair-unfriendly buildings, with numerous steps up to their front doors, but increasing numbers of them do have an alternative entrance suitable for disabled visitors. At Radley House in Warwickshire, for example, disabled tourists enter via the private wing and use the same door as the family who own the estate.

I’m a naturally curious person (which is probably why I became a journalist) and I relish these chances to glimpse “behind the scenes”. On one occasion, I even managed to give a couple of American tourists a scare during a school trip to Hampton Court Palace.

In those days, Hampton Court cleverly hid the lift for disabled visitors behind artificial walls covered with beautiful, elaborate tapestries. (For all I know, this could still be the case – I haven’t been back to Hampton Court since).

Two middle-aged American women just happened to be studying a tapestry when suddenly it started moving to one side. As the steward and I emerged from the lift, we were confronted by two very startled faces. “Golly,” exclaimed one of the unnerved women. “We thought there was a ghost!”

Sometimes, I admit, a wheelchair brings you special treatment. At Buckingham Palace, wheelchair-using tourists enter through a gate at the front of the building and then have the pleasure of going through the famous arch. In contrast, tourists on legs have to use a much-less-exciting side door. Another time, when I was looking around St George’s Chapel, Windsor, one of the stewards beckoned me over and proceeded to show me the Bible that the Queen uses during services. It’s normally kept locked away in a drawer near where she sits, hidden from public view.

Undoubtedly, the most memorable example of positive discrimination I’ve received was my access to the lying-in-state of the Queen Mother’s body five years ago. As the conventional route into Westminster Hall involved steps, crips were allowed in the back way. While everyone else had to queue for up to 10 hours, I was able to nip in and out in under 10 minutes. It’s possibly the only time in my life when my wheelchair has proved to be a major time-saving device.

It seems to me that a disability significantly increases your chances of meeting famous people, especially members of the royal family. (The republicans among you may not regard this as a positive thing, but whatever your views on the monarchy, it is interesting to meet these people). So far, I’ve met the Queen, Princess Diana and the Duchess of York, directly as a result of being disabled. (I should point out that I met Fergie after her divorce so I suppose she wasn’t technically a “royal” at that time).

My disability has also brought me into contact with Stephen Hawking, Tanni Grey-Thompson and Jimmy Savile. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which of those encounters I relished the most.
Finally, it cannot be denied that my disability has given me opportunities that I would never have experienced otherwise. More than once in my life I’ve been asked to play the role of “token crip”. Back in 1998, Cambridge University held an exhibition to mark the 50th anniversary of women being awarded degrees.

Fifty female Cambridge graduates were chosen and photographic portraits of them displayed in the Cambridge Arts Theatre. The organisers must have decided that one of the women should be visibly disabled and, for some reason, I was nominated.

Consequently – alongside the portraits of distinguished women like Dame Margaret Anstee (the first woman to head a UN peace-keeping mission), actress Eleanor Bron, scientist Jocelyn Bell Burnell, writer Margaret Drabble and psychologist Dr Penelope Leach – there appeared a picture of me. To have my name mentioned among so many accomplished and eminent women was both surreal and comical. Never before have I felt such an imposter. At the gala evening I even had people coming up to me asking for my autograph. This is funny in itself but what makes it even funnier is the fact that I can’t hold a pen. I had tremendous difficulty keeping a straight face as I explained to them that an autograph posed rather a tricky challenge…

From: http://www.newstatesman.com/200708080002
About: Victoria Brignell works as a radio producer with the BBC. After reading classics at Downing College, Cambridge, she undertook journalism training at Cardiff University. She lives in West London and is 30 years old and is a tetraplegic wheelchair-user.

Contributor to With-TV

I'm now contributing to With-TV. I'll be writing on workplace issues and trends and am calling my contribution Buzzing in the Workplace. Issues and trends could be both disability and non-disability related. When relevant, I’ll incorporate my own workplace experiences in the column -- although I will make sure the opinions are mine and not represenative of my employer. Also, I'll post my articles here as well.

Here is my bio for With-TV:

Rob Roy - is an Analyst for the Nielsen Company, a leading provider of marketing information and business media services, where he advises clients on new product innovation and execution strategies. A native of Chicago, Rob received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison . When not working, Rob likes to ride his bike, hang out at the beach with his dog, and spend time wondering what is Buzzing in the Workplace.

Exciting stuff!

Attitude

Things are only the way in which we perceive them to be...thanks for the perspective, Charles, in that we ultimately impact how we perceive the world in which we live. We are in charge of our attitudes!!

Rob

Attitude
By: Charles Swindoff

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play in the one string we have, and this is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...We are in charge of our Attitudes."