 their disabilities may be seen or unseen. While some types of disabilities are more apparent than others, all disabilities are invisible. And that assistive device does not tell the whole story or define who a person is. Also, some disabilities don't have a visible indicator at all. People don't know on the streets how you would basically get around. And the things that you do, like I volunteer in there, you see, you get around like that, I say, yeah. People with disabilities are often times viewed as inspirational when we're actually just trying to go about our daily lives. And to call us inspirational can sometimes be patronizing. I live with a traumatic brain injury. Yes, I'm in a wheelchair, it's obvious. But the biggest struggle I deal with day-to-day is my traumatic brain injury. It's a disability that you can't see. And if people don't know about it, it's hard for them to understand and see the disability. I think the assumption is often made that disability keeps people from doing things. The truth is that we can do most things. We're just going to do them differently. And I think helping to understand how things get done, the fact that they can be done, but will be done differently, is going to allow us to shift the paradigm. The misconception that is first and foremost is that people with disabilities are totally helpless, that they don't have any personal resources, which is not true. They have a lot of resources. As long as they get the appropriate assistance, they can make do with what they've got. One misconception that people might have that individuals with disabilities can't do things by themselves. Yes, we're different, but we're just the same as everyone else all wanting the same thing. And that is to be accepted for who they are. Most people misunderstand the term disability and related to hearing loss is I call myself a deaf person. Some people will try to be polite and say that I am hearing impaired. That term is offensive to the deaf community. We would prefer just to be called deaf. Sometimes people who are hard of hearing are fine with the term hard of hearing. Everyone has different preferences, but that's... You know, we prefer to call ourselves deaf because deaf involves a culture, our language. I am a deaf person. Their disabilities may be seen or unseen. While some types of disabilities are more apparent than others, all disabilities are invisible. And that assistive device does not tell the whole story or define who a person is. Also, some disabilities don't have a visible indicator at all. People don't know on the streets how you basically can get around. And the things that you do, like I volunteer in there, you say, you get around like that? I say, yeah. People with disabilities are oftentimes viewed as inspirational when we're actually just trying to go about our daily lives. And to call us inspirational can sometimes be patronizing. I live with a traumatic brain injury. Yes, I'm in a wheelchair, it's obvious, but the biggest struggle I deal with day to day is my traumatic brain injury. It's a disability that you can't see and if people don't know about it, it's hard for them to understand and see the disability. I think the assumption is often made that disability keeps people from doing things. And the truth is that we can do most things. We're just going to do them differently. And I think helping to understand how things get done, the fact that they can be done, but will be done differently, is going to allow us to shift the paradigm. The misconception that is first and foremost is that people with disabilities are totally helpless, that they don't have any personal resources, which is not true. They have a lot of resources. As long as they get the appropriate assistance, they can make do with what they got. One misconception that people might have that individuals with disabilities can't do things by themselves. Yes, we're different, but we're just the same as everyone else all wanting the same thing and that is to be accepted for who they are. Most people misunderstand the term disability and related to hearing loss, is I call myself a deaf person. Some people will try to be polite and say that I am hearing impaired. That term is offensive to the deaf community. We would prefer just to be called deaf. Sometimes people who are hard of hearing are fine with the term hard of hearing. Everyone has different preferences. But that's, you know, we prefer to call ourselves deaf because deaf involves a culture, our language. I am a deaf person.