 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 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. 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 it's 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 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, we prefer to call ourselves deaf because deaf involves a culture, our language. I am a deaf person. Need to adapt to your condition. Mine was a stroke. Eye contact. It's very important for anyone, disabled or non-disabled, to have eye contact because eye contact connects you to people. My chair, I can get around faster and easier and my legs are not so weak. Like they are when I walk. Introspection. The biggest thing that occurred to me after losing my leg was that I began to discover things about myself that I probably knew when I was a kid but had gotten buried years ago. Patience. After a brain hemorrhage and stroke in 2010 which had left me with mobility issues and limited use of my left arm and hand, required a lot of patience to learn to live one-handed. Challenged. You know, people with disabilities are definitely challenged in various angles. Change. My life changed in the blink of an eye and since then I have had to change many aspects of my life because of that. Journey. Every day is a journey. From morning, from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep. Acceptance. Because people with disabilities have a common goal in mind and that's to be accepted by everyone. I find if you ask politely to for people to lend a hand they'd be willing to at least give you a little bit of their time and help you out as much as they can. The ability to look at things differently and the ability to look at myself differently is one of the positive things that's come out of my amputation. I can still get out and work. I can, you know, I can get out and do my grocery shopping and make, do my housework without having to hire somebody. Having to hire somebody, somebody should do it for me. The asset in a disability for me are my eyes. As a deaf person, because I can't hear that doesn't mean at all that I can't appreciate the birds singing because what I do is I watch them fly. I see nature around me and I appreciate it more. I relate to people visually. I have a real visual appreciation. I guess that's how we would say. My disability is giving me a greater appreciation for diverse viewpoints and maybe a better, more patient problem solver. Disabled people have a lot of opportunities available to them including therapy and adaptive activities. Having a disability can be an asset and not a deficit because it makes you unique and as well as having an open mind about the world around you. It's my observation that a lot of people with disabilities make up for the lack in one specific area by building up their abilities in other areas. In other words, a blind person becomes a very good hearer who is really tuned into music or whatever, more so than your average Joe on the street. Having a disability allows me to connect with others in the disability community and instantly form bonds and unite and try to make change together. 18 years ago, I became a part of a minority group and that has pushed me to fight for change and equality.