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An Exploration of Disability
Through Art and Writing
When I was a child, to be "handicapped" or "crippled" went hand in hand with being emotionally, physically, and spiritually "untouchable". Those children didn't enter the same classrooms I did, nor did they appear to play on the same playgrounds because during the 1960s, children with disabilities were often put into special programs and segregated from the majority of students at their elementary schools. Interaction between the two groups was rare.Therefore, I grew up with the notion that people with disabilities were not at all like me. As an adult, I knew there was something extremely wrong with this viewpoint. It was only after I injured my hand playing guitar and had to live day-to-day with my own temporary disability, a repetitive stress injury, that I realized how narrow my view of disability had been.
During the first phases of finding out about repetitive stress injury, I needed to ask questions and share my fears. But soon, my search led me past my own concerns to the disabled community I had feared and ignored in the past. I was unable to play guitar or sometimes even lift a cup, but I learned to accommodate my injured hand so I could still paint with watercolors. Still having the ability to paint, I set a goal of interviewing people with disabilities and then painting my perception of each person. The people I have met during this project have donated their time to share their feelings about their lives. Most of the people with whom I spoke enjoy writing and joined me in the effort to express our feelings toward disability through journal entries, poetry and prose. Through our candid conversations, I came to highly respect each individual and the disabled community as a whole. Each person's viewpoint readjusted my stereotypical ideas and led me to the belief that one's attitude towards one's disability can contribute to a more joyous or difficult life.
There is also a need for a change in societal attitudes; easy-access housing and city planning should be a priority so that the disabled community can more easily blend into the mainstream. Although many people with disabilities lead full and enriching lives now, as the public's understanding changes, their lives and ours will be even more enriched.
My temporary disability has forced me to focus on the things I can do best while coping with my injury. I used to spread myself too thinly, but because I cannot pursue all of my past interests, my life is less scattered these days. And now I am able to appreciate the strength and wisdom of people whose disabilities are similar to or more debilitating than mine. Many of us have disabilities that are not physically noticeable; we too need to be acknowledged. We are athletes of the spirit as we cope with our challenges, large and small, and strive to fulfill our highest expectations of ourselves.
- Julie Cohn
The paintings from this exhibit are available as prints for order, directly from the artist.
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