The subject of disability may make a lot of people uncomfortable, and it’s even considered taboo in certain circles. There are a variety of causes for this, including taught behavior, misunderstandings, and preconceptions, to mention a few. However, it is critical to have open and respectful discussions about disabilities in order to promote comprehension, empathy, and acceptance so that we can move on to more pressing issues such as existing physical and mental barriers – at the individual, organizational, and systemic levels – that prevent people with disabilities from fully participating in all aspects of life.
Why should you go through TED Talks for disability?
In Canada, around 22% of the population has a disability. To be clear, there are many different types of disability, both obvious and hidden. Some individuals are born with impairments or impairments, while others develop them because of accidents, illnesses, or aging, to mention a few. People who live with or identify as living with disabilities have a wide range of lived experiences and viewpoints, just as there are many different forms of disabilities and impairments. There is no one-size-fits-all disability experience. As a result, it’s critical to engage with, listen to, and learn from the tales and experiences of those around us.
One excellent method to learn is to watch one of the numerous TED Talks on disability that are available, and to think about and examine the ideas and lessons provided by these speakers. But don’t simply sit there and watch it. Host a Watch Party and watch the TED Talks with a friend, family members or housemates, or coworkers, followed by an open conversation. To get you started, we’ve produced a list of 10 of our favorite TED Talks from across the globe, all of which deal with disability, accessibility, and inclusion.
Thank You Very Much, I’m Not Your Inspiration by Stella Young
Stella Young is a comedian and journalist who spends her days in a wheelchair, which she would want to clarify does not automatically make her a noble inspiration to all mankind. Young deconstructs society’s propensity of making handicapped people into “inspiration porn” just because of their impairment, rather than honoring them for their achievements, in this hilarious lecture.
Susan Robinson’s How I Fail at Being Disabled
Susan Robinson is an entrepreneur, a motivational speaker, and a blogger. Susan Robinson is legally blind (or partly sighted, as she prefers) due to a hereditary vision impairment, which she claims entitled her to the designation “disabled,” which she despises. She challenges assumptions and expectations about disability in her amusing and intimate lecture by discussing five ways she fails at being handicapped. You can find related disability benefits info and calculator here.
Tom Nash’s The Perks of Being a Pirate
Tom Nash is a self-described pirate and DJ. Tom confronts the typical idea of disability as a disadvantage and flips it on it head in this extremely delightful and amusing lecture. DirectAccess told us that he “ponders how encountering difficulty as a result of his impairment brought patience, ambition, and pragmatism into his life in unexpected and instructive ways.” ‘We all have our own flaws,’ he adds. ‘If we’re honest with ourselves about what they are, we can figure out how to effectively exploit them.'”
Maysoon Zayid’s I Got 99 Problems…. And Palsy is Just One
Maysoon Zayid is a comedian, writer, and actor. “I was born with cerebral palsy. I’m always shaky. “I’m like Shakira meets Muhammad Ali,” she says at the start of this enthralling and entertaining conversation. Maysoon takes us on a whistle-stop tour of her travels as an actor, stand-up comedian, philanthropist, and champion for the handicapped, with elegance and humor, including the time she was passed over for an acting job starring a character with cerebral palsy. As a result, viewers are reminded that her illness is her lived reality, but it does not define who she is or what she is capable of.
By Michelle Sullivan, asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.
Michelle Sullivan is a social innovator, writer, and business executive. Sullivan presents anecdotes full of humor and wisdom in a lecture about perspectives, arguing that we can never fully know what it’s like to be someone else or walk in someone else’s shoes. “You can only walk in your own shoes,” she explains. “We all have problems; some are visible, while others are not.” “We may travel together, side by side,” she says, “with compassion, bravery, and understanding.” We’re all a component of each other’s safety nets.
Rosie King: How Autism Enabled Me to Be My True Self Rosie King: How Autism Enabled Me to Be My True Self
Rosie King is a storyteller, activist, and writer. Rosie describes her experience living with autism with candor and a seriousness that belies her age. Starting with the caveat that autism affects people differently, Rosie wonders why people are so afraid of variety, standing out, and anything that isn’t “normal” that they try to fit everything into a tiny little box, to want to label things and strive to be normal, as if normal were a compliment. Rosie’s speech is a rallying cry for every child, parent, teacher, and individual to embrace their individuality. It’s a soaring monument to humanity’s diversity’s potential.
Why Everyone Should Be Involved in Design by Sinéad Burke
Sinéad Burke is a broadcaster, writer, and professor. Sinéad, who stands at 105 centimeters (3′ 5′′) tall, is highly aware of nuances that are almost undetectable to most of us. Many factors that the ordinary able-bodied person takes for granted, such as the height of door locks or the distance between airport gates, frequently prohibit and impede many other individuals from doing things for themselves. She describes her experiences navigating the world as a little person in her TED Talk, and she pushes us, as designers, to ponder the question, “Who are we not creating for?”
Final words
Go through these TED Talks and you will figure out why disability should not be a major concern. It will help you to get the most out of your life.
