By Andrew Solomon — 2020
The author and clinical psychologist Andrew Solomon examines the disabilities that ramps and designated parking spots don’t address.
Read on www.nytimes.com
CLEAR ALL
Often, disabled people have their disability treated, but they don’t have their emotional or spiritual needs addressed.
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Individuals with disabilities are at a greater risk of experiencing fatigue than the general population, and this risk increases with age.
Individuals with disabilities frequently encounter workplace discrimination, bias, exclusion, and career plateaus—meaning their employers lose out on enormous innovation and talent potential.
Women with disabilities are often doubly penalized—for being women and for being disabled.
With each diagnosis, knowing her life hung in the balance, she was “stunned, then anguished” and astonished by “how much energy it takes to get from the bad news to actually starting on the return path to health.”
The ongoing dialogue I have with my own perspective and emotions is the biggest job I’ve ever undertaken. Exploring this internal give-and-take forces me to grow in surprising ways.
Depression and suicidal ideation are more likely among people with disabilities due to factors like abuse, isolation, and stressors related to poverty, among others.
Adults with disabilities report experiencing frequent mental distress almost 5 times as often as adults without disabilities.
Ableism refers to bias, prejudice, and discrimination against people with disabilities. It hinges on the idea that people with disabilities are less valuable than nondisabled people.
I’m a tenured, deeply qualified New York City teacher, but some only see my disability. At least my students know the impact I can make in the world.