A person not disability.

I've shared this beautiful article from the BBC website on my Twitter account, but would like to also share a bit of my own thoughts on disability.

I remember when I was about 13 or 14 we went to the seaside with my mum and my brother and there were two girls with Down's Syndrome in the place we stayed at. For whatever reason they've taken a great interest in me and loved to dance with me. I though their faces were absolutely beautiful, especially that the girls always smiled and were so joyous. Then there was a paralysed boy with mental disability who claimed to love me. And a few girls at my school, also with learning disabilities, who I could calm down so easily. There's always been a very natural  way of communication between people with different kinds of difficulties and me.

It's been really painful to watch other people make fun of those with disabilities. Especially when it happens in places such as Oxford, where people are supposed to be smart. But, unfortunately, smart doesn't mean you don't act like a total douchebag. There was this boy with some disability which impaired his speech. It was difficult to understand him, yes, but is that a reason to laugh at him and treat him as an inferior human being? I don't think so. Did I speak up to stop this? No, I didn't have enough courage to say this was wrong. Probably now I'd be better equipped to deal with such situations: when I boil inside to the point of hurting but my lips are sealed with fear.

I'd like the world to see beyond disability. To see a person. Even if she speaks in a funny way, repeats the same sentence a hundred times or just looks a bit different. To be more like children who take a person as he is, without an expectation of a perfect, flawless model.