Hear Me Out

We need to move away from the medical model of disability and embrace the social model of disability. This will help us recognise how society disables us and not our disability. We can then bring down those barriers to make a more inclusive world for people with disabilities

Privilege can be an emotive word but in the context of disability, it simply means advantages granted to abled people because they don’t have to think about or address barriers that people with disabilities have to deal with on a daily basis. By understanding these barriers, you can better understand as abled people your privileges and help remove some of these barriers

Masking can be used by people with disabilities as a coping mechanism to meet societal pressures. But there are hidden dangers of masking including mental health impacts. Businesses can help to mitigate this by creating an inclusive workplace where everyone belongs and can be their authentic self.

Belonging in the workplace is incredibly important for people with disabilities. To achieve that sense of belonging, the workplace needs to be diverse, supportive and inclusive – a psychological safe space where people are demonstrating inclusive behaviours every day.

People in the deaf community are twice as likely to have mental health issues than hearing people. Deafness can be a lonely and isolating disability due to the simple fact that we cannot hear fully. Therefore maintaining good mental health and self care is so important

For a person with a disability, allies are a lifeline. Someone who has your back and ensures you are included and supported. Someone who provides you with a psychological safety net by stepping in when things are difficult. Someone who enables you to perform to your very best. Someone who knows your need to practice self-care in order to protect your mental health. 

Words are one of the most powerful tools we have. They can inspire. They can destroy. Whether spoken or written, your words can have a huge impact and leave a lasting memory, good or bad. So the saying goes ‘choose your words wisely.’ It couldn’t be more true in the context of disability.

My earliest memory is when I was around the age of 2 years old and I was in hospital for glue ear, something that it was hoped was the cause of, and therefore the solution to, my deafness. It wasn’t. Parents were not allowed to stay over in hospital with their children in those days – I vividly remember Mum and Dad leaving me at the hospital and driving off to go home. So I was left alone, unable to communicate and feeling isolated. It was a feeling that would come to describe much of my childhood.

Welcome to Hear me out; a series of blog posts written to introduce you to the world through my eyes and, most importantly my ears, as a profoundly deaf person. They will form a personal storybook that I hope will both entertain and educate on just what a difference an inclusive workplace and society can make for people with disabilities such as deafness.