“I think you have to take the man at his word [Donald Trump]. Is kind of an equal-opportunity insulter. He started by calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals. He moved on to denigrating John McCain's heroism during the Vietnam War. He has gone after people with disabilities. He has said Muslims should be kept out of our country. He certainly has gone after individual women in the media, in the political arena.” PeopleThinkingMenShouldKindSaidWarCountryPoliticalOpportunityIndividualGoneMediaHe ManTrumpCallingEqualMovedCriminalsOur CountryImmigrantsDisabilityVietnamHeroismArenaMexicanVietnam WarMccainMoved OnEqual OpportunityPeople With Disabilities Author:Hillary Clinton
“As a person with cerebral palsy who walks with crutches, people have the assumption that I've had to overcome a lot of obstacles in my life because of it, and to some degree, I have. However, the most difficult obstacle to overcome is other people's perception of who a person with a disability is.” PeoplePersonsDifficultWalksDegreesPerceptionOvercomingObstaclesAssumptionDisabilityCrutchesCerebralCerebral Palsy Author:Greg Walloch
“We start with an economic approach. We look at what are the greatest causes of death in the developing world, and what causes the largest amount of disability, which would prevent you from getting a job. A lot of those deaths start with diseases, diseases we don't get in such a great number in the United States.” WorldLooksStatesJobsCausesUnitedNumbersUnited StatesEconomicAmountDiseaseApproachDevelopingDisability Author:Melinda Gates
“I'm dyslexic. If you can reconcile yourself to not being able to burn through books, which you shouldn't any way, you can slow the whole process down. Then, because of my disability, there is more for me in imaginative literature than there is for other people.” PeopleIfsWayBookWholeAbleLiteratureProcessDisabilityImaginativeReconcileDyslexic Author:Richard Ford
“Many people in the throes of suffering, disappointment, and despair, feel utterly stuck in their circumstances. They see no hope beyond their day-to-day drudgery of disability routines; but when hurting families place themselves under the shower of God's mercy, suddenly the clouds part. They realize there's hope, life, and even joy beyond their suffering.” PeopleFeelsJoySufferingRealizingHurtCircumstancesDespairMercyCloudsDisappointmentStuckDisabilityShowersDay To DayNo HopeDrudgery Author:Joni Eareckson Tada
“I never respond to Donald Trump's personal insults about me. I could care less what he says about me. I'm going to respond when he calls a judge unqualified because of his Mexican heritage, or mocks a reporter with a disability, or says demeaning things about women. And the list goes on.” CareJudgingGoes OnTrumpListsInsultDisabilityHeritageReportersMexicanUnqualifiedDemeaningCould Care Less Author:Hillary Clinton
“Having a disability changes your whole life, not just your attitude.” WholeAttitudeWhole LifeDisability Author:Bob Dole
“It seems that some consideration should be given to the cause of our mounting physical disabilities, but instead of going to the root of our troubles - wrong habits of eating and drinking - we rush to the medicine shelf and smother our uncomfortable and distressing symptoms under an avalanche of pills, potions and palliatives.” ShouldSeemsGivenCausesTroubleHabitEatingRootsMedicineDrinkingMedicalUncomfortableConsiderationDisabilityShelvesSymptomsPillsDistressingAvalanchesEating And Drinking Author:Lester Roloff
“The United States government was proud that, although perhaps 100,000 Iraqis had died in the Gulf War of 1991, there were only 48 American battle casualties. What it has concealed from the public is that 206,000 veterans of that war filed claims with the VA for injuries and illnesses. In the years since that war, 8,300 veterans have died, and 160,000 claims for disability have been recognized by the VA.” YearsHas BeensWarStatesGovernmentUnitedUnited StatesProudBattleClaimsDiedIllnessInjuryDisabilityVeteranConcealedCasualtiesState GovernmentGulf WarUnited States Government Author:Howard Zinn
“There is no evidence, that I am aware of, that points to a link between vaccines and developmental disability.” EvidenceLinksDisabilityVaccinesDevelopmentalDevelopmental Disabilities Author:Jill Stein
“On the other hand, there are plenty of red flags that link developmental disabilities to things like lead and mercury and pesticides and air pollution and certain kinds of unhealthy foods, and that's what's begging for a comprehensive and definitive study. We should have a long-term prospectus study that looks at all, you know, exposures, medications, life habits, etc., pollution, and traces people over a period of many years, starting with when - starting with their parents, from when they are healthy. This is how we learned what causes heart disease.” PeopleKnowsShouldYearsLooksHeartKindLongHandsCertainCausesParentTermStudyAirHabitPeriodsHealthyDiseaseRedShould HaveStartingPlentyLong TermEtcLinksDisabilityFlagsPollutionExposureComprehensiveBeggingUnhealthyMedicationMercuryHeart DiseaseHealthy FoodDevelopmentalPesticidesRed FlagsAir PollutionUnhealthy FoodDevelopmental Disabilities Author:Jill Stein
“Back in the 1950s, we did a study in Framingham called the Framingham Study.This needs to be done for developmental disabilities. It's outrageous that people have had to live with this heartache for so long without having a definitive answer.” PeopleNeedsLongDoneAnswersStudyHeartacheDisabilityOutrageousDevelopmentalDevelopmental Disabilities Author:Jill Stein
“Nancy Reagan, when presented with kids with really painful disabilities and deformities, she was completely undaunted.” KidsPainfulDisabilityNancyDeformityUndaunted Author:Cynthia Nixon
“Nancy Reagan would just run up to these kids [with really painful disabilities and deformities] and hold them and pick them up... because I think she felt so judged all the time and she felt so unlovable.” ThinkingRunningKidsFeltPicksPainfulDisabilityJudgedNancyDeformityUnlovable Author:Cynthia Nixon
“I started off as a young lawyer working against discrimination against African-American children in schools and in the criminal justice system. I worked to make sure that kids with disabilities could get a public education, something that I care very much about. I have worked with Latinos - one of my first jobs in politics was down in south Texas registering Latino citizens to be able to vote. So I have a deep devotion to making sure that an every American feels like he or she has a place in our country.” FeelsFirstsChildrenCountryCareKidsAbleSchoolJobsYoungJusticeCitizensVoteSouthCriminalsLawyerDiscriminationDevotionOur CountryAfrican AmericanTexasDisabilityI CareLatinoJustice SystemCriminal JusticePublic EducationCriminal Justice System Author:Hillary Clinton
“If you think, what was the last really big, big accomplishment for the nation that came purely out of the legislature? It might be the Americans with Disabilities Act. I mean that really was a legislative creation.” IfsThinkingMeanBigsMightLastsNationsCreationAccomplishmentDisabilityLegislature Author:Tim Kaine
“Disrespecting one's ethnicity or their religious preference, on and on and on, if they have a disability, is not anything that has to do with when we talk about democracy. Equality.” IfsReligiousDemocracyDisabilityPreferenceEthnicity Author:Stevie Wonder
“I know that there'll be a continuation of making the world more accessible for people with disabilities.” PeopleKnowsWorldDisabilityContinuationPeople With Disabilities Author:Stevie Wonder
“That's software in the States that I helped to develop. It enables people with disabilities to improvise.” PeopleStatesDisabilitySoftwarePeople With Disabilities Author:Pauline Oliveros
“There are people with physical disabilities that prevent them from having any hope - in some cases any actual hope and in other cases any practical hope - of marriage. The circumstance of being currently unable to marry, while tragic, is not unique.” PeopleCasesCircumstancesUniquePracticalsTragicDisability Author:Dallin H. Oaks
“A lot of society tries to put people with disabilities into one cube, and when you think about it, many, many people have different types of disabilities, and you cannot put a code that applies towards everyone - generally, they can be guidelines, but in the long run, interior designers and architects need more education on the subject. That's what's missing.” PeopleThinkingNeedsTryingLongDifferentRunningSubjectsMissingTypeCodeDesignerDisabilityArchitectLong RunsInteriorsCubesGuidelinesPeople With DisabilitiesInterior Designer Author:Itzhak Perlman
“I find personally that when I go to a place where I can't get in, I feel hostility from whatever it is, a hotel, a shop, a market, a street corner where there are no curb cuts, because somebody forgot to put them in, and where I have to go two blocks to the corner to do it. A lot of the excuses are, "Well, this is an old building." That's my favorite one. "This is an old building." It's as though 50 years ago, people with disabilities did not exist. As if the disabled are a new problem. It has always been a problem.” PeopleIfsFeelsYearsWellsI CanTwoProblemCuttingStreetsBuildingYears AgoMy FavoriteExcuseCornersBlockShopsHotelDisabilityHostilityDisabledCurbStreet CornersPeople With DisabilitiesOld Buildings Author:Itzhak Perlman
“Life is not as easy as it could be for a person with a disability.” PersonsLife IsEasyDisability Author:Itzhak Perlman
“Every person with a disability has a slightly different kind of disability. Not everybody has the same problems. Usually the wheelchairs are the wheelchairs. It's the same height and so on. It's a problem.” KindPersonsDifferentProblemHeightDisabilityDifferent KindsWheelchairs Author:Itzhak Perlman
“Kids coming from very difficult economic circumstances in urban areas are in some ways discriminated against in ways that are similar to the way people with intellectual disabilities are discriminated against. People are afraid of them. People sometimes assume that they don't have skills, gifts or abilities to contribute.” PeopleWaySometimesKidsDifficultAbilityEconomicCircumstancesSkillsIntellectualAreasAssumingDisabilityUrbanUrban AreasIntellectual Disability Author:Timothy Shriver
“We can't have close to 90 percent of those prenatally diagnosed with an intellectual disability being aborted; 90 percent not going to school; more than 90 percent reporting discrimination in the healthcare system; and 90 percent unemployed, and tell ourselves that we're doing a good job. The obstacles to leading a full life for the vast majority of people with intellectual disabilities are far beyond what they should be, and far beyond what we should tolerate. So yeah, I want change.” PeopleWantShouldSchoolJobsIntellectualPercentYeahMajorityObstaclesDiscriminationDisabilityHealthcareTolerateGood JobUnemployedFull LifeIntellectual Disability Author:Timothy Shriver
“My concerts consist of black, white, Korean - everybody. And the age group is so broad, from kids to great-grandparents. I have a lot of people with disabilities who come to my show as well. I personally move them to the front of the line because the lines for my autograph signings are so long. I make sure everybody has a good time at my show.” PeopleWellsLongShowsKidsAgeMovingBlackLinesWhiteGroupsFrontsGood TimesBroadsConcertsDisabilityGrandparentHaving A Good TimeKoreanAutographsSigningBlack WhitePeople With DisabilitiesGreat Grandparents Author:Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.
“Nothing like quoting Silence of the Lambs for people to question what kind of disability you have.” PeopleKindSilenceDisabilityLambsQuoting Author:Zach Anner
“I thought this should be a travel show, because a lot of people with physical disabilities get discouraged.” PeopleShouldShowsDisabilityDiscouraged Author:Zach Anner
“Even if you have an ADA room, every disability is so different that people need different things. A lot of times they'll put something on the toilet to make it higher, and for someone transferring from their chair that's fine, but I transfer from the floor so it causes more problems.” PeopleIfsNeedsDifferentProblemCausesRoomsFineHigherChairsDifferent ThingsDisabilityToiletsTransfersAda Author:Zach Anner
“There's a tendency to treat anyone with a physical disability as inspiring. I call it a pedestal of prejudice, in that you're lifting people up to dismiss them. My whole thing is bringing us down to everyone else's level and saying we're all the same. The struggle is the same.” PeopleWholeLevelsStruggleTreatsPrejudiceTendenciesDisabilityLiftingPedestal Author:Zach Anner
“The biggest disabilities are when you sabotage yourself mentally, those personal demons that get on your shoulder and you can't shake 'em.” ShouldersDemonShakesEmsDisabilitySabotagePersonal Demons Author:Zach Anner
“Having a son with a disability helps makes Walter White a more sympathetic character. There's no story line that shows Walt Jr. going through the things that you go through as a teenager with a disability. It's always his relationship to other characters. That was my issue with it.” CharacterHelpingStoriesShowsLinesWhiteIssuesSonTeenagerDisabilitySympatheticWaltHaving A SonWalter White Author:Zach Anner
“When I read the script [of Glee], the whole premise was that all the high school kids were being cruel to this kid in the wheelchair, and then the quarterback comes along and has a heart of gold and takes him out of a Porta Potty. That's too often what I see in media, that the characters with disabilities are there to make other people seem like heroes for treating the character with a disability with respect. Those are the kinds of roles that are out there.” PeopleHeartKindWholeCharacterSeemsKidsSchoolRolesMediaHeroHigh SchoolGoldScriptsDisabilityPremisesQuarterbackGleeWheelchairsPottyHeart Of Gold Author:Zach Anner
“Call yourself and define your relationship to your chair the way you want to, or your disability the way you want to.” WayWantChairsDisabilityOur Relationship Author:Zach Anner
“I think that's where it comes into play, when you are just looking at a document or whatever and you see the word "disability." Does that automatically trigger something in you that denies someone their personhood?” ThinkingDoePlayDenyDisabilityDocumentsTriggersPersonhood Author:Zach Anner
“I always say, once I get in a room, I can sell myself just fine. I know that not everyone who has a disability has the social skills or cognitive skills that I do, and it may be harder for them to navigate through.” KnowsMayI CanSocialRoomsFineSkillsHarderSellsDisabilityCognitiveNavigateSocial Skills Author:Zach Anner
“I feel a lot of personal responsibility to undo the negative stereotypes. I know that it's not coming from a bad place. It's coming from an ignorant place. I can sort of be an ambassador in a subtle way to say, "This is what I am: a comedian, a show host, a writer." It will still always be part of the conversation and people will want to focus on it because there is a culture that is so embedded that if you have a disability, you're someone to be either admired just for living, or be pitied for having to struggle.” PeopleIfsKnowsWayWantFeelsStillsI CanShowsCultureResponsibilityStruggleFocusConversationNegativeIgnorantComedianSubtleDisabilityHostStereotypePersonal ResponsibilityAmbassadorsEmbeddedNegative Stereotypes Author:Zach Anner
“The thing to do is just make sure that as part of a disability community, we're not isolating ourselves by drawing differences for the sake of progress.” CommunityDifferencesProgressSakeDrawingThings To DoDisability Author:Zach Anner
“If everything was perfect, it would always be a person-first conversation, but whenever I have the opportunity, I lead with my personality. If they're looking and seeing the disability first or the chair first, I know that I have the ability to change that.” IfsKnowsFirstsPersonsOpportunityAbilityPerfectSeeingPersonalityConversationChairsDisabilityAbility To Change Author:Zach Anner
“I do a lot of conferences, and I did a campaign with the Cerebral Palsy Foundation called "Just Say Hi." They get celebrities to record little messages about how you start a conversation with someone who has a disability, which is to "Just say hi."” LittlesRecordsConversationMessagesFoundationCampaignsDisabilityConferencesCerebralCerebral Palsy Author:Zach Anner
“When I do public speaking, I ask the audience, "Who has a family member, a neighbor, a friend with some form of disability?" Every single hand goes up. We're all connected.” HandsFormAsksAudienceMembersConnectedNeighborDisabilityPublic SpeakingFamily Members Author:Jay Ruderman
“As people live longer, disability becomes more of an issue. And there seems to be more children born with a disability. I don't know if it's true, or if we're just better at diagnosing certain disabilities than in the past.” PeopleIfsKnowsChildrenSeemsPastCertainBornIssuesDisability Author:Jay Ruderman
“People are starting to realize that the disability community has been disenfranchised and deserves to have its rights recognized, which I see as a positive trend. I don't think it'll be a quick process, but I see more attention being given to it.” PeopleThinkingHas BeensGivenProcessRealizingCommunityAttentionRightsDeserveStartingTrendsDisabilityDisenfranchised Author:Jay Ruderman
“Throughout history people with disabilities have been institutionalized and segregated, which tends to make you think that it's a group in need of charity. It's not about charity, it's about empowerment.” PeopleThinkingNeedsHas BeensGroupsEmpowermentCharityDisabilityMake You ThinkPeople With Disabilities Author:Jay Ruderman
“There are some cases that have come to my attention where there's been a head injury, or getting struck by lightning and surviving, with really no disability or residual. So there are cases that I'm aware of where there's been some incident which triggered the acquired savant ability, but is not associated with long term disability, so that can occur. But I think that's probably the exception rather than the rule in that I think many of the acquired savants do end up with some residual disability.” ThinkingLongEndsTermAbilityAttentionCasesLong TermInjuryExceptionDisabilityLightningSurvivingIncidentsResidualSavantsHead Injuries Author:Darold Treffert
“When I met my first savant in 1962, I was impressed by the abilities in these youngsters who had severe disabilities. They appeared to me to be islands of genius in the sea of disability. So I've maintained that word picture since that time, of these islands of genius that are so striking and so jarring when you see them, especially in people who have severe disability.” PeopleFirstsAbilitySeaGeniusMetsIslandsDisabilityImpressedSevereYoungstersSavants Author:Darold Treffert
“A savant, by definition, is somebody who has a disability and, along with that disability, has some remarkable ability. Prodigies and geniuses have the remarkable abilities that the savant shows, but they do not have a disability. So, by definition, a savant includes someone with a disability, and a prodigy or genius are people who have these remarkable skills but they do not have a disability.” PeopleShowsAbilityGeniusSkillsDefinitionsRemarkableDisabilityProdigiesSavants Author:Darold Treffert
“There is such a thing as genius, and these are people who do not have a formal disability, DSM-IV-type. They may have liberal eccentricities or quirks in their personality, but they don't rise to the level of a disability.” PeopleMayLevelsTypePersonalityGeniusDisabilityFormalEccentricityQuirks Author:Darold Treffert