Advocating Takes Time

When people think of disabilities, the struggles and differences are generally the first things to come to mind. But one of the first things that come to my mind is the energy disabled individuals have to spend on a daily basis advocating for themselves.

As I spend more time getting involved in the disabled community, the service dog community, and the autism community, I notice something we all experience. We all have to advocate for ourselves.

Advocating for yourself is a learned skill and, for most of us, is not natural. But when the world doesn’t accommodate you the way you need it to, you have to advocate for yourself. This can look like telling your teachers you need to wear your headphones (despite it looking like you’re ignoring them), telling the waiter you need a low-top table or asking for assistance and/or accommodations in any day-to-day activities. It takes time to learn this skill and time to be comfortable asking for help.

When I first started getting into disability advocacy, my mentor mentioned the phrase “needs before policy” and I always have this phrase in the back of my mind whenever I find myself advocating for myself or others. There are so many policies. Everywhere. But if we start putting needs before policies, being empathetic, and listening to others, imagine how accommodating and accessible the world would become! This phrase is what fuels me to advocate… what fuels you to advocate? :)