After having a chat with a close friend on Friday it made me want to write this blog entry. It makes me so angry when people are judged or misunderstood simply because they have a difficulty or have something about them which makes them stand out from everybody else. This may be that they need to use a wheelchair or use crutches or may be a hidden condition such as dyslexia or dyspraxia, or even someone might just be a very shy person.
It doesn’t take long just to see past those difficulties and get to know the real person, and see the many positive things about them. Once you get to know them you can find out what an amazing person they really are. It may take a while for them to come out of their shell but it takes time and understanding. Society is a very neurotypical world and there is a lot of pressure for people to conform and be like everyone else. Sadly if someone doesn’t posses that persona, it can often lead to people being stigmatised and not understood. Just because someone has a weakness or difficulty doesn’t mean that they are stupid or thick or unable to do things, they can do just as much as anyone else with the right understanding. Most people who have a condition hate any kind of fuss made about it, they hate the idea of people feeling sorry for them, for me personally this has always been the case and I’d hate someone being like oh poor you etc it would make me really embarrassed. All people need is a tiniest bit of understanding to why they may learn slighly differntly, and a good sense of humour to laugh at many of the funny things that may happen. Always focus on what people can do not what they can’t. So next time you see someone sitting shyly and quiety by themselves, obviously anxious by the situation why not go over and say hi, ask them how their day was, or weekend. Maybe you see someone struggling with a wheelchair or with crutches instead of barging past them or thinking what stops them doing, give them a hand and talk about other things. Or there may be the clumsy person who always spills food down them when they eat, or seemingly trips over air, have a laugh about it. By doing this from personal experience it really helps improve someones self esteem and confidence no end.