University Essay: Exploring Personal Impressions on Disability Stories

This essay presents a student's reflections on three stories from "About Us: Essays From The Disability Series Of The New York Times." The student analyzes Jonathan Mooney's perspective on the education system and embracing individuality, Valerie Piro's view on paralysis as a lifestyle, and Sheila Black's experience of passing on disability to her children. The essay highlights key learnings, including the importance of empathy, the need to change perspectives on disability, and the significance of family support. The student emphasizes the motivational and encouraging nature of the stories, underlining the need to view disability beyond a subject to be fixed and to recognize the value of personal experiences and support systems in overcoming life's challenges.

Running head: IMPRESSION ON STORIES ABOUT DISABILITIES
Impression on Stories about Disabilities
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Introduction:
The book “About us” consists of 60 essay published in The New York Times opinion
series Disability. These essays are the reflections of disable peoples about their sufferings,
coping-up methods, feelings and philosophies. The book represents a wide range of voice,
experience and perspectives. Writers of the series offered personal experiences, testimonials,
complaints and discoveries to millions of readers. Through these reflections, they helped to
reshape the national consciousness and the discourse around the common human condition
that we recognize as disability. The purpose of this paper is to share my experience, feelings
and thoughts as a reader of these stories. I read all the stories and the stories seem very
emotional and inspirational to me at the same time. I have chosen three stories from this book
to discuss in the following section. From the justice section I have chosen the story named
You Are Special! Now Stop Being Different written by Jonathan Mooney. From the coping
section I have chosen My Life with Paralysis, It’s a Workout written by Valerie Piro. From
the family section I have chosen Passing My Disability On to My Children written by Sheila
Black.
Impression on Story 1: You are special! Now stop being different
In the New York Times' disability series, You are special! Now stop being different is
one of the most favourite stories of mine and it is a brilliant piece of author Jonathan
Mooney. Author Jonathan Mooney had attention and learning disabilities. He shares his
thoughts on how the education system filed to embrace his individuality and focused only on
fixing, instead of embracing. In this story he wrote that because of this continuous pressure of
fixing his problem through treatment his attention and learning disabilities destroyed his
creativity and self-worth. He always felt depressed and experienced himself as a subject of
treatment or as a patient. The depression caused him agitated and he dropped-out school at

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age 10. He shared that he spent hours a day being fixed and gradually he was turned into a
'patient' who needed treatment rather than a human being with differences to be empowered
(Catapano and Garland-Thomson 2019).
Through this story I have realised that how American culture preaches a "rhetoric of
differences" and love of the individual, at the same time treats kids as a subject to be fixed for
any kind of disputes. I have realised that we all have some extent of disabilities in our daily
life, where if we try to fix the problems with prescribed procedure instead of empathy, and
embracement we will become more disappointed, depressed. It will increase our disability
instead of curing it. In his story he shared that even now he is not able to spell or write
properly, however, he have built his life with support on his strengths while mitigating his
weaknesses. In his life he fights for every person’s right to be different instead of being a
subject to be fixed. I have never seen the definition of disability rights this way. It does make
perfect sense though. It's a sameness and tradition rejection. I understood the value of a
campaign for equal rights that opposes the notion that disability is the issue and advocates for
schools and workplaces that are inclusive enough to accommodate everyone.
Impression on Story 2: My Life with Paralysis, It’s a Workout
In the New York Times' disability series, My Life with Paralysis, It’s a Workout is
another most favourite story of mine and it is a brilliant piece of author Valerie Piro. In this
story author Valerie Piro had paralysis and she never perceive it is a problem, rather she
found that her regular routine is a health maintenance. She shared that she never considered
her paralysis as a boundary that could define the level of enjoyment and involvement in her
life. She never keep herself away from her duties and she is always very serious about her
class even when her disability makes it difficult to work (Catapano and Garland-Thomson
2019). She avoid being labelled as disabled and she made her life as her personal hurdle. In
this piece, author Piro inspired the readers by sharing her view on her disability. She

3IMPRESSION ON STORIES ABOUT DISABILITIES
expressed that life would be more difficult if she considered her regular physical training and
exercises as a rehabilitation procedures. To her exercising is not a way of curing her
disability, rather it is a way of her life.
After reading this story I have realised that for every disable individual, it is necessary
to change their perspective about their disability. It is also necessary to change their
perspective on their lifestyle from process of becoming less disabled from more disabled to a
way of life like others. Our society, education system and healthcare system need to make the
disabled person aware about their ability of ignoring their disability while embracing their
regular lifestyle as a personal hurdle like others.
Impression on Story 3: Passing My Disability On to My Children
In the New York Times' disability series, Passing My Disability On to My Children is
another most favourite story of mine and it is a brilliant piece of author Sheila Black. In this
story author Sheila Black who was diagnosed with X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH), the
cause of a mutation in the PHEX gene, which results in a form of dwarfism. When Sheila was
pregnant, her genetic counsellor found that she had a probability of 50% to pass XLH to her
children (Catapano and Garland-Thomson 2019). Her genetic condition XLH was passed to
her second and third children and they are visibly disabled. She always encourage her
children not to think about themselves different from others or disable than other because of
the physical deformation. She taught her children that ability comes when a person considers
himself or herself as normal. Sheila admits that sometimes for her children social life
becomes difficult. However, she encourages her children not to feed depressed about their
life rather to consider their life as others where everyone has own different set of pains.
The decision of having and bring up visually disabled children made by Sheila Black
inspirational. From the story of Sheila Black, I have learnt that the life is more than a

4IMPRESSION ON STORIES ABOUT DISABILITIES
disability. Sheila observes that both her children consider their disabilities as gift. Being a
visibly disabled person, the compassion, struggle and courage of Sheila shows how family
support acts as the crucial factor for a disabled person. The story also taught me how
disability can be perceived differently by the family members specially the close ones like
parents.
Conclusion:
From the above three stories I have learned to perceive disabilities from different
views. Each of these stories are very motivational and encouraging. The story of Jonathan
Mooney allowed me to be aware of the fact that every disabled individual should not be
treated as a subject to be fixed. On the other hand, the story of Valerie Piro taught me how
considering everyday problems in our life can be perceived as the keys of encouragement.
From the story of Sheila Black and her children I learnt how much all individuals, especially
who are disable, need continuous support and motivation from the family members to
overcome the difficulties in life.

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Reference:
Catapano, P. and Garland-Thomson, R., 2019. About Us : Essays From The Disability Series
Of The Newa York Times. New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation.