Respect, dignity, and rights.

re⋅spect /rɪˈspɛkt/ [ri-spekt]
–verb (used with object)

1. to hold in esteem or honor: I cannot respect a cheat.
2. to show regard or consideration for: to respect someone's rights.
3. to refrain from intruding upon or interfering with: to respect a person's privacy.
4. to relate or have reference to.
   

(courtesy of Dictionary.com)

dig⋅ni⋅ty /ˈdɪgnɪti/ [dig-ni-tee]
–noun, plural -ties.

1. bearing, conduct, or speech indicative of self-respect or appreciation of the formality or gravity of an occasion or situation.
2. nobility or elevation of character; worthiness: dignity of sentiments.
3. elevated rank, office, station, etc.
4. relative standing; rank.
5. a sign or token of respect: an impertinent question unworthy of the dignity of an answer.

(courtesy of Dictionary.com)

right /raɪt/ [rahyt]
–noun

1. a just claim or title, whether legal, prescriptive, or moral: You have a right to say what you please.
2. Sometimes, rights. that which is due to anyone by just claim, legal guarantees, moral principles, etc.: women's rights; Freedom of speech is a right of all Americans.
3. adherence or obedience to moral and legal principles and authority.
4. that which is morally, legally, or ethically proper: to know right from wrong.
5. a moral, ethical, or legal principle considered as an underlying cause of truth, justice, morality, or ethics.
   

(courtesy of Dictionary.com)

In the comments to this post, I found several references to all those poor autistic adults who are stuck in institutions because they weren't given ABA and never recovered, so they simply are incapable of higher-level cognition or any form of independence and need to have their lives dictated by non-autistic people, who of course know better than the autistic people what is best.

Many people have written elsewhere about institutions, and these people have personal experience with them, so I won't address that specifically (I would link to those posts, but can't find them right now; please feel free to share in the comments). What this post is about is the attitude of non-disabled people toward individuals with disabilities.

Basically, the attitude can be boiled down to "I'm worth more than someone who has a disability, because I am not disabled." This lack of respect for others leads to the removal of dignity and the stripping of rights of individuals with disabilities.

Let's be clear here: a person is worthwhile because he or she is a person and is alive. I don't care if the person can't communicate anything more than basic emotions and is unable to perform any personal care tasks (e.g., A, who I wrote about here), is able to speak in complete sentences but has mobility difficulties (e.g., J, who I wrote about here), or is able to pass as completely non-disabled in their everyday life and is able to perform most necessary day-to-day tasks without support (e.g., my friend DJ, who blogs here). There is a certain intrinsic worth to every human life, and we stand to learn something from everybody, no matter their cognitive abilities.

All people are capable of some level of understanding. Organizations that provide services to individuals with disabilities often create "plain language" versions of their literature, to give individuals with cognitive delays (or even English as a second language) a better chance at understanding it. Some organizations I know of in Alberta have gone so far as to help the individuals they serve create videos that make processes clearer for everyone. (Please note: these video projects are done at the behest of the individuals receiving service, so nobody is being exploited.)

Respecting a person means preserving their dignity and enforcing their rights. It means understanding that their opinions about things might be different. It means allowing them to speak out, even if what they say is disturbing on some level. It means granting privacy. These principles are important for everyone, by the way, not just individuals with disabilities. We need to learn to respect everyone in our lives.

Arguing for respect does not deny the difficulties many people face as a result of their disabilities. I would say that A, the woman I mentioned earlier, is the most severely disabled person I have ever met. Yet she lives as full a life as possible, in her mother's home. She has friends as well as staff, and I got to see video of her birthday party the day I met her family. She couldn't open her presents, but a niece did so for her, and she smiled throughout the process - an indication that she understood that these things were for her, and that she liked them. Indeed, clothing was obviously chosen with care and attention to things like A's favourite colour and what is popular right now for young women in their twenties. A will probably never be able to say words, and she will probably never type blog posts. But she is cared for and about, and her needs and desires are considered carefully by those around her. That is respect.

There is more I would like to say here, but this will suffice for now; my own disability is causing my writing to become more disjointed than I would like. Eventually I will find the words and put them up for all to see.

This post's icon was created by the author.