browser life

Here is an excellent post about the spectrum of disability, and how one is treated often depends on how obvious their impairment is. The author has autism, and I encourage you to read the rest of her blog because we seldom get to see the world from the point of view of someone who has it (I am adding the blog to my Links list):

Invisitble Disabilities

I do definitely notice a difference in how people approach me when I'm in my wheelchair versus when I'm without it. Since I only use it when I must travel longer distances, no one at my church has seen me in it, and so most of the members don't even know I am disabled. But when I'm in the chair, sometimes people will talk to Dan instead of me, will avoid my gaze or will speak very slowly to me like they assume I will not understand. I have found that smiling, looking people right in the eye and being very outgoing whenever possible does help a lot, but there will always be a few that are obviously uncomfortable dealing with me. On the flip side, there are times when I'm not in my chair that I unintentionally appear rude because someone is speaking and I cannot hear them, or I sit in the first available chair without offering it to someone older or turn down social invitations or park in the handicapped space (with my placard, of course).