Being Ssshhed

            This week we were supposed to talk about a time we witnessed an adult silence a child, or silenced them ourselves, for pointing out someone's differences. The best situation I can remember was when I was a child myself. We were at the zoo or somewhere you had to walk a lot and I was tired. I saw a woman in a wheelchair and commented that she was lucky because she could sit everywhere she went. My mother shushed me and said don't talk like that.

            Receiving this message opposed the image I had been building regarding diversely abled people. See my older sister has disabilities, and she looks a little different. We learned sign language so we could communicate with her more effectively, but she was capable to do just about everything else. Then suddenly my mother is telling me not to talk about people that look visibly different than myself. My mother's response confused me and really bothered me for some time afterwards, I remember thinking about it multiple times growing up.

            According to our course media, it is important to intervene when incidents happen as well as being proactive (Laureate, Race). My mother should have talked to me about what I said and how it could be perceived by others. She could have helped me to understand that the woman is not relaxing in her chair, she is working with her arms. If we were in a classroom, a teacher may respond to a child saying this by introducing a game or discussion in which images are used of diversely abled people doing positive, and active, things (Laureate, Race). Another option in the classroom, as well as at home, would be to use puppets for children to express themselves through a third party (Laureate, Physical). Children's literature could also be used to broaden children's understandings, but be wary of stereotypes within the books as well as among the books you chose (Laureate, Physical).