Wecome Jaden

Steets!
1 BUILDING A
PHILOSOPHY OF
DISABILITY
2 What can we learn
from Vanier?
3 I cor. 12: 21-26
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, I dont need you! And the head cannot say to the feet, I dont need you! 22 On
the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less
honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while
our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts
that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each
other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
4 Vanier
Love is to enter into covenant-to know that you accept me as I am, that you see my gift, but also that you see my
wound. That you wont abandon me when you see my wound, that you wont just flatter me when you see my gift. But
you accept me as I am with all that is fragile, all that is broken, all that is beautiful, too.
5 LArche portland: a
place where people
with and without
disabilities share life
together
6
7
8
9
10 Marilyn and Amy-
Guest speakers
11 Larche Portland
12 WE have much to
learn from our
weaknesses
12 WE have much to
learn from our
weaknesses
Somewhere we are hiding our weaknesses...
And yet weakness is an important part of our reality. We were born weak. We needed unconditional love. We
needed our mums to say, You are more beautiful than I expected, or its good that you exist; you are unique. We
all have a deep fear of our own weaknesses because my weakness is what makes it possible for someone else to crush
me. So I create mechanisms of defense and compulsion to protect myself. We all have protective systems designed to
prevent people from seeing who we are (67-68 Vanier).
13 What is your
weakness or
disability?
Think about something you have struggled with throughout your life that keeps you from meeting your goals or
frustrates you?
14 Person-first!
View people with disabilities as people first
Demonstrate this by using person-first language
Not PC, but respectfully correct
Language is a powerful tool
Society abounds with destructive labeling
In writing and speaking, avoid words that denote weakness or powerlessness
15 The Power of Words
Ethan Jones suffers from cerebral palsy in Santa Barbara, but still works.
Bed-ridden Tom Burns carries on his work as a journalist from home.
Rebecca Smith, a long time teacher in our district, is crippled by polio.
16 Additional
guidelines for
writing and
speaking about
disabilities
Do not focus on the disability unless it is crucial to a story.
Do not portray successful people with disabilities as super human
Do not sensationalize a disability by saying afflicted with, crippled with, etc.
Do not portray successful people with disabilities as super human
Do not sensationalize a disability by saying afflicted with, crippled with, etc.
From Guidelines for Reporting and Writing About People with Disabilities (www.reachcils.org)
17 The influence of the
media
Ads create an artificial norm
Responsibility to portray representatives of all aspects of society
How are the 30% of people with disabilities represented? Children?
Power of media to change
Positive examples
18
19 What if we changed
our symbols?
20 Tropic Thunder
Debate
21
22 Sermon from
Christopher Lazo
Every person is made in the image of God. There is nothing we can do to attain an identify that satisfies us, but that
Christ through the cross has given us a new identity; restored and beloved (quoted from Roxanne Loves senior paper,
April 2011) using a quote from a sermon from Christopher Lazo.
23 Nick Vujicic
24 Images
http://www.specialkidsfund.org/images/mainpic.jpg
http://pilgrimpace.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/jean-vanier.jpg
http://b.vimeocdn.com/ps/687/687913_300.jpg
http://mommylife.net/archives/2009/07/born_without_ar.html
http://www.gordon.edu/article.cfm?iArticleID=1360&iReferrerPageID=5&iPrevCatID=30&bLive=1