The Voiceless Minority

       It has almost been a year since The Voiceless Minority started. At that time, we have published nearly 50 blogs here on the blogger website.         As the New Year begins for The Voiceless Minority, it is time that we make a move. We are moving our web address and hosting over to word press. The new address will be: http://thevoicelessminority.wordpress.com/        Nothing about the blog will change content-wise; the only thing that will change is the look and the usability of the blog. There will be an archive section for those of you who haven’t got a chance to read all the old blogs on the blogger website. There will also be a contact page and a discussion page so that those in the community or those interested can interact with one another. Please post resources or questions you may have!         Finally, we hope that this move will allow...

This past February marked an event in sports that brought the world together. There are very few of these. Even though sports is a universal activity in almost every country, only two events tend to get the world together and stop the fighting; they are The World Cup in soccer and The Winter and Summer Olympics. Every four years or so, these events take center stage, and everybody forgets about the drama going on in the world for a couple of weeks, but there is an event that also occurs every four years that many people are not aware of.   Every four years at the same site as either the Summer or Winter Olympics, there is another sporting event. It is known as the Paralympics. It is not only sad that the rest of the country does not keep up with such Paralympics activities such as hockey in the winter and basketball in the summer, but it is also sad that the United States is the worlds leading supporter of disability rights but has very little support for its disabled athle...

What does it mean to teach? In simple basic terms, according to the dictionary, it is a verb. It means to impart knowledge of or skill in; give instruction in, and impart knowledge or skill to; instruct to. We all understand the basic definition of teaching. The question is, how do we define teachable moments or teachers themselves? I recently graduated with a Master's in education. Still, my institution told me that I could not get a teacher's certification, according to Pennsylvania, because I was too disabled to teach. At first, this statement, to put it nicely, perplexed me. What did it mean I was also disabled to teach? How could they judge me without allowing me to try? As time has gone by, I have begun to understand their position. I disagree with it, but I understand it now. They look at disabled people in a traditional box. Due to my physical limitations, they could not look past my lack of physical capability and see the great deal of knowledge that I c...

What does it mean to teach? In simple basic terms, according to the dictionary, it is a verb. It means to impart knowledge of or skill in; give instruction in, and impart knowledge or skill to; instruct to. We all understand the basic definition of teaching. The question is, how do we define teachable moments or teachers themselves? I recently graduated with a Master's in education. Still, my institution told me that I could not get a teacher's certification, according to Pennsylvania, because I was too disabled to teach. At first, this statement, to put it nicely, perplexed me. What did it mean I was also disabled to teach? How could they judge me without allowing me to try? As time has gone by, I have begun to understand their position. I disagree with it, but I understand it now. They look at disabled people in a traditional box. Due to my physical limitations, they could not look past my lack of physical capability and see the great deal of knowledge that I can pass on ...

CONTENT WARNING! READER DISCRETION STRONGLY ADVISED. So something is bugging me. I’ve been watching a lot of political television lately, and a lot of the conversation has been about how my generation does not know how to communicate because of their reliance on technology. This is an interesting topic, but it also got me thinking about other issues and the way my generation views them. As someone in his late twenties, I find myself every once in awhile craving stability and a family. I feel this is a natural thought process for anybody who is on the other side of 25. The only difference with me is that I am disabled. Disability and intimacy don’t usually go together. Perhaps that is why I feel the need to write this blog. I’ve written a lot about funny stuff, serious stuff, but never an issue that affects me so deeply. What I am about to say may come off as controversial or different, so if you choose not to read further I understand. Understand however that i...

Late last year, I brought up an issue that was not discussed very much in the disability community, disability and mental health. As I thought about this blog, I remembered a recent email that I got, and it inspired me to revisit the issue. In the email was a story about how colleges are flunking mental health treatment.             The article described a young boy, Dan, who had mental health issues and made a wrong choice one night in an attempt to overdose. To summarize, he did not overdose. He was having trouble dealing with a new medication, and once his medicine was adjusted, he was fine. However, his college did not treat him appropriately.             His health center referred him to a hospital, which they should have done, but the administration's actions were incorrect.  Instead of recognizing a student in trouble, they treated Dan as if he wa...

            Being a new disability advocate, I find myself continually plugged into various publications. One publication I get news from is the  American Association of People with Disabilities . Every week they put out a handy newsletter entitled  Disability Weekly . In a recent issue in a segment called  In the News,  they had a story about a mom who wrote a somewhat controversial piece. Her piece was entitled  My Child with a Disability is not My Hero.  As the title suggests, Miss Sarah Sweatt Orsborn asserts that disabled people but disabled children are not heroes. At first glance, even I, the non-politically correct writer, that I was taken aback. However, after looking further into Miss Orsborn's premise, I have to say I agree with her. The premise of the article is quite simple. Orsborn suggests that the term can be more harmful than positive.  From my perspective, as a disabled person, I cannot help bu...