Why I advocate

Chapter 4: No, the ADA does not fix everything.

A lot of the times when I told certain people that I am an advocate for those with cerebral palsy, they asked the question, "Why are you so passionate about advocating and activism? The ADA was passed 32 years ago, so what's it matter? You have your rights."

The answer is quite simple. Just because the ADA was passed many years ago doesn't mean that our job and duty as advocates are far from over. It's just beginning because people continue to violate those laws. There are still areas in the cracks that need to be fixed within our society as we know it today. I compare it to the civil rights movement when it comes to racism in Martin Luther King Jr.

Allowing colored people to have a voice in the south doesn't mean the job is done. I wish it was that easy, but it's not and we still have to continue the fight and we still have to say enough is enough.

That is why I continue to advocate the way I do. That is why I'm so passionate about what I do in the world around me, and that's because we are always going to have to continue to fight and speak up for those who can't for as long as we live within the disability community and within our everyday lives.

When it comes to society and having this mindset, the ADA was passed, so people with disabilities should be happy with the progress.

We are happy with the progress, and we're happy with the fact that calling someone disabled is no longer a bad thing, and we're getting rid of alternative vocabulary that may have suited a different society that we all know today in our early 20s.

That's why we continue to advocate and that's why we continue to be the voices for those who can't. At least I can say so for myself. I want to continue being the voice for those who can't because there is still a little bit of ableism in this world.

Which includes buildings that don't have easy access to those with disabilities, which includes schools not abiding by a student's IEP or 504 plan, entering a public bathroom, and not having the proper changing table for those with disabilities that rely on dependents like me at times.

So you tell me how the ADA being signed 32 years ago magically made all these issues disappear. It hasn't. That's why we have to keep going to ensure that the world becomes a less ableist world for the next generation to come because they don't need to live in the world that we lived in.

I want the next generation of those with cerebral palsy and other disabilities to live in a world where they have the proper representation of themselves on TV. I want them to live in a world where they can go down the aisle of toys in Toys "R" Us and see a representation of them.

I want the next generation of those with cerebral palsy to be proud to say that they belong to the disabled community instead of replacing the word disabled or disability with an alternative wording such as special needs.

I want them to be proud of who they are and where they come from and look at us as examples, follow our leadership, and continue our fight to make the world a better and safer place for them.

For many years, society has made a person with a disability feel like they have a sob story and it's awful that they are disabled, even doctors. I've gone to many doctors that have given me nothing but negative news about my condition, and there were just some that didn't know much about my condition.

It is my job and duty to make sure that no child or adult or teenager with cerebral palsy goes through the same struggles that I went through growing up because of the things we lacked in our society when I was growing up in the early 2000s.

Every day I am proud to say that we're one step closer to getting the society that we want to get as people with disabilities. That doesn't mean our job stops. It just continues because the more and more we become less of an ableist way, the more and more we have to continue to advocate for that to be noticed. Able ism will always exist in our society, so it's our job to fight it and inspire and educate and bring awareness to those that may not know what it means to be a disabled person living in a society that was made for able-bodied people.

And that is why I advocate and that is why I believe that just because the ADA was passed, our job isn't done. It just continues and continues to get tougher as time goes along.

After all, the ADA is just a law that was written on a sheet of paper that was signed by a politician, and every day that law gets violated at least once or twice. It's unfortunate that we still have to fight, but we do and that's the reality of it.

I don't mind doing it at all because I love being an activist, I love being an author, and I love being a radio station owner and radio personality because that is my way of getting my message out there when life gets tough. You have to keep on stomping and keep pushing.

Advocacy is something that comes a long way if you try and you never give up and you keep pushing forward no matter how exhausted you may be at times because it is an overwhelming job, but you can do it and if you're someone that's looking into getting into advocacy, what are you waiting for? The world is waiting for you to stomp into it.

The end