Where it all started
Dear readers,
When I was 15, my English teacher set us a task to write a speech with the following question: Martin Luther King talked about his dream to improve diversity and inclusion for people of colour. But what is your dream? What do you think needs to change in our world?
In today’s post, I am going to share with you my answer, and the article that started my journey of advocacy.
61 years ago, in 1963, Martin Luther King had a dream: to encourage human equality and rights for people of colour. I, too, have a dream. I have a dream that hidden disabilities, such as autism, deafness and Tourette’s Syndrome are talked about more in today’s society. That children in schools are given support to understand hidden disabilities better. That more celebrities with hidden disabilities are chosen for bigger TV shows on channels such as the BBC or ITV.
We are all born with different traits that make us unique, from our skin, eyes, hair to personality, and many others. But no matter who we are or what we look like, it is important that we all feel included. However, for many people with hidden disabilities, this isn’t the case. Some are told that they can’t join a specific group because it will spoil things for their peers. Would it be your fault if you naturally had a different hair colour to everybody else? Imagine if you had brown hair and someone said: “Sorry, you can’t join us because you have brown hair, and the other people here feel uncomfortably with that.” That is what some people with hidden disabilities have to hear every day, even though there is nothing wrong with them. It is really important that we are all treated fairly, and never rejected purely due to who we are.
It’s important to note that there is not enough awareness in today's society about people with hidden disabilities. Think about it. How many times have you learned about hidden disabilities in school? How many times have you heard about it in public? You may conclude that the answer is not very often. And the reason? The lack of prominent role models and initiatives to spread knowledge. At the time of writing this, only 7 celebrities that I know of have done a BBC documentary about the challenges they face. People need to be shown the importance of this topic, whether that’s from TV, online or in lessons at school.
To conclude, I would like to leave you with one more message. Like everyone else in this world, we all have something that makes us unique, even though others may not be able to see it, and this makes us just as normal as everyone else. Please join me in this journey to spread the word and make hidden disabilities better understood and the world a more inclusive place.
Since writing this speech three years ago, I have already seen a lot of change. From a deaf celebrity winning Strictly Come Dancing, to more documentaries being launched on TV. However, we are still not quite done yet. There is still room to improve, so I ask you to support me on my journey, as I continue to spread awareness of my dream.
Next week, I will be writing about what happens when you experience a big change, and the story of how I dealt with my own just a few months ago.
In the meantime, please do let me know of any great ideas and projects you have come across that help foster a better understanding of hidden disabilities, I’d love to know about them.
I hope that you enjoyed this blog post, and I hope to see you back next time!