Ableism
‘The discrimination of and social prejudice against people with disabilities based on the belief that typical abilities are superior.’
Personal accounts
“[Abelism is] being in a school system that works against you. I am aware that I am capable and intelligent but because of the way the school system works that is not reflected which can make you feel pretty stupid.”
“My brother is Asperger and since he was little I have seen so much discrimination towards him. He is a very intelligent person but the way the educational system works was not putting forward his skills, the opposite he kept failing in school as he could not engage in the dynamic of the class. It is hard and really hurtful to see how these people, which social skills may not be the best but can be brilliant at the thing they are doing if they just get some help to begin with, instead they get pushed down to the invisible and called ‘silly, stupid or weird’. He has tried to get jobs either applying online or in person and no chance has been given to him, he is now 30 years old and never had one single chance.
When we are children we may struggle to understand differences in people, but it is impressive how adults can behave regarding these aspects. People may politely avoid the conversation and completely avoid any contact with him, just some people may actually listen and try to have some interaction with him. He is ‘kind of’ happy without people as he gets stressed with people he does not know, but still is not good for him to isolate because he is still a human and he does enjoy people’s company but it depends how people behave with him. ”
