Networking While Disabled

Successful adults with disabilities report that they were supported in youth by opportunities for inclusion, high expectations from adults, disability-related accommodations that de-emphasized their differences, promotion of autonomy, encouragement of friendships, and support from caring adults. On the other hand, their progress was inhibited by segregation, treatment that highlighted their differences, restricted opportunities for independence, social isolation, and social rejection.
Below, successful individuals with disabilities share examples of how they stay actively involved.

• I am in my school's band and on our youth leadership team. In the past, I was part of the speech team and student council. I think being a part of clubs has given me confidence and boosted my self-esteem. I enjoy music, and I think it is an awesome feeling to be able to go out and be a part of my school's band to cheer on the sports teams and to contribute to a music concert. (college student who is blind)
• I have been involved in the drama club at my school. (high school student who uses a wheelchair for mobility)
• I have been involved in internships. They give me experiences that are needed for jobs. I've also been part of a city hall committee. This will help me know how professional life is. (college student with mobility and health impairment)

No one achieves success alone. The comments below provide examples of how successful individuals with disabilities have found, accessed, and used resources to help them achieve success personally, socially, academically, and professionally.

• Most of the resources I use I either found through word of mouth (from parents, friends, and others I know), from newsletters, or from the Internet. Sometimes, I find out about something useful by accident, and at other times I ask around or look on the Internet for a specific resource. I often ask others whose opinion I respect for advice, especially when I am making a making a major decision. I subscribe to a few newsletters and magazines that provide information on topics that interest me and keep lists of useful websites on my home page. (Ph.D. candidate who is blind)
• I ask questions. (high school student with a brain injury)
• One of my resources is my best friend. When I take her along with me, I can tell that people who don't know me feel comfortable being around me. My friend and I think that there isn't a way that I can't be a part of what she is doing. Being with her is one of the ways I use a natural resource. (high school student with mobility, orthopedic, and speech impairments)

"Don't allow your disABILITY to shut you out of life; your request for Access has been Granted"

Working Harder

Knowing and valuing yourself, setting goals, and planning help build important foundations, but action is required to make your dreams come true. To take control of your life it is necessary to choose and take appropriate action. Take charge. Move forward. Sometimes students with disabilities need to work harder to achieve the same level of success as their peers. As reported by one student who is blind:
I accepted the fact that I must work harder than other students to get the same grade.

But, learning to work hard has a positive side:

Sometimes I think that all of us with disabilities have an advantage over those who have things come easier to them. Whatever it is we want, we have to want it and then work for it. That necessary desire promotes drive to accomplish, succeed, or achieve. Others around us may be content to float, or do the minimum most of the time, but not us. For us, having what everybody else has is an accomplishment, and having tasted success we want to keep succeeding.

The willingness to take risks is critical to achieving success. As reported by one young person with a mobility impairment:

I keep going when people tell me I can't. I am not afraid to try things and I don't give up. My parents took me everywhere and I did everything like a normal kid. I have a good friend from kindergarten who is able bodied, and she knows me so well that we do all sorts of stuff that people might not think I could do, but we come up with a flexible plan and we do it.

Advice about risk taking from successful people with disabilities includes:

• Nothing worthwhile comes without risk. Without risk, success cannot be achieved.
• Never give up.
• Do not pity yourself for what cards you have been dealt. It happened... now move on.
• That moment of insecurity is worth the achievement in the end. It is important to keep that in mind throughout life.

"Don't allow your disABILITY to shut you out of life; your request for Access has been Granted"