Many people feel awkward when they think about people with disabilities, Ball State University graduate student Sara Mahoney told a crowd Monday in the Forum Room of the L.A. Pittenger Student Center.
"They don't know whether to pity them or feel sorry for them," Mahoney said. "They don't know whether to open the door for them."
Mahoney, who works in the Disabled Student Development office, said the sense of awkwardness among able-bodied people often stems from the subconscious fear that they themselves could become disabled at any time.
"The important thing is that they should always be kind," she said.
Nearly 53 million Americans, or about 20 percent of the total population, live with a disability, Mahoney said. Many of these are unemployed or under-employed. Mahoney said 80 percent of U.S. women living with a disability do not have a regular job.
Mahoney highlighted several groups, such as Career Opportunities for Disabled Students, that help disabled college students find internships and jobs.
Mahoney also said the media often show an inaccurate view of the lives of disabled people.
"Jerry's Kids," which shows the disabled as helpless and completely reliant on the support of others, rests on one end. A group Mahoney called "Supercrips," personified by the blind man who climbed Mt. Everest, dominates the other.
"You see both ends of the spectrum, and where does that leave the average person with a disability?" she said.
The average person just wants to live a normal life, to boldly go where everybody else has gone, Mahoney said.
She said the Americans with Disabilities Act has done a lot to improve conditions for disabled Americans, but there is still plenty of room for progress. Although most places want to be accessible to disabled people, they don't always get it.
"There are still buildings where you'll have a ramp up to the building but still have two steps before you get to the door."
Ball State freshman Cole Koerselman, who said he had a friend with a disability, learned a lot from Mahoney's presentation.
"I never knew what's required for access for disabled people," Koerselman said. "I never thought of it. I never even considered it. Now I'll probably be more considerate of it."
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