Robyn Powell was born with arthrogryposis, a disability that affects her muscles and joints. With limited use of her limbs, she has been a power chair user since she was three-years-old.
However, Robyn didn’t identify as “disabled” until her twenties.
“Growing up, family and friends would tell me I wasn’t disabled — I was just different.”
Her support network used euphemisms including differently abled, physically challenged, and the cringe-worthy handicapable. She wasn’t offended by the terms and knew they weren’t micro-aggressions.
Person-First Language
Robyn was introduced to person-first language in middle school. Its purpose is to emphasize that the individual is a person who just happens to have a disability.
“I was a person with a disability, rather than being defined by my disability.”
Initially Robyn felt validated by person-first language and idea of being seen as a person rather than “just some girl in a wheelchair.” She attended a high school for students with disabilities where she and her peers were consistently reminded that they weren’t their disabilities.
“I Don’t See Your Disability”
Attending college with a majority non-disabled peer group was another challenge to the way Robyn identified herself.
“Friends would often remark, ‘I don’t see your disability,’ ‘I always forget you have a disability,’ or ‘to me, you’re just a person.’” Robyn found these well-meaning sentiments were ridiculous and rang a bit false.
“It’s not that my friends intended to hurt me. I get it — they just didn’t know exactly what to do or say. . .but, by saying they didn’t see my disability or that they forgot I had one, they were inadvertently making it a big deal.”
Whether using euphemisms or ‘forgetting’ her disability, the underlying message that Robyn was receiving from everyone around her was that disability was negative and best left unrecognized. She didn’t view her arthrogryposis as negative, but as something to overcome.
It wasn’t until she became active in the disability rights community that Robyn encountered people who didn’t see their disability as a tragedy.
Embracing Identity
These peers saw their disabilities as an important part of their identities and welcomed the use of identity-first language, believing their disability is a positive trait that should be acknowledged as such.
Robyn embraced her identity as a proud disabled woman “Having a disability has made me who I am today. . .I strongly believe that my life is greater because I am disabled.”
Being disabled has informed her life’s work. Robyn pursued her law degree with the intention of working within the disability rights field and is completing her PhD with a focus on research and social policy.
Disability isn’t easy; Robyn has encountered blatant discrimination from individuals ranging from employers to strangers on the street. She knows the reality of being stranded in bed or other positions by a truant personal care attendant or by a broken wheelchair with the subsequent insurance gauntlet to get it fixed.
“Nevertheless, I wouldn’t change having a disability for the world. Facing challenges as a disabled woman has only made me stronger and more resilient.”
Robyn embraces her many identities from aunt to advocate and is proud to call herself a disabled woman.
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