WEBVTT 00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:08.260 [ Music ] 00:00:08.910 --> 00:00:10.000 Hi guys. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:10.730 Hey! 00:00:10.730 --> 00:00:11.410 How's it going? 00:00:11.410 --> 00:00:12.190 Good! 00:00:12.190 --> 00:00:13.280 Hi, my name's Anita. 00:00:13.280 --> 00:00:15.820 I'm a college student and a full-time wheelchair-user 00:00:15.820 --> 00:00:22.220 and today I'm at the UW campus interviewing people with disabilities. 00:00:23.080 --> 00:00:41.960 [ Music ] 00:00:48.300 --> 00:00:50.880 Carl, what is it like to be a wheelchair user? 00:00:51.080 --> 00:00:56.540 I don't really see it as much different than walking, 00:00:56.540 --> 00:00:59.600 although I have to make sure things are accessible 00:00:59.700 --> 00:01:01.540 before going to them 00:01:01.620 --> 00:01:07.060 and some people on the street might look at me like I'm different, 00:01:07.070 --> 00:01:09.720 but I don't see myself as different. 00:01:09.720 --> 00:01:12.350 I have Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy. 00:01:12.350 --> 00:01:15.930 And how does that affect you in your day to day life? 00:01:16.080 --> 00:01:20.190 I just can't walk far as a "normal" person can 00:01:20.190 --> 00:01:23.330 or I can't lift up heavy things 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:29.720 or I can't talk as "normal". 00:01:29.729 --> 00:01:34.780 I have Stargardt's Disease, which is macular degeneration, 00:01:34.780 --> 00:01:36.810 which affects my central vision. 00:01:36.810 --> 00:01:39.420 So I have a blind spot in the middle of my vision, 00:01:39.420 --> 00:01:41.380 so I use the outside of my eyes to see. 00:01:41.380 --> 00:01:44.610 Calleese, what is it like to have a learning disability? 00:01:44.610 --> 00:01:48.200 I mean, it's not really "like" anything. 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:50.560 I know I struggle a lot in school, 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:53.590 and I can get extra help on things. 00:01:53.590 --> 00:01:58.290 But it's more of-I don't really tell people about it, 00:01:58.380 --> 00:02:01.800 and so when I do, they're just like, "but you seem so normal!" 00:02:01.800 --> 00:02:04.540 And I'm like, "well, what is 'normal?'" 00:02:04.550 --> 00:02:05.619 in their sense. 00:02:05.619 --> 00:02:07.780 Because I like to believe that no one is normal. 00:02:07.780 --> 00:02:09.670 Everyone is, like, special in their own way. 00:02:09.670 --> 00:02:12.849 Carl, what are some assumptions that people 00:02:12.849 --> 00:02:13.860 may make about you? 00:02:13.860 --> 00:02:17.700 Some people may think that because I'm in a wheelchair, 00:02:17.700 --> 00:02:21.500 I have a mental disability as well as a physical disability. 00:02:21.500 --> 00:02:22.820 But that's not true. 00:02:22.820 --> 00:02:25.840 When you tell people about your disability, 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:27.620 what are some common reactions you get, 00:02:27.620 --> 00:02:29.280 or faces and looks you get 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:33.220 as you're interacting in your day-to-day life? 00:02:33.220 --> 00:02:35.480 They don't really ask. 00:02:35.480 --> 00:02:41.130 They usually try to avoid me in some ways, and give a weird look, 00:02:41.130 --> 00:02:44.360 like "oh, she's weird" or "she's not normal". 00:02:44.360 --> 00:02:47.240 What are some common reactions 00:02:47.240 --> 00:02:51.250 you get from people when you tell them about your disability? 00:02:51.250 --> 00:02:56.320 I get, "oh, you're so brave, you're so inspirational" a lot. 00:02:56.320 --> 00:02:59.350 Just because I can't see as well as other people, 00:02:59.350 --> 00:03:02.810 they think that me doing things on my own, 00:03:02.810 --> 00:03:04.850 walking across the street by myself, 00:03:04.850 --> 00:03:06.710 they think that's inspirational, 00:03:06.710 --> 00:03:09.370 whereas if anyone else were to do it, 00:03:09.370 --> 00:03:11.540 it would just be a normal everyday occurrence. 00:03:11.540 --> 00:03:15.340 I just have a challenge and I don't... 00:03:15.340 --> 00:03:16.750 it's just something I have to face every day 00:03:16.750 --> 00:03:20.900 which isn't bad for me actually because I can work my way around it, 00:03:20.900 --> 00:03:23.340 and it made me the person I am today. 00:03:23.340 --> 00:03:29.569 How does this disability affect your interactions 00:03:29.569 --> 00:03:31.000 in day-to-day life? 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:34.490 I don't think, personally-for me, 00:03:34.490 --> 00:03:37.959 it doesn't make my interactions toward other people different, 00:03:37.959 --> 00:03:41.240 because I treat everyone the same as if I had normal vision 00:03:41.240 --> 00:03:44.790 and I try to be as approachable and normal as possible. 00:03:44.790 --> 00:03:48.709 I'm pretty open about my disability because I think if people know, 00:03:48.709 --> 00:03:50.180 then they're more likely to understand 00:03:50.180 --> 00:03:52.600 why I do things the way I do. 00:03:52.600 --> 00:03:55.030 The students featured in this video 00:03:55.030 --> 00:03:57.610 are participants in the DO-IT Scholars program, 00:03:57.610 --> 00:04:02.730 where youth with disabilities prepare for college and careers. 00:04:02.730 --> 00:04:08.540 For more information, consult the Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology 00:04:08.540 --> 00:04:19.470 website at www.uw.edu/doit 00:04:19.470 --> 00:04:23.940 Copyright 2016 University of Washington. 00:04:23.940 --> 00:04:25.770 Permission is granted to copy these materials 00:04:25.770 --> 00:04:29.790 for educational, non-commercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged.