But here’s the problem: we have ignored the perspectives, stories, and voices of disabled people for so long that their actual needs, feelings, and experiences are hardly acknowledged, let alone understood, at all. Our default impulses draw us firmly and consistently into the perspective of “able-bodied helpers.” We look through these people’s eyes so regularly, are so eager to identify with them, so ready to celebrate their generosity that we forget to ask even one of the many questions hovering around the disabled recipients of “help.” Like, how did this experience feel to you? Did you want
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