The Independence Fallacy That Disabled People Face |
Coauthored by Gracie Herrick and Kathleen Bogart, Ph.D.
Imagine you find yourself the host of a dinner party for 10 people. You are tasked with sending out the invitations, buying the ingredients, setting up the dining room, preparing the appetizers, the main course, and the dessert, handing out the food, and cleaning up. Sounds pretty overwhelming, right? Now imagine you find yourself the host of another dinner party, also for 10 people, except this time you will have some help. Your partner picks up the needed ingredients on their way home from work. Your best friend loves to bake, so they jump at the offer to make their famous snickerdoodle cookies. As you send out the invitations, a guest replies, asking if they can bring an appetizer they have been dying to make. After dinner is over, a couple of your guests help you clean up the dishes. Which dinner party would you like to host? Chances are, you likely said the second one. These two examples highlight the difference between independence and interdependence.
Independence focuses on one individual achieving a goal or task fully on their own. Interdependence is a dynamic, mutual process of reliance and support between two or more individuals to achieve a shared goal or task.
People with disabilities are often pushed by societal expectations towards this illusory ideal of independence. Often, rehabilitation goals, outsider opinions and........