An audiobook review by Elena Francisco
Every person who works with people who have disabilities should read this book. The book is just as billed, an unrepentant memoir. Judith Heumann had polio as a toddler, living her life as a quadriplegic. A few years older than I, she was raised in the days before the Americans with Disabilities Act – no accessible buses, buildings, and restrooms, curb cuts, self-opening doors, etc. Her writing was a vivid reminder of those days of segregation and the world where those with disabilities were not seen.
She shared her life as a child when, as she said, her friends could run across the street to catch a ball, but a curb made that same task impossible without her friend pulling or pushing her up or down the curb. She also recalls that she was raised by strong parents who never treated her “less than” and that she never saw her disability as bad, but as a barrier she needed to find a way to remove.
She was not able to attend primary school, as there were no accessible classrooms or bathrooms in the buildings, being told she was a “fire hazard”. She was eventually sent to a school for the disabled, quickly recognizing how, in those days, it was assumed all disabled children were unteachable.
Judith became a disability rights activist simply because she wanted to work, and this was the only way she could get into college, get a job, get into a building or bus, and all the other steps we now take for granted. The story of her and her fellow disabled colleagues and friends as they staged sit-ins at the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare office buildings in throughout the United States in order to be heard by the government was remarkable. These disabled folks held the longest-lasting sit-in in American history. It was inspiring.
Judith Heumann is truly one of the heroes of the movement for the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. She knew she did not do it alone and shared the spotlight with all of her colleagues in this powerful memoir.
As health providers, we provide care for all types of people. As private practicing dental hygienists or RDHAPs, we often are called to care for patients with any form of disability. We know it is not the disability that defines a person, but the ability. This book is a wonderful reminder of that.
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