I greet Nairalanders, but I extend brotherly greetings to all the people with disability out there. You are not alone!
My name is Raji. It is a great honor for me to be one of the newest members of Nairaland. I decided to sign up in order for me to create an amazing forum for amazing people like myself with some form of disability or equivalent deformity. On a second thought, I think that we all experience one or two disability. As a matter of proven fact, we are all persons with disability. So, everyone, regardless of the magnitude or nature of your physical, mental, psychological status, is welcome to be active participant of this wonderful forum. Indeed, we are going to change a lot of lives, including mine.
I, like most of other special needs people, have an enormous number of questions and concerns but very little answers and address to our queries. Let me tell you again, you are not alone.
Now, the purpose of this thread is to bring together persons with disability and have a healthy discourse on a wide range of critical issues that affect us- discrimination, stigmatization, institutional barriers and a host of other challenges we go through day in and day out.
In addition, we shall endeavor to:
1. Share our individual’s experiences with our respective disabilities.
2. Share the challenges we encounter day in day out.
3. Offer professional and personal counsel on a variety of issues surrounding our physical predicaments (we hope to find doctors, healthcare providers and other experienced adults in the house for guidance)
4. Share together experiences, ideas, information regarding our respective disability.
In the course of this thread, we are certainly to come up with other incredibly- beneficial discourse, which shall obviously be designed to make each of our lives and this society we live, a better, and more prosperous one.
As a special needs person and scholastic student of Special Education, no one is more passionate and more committed than I am when it comes to the issues that hamper us special needs citizens of this our potentially-great nation. We live with enormous pains, frustration, social rejection and occasional doses of depression. I know it because I am living it.

Hey brother thanks for bringing a thread like this up. I have a childhood friend that was involved in an accident and confined to a wheelchair in his village now, so i am trying to make arrangements to send him somewhere for treatment outside Nigeria.

It pains me to see a young vibrant man like him on wheelchair,and the annoying part i have to keep my face straight whenever i am with him so, i dont give the impression am showing pity.

It kills me seeing anybody that is physically challenged. Life is not fair, but we thank God for the gift of life for anybody challenged. So my friend how does one genuinely talk to a friend that is challenged without making them feel you pity them?

Bro, I immensely appreciate u. but I also empathize with that wonderful childhood friend of urs. Pls, let me share smthing very personal with u real quick and then do a more elaborate, individualizd follow up to ur questions thereafter.

One on beautiful Monday morning, I, along with my class rep, walked briskly into the lecture theater for SPE 101 which was Introduction to Special Education. That was my first class on entry into the University of Ibadan.
As a hearing-impaired person, I depend on my classmates to obtain notes that are being dictated. I have to copy off (while lecture is in progress) what the lecturer is dictating. Behold, the first few words I ran off were, “People with disability (PWD) are exceptional persons who must be treated with empathy and not sympathy”. I copied further, “Anyone, regardless of their status in the society can suffer disability”. Gbam! I stopped writing. I stared hard at the lecturer in front of me, glazing at him like an aggrieved person looking up for an apology. For long, I continued to fix my eyes on him, looking speechless and somewhat lost.
Those pieces of information changed my life from that moment and forever! That’s what I needed to have known long ago. My life changed forever: the way I saw myself, the way I saw the world, my self-confidence and my self-esteem.
I am fairly deaf. I am kind of incapable of hearing sounds. But I am adequately compensated and so are you. I have become an exceptional individual with extraordinary talent and intelligence. I have a “super brain”, like people say. A lot is in me, both physically and mentally. Come see me. Come hear me speak. Come see the divine love that’s put on me.
Brother, I am not the first person to enjoy those unique privileges nor would I be the last! All persons with disability enjoy certain abundance of advantages that distinguish us from others. I know it because I am living it.
God’s people, no matter who you are, no matter what you are going through, I mean no matter what your disability is, believe that you are abundantly compensated for what we erroneously see as a handicap. There is no such thing as a “handicap”, if you see it as stepping stone to extraordinary advancement

How does one genuinely talk to a friend who is challenged without making them feel you pity them?
Well, I believe that I sort of answered ur question up there. But m happy to elaborate.

The truth is there are tremendous advantages he is going to enjoy in the long run if he cud get all the help he could now. Remind him, no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as reality.He needs lots of physical, emotional support. M talking of genuine one. Let him know that terrible thing that happen to good people happen for reasons best known to our creator, but that he would be stronger for it.
U can also spend time with him by making him see that his life was genuinely spared by nature for a grand purpose. Hw would do very great, my friend.

Make him see examples of people who went thru similar ordeals and came out stunning the world:
Helen keller became deaf, dumb and blind shortly after birth, bro. despite the greatest misfortune, she has written her name indelibly in the pages of history of the great.
Beethoven was deaf, Milton was blind, but their names will last as time endures
Chris reeves was paralyzed, as a consequence of horse accident or so from neck to toes, he still had a reason to continue living.
Bro, I want to stop blathering on and on. But I hope that u get me.
If he personally needs other concerns, u can watsapp me. we talk thru lots of things together..
gudluck

What you just wrote make a lot of sense.

The last time i saw him, he had a toilet accident on himself and it took the steel inside me to refrain from crying. There is something really painful seeing someone that you played soccer with, went to school with, chased and had most of the most beautiful girls, so very intelligent and all of a sudden confined to a wheelchair and even having toilet malfunctions on themselves.

Sometimes one wants to question God that why oh God? but i also asked myself what if this has not happened to somebody very close to me? would that mean that i would have been over looking other physically challenged people too? i have to confess that it took this thing to happen to a close friend for me to realize what people go through that are challenged.

Yeah we can do Watsapp, so feel free to mail me through nairaland so we can exchange contacts.

this thread deserves front page. RoyalRoy, obinoscopy, Seun, ishilove, mynd44.



@op, my heart goes out to you and others like you. I wish you the strength to face life's challenges while keeping a smiling face and happy demeanor.

I have friend that can't see things from afar and has to bring it close to his eyes even with thick glasses..

The most intelligent person I've ever met in my life was a blind guy I met in A-levels skul, this guy is extremely "intelligently versatile" that he will describe to u perfectly the playing style of messi,ronaldo and other popular footballers. He can also tell u the players dat scored in any chelsea match against any team in any season lyk 6 seasons bak and even tell u the minutes they scored. Ask dis guy the meaning of any word in the dictionary, he will give u instantly and will even give u synonyms. Ask him about history;European,african etc, the guy is just superb! Since I met him,ion underrate disabled ppl cos the guy made me bliv disability is nt inability

thank u so much for ur kind and empathetic words up there. they mean an extraordinary lot of bliss and encouragement to not just to me but everyone out there who experiences disability.

These are pretty inspiring examples of what disability does in peoples life. in reality, it is an extremely traumatic experience to have one or two forms of disability. but i have firm belief that disabled people are often divinely compensated for whatever that we are ''denied''.
personally, i have been living with hearing-impairment for the past 13 years or so and i have come to experience the ups and the downs of being in that amazing world of exceptionalism.

beyond that, there is truly a 'grand' purpose behind it all. thank u.

QSheba:
I have friend that can't see things from afar and has to bring it close to his eyes even with thick glasses..

this amazing friend of yours sees and feels things in inmost places which most of us cannot begin to imagine, my friend. i hope u cud help this special needs individual in any way u can. show him special attention, love and massive, genuine support and see what what becomes of him.
thank u for sharing this.

hmmm... Dis is a wonderful thread! I'm jst short of words coz I always cry(feel bad) weneva ppl abuse me abt my crossed eye. A potrait of mine was drawn recently and d crossed eye was der again! I think itz high time I accepted this as my identity

This threat got me crying this morning. God bless you guys and merry christmas to you.

This thread got me crying this morning. God bless you guys and merry christmas to you.

Present!

*what a depressing topic for this time of the year. . . .I BIND IT. . . I CAST IT. . . I REBUKE IT!. . . . .

oracle009:
hmmm... Dis is a wonderful thread! I'm jst short of words coz I always cry(feel bad) weneva ppl abuse me abt my crossed eye. A potrait of mine was drawn recently and d crossed eye was der again! I think itz high time I accepted this as my identity

don't worry about it. u possess amazing number of strengths and other charming 'goodies' beyond ur crossed eye. thank nature every second, every minute and every moment u start to feel bad about it. there wud always be a consolation for that anomaly.
having said all this, put urself to work in other areas such as personal development, skills acquisition and a bunch of productive stuff that wud put smiles on ur face.
gudluck, bro.

taryour:
This threat got me crying this morning. God bless you guys and merry christmas to you.

thank u so much for ur heart-felt comments. we appreciate u.

NL is my OWN DISABILITY o!
Please, help!

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE!
There was something i thought u shud know. Anything cud happen to anybody at any blessed time in any blessed year, but for blessed reasons. no one is immune to 'calamity' on this Earth. show me that person who is infinitely ABLE physically, mentally, emotionally, physiologically, spiritually, financially, and many more? Is a man who cannot father a child not a disabled person? What of a woman who cannot conceive? A poor person is said to be financially incapacitated. Many of us use eye glasses without which our vision will be impaired, yet, we fail to realize that we are part of the community of disabled persons. I spend a lot of time on the UN web site these days. According to the World Health Organization,“disability is part of the human condition and almost everyone will be temporarily or permanently impaired at
some point in life".
NL people, we need to have a rethink about how we see disabilities and the victims who are not as fortunate as u all are.

LIFE!

is dwarfism a disability

@ lilly, u see, disability may be a very conflicting phenomenon. it is oftentimes, hard to define or categorize exactly stuff that constitute disability. it is dependent upon d"type" of society in which we find ourselves.

lemme break it down further, pls.
if a society, somewhere frowns upon dwarfism, then its fair to say dwarfism is a disability. Although, in reality and in essence, dwarfism is not all a disability.
as long as d issue does not impede bodily functions, it does not constitute a disability. what a normal, agile person can do, m sure a dwarf can do better. y not?

but wen certain people in d society see that u r not 'fit' 2 do smth, they wud term that a disability.
a dwarf who finds himself among NBA folks may b seen 'well, u cant play basketball. that wud then be stereotyped as a disability.

Well said! Dwarfism is not a disability. However, it may b dubbed a disability if u find urself in particular society or particular 'setting'

JANUARY 4th 2015: 8;36am

As I stare intently at my computer screen, my mind wanders. With sadness written all over my tender face, I imagine similar, sadistic things people with disabilities are going through out there, day in, day out.

With their predicaments, they are ‘mainstreamed’ into a hardened and able-bodied public to go ‘fend’ for themselves!
What a immense hardship this is! Fend for ourselves? Special needs persons, some of who can barely see or can barely hear, who can barely talk, who can barely walk, and worse who can barely ‘think’ like a normal being. I shake my head!!!

It beats me to the marrow to have realistic thoughts of some of the traumatic events people with disabilities experience every minute of our already fragile lives out there in the harsh world. I am happy to share with you the most-recent harrowing episode of my disability life.

But wait, I have learned a few things from Jan Knight (the Civil Society Advisor of Justice for All programmme of the Department for International Development, Abuja) which may never be revealed to me lifelike at the varsity. They are the three barriers being faced by the community of disabled persons which include Attitudes, Environment and Institutions.
I shall delve into those barriers later.

Sunday, January 3rd 2015 5:51 PM

At about 5:51 PM, my old woman comes in from the market. As usual, she leaves behind a couple loads at the bus stop while she comes home with the lighter ones she can hold.

I head out for the large sack of yams from the usual spot I expected it to be. I ask a known trader selling by if the old woman dropped a load. She says no. I see nothing around there as well. Not wanting to go back home with nothing, I walk down to the east side of the road to double-check. Behold, I see a big sack of yams, which of course looks similar to what I am used to carrying home. I ask an oil attendant at a filing station nearby if he saw an old woman leave the sack behind. He barely has interest listening to me, let alone giving me a clear response. I turn around, walk to the sack, and lift it up on my left shoulder and off I go.

Bad luck! The sack is not ours! They must be yelling ‘hey!’ from behind but I do not hear them. I do not hear well. I am a hearing-impaired person.
God! No sooner have I walked a few meters when hot, intermittent blows and slaps start landing on the back of my neck and back. They turn me around and give me the worst beating of my entire adult life. They are hailing ‘ole,ole, ole, ole’! You know Naija. Crowd gathers round while about 5 men continue to punch, and pound me. I can’t say anything. What will I say?

The harder I open my mouth to utter some words, the more they pummel me. Well, I do make an effort to speak up. I say, ‘No! please, I do not hear well’ I just aggravate the situation- they become more pissed off. They are like, ‘You this good-looking young man. You don’t hear?’ BIG LIE!
You want to steal a sack of tubers of yams, you are caught and what have you to say? Well, you should just hope you are not operated on with knives and stuff, or worse still, get roasted live as it is common in Lagos.

What an evening! I go home with a torn v-necked shirt I have on.

Thank you Lord for the gift of life!!

raj2014:
Sunday, January 3rd 2015 5:51 PM

At about 5:51 PM, my old woman comes in from the market. As usual, she leaves behind a couple loads at the bus stop while she comes home with the lighter ones she can hold.

I head out for the large sack of yams from the usual spot I expected it to be. I ask a known trader selling by if the old woman dropped a load. She says no. I see nothing around there as well. Not wanting to go back home with nothing, I walk down to the east side of the road to double-check. Behold, I see a big sack of yams, which of course looks similar to what I am used to carrying home. I ask an oil attendant at a filing station nearby if he saw an old woman leave the sack behind. He barely has interest listening to me, let alone giving me a clear response. I turn around, walk to the sack, and lift it up on my left shoulder and off I go.

Bad luck! The sack is not ours! They must be yelling ‘hey!’ from behind but I do not hear them. I do not hear well. I am a hearing-impaired person.
God! No sooner have I walked a few meters when hot, intermittent blows and slaps start landing on the back of my neck and back. They turn me around and give me the worst beating of my entire adult life. They are hailing ‘ole,ole, ole, ole’! You know Naija. Crowd gathers round while about 5 men continue to punch, and pound me. I can’t say anything. What will I say?

The harder I open my mouth to utter some words, the more they pummel me. Well, I do make an effort to speak up. I say, ‘No! please, I do not hear well’ I just aggravate the situation- they become more pissed off. They are like, ‘You this good-looking young man. You don’t hear?’ BIG LIE!
You want to steal a sack of tubers of yams, you are caught and what have you to say? Well, you should just hope you are not operated on with knives and stuff, or worse still, get roasted live as it is common in Lagos.

What an evening! I go home with a torn v-necked shirt I have on.

Thank you Lord for the gift of life!!

This really broke my heart. In saner climes where jungle justice is not seen as normal,u would have just been handed over to the cops until someone comes to your rescue.May God continue to protect you.

raj2014:
Sunday, January 3rd 2015 5:51 PM

At about 5:51 PM, my old woman comes in from the market. As usual, she leaves behind a couple loads at the bus stop while she comes home with the lighter ones she can hold.

I head out for the large sack of yams from the usual spot I expected it to be. I ask a known trader selling by if the old woman dropped a load. She says no. I see nothing around there as well. Not wanting to go back home with nothing, I walk down to the east side of the road to double-check. Behold, I see a big sack of yams, which of course looks similar to what I am used to carrying home. I ask an oil attendant at a filing station nearby if he saw an old woman leave the sack behind. He barely has interest listening to me, let alone giving me a clear response. I turn around, walk to the sack, and lift it up on my left shoulder and off I go.

Bad luck! The sack is not ours! They must be yelling ‘hey!’ from behind but I do not hear them. I do not hear well. I am a hearing-impaired person.
God! No sooner have I walked a few meters when hot, intermittent blows and slaps start landing on the back of my neck and back. They turn me around and give me the worst beating of my entire adult life. They are hailing ‘ole,ole, ole, ole’! You know Naija. Crowd gathers round while about 5 men continue to punch, and pound me. I can’t say anything. What will I say?

The harder I open my mouth to utter some words, the more they pummel me. Well, I do make an effort to speak up. I say, ‘No! please, I do not hear well’ I just aggravate the situation- they become more pissed off. They are like, ‘You this good-looking young man. You don’t hear?’ BIG LIE!
You want to steal a sack of tubers of yams, you are caught and what have you to say? Well, you should just hope you are not operated on with knives and stuff, or worse still, get roasted live as it is common in Lagos.

What an evening! I go home with a torn v-necked shirt I have on.

Thank you Lord for the gift of life!!

Sorry to hear about this misfortune.

I know you are not seeking any kind of pity, but do you have a hearing aid?just checked some online now and can get 3 for a discounted price. If you are interested, can order them with the batteries and send them to you at no charge.

Let me know if you are interested.

lafflaff123:



Sorry to hear about this misfortune.

I know you are not seeking any kind of pity, but do you have a hearing aid?just checked some online now and can get 3 for a discounted price. If you are interested, can order them with the batteries and send them to you at no charge.

Let me know if you are interested.

hullo bro. thank u a lot for ur genuine concerns. its profoundly moving, to say the very very least bro
well, i am totally interested. i have honestly not been ever fitted with a hearing aid b4. i hope to c magic it wud do.

i pm'ed u over nairaland. hope u saw it.
i llok 4ward to hearing back from u soonest.

Hey will reply to your mail now.

lafflaff123:
Hey will reply to your mail now.

ok.
08188883329....pls, u can message me here. tnx

[quote author=raj2014 post=29671340]

ok.
08188883329....pls, u can message me here. tnx[/quote

Just called you with my direct cell number starting with +1 (please do not put my number here) so I have gone ahead to place the order for you. They said 5 to 7 business days I should receive them and I will FedEx them to you.

Meanwhile, we could not hear each other over the phone, so will appreciate if you can text, or send an email if you want to reach me.

God bless and take care.

[quote author=lafflaff123 post=29673061][/quote]

i saw it sir. i figured as much it was u.
pls, wud u b so kind as to send me ur direct, most active email so m able to reach u. notwithstanding, i wud try to msg u over the cellular
thank u so much sir...god bless

raj2014:


i saw it sir. i figured as much it was u.
pls, wud u b so kind as to send me ur direct, most active email so m able to reach u. notwithstanding, i wud try to msg u over the cellular
thank u so much sir...god bless

I sent you an email earlier with my private email address.

You can get me there anytime, or through my cell.