Speak for yourself

               So, Feisty Pants, Goo and I checked out Speechless the other night.  For those of you who haven't seen it, Speechless is a comedy on ABC that is about a disabled teen and his family.  It's awesome, btw, mostly because it  doesn't try to be syrupy or "inspiring" or any of a thousand things that, as the parent of a disabled child, would make me want to hurl.  I highly recommend it and the first five minutes of the first episode (the car ride) is the most honest portrayal of what it's like I have ever seen.

               I think what I like best, besides the fact that the actor portraying the disabled teen IS a disabled person, is that the fact that he is a slightly obnoxious, mischievous, smart alecky teen.  Just like every other teen on the planet. Of all the ways the world is prejudiced against the disabled, the one I hate, hate, motherloving HATE the most is the quiet, smug, demeaning lowering of expectations of the disabled.  It drives me crazy.  I honestly wonder how many doctors, lawyers, teachers, actors,artists, or (insert every effing other profession on the planet here) we have lost because we could not really expect so much of "the poor dears".  So we did not have to educate them.  Or equip them with what they needed to interact with the world at large.  Or let them leave a segregated setting.   Or let them decide what to do with their lives or even decide what to do with their own damn day to day existence.  I hate when people don't automatically take the desires of the disabled into account along with their needs.  It's rude at best, and frankly, just one more form of abuse in my opinion.

                Feisty Pants, for her part seems to take in stride.  In a smart alecky, slightly obnoxious teenager kind of way.  Her speech is garbled so, instead she has perfected her side eye to let you know she is annoyed.  If you talk down to her, she is very polite.  While she signs completely obnoxious answers she knows you won't understand.  She is perfectly capable of looking like she is about to burst into tears until you give whatever she has decided she wants, and then, when you have given it to her and left, look at me, smile , and say "see?" like she hopes I'm taking notes about how to get what you want.  In fact today the little Moriarty figured out a way to hook her food pump with her foot and bring it (AND THE METAL IV POLE IT WAS ATTACHED TO) down on to my head while I was  trying to pick her up and move her.  And I'm sure once she has succeeded in offing me, she will smile politely at the jury and they will let her off because "of course that poor dear could not have done such a thing.  She wouldn't be able to figure out how to do it."   You have all been warned.