Words of wisdom about disability and life!

Adaptability

"I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination"

​

• I have a disability yes that’s true, but all that really means is I may have to take a slightly different path than you Robert M. Hensel

​

• Take what is given, and make it over your own way Robert Frost

​

• I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination Jimmy Dean

​

Embracing diversity

"Without diversity life would be very boring"

​

• We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value Maya Angelo

​

• We are all different, which is great because we are all unique. Without diversity life would be very boring. Catherine Pulsifer

​

• Inside the forest there are many birds Chinese proverb 

​

Disability as strength

​

"I do not have a disability, I have a gift!"

​

• There's a remarkable amount of strength residing in those who move forward without being able to physically move. Ones that carry the weight of illness or a disability, they battle wars most know nothing about. They are the true warriors of the world. Nikki Rowe

​

• It was probably no accident that it was the disabled Hephaestus who made ingenious machines; a normal man didn’t have to hoist or jack himself over hindrances by means of cranks, chains and metal parts. Then it was in the line of human advance that Einhorn could do so much. Saul Bellow

​​

• I do not have a disability, I have a gift! Others may see it as a disability, but I see it as a challenge. This challenge is a gift because I have to become stronger to get around it, and smarter to figure out how to use it; others should be so lucky. Shane E. Bryan

​

• Sometimes it takes dealing with a disability - the trauma, the relearning, the months of rehabilitation therapy - to uncover our true abilities and how we can put them to work for us in ways we may have never imagined. Tammy Duckworth

​​

• Beware trying to iron out all your quirks, perceived flaws and doubts. It's often these things that help you find strength, compassion, empathy for others
  and heart. Rasheed Ogunlaru

​

• I’m truly enabled because of my lack of limbs. My unique challenges have opened up unique opportunities to reach so many in need. Nick Vujicic

​

• My disability has opened my eyes to see my true abilities Robert M. Hensel

 

• Disability in my forties turned me into a thinker. Steven Magee

​

• I thank God for my handicaps, for through them I have found myself, my work and my God Helen Keller

​

• My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you doing well, and don’t regret the things it interferes with. Don’t be disabled in spirit as well as physically. Stephen Hawking

​​

• A dose of adversity is often as needed as a dose of medicine American proverb 

​

• When you hear the word ‘disabled,’ people immediately think about people who can’t walk or talk or do everything that people take for granted. Now, I take nothing for granted. But I find the real disability is people who can’t find joy in life and are bitter. Teri Garr

​

• For me, disability is a way of getting some extremity, some kind of very difficult situation, that throws an interesting light on people Mark Haddon

​

• Your success and happiness lie in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties. Helen Keller​

​

• Life is all about balance. Since I have only one leg, I understand that well. Sandy Fussell

​​

• When you focus on someone’s disability you’ll overlook their abilities, beauty and uniqueness Yvonne Pierre

​

• Disability is natural. We must stop believing that disabilities keep a person from doing something. Because that’s not true . . . Having a disability doesn’t stop me from doing anything. Benjamin Snow

​

• I have always tried to overcome the limitations of my condition and lead as full a life as possible. I have traveled the world, from the Antarctic to zero gravity. Stephen Hawking

​

A social construct

"Disability is restriction of activity caused by a society which takes little or no account of people with impairments"

​

• My disability exists not because I use a wheelchair, but because the broader environment isn't accessible Stella Young​

​

• A child is only as disabled as their environment and the beliefs of the people around them Bala Pillai

​​

• Disability is something imposed on top of our impairments by the way we are unnecessarily isolated and excluded from full participation in society. Lennard J. Davis

​

• Disability is the disadvantage or restriction of activity caused by a society which takes little or no account of people who have impairments and thus excludes them from mainstream activity. Disabled people are those people with impairments who are disabled by society. Pam Thomas

​

• There is a plan and a purpose, a value to every life, no matter what its location, age, gender or disability Sharron Angle

​​

• We must not allow other people's limited perceptions to define us. Stephen Hawking

​​​​

• As a disabled man, let my life be a reflection of the endless amount of ability that exists in each and everyone of us Robert M. Hensel

​​

• We have a moral duty to remove barriers to participation to unlock the vast potential of people with disabilities  Stephen Hawking

​​

• It is important that we do not allow ourselves to be dismissed as if we all come under this one great metaphysical category 'the disabled'. These words that lump us all together -'the disabled', 'spina bifida', 'tetraplegic', 'muscular dystrophy’, - are nothing more than terminological rubbish bins into which all the important things about us as people get thrown away. GL Engel

​

Beyond disability

"The greatest disability is the inability to take advantage of your abilities"

​

• You don’t need sight to have insight Canadian disability activist

​

• Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn't mean he lacks vision Stevie Wonder

​

• There is no greater disability in society, than the inability to see a person as more Robert M. Hensel

 

• ​I'm in a wheelchair. It's not who I am, it's just how I get around Anonymous

​

• My ability is greater than my disability Nikki Rowe

​

• It’s not our disabilities, it’s our abilities that count Chris Burke

​​

• Never assume a person who has difficulty communicating has nothing to say Stacy Sekinger

​

• Know me for my abilities, not my disability Robert M. Hensel

​

• The greatest disability is the inability to take advantage of your abilities Khang Kijarro Nguyen

​

• Presuming that a nonspeaking child has nothing to say is like presuming that an adult without a car has nowhere to go Ellen Notbohm

​

• Use the skills that I have got, do not focus on what I have not. Of course, I am aware of my limitation, yet I am part of God's wonderful creation William E. Lightbourne

​

Simply human

"The only disability that I have, is that I'm human"

​

• People presume my disability has to do with being an amputee, but that's not the case; our insecurities are our disabilities, and I struggle with those as does everyone. Aimee Mullins

​

• The only disability that I have, is that I'm human Anthony T. Hincks

​

• The only disability in life is a bad attitude Scott Hamilton

​

• Being disabled should not mean being disqualified from having access to every aspect of life Emma Thompson

​​

• My needs aren't 'special'. How my needs are met may be different, but they are the same needs as anyone else's. Autism Women's Network

​​

• What of people who can't feel? Or talk about their feelings? Or manage their feelings in constructive ways? What of people who aren't able to form close and strong relationships? And people who cannot find fulfillment in their lives, or those who have lost hope, who live in disappointment and bitterness and find in life no joy, no love? These, it seems to me, are the real disabilities. Fred Rogers

​

Download Disability Quotes (PDF)

BC Disability Tool Box Page