Story by: Michael Reynoso

For decades, society has always treated people or children with disabilities like complete failures. It can be having difficulty stuttering a sentence, let alone a single word, paralysis due to a car accident, or being born with a congenital disability such as deafness. Many disabilities have caused millions of people to delay or not accomplish their dreams at all.

Society, like the government, labels you a disease, so you don’t have any access to anything within your reach. It can be education, pursuing a job, driving a car, and even attending live events.

What is worse, people are laughing at you while you are on the journey to overcoming it. No one has your best interest at heart, and you are left alone to fend for yourselves.

My Advice:

If your child has a disability and they are experiencing learning or speech issues, you are not alone. If you are not busy with work, spend as much time with them as possible. Make sure they are sent to legit professionals to work on their speech or learning activities. During this journey, it will take a great deal of love and patience for your child to overcome their disability or at least learn to cope.

For me, it took a long time before I finally overcame my learning disability. Because of my lack of learning cognition, I couldn’t learn steadily or comprehend words compared to other children. It took a lot of effort, support, and chastisement from my mother, especially when I rebelled. Although I didn’t like it most of the time, I knew it was for my good. In my early 20s, I decided to re-learn everything taught to me, from early grade school to college level.

During those years, I learned “Algebra,” comprehended questions for tests, was engulfed in history, and learned how to spend money the right way. If it were not for my mother’s patience and perseverance to endure the process, I would have ended up in the worst state.

My Experience

Stuttering was hard to overcome. Due to my lack of speech, I became highly anxious and nervous. Every constant vowel sound, like the letter “w” or “z,” I felt blocked me from speaking out the entire word. Looking back during those times, I used to feel ashamed and sad about my stuttering condition. Not living up to what my mother taught me was a regret I will always have.

Even when asking questions, I was scared to ask because I was either not smart enough or afraid of feedback due to my lack of learning understanding. Simply put, I felt inferior, which is a terrible feeling. I felt like no one could understand my pain. As a result, I remained quiet throughout my life and would allow my stuttering to overtake me.

Hence, there was no willpower to practice overcoming the stuttering for years.

Thankfully, I decided to practice my daily communication drills with my family, which helped my stuttering dwindle. Now, I don’t feel ashamed or sad about stuttering anymore. Today, I feel confident in my speech and thankful for my stuttering journey.

This was my journey to finding my reason for living.

Conclusion

I AM here to tell YOU:

To conclude, society doesn’t own who you are. Don’t label yourself with a disability. You are not unreliable to the community but reliable.

You are NOT disabled.

You are born with a purpose.

You are loved.

You are beautifully and wonderfully made.

You are not a mistake but a miracle.

Don’t let society dictate who you are supposed to become. Always know that you are enough and let God guide you through life. Don’t let anyone tell you no just because you are disabled.

May God continue to be with you and keep going.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post today!

I hope that this post gives you courage and inspires you to be the best version of yourself.

You are not disabled but very much able.

Don’t hesitate to clap and comment for significant engagements if you enjoyed reading this post.

XoXo

Michael Rey — Minister, Disability Advocate, and Podcast Host