I recently read an article that a friend sent me from Huffington Post. The article is about a man with Cerebral Palsy who resulted in crawling off an airplane because he urgently needed to use the restroom, after the crew failed to bring him an aisle size wheel chair to help him disembark. (Link to article is right below)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/darcee-neal-airplane_562d0d36e4b0ec0a3894c3e6

This is just one story of the many stories that occur around our world, and today, I would like to share my own.

Over ten years ago, I was coming home from visiting a friend in Minnesota and I had a layover. I don’t really remember what city it was, because it was so long ago. Now, I am no stranger to taking flights on my way to visit friends around the country, and in most cases they go smoothly. But, on this day, it was different.

Under normal circumstances, the airline or the airport has a chair waiting for me at the gate, ready to roll me on to the next one, or to baggage claim. Unfortunately, there is always an exception to the rule and in my case, it happened on this trip. My speech is badly impaired and due to that fact, a lot of people think I am mentally challenged in some way, and unfortunately, this was my lucky day. On this layover to Minnesota, the airline representative who met me with the wheelchair did not allow me time to get my computer out of its bag. This is a problem because my computer is the way I communicate with those around me, specifically with strangers. Even though I was twenty-two at the time and in college, she had the bright idea to take me to the kids holding room where they normally keep all of the unaccompanied minors.

When I got to the room, I finally was able to get my computer out and talk to another person, and then we got it all worked out, her taking me to where I was supposed to go. In the end, however, I never got an apology from the airlines.

I was not necessarily looking for an apology per say, however, it would have been nice if they would have acknowledged it and offered some kind of diversity training for their employees, in efforts to educate them on how to interact and treat their customers like one in the same.

If you have a story you would like to share involving yourself, or someone you know, please feel free to leave a comment on this post. I don’t want you to share your stories to spread sadness and misunderstanding, but rather, I want you to share your stories to help foster understanding and awareness of the differently-abled community in our world.