Personal Statment - Daphne He

Learning & Research Summary:

At the beginning of my research, I was taken aback when I was asked to define disability. I didn’t know

much about it and forming a definition was difficult for me. Now, I am only beginning to understand how

little I understood. All "disability experts" are constrained in their expertise when they attempt to represent

a community they haven't personally experienced because only a disabled person would genuinely grasp

what it is like to live with a disability. Our society's physical, social, and virtual environments have

traditionally ignored the needs of those who have disabilities and given the word "disability" a negative

connotation. "Out of sight, out of mind" has always been the mantra. Instead of the impairments

themselves, the physical and psychological environment truly causes disability. People should be asking

themselves, "What more can I do for the disabled community?" rather than "How little can I get away

legally." I also learned the importance of reforming the traditional education system to incorporate more

space for creativity and self expression, which is especially helpful for students with learning disabilities.

Learning can come in different forms. There is literally no end to the lessons that art can impart in a

classroom, and I think that schools ought to embrace it more.


                                        





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