Around the
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Depression and Loneliness: Serious Theme, Real Life
by
Beth Anne Luciani
SHOUT has always had the goal to target real-life issues for people with disabilities at the biennial Pittsburgh Employment Conference for Augmented Communicators – PEC@. This year is no exception with the theme being “Employment: Overcoming Loneliness and Depression.” A very serious theme that already has sparked discussion, if not controversy, within the AAC community.
When the theme was introduced, I was a front-runner in it being the definite topic of the 2009 conference. I felt depression and loneliness effected more people with disabilities than society realized. Therefore, when the complaints rolled in, I stood my ground as a Board Member of SHOUT and refused to let the topic be changed. I didn’t think a few people who thought the theme was too serious and “depressing” should make us change it.
The bottom line is everyone suffers from depression sometime in their lives, but I feel it is ten times worse for a person with a disability. Not only do we have to deal with struggles from our disabilities, but we also have to deal with struggles that able-bodied people take for granted. Some of us are not independent and have to depend on other people to take care of us. That leads to little or no privacy, which, in turn, leads to having everything we do known by people around us. Also, if our disabilities are severe enough, we are stared at, looked down upon, and thought to be dumb. We are scrutinized by how we look or if we speak funny.
People with disabilities can have deeper issues with depression and loneliness. Since some of us don’t have the freedom we would like, we aren’t able to do activities, such as dating and going out regularly. I feel this is a big issue that gets swept under the carpet. Social lives for people with disabilities are extremely difficult. Since we are limited in what we can do, we don’t always get included in certain activities or aren’t able to go places because we need assistance. Therefore, we get trapped at home, possibly have very few friends, and, ultimately, get excluded from the outside world. If we are fortunate to access a computer and the Internet, our social lives open up a lot. Still cyber life isn’t the same as real life.
If a person with a disability is depressed and lonely, working can be challenging. Furthermore, if we aren’t able to find employment, it can lead to more severe depression. We have the intelligence and ability to work, however, we can’t get jobs. Employers don’t want to hire us, because either we need personal attendants or we aren’t able to work normal shifts. Not being able to work and having limited income is very stressful and no one wants to depend on the government for his/her entire life. The whole equation limits how we live. If we aren’t able to get jobs, we can’t afford to pay bills and live our lives the way we want.
I personally feel the theme of the 2009 PEC is one of the most important ever. SHOUT picks topics that are normally not talked about for people with disabilities. That is what is so great about PEC. People come from all over the world to hear and discuss real issues concerning people with disabilities. I think hearing the theme of this year’s conference gave some people a real wake-up call. In all honesty, I am glad! If SHOUT wouldn’t have picked depression and loneliness as this year’s conference theme, it never would have been discussed. As I have said from the very beginning, this is a very serious topic and one I know almost everyone, especially a person with a disability, suffers from at some point in their lives. I fought to help keep the theme. In the end, I know my fight will help everyone who attends PEC 2009!
BIO:
Beth Anne is a thirty-year-old college student with cerebral palsy. She attends California University of Pennsylvania where she majors in Creative Writing. Beth Anne also sits on the Board of SHOUT and is their Webmaster at www.shoutaac.org/welcome.htm. To find out more about Beth Anne, please visit her Web site at www.mytruesmile.com.
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