By Griff Hogan, Corporate Disability Consultant, Griff Hogan &
Associates
A friend of mine recently ran crying out of a movie theatre,
halfway through A Beautiful Mind. As the mother of a young man with
chronic depression, she was all too familiar with the rejection
often experienced by those with mental illness. While there is no
denying the difficulties that come with psychiatric problems—or any
significant impairment—there is another aspect to consider:
disabilities can carry with them important benefits, both for people
who have them and everyone else.
As evidence of this phenomenon, consider the endless list of
historic figures who have had disabilities: artists from van Gogh to
Pollack, writers from Homer to Christy Brown, musicians from
Beethoven to Stevie Wonder, political leaders from Julius Caesar to
John McCain, scientists from Sir Isaac Newton to Stephen Hawking.
Why have so many people of incomparable talent been disabled?
Some mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, autism/Asperger’s
syndrome, bi-polar disorder and depression, are commonly found in
highly creative and productive individuals. The “insane genius” is a
misleading stereotype, but like most clichés it contains a grain of
truth. While a full-blown psychosis is invariably debilitating, mild
mental problems, or those in remission, seem often to provide
incentive and even inspiration. There is no denying the brilliance
of Albert Einstein; but his delayed speech (he didn’t talk until he
was three), poor interpersonal relationships, unkempt appearance,
preoccupation with abstract concepts, and compulsion to wear soft
clothing are all symptomatic of autism, a usually incapacitating
mental illness. Einstein’s preoccupation became his incomparable
legacy.
Learning disabilities are also common among the gifted. Thomas
Edison did so poorly in school that his teachers thought he was
“slow.” Today, psychologists refer to unique learning styles in
gifted children as “the Edison factor.” At the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, where some of the most scientifically
capable students in the world are educated, so common are reading
problems that dyslexia is often referred to as “the M.I.T. disease.”
Aside from whatever else it might entail, having a disability
places those affected in a situation demanding adaptation, and adapt
they do. People who use a wheelchair learn an awful lot about
mobility options; those who are deaf must find alternate means of
communicating; blindness brings with it a host of necessary
adjustments. Most people can get through the ordinary routines of
daily life with scarcely a thought about them. Not so if you are
disabled. You are always adjusting, adapting, improvising—doing
whatever it takes to get along. When adaptive thinking becomes
habitual it can be a powerful skill.
Too often people assume that successful disabled people have
“triumphed over” their impairment without recognizing the important
role that the disability itself may have had in their achievements.
One of the great ironies of the previous century was that the
atrocities of the Third Reich, which began with a pogrom against
disabled Germans, were ended by Allied Forces led by two great
disabled men: Franklin Roosevelt, who had polio, and Winston
Churchill, who had chronic depression. Many historians credit their
disabilities with preparing both leaders for the many setbacks that
came before final victory in the war. Where would we be today had
they led more ordinary lives?
Disabilities often provide those who have them, or are interested
in them, with a uniquely valuable perspective. Most of us know that
Alexander Graham Bell’s interest in deafness led to his invention of
the telephone. Fewer know that the typewriter was invented as a
“writing machine” for an Italian countess who was blind, or that Dr.
Vinton Cerf, who is partially deaf, was accustomed to communicating
by teletypewriter long before his research earned him the title
“Father of the Internet.” (The next time you type at a keyboard
accessing the Internet over a phone line, remember who made it
possible.)
The most celebrated invention of 2001 was the Segway HT (a.k.a..
“Ginger”), the scooter-like creation of Dean Kamen. The gyroscopic
technology that made Ginger possible came from Kamen’s earlier work
with a “standing,” stair-climbing wheelchair.
We all benefit daily from provisions made for people with
disabilities—automatic doors, ramps, large-print signs, oversized
restroom stalls. Engineers have termed this the “curb-cut effect”
since curb-cuts were originally developed for people using walkers
and wheelchairs, but are now also used by cyclists, roller-bladers,
delivery personnel, parents pushing strollers—everybody. There’s
also something known as the “electronic curb-cut
effect”—technological innovations that are developed for people with
disabilities but are soon embraced by the masses. The most obvious
example is television captioning, originally created to assist deaf
TV viewers, but now found ubiquitously in sports bars, airport
lounges, and bedrooms where someone wants to view a late-night show
without disturbing another’s slumber.
In Origin of the Species Darwin theorized that organisms progress
due to the adaptation of the strong, i.e. “survival of the fittest.”
He had it half right. History and experience show that great
progress can also be attributed to those who adapt to their
limitations and weaknesses. Better understanding this phenomenon
should make us more tolerant of impairments—our own and others’—and
more appreciative of the many ways in which we all benefit from
them.
(Griff Hogan is a corporate disability consultant. This article
is adapted from his newly published book The Inclusive Corporation:
a disability handbook for business professionals.)
