Blog post by Dr. Christopher Worth, Co-PI of the My ROAD Project
The annual TASH conference is a gathering place where self-advocates, their families, supporters, and researchers come together with a mission to make life better for people with disabilities. After our team went to the TASH conference last fall, one idea really stuck with me: people there were trying to create a space that goes beyond inclusion. They are pushing the conversation toward a deeper idea of belonging.
I think we need to look beyond “inclusion” because sometimes, even when a person with a disability is physically present in the room and doing tasks, they still don’t truly feel like they belong. I’ve felt that way myself, and it still affects my thinking sometimes. I left TASH wondering, how can we make sure everyone in our society feels like and really does belong?
First, our research has shown that one of the best ways people can feel involved and valued, experiencing the strongest sense of belonging, is when they are truly listened to by others. People with developmental and intellectual disabilities have stressed that what they share shouldn’t just be heard, but it must be used or put into action.
Second, the other reason I understand the desire to belong is because I have a developmental disability and was in foster care as a child. Even though a good family adopted me at 11 years old, I often felt like I didn’t belong wherever I was. I was always looking for my place to belong.
This search continued until my college years, when I discovered the work of community organizing. The first community organizer I met, who later became my teacher, initiated our relationship by listening closely to my story. I still remember the first time we sat down, and Abraham told me I was a powerful person who had something important to contribute. I remember that moment because he really listened.
Abraham helped me on a journey to belonging that I didn’t even know I was on. After a while, I started to see myself as a community organizer. This identity helped me build community because it taught me to listen and that when I spoke, my words mattered and were powerful. I learned that my job was not to give people knowledge they didn’t have—maybe I would help them make their knowledge better—but my real job was to help people feel like they belong!
The idea of belonging is very powerful. I have heard people with disabilities say over and over again, in research and organizing groups, “all I want to do is belong,” or “I want people to know and agree that I belong here.”
I believe we are called to let people take the risk of defining what belonging means for themselves. Our communities and societies must take the risk to listen, creating chances to go past superficial inclusion. Instead, we should work on building stronger pathways for belonging. We can start to do this by listening to, valuing, and then putting into action what people with disabilities bring to our mass culture!
