AUTUMN RITTER
Minnesota State University - Mankato, Class of 2022

In the fall of 2021, I participated in the Honors version of REHB 110W. This class examines the complexities of disabilities, including the various kinds of disabilities, the stigmatisms that can be present, and the appropriate language that should be used in reference to a person's disability. These were things that I already thought I knew well, as I grew up with two grandparents with disabilities. My maternal grandfather had been a quadriplegic since my mother was a baby, and my maternal stepmother is a paraplegic and amputee. With that being said, I went into this class feeling like I was already very knowledgeable and informed on disabilities in comparison to my peers. While that was not necessarily false, I quickly learned that I was only knowledgeable on a very narrow view of disabilities.

​

One moment that really stuck out to me in this course was when we began discussing mental illnesses as a disability. Despite having a sister with major depression and bipolar disorder, I had never actually considered mental illness as a disability. I was able to identify and acknowledge an internal stigma that I had in that moment, and it was very eye-opening. This was obviously very uncomfortable to admit to myself, and I was disappointed that I had never considered this perspective even though I had spent years helping my sister through her own diagnoses, symptoms, and treatments. This course forced me to reconsider my internal perceptions on what qualified as a disability, and what consequences that perspective could have had on the people around me.

​

The culmination of all our work throughout the semester was demonstrated in our final project for the semester, which consisted of an interview of a person with a disability. The only requirements were that it had to be a person we did not know before the interview, and that they must have a disability with which we are fairly unfamiliar. I had the opportunity to interview a fellow MSU student who experiences hidden disabilities like depression and PTSD, and through this interview, I was able to fully understand the nuances of mental illnesses as disabilities. For example, she was able to explain the difficulties of having a disability that no one can physically see, as well as how she deals with the effects she experiences on a daily basis.

​

Especially because there are many people in my life that have mental diagnoses, this conversation was extremely powerful for me. Although I will likely never be able to understand the full scope of their experiences, I believe I am better able to empathize with people experiencing hidden disabilities, and subsequently, people with disabilities as a whole. Empathy is something I strongly value in myself and others, so I was extremely thankful that this course presented a space for me to openly enhance my empathy for others without judgement or criticism. Overall, this class allowed me to increase my global citizenship by further considering alternate experiences than my own, and how I can be actively aware and understanding of these differences.

​

Attached is a copy of my final interview for the course, where the interviewee's name has been changed for privacy purposes. TRIGGER WARNING: Essay contains descriptions of suicide and sexual assault.