Today is the International Day of People with Disability, which aims to promote a positive image of people with disability. The day is designed to recognise and celebrate the skills, abilities and achievements of people with a disability, and their contributions to community life.
This is a welcome area of endeavour in Australia, where it frequently appears that the community views people with disabilities variously with admiration, surprise, bewilderment and fear.
In a submission to the Productivity Commission's inquiry into a disability care and support scheme, a mother and carer of a profoundly intellectually disabled adult articulated a disability 'hierarchy', which differentiates disability types according to how society perceives and accepts people with those disabilities.
People who are fully intellectually able and articulate are championed. We're amazed by Matt Hallat, a Paralympian downhill skier with one leg; by Nick Vujucic, who was born without limbs but shares his story and hope with others; by the mind and ideas of Stephen Hawking, who has cerebral palsy; and by Hilary Lister, a quadriplegic woman who sailed around the word solo.
We have every reason to be impressed. Many able-bodied people could not achieve these feats.
Similarly, people without intellectual disability but with some physical impairment are respected by the community, particularly if they work in important or high-profile roles.
Australia's Disability Discrimination and Race Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes (who lives with blindness), comedian Adam Hills (who has a prosthetic leg) and broadcaster Wendy Harmer (who had a cleft palate) fit this category. Regular 'Joes' (and 'Josies') with full intellectual capacity are also accepted.
Yet acceptance is not so forthcoming for people with intellectual disabilities. Although some individuals with a mild intellectual impairment have achieved success in sport or the arts, and this is celebrated to a degree, by and large people with intellectual disabilities do not experience the same acceptance.
If a mental impairment is mild, and an individual can care for themselves, converse, form relationships and work, the lack of acceptance is not so pronounced. There are kind-hearted people who regularly engage with people with intellectual disabilities, and even foster friendships.
Unfortunately, where a mental impairment is more severe or profound, or coupled with physical disability, wider acceptance evaporates. It can be difficult to communicate with a person who does not use speech, to interact with someone who requires high levels of assistance with mobility and personal care, or engage with someone who may not have complete control of their sounds or movements.
As a result, many people with such severe or profound disabilities are avoided, ignored and rejected. They, along with their parents and carers, risk being marginalised.
The 'physical' disability lobby has been extremely successful in raising awareness of the issues faced by having a world catering only to the physically able. In fact, the physical disability lobby has been so successful that the wider community seems to forget that the disability sector includes a very significant number of people with a mental impairment, at times even alongside a physical impairment.
Why are things different for those with intellectual disabilities? Why are people with intellectual disabilities more disconnected? I feel that it is simply mainstream society's fear of the unknown.
For decades, people with intellectual disabilities were denied an education in most schools; governments did not have dedicated specialist schools. For decades, people with intellectual disabilities were institutionalised, often separated from their families. The community has been the poorer for missing out on the participation of those with intellectual disabilities.
Were that not the case, would our society be more appreciative and less competitive? More patient and empathetic? More compassionate and inclusive? I like to think that my own experience with disability has engendered these qualities in me.
The lives, abilities and achievements of individuals living with disability are as many and varied as those individuals themselves. It would be wonderful if, on this International Day of People with Disability, we could reflect on the contribution of those with intellectual disabilities too.
Moira Byrne Garton is a PhD student in political science at the Australian National University, and a policy analyst. She is strongly engaged with disability issues.