AGE LIMITS LIMITS PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

In today's world, self improvement is just as important and vital . In addition to reading books and blogs,, online journals, etc searching for training opportunities is an important way I spend my time. There are so many opportunities out there, and there is no surprise on that given that we live in an information overload period.

It is always so exciting, when my search produces leads and results which align to my visions and goals. Therefore, I was so excited when I glanced through some links last week, saw that I met all their requirements until I stumbled on the age bracket and paused. The pause gradually shifted to a frustrated sigh and disappointment, and that, is a scenario that keeps repeating itself.

Most often than not, someone with a disability who desires to improve themselves especially if they are involved in leadership roles or advocacy work for persons with disabilities is again and again, frustrated and denied the opportunity to gain that much needed skill they are usually very eager to take up not because they are not qualified for but because they are blocked by the age limit.

Age limits may be viable in such situations but it is a huge limitation for persons with disabilities. Understandably, we are not asking for special favours. All we are asking is to be given a chance, In most cases, many people with disabilities are slow to catch up with their peers, not because they are intellectually incapable of keeping up with them but because they are fighting more battles than an average peer.

For example, most of us with chronic diseases and various forms of disabilities are a bit slow most times because at a certain age, we have just come out of busily fighting to stay alive, fighting to find our voices against a back drop of social stigmatization and discrimination and through this self actualisation and acceptance of who we are, we discover these hidden talents and potentials long buried start coming to the fore and sadly, in the face of this one victory, in trying to grasp the opportunities we feel would empower and help us amplify our voices and leadership roles we are now embracing better, these age limits become strangling road blocks we find difficult to penetrate, leaving us discouraged and disappointed.

Sometimes, when I truly want something, I go ahead and apply but most times, I can't help thinking I didn't get that particular thing because of the age limit. Over the years, I have limited myself to looking for and applying only to calls that are opened, which are still very few in a vast pool of opportunities.

Women with disabilities are especially at a disadvantage because they have to deal with the double load of being women and disabled in communities like mine. Most of them have a challenge going to school, some because guardians may out rightly refuse sending them to school, considering that a double waste of investment. Others because of dealing with the stress of inaccessible schools, long distances with poor roads, leaving them at the mercy of parents who had to face the brunt of ensuring they get the necessary education.  In such situations, self consciousness is an uphill task they have to over grow and by the time they work through developing that self confidence, opportunities like these with age limits become far out of their reach.

There are times I have wished that such opportunities would also have a special edition for persons with disabilities, opened to all irrespective of their age so that they have a chance to hone their skills and potentials which in the long run, would build them up to the leaders they aspire to become as they work hard to improve their various communities.

In a world that constantly talks of inclusion, I believe these opportunities with age limits belie that especially when they fail to take into consideration, the developmental rate of persons with disabilities vis-a-vis the "normal" people.  We are not asking for special favours neither are we asking for sympathy and pity.  All we are asking for is for our unique challenges and circumstances to be taken into consideration when opportunities like these are planned. Empathy to wear our shoes and understand our plight and pave the way for us to take our rightful places at the podium.

Disability is not limited to just a specific group of people and therefore, if we really want to see a more inclusive world where people with disabilities are also given their rightful place at the table, it is imperative that we rethink processes and opportunities and stop limiting their potentials with age limits to important leadership and life changing opportunities.