International Day of People with Disability Blog – Joel’s story 

I grew up completely ‘normal’, or at least in my own narrow mind it was. I did what I wanted when I wanted, went places without physical challenges, social or emotional. Played community and school sports, performed in bands, productions – I was absolutely, “normal”. I had no true understanding or construct of disability - or so I thought. I thought that because I had no form of diagnosed disability, I was much like everyone else and everything in my life I was exposed to. I saw disability as, “different”. How wrong I was.