Do you ever get the feeling that somebody’s watching you? Well I get that feeling every day, at least in public. That’s typically because someone usually is watching me. Is it because I’m so incredibly attractive that they can’t keep their eyes off me? or is because I don’t have arms and I’m probably the first person that they have ever seen to grab an apple with their foot at the grocery store.
How do you address your disability? Let’s say you’re in the grocery store and you notice someone staring, do you confront them or do you shy away? Growing up with a disability, I never really understood why people stood and stared and whispered about me behind my back. For Pete’s sake I’m standing right there, acknowledge that I exist and we can have a conversation about it. It wasn’t until I was older that I started acknowledging that someone had questions about me. I would politely answer the question which started a conversation. By the end, that person felt more comfortable talking to someone with a disability. I was no longer a strange commodity but a person with really cool talents.
Let me introduce myself, my name is Letisha Wexstten and I am the founder and CEO of visible. I was born without arms and one leg shorter than the other. I learned how to do everything with my feet as if life hadn’t given me enough challenges to deal with I also had to overcome the challenges of ableism.