Name: _______________________________________
Class: ________________________________
“Why I Refuse to Say I ‘Fight’ My Disability”
By Karin Hitselberger
From Claiming Crip  September 30, 2015
Karin Hitselberger is a disability rights activist, graduate student, and freelance writer with cerebral
palsy (a permanent movement disorder whose symptoms include poor coordination, stiff or weak
muscles, and tremors). She blogs about life and disability issues at Claiming Crip, and the intersection
of disability, fashion, and body acceptance at Ceepstyle. In this post, Hitselberger takes issue with
the language sometimes used around the issue of dealing with one’s disability. As you read, take
notes on the author’s change of perspective, her tone, and how she develops her central idea.
[1]
Recently, I saw a picture on
Facebook that said, “I fight cerebral
palsy. What’s your superpower?”
So much about this illustration
focusing on cerebral palsy
awareness struck me as wrong and
uncomfortable, and it left me with a
nauseous feeling in my stomach.
Immediately images of me at
constant battle with myself popped
into my head. Fight cerebral palsy? I
thought. How would that even be
possible? How could I constantly be
at war with something that is so
intrinsically a part of me, and why
would I even want to fight a battle
that could never really be won?
Disability rights activists at a rally in California. “Arnieville Disability Rights,
June 2010” by peoplesworld is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
It brought back memories of childhood when I honestly believed that if I could “just be like everyone
else,” everything would be fine. It brought back memories of frustration with a body that never seemed
to do what I wanted it to do, and feeling so desperately like I wanted to fit in but thinking I was the
problem. Feeling like being able to walk was the magical cure that would solve all my problems, and that
if I just had a “normal” body like my sister, everything would be perfect.
Thankfully, times have changed, and I am not that little girl anymore. It took a long time, but I have
learned to love my spazzy body, and I no longer see walking as the magical cure that will solve all my
problems. Instead, I have learned to embrace my wheelchair as the amazing tool it is. The tool that
allows me to see the world and live my life on my own terms. Slowly, I have learned I am not the
problem and never have been. I have learned that cerebral palsy is not something to be battled with,
overcome or conquered. It is a part of me – a complicated part for sure, but a beautiful one, and I
wouldn’t change it for anything. It has shaped my life and the way I view the world around me, and it’s
given me so many great relationships and experiences for which I will be forever grateful.
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I will never say I fight my disability because doing that would be fighting a war against myself, and a very
important part of me. I will never say I fight cerebral palsy because disability, and cerebral palsy, are not
problems to be battled.
[5]
I will say I fight ableism1 and prejudice.
I will say I fight lack of access, stigma and ignorance.
I will say I fight discrimination.
I will say I fight these things, because I do. These are battles to fight, and win. It is ableism, prejudice, lack
of access, stigma, ignorance and discrimination that prevent me from having the same opportunities in
life as my able-bodied brother and sister, not my cerebral palsy, my wheelchair or my inability to walk.
I will fight to make this world a better place for future generations of kids just like me.
[10] I will fight to make sure they are never told or led to believe their bodies are a problem or something
they must do battle against on a daily basis just to fit in.
I will fight to make sure those kids have the same opportunities as everybody else, and never believe
everything would be better if they could just change who they are.
I will fight for a world where the mere presence of disability does not make you extraordinary. Where
disabled children are taught to aspire to more than just existing, and where being disabled doesn’t mean
you have to be 10 times better than everyone else just to be good enough.
I will fight for a world where we talk about living with and owning our disabled bodies rather than
overcoming them.
I will fight for a better world, and a better future, because those things are worth fighting for, but I will
not fight a war against myself.
© 2015 Karin Hitselberger. Used with permission.
1
Ableism (noun): a form of discrimination or social prejudice against people with disabilities
2
Text-Dependent Questions:
Directions: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.
1. Summarize the central idea of the text on the lines below.
[RI.2]
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2. PART A: In this piece, the author takes issue with the word “fight” because in the context it is
used with regard to disability, “fight” is used to mean:
[RI.4]
a. To be resilient
b. To strive to overcome
c. To be courageous and strong
d. To argue or dispute
3. PART B: Which phrase from paragraph 1 best supports the answer to Part A?
a. “What’s your superpower?”
b. “at constant battle with myself”
c. “How could I constantly be at war with something…?”
d. “why would I even want to fight a battle that could never really be won?”
[RI.1]
4. Explain how the author’s point of view toward her disability changes throughout the piece.
What is the effect of this change? Cite evidence from the text in your answer.
[RI.6]
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______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________________
5. Which of the following best states how the text is organized, and why?
[RI.5]
a. The author begins by emphasizing what she will not do with regard to her disability and
ends by listing what she will do, in order to emphasize that the problem is not the
disability, but people’s attitudes toward disability.
b. The author begins with an anecdote that illustrates the problem with how disabilities
are viewed and ends by contradicting those viewpoints with her own personal examples
of empowerment, in order to change perceptions about people with disabilities.
c. The author begins by expressing concern over prejudice toward people with disabilities,
and ends by assuring other people with disabilities that they are powerful and strong in
order to encourage self-acceptance.
d. The author writes the piece as a chronological narrative, explaining how she came to
understand and accept her disability as something to be appreciated and not resented.
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Discussion Questions:
Directions: Brainstorm your answers to the following questions in the space provided. Be prepared to
share your original ideas in a class discussion.
1. Why do the words and language you choose when discussing sensitive issues matter? Can you
think of other examples – from the media or your own life – in which a person’s words had a
profound impact, either positive or negative? Why?
2. Does being strong always mean being a fighter? Explain.
3. How does our society view people with disabilities? How are they portrayed in the media and
popular culture? What affect does this have?
4. In the context of this piece, how do people overcome adversity? Cite evidence from this text,
your own experience, and other literature, art, or history in your answer.
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For Teachers
Suggested Text Pairings:
“On Disability Rights” by Ed Roberts (Speech)
Ed Roberts (1939-1995) was an American activist and a pioneering leader in the disability rights
movement. He was the first student with severe disabilities to attend the University of Berkeley,
California. In 1976, newly elected Governor Jerry Brown appointed Roberts Director of the
California Department of Vocational Rehabilitation—the same agency that had once labelled
him too severely disabled to work. Later, he helped found the World Institute on Disability. This
text is a compilation of several of his most famous speeches. Pair “On Disability Rights” with
“Why I Refuse to Say I ‘Fight’ My Disability” and ask students to discuss the challenges people
with disabilities face – not in terms of their disability, but in terms of the obstacles of prejudice
and discrimination they encounter every day – and the way that disability activists have fought
and continue to fight for their rights. Find “On Disability Rights” at CommonLit.org (Resilience 
How do people overcome adversity?  9th10th Grade).
“Why We Need to Talk About Kylie Jenner” by Karin Hitselberger (Non-Fiction)
In this piece by the same author, Hitselberger discusses the December 2015 cover of Interview
Magazine, which featured celebrity Kylie Jenner – who does not have a disability – in a wheelchair.
Hitselberger explains why it’s problematic that Jenner attempted to use the wheelchair “as a prop
to symbolize the ‘limitations’ [she] experienced” as an American reality television personality,
socialite, and model. Pair “Why We Need to Talk About Kylie Jenner” with “Why I Refuse to Say I
‘Fight’ My Disability” and ask students to discuss the perceptions our society holds of disabilities
and the people who live with them. Find “Title of Paired Text” at
http://claimingcrip.blogspot.com/2015/12/why-we-need-to-talk-about-kylie-jenner.html
Answers to Text-Dependent Questions:
1. Answers will vary; students’ answers should touch upon the idea that a disability is not always
something to be overcome; that people with disabilities can accept and even appreciate them.
2. B
3. D
4. Answers will vary; students should discuss how in paragraphs 1-2 the author expresses
frustration at the idea of “fighting” a disability, which triggers memories from her childhood in
which she resented her disability and desired to be “like everyone else.” Students should
identify that this perspective changes in paragraph 3, in which the author recounts how she
came to see her disability as a part of her, and as something that has affected her life in a
positive way. Students might also point out how paragraphs 4-14 express the author’s point of
view as a disability rights activist – how she doesn’t just accept and appreciate her disability, but
she uses her experience to improve the lives of other people with disabilities.
5. A
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