Are Grammar Police kicking disabled people in wheelchairs?

Are self proclaimed grammar police kicking disable people in wheelchairs? Of course not, but I would like to bring your attention to something they are doing that is harming people with a different type of disability and most have no idea they are doing it.

Almost every month we hear a new story about brain injuries, concussions, or strokes and the effect these trauma's have on a person's ability to remember and/or function in today's society. When we hear these stories, most people assume they are speaking about people with severe brain injuries or massive strokes which leave them unable to perform everyday tasks and in many cases make it impossible for them to talk.

While these severe injuries happen more often than we would like, this story is about a lesser known type of injury that often is hidden behind simple use of the wrong word or letters in writing or the occasional forgotten word when talking or writing. I am speaking of a condition known as Aphasia.

If you Google the term Aphasia, it says: "loss of ability to understand or express speech, caused by brain damage". The problem with this definition is it mentions only the more severe forms of the disorder and makes it appear only those with severe disabilities are affected by it. In reality, Aphasia can range from occasionally mixing up words or letters, occasionally forgetting the names of people or items and occasionally using the wrong form of a word, all the way to being unable to communicate with speech or writing.

Our brains operate via a series of electrical impulses that move through various pathways of the brain. When someone has an injury, a number of the pathways become blocked making it hard for the impulse to reach the destination it is heading toward. Over time, additional pathways MAY build around the damaged areas but there is no guarantee it will happen. Someone who has this disorder never knows when or if the thought or word will ever be available to be spoken or written down.

I am a brain injury survivor. It was misdiagnosed in the early stages because it presented with PTSD after a very severe car accident. I went from earning a living with my writing to being unable to form a sentence. I had to start over with a 3rd grade grammar book to rebuild my skills. It has been 10 years since the accident and I still find myself struggling every day.

If you knew how many times in the past 10 years a self proclaimed grammar police person has made fun of me, you would be ashamed to call yourself such. It's not a matter of you should never say anything to anyone. It is a matter of what you say and how you say it. Just today someone on Facebook called people who use the word "your" instead of "you're", stupid for doing it. To someone who is fighting this disorder every day of their lives, it is the same as if you just kicked a person in a wheelchair. Besides, chances are very good the person actually knows what you are telling them, but they have no control over the ability of their mind to communicate with their mouths or fingers.

It has nothing to do with intelligence level. I am a college graduate and everyday I tend to write "and" instead of "an". Often I type the ending letter of a word in the first or second position instead of the last. ("snpoo" instead of "spoon") . It is not something I do intentionally and if my brain doesn't want me to see the error, I can proof-read it 1000 times and never see it. I cannot tell you why it happens this way as there has not been enough research into the various forms of Aphasia to be able to give clear cut answers to many questions. For many, the symptoms do not show up until their later years.

There truth of the matter is, NO ONE should call another human being stupid simply because they mix up their words. Name calling is an attempt to make yourself feel superior to someone else. When the person has a communication disability you might as well be kicking people in wheelchairs. It makes you look like a bully.

If you would like to know more about the various types of Aphasia, I urge you to start with an article from Webmd titled An Overview of Aphasia It gives quick, easy to understand definitions of the various forms, giving you a basic knowledge to work with while studying deeper if you so choose.