Advocacy for Disabilities Through Media

Media is used to bring awareness and advocate for disabilities. An ad by CORDAP challenges assumptions about Down syndrome. It shows how assumptions can negatively affect people with Down syndrome. The ad encourages viewers to change their thinking. Amanda Manana, a singer with a speech impediment, gained attention on America's Got Talent. She brings awareness to speech impediments and advises others not to be ashamed. Media advocates for disabilities through ads and representation. Hello and welcome back to the Daily Press. I'm Abbey Barasek and today we will be game serious in talking about how media is used to bring awareness as well as to advocate for those with disabilities. Advertisement is one of the basic forms of media. Many organizations use ads to bring attention to a product or a service. CORDAP, a national coordination of associations with Down's syndrome, released an ad for World Down's Syndrome Day on March 21st, 2024. CORDAP released this ad to bring attention to assumptions surrounding Down's syndrome. Let's check out this ad from CORDAP. Hey bartender, you assume that I cannot drink a margarita, so you don't serve me a margarita, so I don't drink a margarita. Your assumption becomes reality. And parents, you assume that I cannot live on my own, so you don't encourage me to live on my own, so I don't live on my own. Coach, you assume that I cannot hit harder, so you don't train me to hit harder, so I don't hit harder. And teacher, you assume that I cannot learn Shakespeare, so you don't teach me Shakespeare, so I don't learn Shakespeare. E-I-E-I-O. In the ad, we truly see how much assumptions can negatively affect a person, especially those with Down's syndrome. For example, assuming one with Down's syndrome can't live on their own, so they're not encouraged to live on their own, so they don't live on their own. In the end, the ad encourages its viewers to try and change their way of thinking and to prevent these negative assumptions from happening. Next story, we'll be talking about Amanda Manana and her journey with her speech impediment, as well as auditioning for America's Got Talent. This next story is very important to me. This story is about Amanda Manana, a 20-year-old singer and songwriter who got their big break by appearing on America's Got Talent. Aside from her amazing singing skills, Manana also captured the audience through her personal story of suffering from a speech impediment. This story is important to me because as a kid, I also suffered from a speech impediment. I had to go through years of speech therapy and it was a real insecurity of mine. However, it is great to see representation as well as seeing awareness brought to this disability. With the platform that Manana has recently gained from AGT, she brings awareness and speaks out about speech impediments. In an interview with the National Stuttering Association, NSA, Manana talks more about her story, as well as advises those with speech impediments. What assumptions do you want to clarify in regards to stuttering for people who may be just tuning in to your experience in by extension stuttering? For me personally, I'm not like a good singer because of my stutter. Yes, it's definitely a paradox. I struggle with speaking but I can sing. It's like two separate things I think. I never want people to put those two things together. I think just recognizing that people's stutters are all different and we're all different. It can sound different. It can happen at different times. In the clip, Manana talks about misconceptions surrounding speech impediments, such as that all speech impediments are the same. Manana clears those misconceptions by talking about how everyone's stuttering is different and affects them differently. Later on, Manana urges those who stutter to not be ashamed of it. She states that no one's life is perfect and everyone has struggles. It just happens that those who stutter tend to have their struggles be more apparent. Overall, we see how the media is used to advocate for disability. May it be through ads to try and end assumptions about Down syndrome or through representation and the spread of knowledge about speech impediments. That is all for the Daily Press. I hope you learned more about advocacy for disability through media. And I hope all of you have a wonderful evening. Good night.