Often when one hears the word ‘disabled,” their train of thought wanders to a vague picture of a wheelchair, or someone in crutches. However, because of recent events in my family and personal life, whenever I am confronted with the term, I think of invisible, cognitive limitations that can affect all aspects of life.

I’m not one to explain much about my personal life, but I do feel strongly about this blog post, so I’ll make it brief. As a warning to those triggered by posts regarding suicide and depression, please don’t read any further.

My older sister was diagnosed later in life with bipolar Type 1 disorder. Since the age of 16, I watched as my older sister fell deep into a depression sparked by a sexual harassment case from a Central Washington University professor. Years later as her depression got worse, so did her feelings of paranoia, and anxiety. Switching up medications for years in an attempt to balance out the chemical abnormalities in her brain led to multiple hospital visits and countless acts of self-harm.

Throughout my time at Western, my sister’s health continued to deteriorate, and it became my job to drive to Ellensburg whenever something happened. I was forced to run out of class early, or completely miss class altogether when I got word of an incident or accident. That was my life leading up to her suicide attempt two days before my graduation in spring.

I know, probably better than most, the limitations of individuals who live with cognitive disturbances. Although I watched my sister’s struggles as an outsider, my sister’s health has taught me how to handle various cognitive differences with empathy and respect.

So in a long-winded way to answer the question, my students’ cognitive capacities are very much real to me. I’m hyper aware of differences between individuals mental coherence or disturbances, and I make a point in trying to adjust my teaching to match the needs for everyone in the classroom (although my success ranges from day to day).

Also, as a side note, my sister is doing much better and is preparing to leave the hospital in a few weeks! I didn’t mean to end that part on such a sad note.