Preparing for Tomorrow

(Local View from 4'2, Lake County Press, April 17, 2026)

In many ways it feels like we (the disability community) are preparing you. We’re preparing you for tomorrow, for next week, for next year, for 30 years from now. We’re raising our hands, using our voices and advocating… for you. I know it seems easy to look the other way when something doesn’t affect us right now, I get it. I’m not all that different in this way. I just have a perspective that you might not have, yet. Yet is the operative word. 

I recently rewatched a Trevor Noah episode from The Daily Show where he was interviewing Judith Heumann. As they were talking, Trevor referred to himself as an able-bodied person as he was sharing how he takes things for granted and Judith interrupted (wonderfully) and made this a teachable moment. She interrupted and said “I call you ‘non-disabled’, actually, because the likelihood of you acquiring a disability temporarily or permanently is statistically very high.” Trevor then responded to her by asking “Did you just threaten me?” Judith responded “yes, definitely” and then they both laughed. You can tell that he was taken aback and stumbled for his words for a moment and then, of course he rolled with it. I love this segment for so many reasons and would suggest watching it if you haven’t seen it yet. Thinking about this interview, I wonder about how it affected Trevor. Was it an ah-ha moment for him? What intrigued me the most was how his immediate reaction to her statement was that acquiring a disability was a threat (even if he was half joking). Did you catch that, too? Let’s think about that. Why is the thought of acquiring a disability more about a threat and less about the human condition?  

How do we treat a threat versus something that is just the human condition? A threat is something we do our best to avoid. This comes in many forms from completely ignoring it to going out of our way to stop it. It’s ugly, it’s scary, it’s unknowable. On the other hand, how we treat the human condition is more gentle, holistic, it’s something we can relate to and adapt for. The human condition is defined as “part of being a person” according to Webster’s Dictionary. 

Now apply this to how we see disability again. If we see disability as a threat, it’s scary, we don’t want to see it, we want it to go away. We think it won’t happen to us. We’re not willing to accept it or think about adapting to it. If this is how we see disability, it makes sense that that’s how we see the person with the disability. If we see disability as the human condition, part of being a person; we can relate to it, we plan ahead for it, we accept it, we adapt for it, we understand that it will likely happen to us. With this lens, now how do we treat the person with a disability? How do we build places and create spaces for people keeping disability in mind as a human condition knowing that it will likely happen to us? 

We are the mirror of your future self. How far into your future is the only unknowable factor. 

So, listen to us, pay attention to us now. Believe us when we tell you what is needed for inclusion, accessibility, equity, interdependence and a high quality of life. But don’t stop there. Take our advice and intentionally learn and seek out ways to apply it and then actually apply it. Help us to best help you prepare for your future self. I promise, you’ll be glad you did.  

Written by Jaime Head

Published in Lake County Press

04/17/2026