Commentary: Speechless ... able-bodied Belvoir employee finds his voice for the disabled

By Travis EdwardsOctober 29, 2009

FORT BELVOIR, Va. -- Last Friday, I spent four short hours unable to speak aloud to my co-workers, to my boss, and even to my wife. What I realized during my few short hours in this disabled state was that a person with a verbal disability has to think four steps ahead of everyone else, has to be very efficient in their preparations, and needs high-tech, high-cost gadgets to simply stay afloat in this fast-paced world.

My disabled state came from participating in the Fort Belvoir Equal Employment Office Special Emphasis Program Committee's "Walk A Mile in My Shoes" event that assigned simulated disabilities to volunteers to work with during their daily activities.

I was going to be fitted with a brace to simulate the loss of one arm as my disability. While the medical team from DeWitt Army Community Hospital determined how to hinder my arm's movement, I thought ahead to the challenges I might face during the day. I realized that a different disability could bring more visibility to this important event. So, I asked to be mute.

Why mute' Why not' I don't review work orders and sign them with my seal of approval. I don't draft lengthy environmental documents for impact studies. I communicate with people of all sorts from installation commanders and elected officials, to high school dropouts and doctoral candidates.

I make my money be correcting misinformation with facts and educating the world on the Army's perspective. How can I do that without speaking' Bottom line, I couldn't. Not without some serious planning skills, expensive equipment, and learning to increase the effectiveness of my communication opportunities.

First off, I grabbed a pad of paper and pencil. Second, I pulled out my iPhone and BlackBerry. Third, I looked forward on my calendar at my schedule. Events I could normally breeze through now became serious challenges.

Mostly, due to my outgoing and vocal personality, people poked fun at my simulated disability. I imagined how someone really affected by this disability must feel on a daily basis. I was speechless.

I could not stop thinking about it. People continued to move about during the meeting, and I could not interject when I normally would have. I felt terrible. I realized that I was at a serious disadvantage. How was I going to meet the standards, much less compete with my peers' I was speechless.

Sadly, I had to break out of my simulation during a conference call where I was to be on a hiring panel. I had to think of the legalities of my having some speak by proxy for me during the interview and did not want to jeopardize the interview process. Again, that simple task would have taken weeks of preparation and some form of resource cost to do if I was truly mute.

Once the simulation was over, several of the volunteers and post leaders returned to the EEO classroom where we turned in our simulated disabilities, such as dark glasses, earplugs, arm sling, etc. I sat in the room as a facilitator walked us through the purpose and mission of several disability programs, but I found my mind straying. It was all over the place and I was thinking of ways I could communicate without speech, and how simple my life is now compared to what it would be. I was speechless.

I pride myself on seeing things from a certain point of view and seeing things half full. It comes from being a Soldier and seeing the darker things in life. But now, just for a few moments, I've had a glimpse of something much challenging than third-world living conditions, or the fog of war in combat. It is something right here at home - our families, friends, our co-workers, and our community members living with disabilities. I can do more. We can more. But first, we have to gain perspective. We have to tell their story, educate the public, and gain understanding of these challenges.

For me, I hope to be a voice for the disabled. I won't be speechless anymore.