Mark Zupan Quotes

People tend to treat people with disabilities sort of like they're aliens from another planet. It doesn't come from a bad place; it comes from a place of, 'I have no idea what this disability entails, and I don't want to offend anyone or make them feel awful.'

The magnitude of discrimination and stigma faced by people with disability in Australia cannot be underestimated. People do not understand disability, and people fear what they don't understand.

Putting on my legs is like putting on my shoes. I understand that's how some people might think differently, but I hope that in London, their perceptions open up.

There are plenty of people who have legs who are way more disabled than me.

Issues to do with disability, mental health and not being neurotypical often affect many genuine teenagers but are rarely reflected in the fiction they read.

We think we know what it's all about; we think that disability is a really simple thing, and we don't expect to see disabled people in our daily lives.

It's undeniable that what we are taught as a culture to believe about disability is at odds with traditional notions of masculinity.

As I grew up, I became aware that there are people with special needs out there, and I have a real connection with them.

Part of what Special Olympics is trying to do is break down stereotypes that still exist for people. There is still a lot of fear.

Pity? You don't want to be pitied because you're a cripple in a wheelchair? Stay in your house!

If we see someone in a wheelchair, we assume they cannot walk. It may be that they can walk three, four, five steps. That, to them, means they can walk.

I'm definitely more understanding of people who have disabilities and who are suffering.

I thought being in the wheelchair might be kind of limiting for me as an actor. It turned out cool in a lot of ways. Of course, at the end of the day, I can get up out of the chair and go home, but I'm very acutely aware that most people can't, so I try to give the situation that depth.

Being deaf or having any disability is not tragic. But the stereotypes about it are tragic.

I don't think many people stare at people in wheelchairs because we see it regularly. I suppose if you see more in the media it will take away the curiosity.

We have to look beyond what we see as the typical, the 'normal package,' and just see people as who they are. We all have to learn and get along a little better in society.

It was just normal for me growing up with a family member with severe Down Syndrome. It was completely normal. She was just Auntie Linda. I loved her and she loved me. She had a spirit that was just positive. For me it taught me tolerance and acceptance of all human beings.

I grew up with a special-needs brother, and the separation from other kids is so extreme. We've got to break down those barriers.

Talking to people is important to me as someone who has cerebral palsy. I know what it's like to have people not talking to me because they are scared they would ask the wrong question, but I would rather have an honest dialogue as long as it comes from an honest place.

I was born with a different physical capacity to other people.

There are so many opportunities in life, that the loss of two or three capabilities is not necessarily debilitating. A handicap can give you the opportunity to focus more on art, writing, or music.

You can really do amazing things in a wheelchair. It's very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing, but you can even go up and down stairs in a wheelchair.

I hate the words 'handicapped' and 'disabled'. They imply that you are less than whole. I don't see myself that way at all.

I live my life like everyone else; everyone has their own obstacles. Mine is deafness.

Although there exist many thousand subjects for elegant conversation, there are persons who cannot meet a cripple without talking about feet.