Interview With Glenda Watson Hyatt - Author of I’ll Do It Myself

I would like you to meet Glenda Watson Hyatt. Glenda has a Bachelor of Arts with concentrations in Communication and Psychology from Simon Frazier University, and served on their Physical Access Advisory Committee, as well as served on the SFU Alumni Association Board of Directors. Glenda has published several articles, and is currently winding up a tour of the internet promoting her book, I’ll Do It Myself, which tells the story of growing up with cerebral palsy. I first heard about Glenda, and her virtual tour on Wendy Piersall’s site, eMoms at Home. My next peek was in Liz Strauss’ interview with her.

One thing that stood out to me in Glenda’s interview with Liz was when Glenda told Liz

I do not consider myself courageous or brave for simply living my life and following my dreams. After all, what else am I suppose to do with my life?

The subtitle of this site is Exploring Pathways to Freedom. How could I not want to know more about a woman who has so stoutly pursued a course of freedom? Glenda kindly consented to make Shards a stop on her virtual book tour, and is with us today.

Q: I see from your blog that you first got the idea for I’ll Do It Myself when you were ten. What caused you to want to write the book?

A: When I was ten, I read books like Ice Castles about a talented figure skater who became blind but continued competing by hiding her disability, The Other Side of the Mountain about an Olympic-bound skier who broke her neck during a qualifying competition, and Joni (pronounced Johnny) who also became a quadriplegic resulting from a diving accident. Since then, I have dreamt of writing my autobiography one day to share my story with others to hopefully inspire or motivate them in some way.

I see my book as part of my legacy, as my way of passing on the lessons I’ve learned in hopes of making someone else’s life easier, as my way of showing that having cerebral palsy is not a death sentence, but rather a life sentence.

Q: As I was researching for this interview I read a story of an encounter you had with a woman who insisted on helping you put your groceries in your car, even though you didn’t want or need her help. People are often confused about when to offer help to someone who seems to be having trouble. Do you have any advice for us?

A: First, I would like to clarify that the woman helped me put on my coat, after I said that I didn’t need any help. Once the coat was on, she said in a patronizing tone, “That’s a girl!” The bizarre thing was that she was also in an electric scooter. I thought she would have understood how frustrating unwanted help is.

When unsure when to offer help, simply ask the individual if help is required. And then listen to the response. In some situations, for example when opening a door, help is appreciated. Other times, unsolicited assistance can be demeaning; it reinforces the people with disabilities are dependent and are in need of assistance or charity.

Q: I know this is a wide-ranging question because there are many different types of disabilities, but what can we as web publishers do to make our sites more accessible to individuals with disabilities?

A: Wow, that is a big question to try to answer here! A few simple steps web publishers can take to make sites more accessible include: using clear and consistent layout and navigation, providing transcripts of audio files, and providing ALT attributes (brief text descriptions) for graphics. For a more thorough answer, check out the Simplified Web Accessibility Guide. Feel free to contact me for more information on how to make website more accessible to people with disabilities.

Q: You’ve learned to be free within the context of your life. What advice do you have for us in finding our own freedom to be ourselves?

A: It comes down to being content with yourself and where you are in life. Read William Wordsworth’s Nuns Fret Not. The nuns, hermits and poets are quite content, despite their apparently restrictive choice in life.

Richard, thanks for hosting today’s appearance of my virtual book tour. I appreciate it. I would like to invite your readers to follow the last few days of my virtual book tour at www.doitmyselfblog.com.

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