Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyatt

Forget making New Year’s resolutions that will be broken before all of the holiday bills arrive. Or, choosing the one-word or three-words for the year that will slip your mind when life gets busy or knocks you flat on your butt.

Rather, embrace your audacious, true dream that will guide your journey of Life for the next five years, the next decade or the next quarter century.

Why a Dream?

For thousands of years, humans have relied on the North Star to guide their journeys. Travelers may take side trips or detours, often experiencing unplanned adventures along the way, but that bright light shining from the heavens above always brings them back on course.

Our aspirations, our dreams, are our North Star, guiding us through our lives. Although we may waver or stray, achieve other exciting goals, trek on an adventure or two – or even a misadventure – our dream is always present and guides our life’s course, if we are willing to listen, pay attention and follow.

Without a dream, we meander and drift through life without a direction. Our dream – like the North Star to the travelers of yesteryear – is not a luxury, but rather a necessity.

What, Actually, is a Dream?

With so many aspirations, goals and even fantasies swirling around in our heads, how do we know which dream is our true North Star?

In my signature talk “Finding Your True Dream, The North Star for Your Life,” I explain in great detail the five elements that make up a dream.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Briefly, a dream:

1. must be enormous, bold, audacious – keeping in mind that size is relative, what might be audacious for someone might not be so for someone else;
2. contains a minuscule dose of reality – which differentiates a dream from a fantasy, however, on occasion, what is not reality or not possible today might become reality tomorrow thanks to a new technology, discovery, skill or opportunity – making a dream now possible to achieve;
3. presses us to grow and expand way beyond our comfort zones;
4. demands other individuals be involved – if one person can accomplish a dream alone, then it is not bold and audacious enough;
5. ignites a spark, a passion within us – like a shining star. We smile and our eyes twinkle when we talk about our dreams.

My dream is to become a well-paid, internationally-known, motivational speaker. Although this journey has only just begun, it has already taken me to amazing places and I am looking forward to experiencing where all my North Star guides me.

What is your true dream, your North Star?

I’d love to hear all about it!

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Dear Santa,

2016 has been a very strange years; one of those “best of times, worst of times” scenarios.

I am saddened by the unrest, hate and destruction that has gripped seemingly much of the world this year. Events and actions that are beyond comprehension.

2016 was also a year of much loss, both of distant celebrities and dear loved ones. Many tears fell this year.

On the bright and personal side, I had an amazing year! Less than three short years after receiving a communication app that truly fits my needs, I won the ISAAC 2016 Consumer Lecture Award with my lecture “Finding Your True Dream, The North Star for Your Life’s Journey“. That lecture has since become my signature talk because it is so me! I am looking forward to sharing it with many people in the coming year.

Santa, I would like to ask for a magical soothing balm that will ease fears, alleviate hate and heal broken hearts. I would love to give such a gift to countless friends and loved ones; surely, your elves can figure out the recipe. And, several paying speaking gigs, too, would be awesome!

Wishing you and your reindeers safe travels.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.

With love from,
Glenda

Minister for Sports and Persons with Disabilities Carla Qualtrough and her team are holding public consultations around the country and gathering thoughts, perspectives and suggestions for the forthcoming Canadians with Disabilities Act, for an #AccessibleCanada for all.

Last Saturday, a public consultation session was held in Vancouver, British Columbia. I had the opportunity to share the assumptions, misperceptions and barriers that I face living with a speech disability. Click to listen to my words.

(The transcript is below. Please ignore the extra commas; they help to make a synthesized voice sound a teeny more expressive.)

Good afternoon! I am Glenda Watson Hyatt, a self advocate, an author, and a motivational speaker.

I have both a physical, and a speech disability. Of the two, living with a communication disability, is the most frustrating and isolating. Simple tasks like inquiring about a government service, calling for a taxi cab, or even ordering a chai tea latte, can be an exasperating ordeal.

Like other Canadians living with speech and language disabilities, I am often assumed to be cognitively impaired, or deaf, in which case, gesturing ensues, an impromptu game of charades. Friends with communication disabilities, have been assumed drunk, and the police or paramedics needlessly called.

Our methods of communicating are often denied. For example, on one trip to the emergency room, my husband, who also uses a wheelchair for mobility, was told to wait in the waiting room, because there was not enough space for both of our chairs. We attempted to explain that, I needed him for assistance with communication, yet he was still told to leave. Imagine a person who is deaf being denied a sign language interpreter. The situation is similar, yet my need for assistance with communication, is typically not recognized. My communication access requirement is not protected.

Other medical doctors have refused to speak directly with me. They do not seem to understand that, even though they do not understand my speech, I can hear them and understand them.

When medical professionals do not understand, do not respect, that hearing and cognition, are not necessarily impacted, by communication disabilities, then there is little chance, the general public will understand, and respect this, without an ongoing, widespread, information and awareness campaign.

This lack of understanding, of my actual disability, makes complex endeavours, like finding meaning employment, extremely difficult, if not impossible.

I am struggling to get by on social assistance, not because I lack education, skills, talents, motivation, or technology to accommodate my disability. I am struggling on social assistance, because I could not find an employer, who saw beyond the assumptions, and misperceptions, of my disability.

Even within the disability community, people with communication disabilities, are routinely overlooked and excluded. The non partisan, Barrier Free Canada, a major driving force for the Canadians with Disabilities Act, states in its principles that, “The Canadians with Disabilities Act should apply to all persons with disabilities whether they have a physical, mental, sensory, learning and, or intellectual disability, or mental health condition.” Canadians with communication disabilities, are not mentioned.

What would it take to fix these barriers?

Begin by following, Barrier Free British Columbia’s lead, which includes in its principles, “The Act will apply to all persons with disabilities whether their disability is considered physical, sensory, cognitive, communication, or mental health related.”

Canadians with speech and language disabilities, need to be recognized, to be heard, to be included. We may not be the most vocal group, but we still need to be at the table, to be involved, and to be contributing. We need to have, our communication access requirements, acknowledged, and protected.

Thank you!

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