We are excited to share our official launch of Stop Making It Weird™, LLC! And for those who haven’t heard us present, read our published articles, or spoken with us in person, we can probably guess what you’re thinking… “What is Stop Making It Weird™?” Or simply, “Stop making what weird?”
The Genesis of Stop Making It Weird™
Stop Making It Weird™ (#StopMakingItWeird) began as a campaign to combat weirdness in attitudes, actions, or beliefs toward people with disabilities. We realized that people may even inadvertently cause harm by virtue of their own weirdness, and often through behaviors that were meant to be supportive. Beliefs may manifest as "excessive celebration" over a person who has a disability completing what would ordinarily be considered a mundane or routine task.That is, the action is "celebrated" because it has been done by someone with a disability, simply because they have a disability.
An example to illustrate this point: Imagine that during a panel presentation at a conference, each presenter introduces the next speaker, with little fanfare. Each presenter stands to share a portion of the presentation and then returns to his or her seat as the audience silently anticipates the next speaker. Then a presenter with a visible disability finishes her portion and prepares to hand-off to the next person. And the audience breaks into wild applause, apparently for no reason other than the fact that she has a disability. Unknowingly, this crowd has just made it weird. They’ve excessively celebrated a woman for doing nothing more than the presenter to her left or the one to her right.
Join the Movement!
We believe there are many ways to stop making it weird by building a culture that treats people as people, regardless of disability status--even at the risk of our own discomfort. We are committed to supporting people, businesses, and teams in their journeys toward true inclusion. But we need your help to #StopMakingItWeird!
How You Can Help to Stop Making It Weird™
Take the Pledge!
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Like us on Facebook and invite your friends to do the same!
Follow us on Twitter, retweet our posts, and tag us (@stpmkngitwrd) when you come across something weird.
Follow us on LinkedIn and mention us on weird discussions.
Keep an eye out for the Stop Making It Weird™ Online Store--coming soon!
Connect with us to learn more about our Services and how you can be a part of the solution!