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.

Source: "How to Truly Listen." TED2003. Feb. 2003. Conference Presentation. Additional Information: This quote by deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie means that an outsider's judgment of a disabled person is often not entirely accurate; people often underestimate someone's abilities based solely on their appearance or their preconceived notion's of that person's condition, without having any real idea of what the person is capable of or what their experience is like. In the same way, one might assume that a deaf person cannot hear at all or cannot experience music, but one would be wrong -- at least in the case of Evelyn Glennie. The quote is from Glennie's 2003 TED Talk on how her deafness has given her a unique connection to music. Watch the full TED Talk here: Evelyn Glennie - How to Truly Listen

“How to Truly Listen.” TED2003. Feb. 2003. Conference Presentation.