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 Imagine every student walks into school carrying an invisible backpack. What might be inside it that their classmates cannot see? 

 Michelle Steiner is a writer, speaker, photographer, and paraeducator who uses her personal experience with a hidden disability to encourage, empower, and educate others. Through Michelle’s Mission, she shares her story to help people better understand disability, inclusion, perseverance, and the importance of seeing beyond what is visible. 

Most people meet Michelle Steiner's story through the headline moments — the professors who doubted her, the degree she wasn't supposed to get. In this episode, we go smaller and more useful. We sit down with Michelle to yes, discuss overcoming, and also advocating and believing in others.  And today we talked about recognizing disabilities in the people around us and supporting them, the impact of bullying.  

Michelle’s story reminds us that inclusion is not built through grand speeches. It is built in classrooms, churches, workplaces, crowded stadiums, and ordinary conversations. It begins when we stop assuming, start listening, and make room for the parts of a person we cannot immediately see. 

The “Am I Doing It?” checklist

 Parents can ask their children:

•  Is there someone your friends regularly joke about? 
•  Does that person laugh too, or are they laughing because they feel trapped? 
•  Do you use a nickname they never chose? 
•  Have you excluded someone because they act, speak, learn, dress, or move differently? 
•  Do you treat someone’s accommodation as an unfair advantage? 
•  Have you shared a photo, video, screenshot, or private message to embarrass someone? 
•  Have you ever said, “We’re just joking,” after someone looked uncomfortable? 
•  Do you behave differently toward someone when your friends are watching? 
•  Have you stayed silent because you were afraid the group would turn on you? 
•  Is there someone who becomes the automatic punchline in your group? 
•  Would you say the same thing if their parent, teacher, or your own parent were standing there? 
•  How would the story sound if the other child told it?

   Avoid asking only:

“Were you bullied today?”

A child may automatically say no.

Try:

•  Who did you sit with? 
•  Did anyone seem left out? 
•  What made people laugh today? 
•  Did anyone get embarrassed? 
•  Was anyone treated differently? 
•  Did you see something that felt wrong? 
•  Did you do anything today that you wish you could redo? 
•  Who made school easier for you today? 
•  Whose day did you make easier? 

These questions turn on the lights in rooms children often forget to describe.

https://www.michellesmission.com/

You can find me as David Monsour a.k.a. Disco Davo on most social media applications as well as my contact 
davidmonsour.com.