Follow Esther's lead and cast light on the positive

What a big fortnight it's been in terms of news - missing planes, royals descending and the return of the boomeranging Aussie fruit fly.

It's also been a big fortnight for disability news.

However, I'm just gobsmacked and appalled at the way some media outlets have portrayed disability in these stories.

All fortnight I've been hearing archaic dehumanising and just boring melodramatic terms being used such as "diagnosed as a quadriplegic", "crippling condition" and the word "suffers" which seems to be a really popular word to describe any impairment.

In fact a little while ago I was asked by a retail assistant, "So, what do you suffer from?" My reply was, "Well at the moment, you!" Media plays a vital role in educating the public on various issues.

Media often dispel myths and are central to bringing diverse communities together.

On a different note, the disabled community in New Zealand have had a lot of deaths this fortnight. Beverly Grammar was a politically active disability leader who worked for social change for years.

Bev's attitude was "anything is possible".

She was an owner/director of Up 2 Date Consultancy Service, developed and facilitated disability awareness workshops for businesses, community and corporate groups and, at one time, manager of the DRC in Whakatane and vice president of Disabled Persons Assembly in Northland.

Also, Patrick Thompson, a well-known leader in the Maori Deaf community, passed away this week and will be missed by the Deaf population throughout New Zealand. Minister of Disability Issues, Tariana Turia, has acknowledged that Bev and Patrick's passing will leave a huge gap.

I wrote this column on my birthday on Tuesday but instead of my usual anticipation of indulgence and revelry the night before, I was taken by the resilience and emanating beauty of a new local celebrity, Esther Jordan-Muriwai, who for the second time this fortnight was on TV One's Seven Sharp.

Esther radiates dignity and charm going through her last journey, a passage we will all navigate in due course. It's easy to dwell on negativity and highlight it and somehow feel better, but to illuminate the beauty and good in others rewards everyone.

I encourage all the readers to follow Esther's lead and cast light on the positive.

# Jonny Wilkinson is the CEO of Tiaho Trust - Empowering Communities. A Whangarei based disability advocacy organisation.