Many people with physical disabilities have experienced it. You enter a room using a brace, a cane, crutches, a walker, a scooter or a wheelchair, and before you say a word, people have already formed an opinion. They notice the disability before they notice the person.

Why does this happen?

Part of the answer lies in human nature. People are visual creatures. We immediately notice anything that appears different from what we expect. A person with a limp, an unusual gait, a prosthetic limb, a brace or a mobility device naturally attracts attention. It is not always prejudice or cruelty. Often, it is simply the way our brains are wired to observe differences.

The problem is that some people stop there.

Instead of seeing a teacher, writer, doctor, lawyer, parent, grandparent, artist, athlete, volunteer, Veteran or friend, they see “the disabled person.” The disability becomes the entire story, even though it is only one chapter in a very large book.

For people with physical disabilities, this can be particularly frustrating. Many have spent a lifetime overcoming obstacles that others cannot imagine. They have endured illnesses, injuries, surgeries, rehabilitation, chronic pain and physical challenges. They have built careers, raised families, contributed to their communities, and developed a resilience that only comes from facing adversity head-on.

Yet sometimes all that disappears behind a wheelchair, a cane or a visible disability.

There is another reason people focus on disability. Many are uncomfortable around it. Disability reminds people that life is unpredictable. It reminds them that strength, mobility, and health are not guaranteed. Some respond by avoiding eye contact. Others become overly helpful. Some speak to a companion instead of directly to the disabled person, as though the disability somehow affects intelligence or the ability to communicate.

People with physical disabilities know how absurd that can be.

A weak leg is not a weak mind.

A wheelchair is not a measure of intelligence.

A brace is not a reflection of character.

Many people with disabilities develop a sense of humor about these situations. They have encountered the person who speaks loudly and slowly because they assume a mobility disability must affect hearing. They have met strangers who congratulate them for doing ordinary things such as grocery shopping, attending a movie, going to work, or eating in a restaurant. Sometimes the assumptions are so ridiculous that laughter becomes the best response.

The good news is that first impressions do not have to become permanent impressions.

Once people get to know us, they usually discover what was there all along. They find a person with talents, opinions, dreams, accomplishments and experiences. They discover someone who has learned perseverance in ways that many never will. They begin to see the individual rather than the disability.

Those of us with physical disabilities cannot always control what people notice first. A wheelchair, cane, walker, prosthesis or brace may enter the room before we do. But we can remind ourselves that the disability is not our identity. It is only one aspect of who we are.

The real challenge belongs to society.

The goal should not be to pretend disabilities do not exist. The goal is to look beyond them. To see the person first and the disability second. To recognize that every visible disability belongs to a human being with a unique story.

After all, when you meet a person with a disability, you are not meeting a disability. You are meeting a human being with hopes, talents, accomplishments and dreams.

And that is the first thing worth seeing.

Michael Kossove is professor emeritus and an adjunct professor of microbiology at Touro University’s School of Health Sciences. He is a polio researcher, international polio lecturer and polio survivor, and writes opinion columns for the River Reporter.