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Actually Disabled - Blog Posts
I'm confuseddd
Can someone PLEASE explain what this is to me as I've just come across it.
I don't know if I'm just not understanding this like is this someone who's trans and has tourette's syndrome???
I'm so confused.
Could you maybe do tips for transtourettes?
Transtourette's tips!
☆♱🎧🫧pick up tics from media! Vocal or motor.
☆♱🎧🫧any stims you have that calm you down, turn them into tics!
☆♱🎧🫧join Tourette's communities. r/tourettes and discord servers are good places to start.
☆♱🎧🫧tic around other people and on your own
I feel like this a lot lately, especially bc uni started again and I'm using a wheelchair now. The other day in anatomy class I was constantly apologising and being just my general awkward self. A friend of mine and fellow med student messaged me later to ask if I felt like I was in the way with my wheelchair and to remind me that I belong there just as much as anyone else🥺 so thankful for the few friends I have found in medschool who are genuinely kind and accepting when it comes to my disabilities.
I'm in medschool and I'm the only visibly disabled student in my semester. I'm not very social outside of classes so I can't be certain, but I'm fairly sure I'm the only visibly physically disabled med student in multiple years. I've heard about one other who is atleast 4 years ahead of me. So, in doing the math I can conclude that I'm 1 out of 2 visibly physically disabled med students out of roughly 3500 med students at my university.....
if you feel like you’re ‘getting in the way’ as a mobility aid user, particularly with larger aids like wheelchairs, rollators/walkers, gait trainers and service dogs, That Is A Fault Of The Space (and potentially the people), not of you. You deserve all the space you take up and more.
I don't have a scooter attachment or any motor attachment for my wheelchair, but I sometimes drive fast bc I am able to and I love it. I'm genuinely considering getting a "ringing bell" (idk I forgot the English word for it) and/or a "honking thing". Bc people walk sooo slow and I'm zooming ahead and most people are completely unaware of their surroundings
For the Danes or Danish speaking individuals, the words I'm thinking of are "ringeklokke og båthorn" :D
I wrote this in response to someone asking for advice, but I think it might be useful as it's own post.
Choosing a budget manual wheelchair
I've been using a wheelchair most of my adult life, and I know a lot of you do get an off-the-shelf manual wheelchair and wanted to lend my experience to help get the most out of it.
Important to know is most off-the-shelf chairs aren't actually made for self propulsion (even though they're labelled self-propelled) so here are good features to look for.
You want one with the axle directly beneath the back end of the seat, this will bring the wheel several inches forward of most off-the-shelf chairs, make self propulsion much much easier and allow you to tip more easily for a wheely (fun, and takes pressure off your spine which is more important than you might think).
If possible you want a low or folding back rest, not an absolute must but this allows you more back flex for more powerful propulsion, this is more desirable as your back and core muscles are strong for extended work and only using your arms can lead to long term shoulder injury.
You want to make sure nothing is in the way of your arms for the most natural movement (we don't want rotation injuries), so if needed ask if the arm rest is removable and how.
I would hope any chair has adjustable length foot rests, but that is really important.
You want at minimum a foam, ideally a gel cushion for pressure care... No cushion means no good, it's worth the extra money to avoid sores and pain from something you're spending all day in. I fully endorse e-begging to help afford a chair that isn't damaging your health.
This is just self care, if you can walk get up every couple of hours and take a few steps, it's good for you.
This is an example of what to look for. Anti-tip wheels will help while learning, arm rests fold away, back rest folds down for more powerful propulsion, looks like a decent cushion, adjustable foot rests. This one is the "Drive Spirit lightweight aluminium wheelchair" but I've seen it advertised under other names too and I'd say it's in the budget wheelchair range ($300-$500) but punching well above its price point in features.
disabled people shouldn't have to sacrifice their privacy for your ableist ass to prove their age when joining an adult-only space, especially if it's centered around disability support
in fact, nobody owes you their personal info. go fuck yourself, cop
shout out to “gross” disabled people.
people who can’t shower/bathe people who can’t shave people who can’t wash their clothes people who need help going to the bathroom people who have nasty habits (biting nails, picking nose, etc) people who can’t brush their teeth people who can’t go to the doctor people who can’t clean their room people who can’t make their beds people who vomit a lot people who wet the bed people who constantly have diarrhea people who’s physical deformities are seen as repulsive
and every other kind of person I missed that deserves to be here too.
you are people, first and foremost. your thoughts deserve to be heard, discussed, acknowledged, no matter what. you are not lesser. you are just another person. you should never be ignored for what you can/can’t do. you deserve care.
to abled people: check yourself. make sure you listen. and you can reblog, just don’t derail. maybe don’t add on, either.
if you didn’t realize, ableism is actually bigotry and systemic ableism and inaccessibility are really oppression and it’s not something disabled people brought on ourselves by having bodies&minds that you think are inferior and therefore not worth fighting for. disabled people’s lives and wellbeing matter. we don’t have to earn our worthiness by doing “enough” to deserve a good life. nobody does.
CW : VENT THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MLM BUT I NEED TO GET OUT
CW for disabilities and self-harm
I became sick over memorial day weekend (for those who don't know, we have the memorial day off.). Now all of my disabilities are flaring again, and i just got out of a huge flare not even a month ago.
I'm convinced this is because i don't wear a mask anymore. and before you blame me for my own issues, I don't wear one because my family doesn't anymore. I don't like to wear them in the house and due to breathing issues, i cannot wear them for a long time anyways. If i'm gonna get sick being at home or out in public, what's the point? OFC i would wear one if you asked me and would always warn you if i was sick because disabled ppl and able-bodied ppl with preferences matter.. always.
Anyways, I'm just in so much pain. I want to cry and scream and rip out my hair. I want to throw things across the room but all of that would get me recorded and prolly sent back to the psychiatric hospital.
i can't breathe without wheezing and coughing, my knees click when i walk and i keep going into pre-syncope. My fingers ache and i lost my hand brace for my wrist when it locks up. My hips hurt and even sitting criss-cross no longer helps. my back hurts and i can't crack it and i have a major headache.
I had to come home from school today, i begged my parents until they gave in. I'm scared. I'm sad. I'm depressed. I feel as if it'd be better if i just .. wasn't here. That way nobody would have to suffer. anymore. idk
I'm just so.. tired, man. Nothing is going my way, it never has. I'm so so tired, i feel so numb. I don't want to be here anymore.
Benefits of being chronically ill, it's normal to carry so many different prescriptions that you'll need throughout the day if anything happens to your body. 🫠
Anyways, I'm so tired...
Am I ill?
Sometimes I start to wonder if I really am chronically ill. Do I really wake up every day with pain or am I just faking it all the time? I know other people actually have these issues and they are very much real, but to me, I don't know what is real for myself anymore. I try so hard to be normal, yet the pain comes back. It always will come back. I wake in the mornings with a killing pain surging through my jaw. I know that last night I must have been fighting monsters, swinging swords that allow me to defeat these dragons lingering in the mountains. Yet, today as I wake up the pain isn't from a dragon or those monsters I fought, it's from my trying to dislocate once more. The throbbing pain in my head isn't from being flung against the wall of a dragon's den, that pain is from my chronic migraines that linger in me causing it almost impossible to eat and hold my food down. That surging sensation that spirals in my belly, drifting up towards my heart and seeping through my veins isn't the poison of my enemy trying to defeat me at last, this is the anxiety that causes me to isolate myself until everything is fine again. The anxiety that holds me back from chasing these wild imaginations because I'm not okay. I don't think I ever will be okay, but am I really ill?
Overload...
One of the best things about college to me is just showing up early to get a good seat away from people and pick where I sit. I love being able to sit away from the flickering bright white lights that loom over the students, yet being able to sit away from windows and distractions that might interfere with my studies. With all these great things soon comes misery though...the seat I pick always ends up having someone trying to sit near me so I have to set my backpack on the chair next to me and sit in the corner if possible. I fear people might think I'm rude, but the noises of others clicking away on computers, talking to their neighbors, smells, and any small noises or motions they make just tend to bother my sensory issues. I have severe sensory issues due to my autism and sensory processing disorder so I go into a meltdown almost every time I show up to class. I love school and learning as it's my special interest and always has been. The ability for me to expand my knowledge in any way possible makes me happy and want to flap my hands around. I just wish people were more considerate and I didn't have to wear headphones just to exist in normal environments. School is great, yet extremely hard and I always miss classes sometimes. I tried online school, but it's hard for me to focus and stay attentive in class. I'd rather sleep through it instead which is a huge issue. I don't know, I just feel as if I need to let out some of my issues and get them off my chest in order to sit through this next class. Sorry if I come off as rude, I don't mean to. I just am struggling so much lately to just exist. I want to curl up in a ball and hide away from society until people acknowledge that those with disabilities can and will be in professional settings too so we need to make things to accommodate them.
‼️please help me get a wheelchair‼️
hello, my name is leo, or more commonly known as ‘lav’ on here.
i’ve been dealing with debilitating chronic pain for over 10 years and i really need a wheelchair. i haven’t gotten much help from my healthcare system, being fat and afab has really fucked me over while trying to seek medical attention..
i am still fighting to completely figure out what’s wrong with me, but for now i know that i have several bulging discs in my lower back, as well as scoliosis. (as well as medically recognised POTS).
my pain is getting worse and worse, and i barely leave my home since walking and being upright in general hurts so much. a wheelchair would improve my life immensely, both physically and mentally.
i am currently on disability benefits, which pretty much is the lowest income group in sweden, and saving up for a wheelchair myself would take a very long time.. i will of course also be saving up as much as i can and putting into an account meant for wheelchair funds.
so i’m asking you to donate if you want to and if you are financially able to, and if not, please reblog this.
i have found a good chair that is also accessible to a fat person, and i need 7111 SEK (around 650$) to cover the cost of the chair & the shipping. i have started a gofundme that i’ll be sharing in this post, and i welcome all help, donating just a little helps, and reblogging and sharing the gofundme in general helps immensely too.
thank you so much for reading💜
oh my god i had no idea these were a thing maybe i could bake again 😭😭😭
If you're ambulatory and struggle standing to cook, consider a "perching stool" for the kitchen. They're made to make cooking safer and easier for disabled people and there's a lot of different kinds. I wish I had known about these when I could still stand.
THIS
If you're a disabled young person, you've most likely been hit with the "pfft you think you're in pain now? Just wait til you're my age" bullshit from older people at least once. Everyone talks about how invalidating it is
But I haven't seen anybody mention how it's terrifying, too. Yes, I know health deteriorates with age. I know that old age is a disability unto itself. I know that the healthiest person alive will start getting aches and pains past the age of 40 and may even need mobility aids
I know all this stuff. And it always makes me think "yeah, if I can't walk without joint pain even while using mobility aids AT AGE 21, how painful will life be for me at the age where it gets painful for everyone?"
And it's hard not to feel like I'm doomed, y'know? Where most people get a period of health that they wish they appreciated more when they start to lose it, my starting point was a body that doesn't work properly and it's only gonna get worse from there. It's worse every fucking year.
TLDR stop telling disabled young people that their pain will only get worse to the point of being unimaginable as they age, WE FUCKING KNOW
Being a disabled person living with able-bodied people feels like hiking up an endless mountain, you can see all the people ahead of you laughing and having fun, effortlessly skipping whatever obstacles come their way, but no matter what you do or how hard you try you just can't seem to catch up, and nobody else seems to notice, they just carry on like you don't even exist
really wish able bodied people would stop infiltrating SCI communities to ask about their back pain. that’s not what a fucking SCI is you two-legged fuckwit
the psych facility I stayed in at 17 didn’t give me a room due to my being a wheelchair user.
i was forced to sleep on an air mattress on the floor in the dayroom of the psych facility because they were “afraid i would fall”.
the dayroom was the “hub” of the facility. i had to try to sleep while patients were getting prepped for admission at the desk only a few feet from me. while people were getting blood drawn, meds administered, etc. i barely slept.
they also didn’t let me bring my own wheelchair in, and made me use a hospital wheelchair which was not fit to my orthopedic needs. my shoulders still ache when i see one of those fucking rust buckets.
psychiatric care is not safe for physically disabled people. if i have another mental health crisis, I will choose anything over going back to one of those places. i would rather die by my own hand than go back there and be subjected to that kind of treatment again.
inpatient psychiatric care is typically only for physically nondisabled people.
psych facilities will often simply turn you away if you have mobility aids or specific medical or access needs they are unwilling to meet. i have also heard stories of them doing things like taking away people's communication devices.
institutional psychiatric 'care' is a mixed blessing at best, but since it's what we have, it should be available to everyone who needs it. people with non-psychiatric disabilities are more likely than average, not less, to need this type of care. but it is often not available for us.
random musing.
something i really love about life right now is the silent wobble of solidarity when i see another person who has a movement disorder. i wobbled past a guy with cerebral palsy at the store and he raised his T-rex hand to me like it was a gang sign. hell yeah we may be wobbly but we’ll be wobbly together
also remember that there is no enforcement office for the ADA like there are for other similar government acts! the burden of enforcing ADA is placed entirely on disabled people and our lawyers.
the ADA simply defines grounds for lawsuit. that’s all it does. the ADA is the bare. fucking. minimum.
happy 34th anniversary of americans with disabilities act (ADA)! remember ADA is bare minimum!
ok so you support the disabled, disordered, and mentally ill. but are you normal when someone takes long to respond to you? or if they have a hard time listening to you? when someone has a hard time giving you their attention? or when their manners aren’t perfect? or when someone makes mistakes that may be obvious or simple to you? or when someone talks loudly or “causes a scene?” are you normal when people have to think really hard to explain things? or when they have a hard time putting their thoughts into words?
are you normal when people’s hair is unkempt or oily or visibly unbrushed? or when their face might be full of acne? or when they don’t have deodorant on for one reason or another? how about if their clothes are dirty?
are you normal about disabled/disordered/mentally ill people when they make you a little uncomfortable?
Fun story from a few months ago, hospital parking lot chaos lmao. I use a wheelchair btw- was rolling out of the parking lot building thing and shut the door behind me, only to be stuck on a tiny piece of sidewalk with no ramp and a huge curb. And the door didn’t have a handle on the outside too. I had to cling onto a sign post and have someone put my chair in the street in order to get to the hospital entrance lmao. Absolutely wild.
Not to be a hater but I genuinely hate the fact that people get disability checks for stuff like autism when I'm here, suffering crippling depression and dysphoria, as well as a health condition that makes endurance and stamina incredibly hard, juggling college classes, a job, and general life maintenance because I live alone, relying on financial aid for college students that disappears the moment I graduate(or get kicked out), and then my minimum wage job.
Idk, it just almost feels offensive to be juggling all that, when there's people who claim disability checks because they just find it so hard to talk to people, or because they're unable to focus on anything, and then they just sit on their ass and play videogames in their childhood bedroom all day, or in the free housing apartment they got.
People will call me jealous, and, well, yeah? Of course? Like wym somebody is getting free housing, free insurance, and free income while just sitting at home all day, when I'm constantly managing all the aforementioned and I get told to "just man up"
Fuck all the way off. I'll never support neets no matter how much they claim they're "fighting the system". You're an adult baby, and it's time to grow the fuck up.
Something that's severely undertalked about it the loneliness and lack of real friends that come with being disabled, both mentally and physically. I especially don't see physically mentioned a lot.
But how tf am I supposed to have close friends when I'm constantly sleep deprived? If my general physical strength and endurance are severely limited?
Ough having bad legs is so fun like. I love theatre <3 I signed up for footloose <3 i love the dances <3 this was a good idea :) and my legs will just be down there going no it wasnt get your ass back on that chair you little shit >:( where cane? Where walky stick? Where aleve? And ill just. No. Let me dance. Fuck off. Then they take matters into their own hands.