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Beiträge, die mit Disability getaggt sind
I’ve had people ask me why I’m concerned about mask bans given there’s a “medical exemption”
Mask bans are a return to ugly laws that will further isolate & exclude disabled people from society.
Medical exemptions are inadequate & leave many people behind (like healthy covid cautious people)
My article goes into it in more detail - but police are NOT medical professionals. It shouldn’t be up to them to determine who’s “medically justified” in wearing a mask
Many of us have invisible illnesses & struggle to convince our doctors to take us seriously
What hope do we have with police?
Moreover - disabled people don’t exist in a vacuum. We have friends, family and caregivers who we rely on to mask to protect us. They don’t qualify under most medical exemptions.
If you’re non disabled and want to stay that way? If you’re trying to avoid covid? That also doesn’t qualify.
These bans represent escalating fascism. They’re preying on people’s hatred for the disabled as well as their anger over mask mandates and covid policies.
The best way to push back? Wear a mask. Right now.
Call local lawmakers & tell them you won’t visit any state or county with a ban.
The Governor of North Carolina vetoed the bill - but the senate super majority overrode his veto.
Right after the mask ban bill passed - a woman with stage 4 cancer was accosted for masking.
The man called her a liberal, identified himself as a conservative & coughed on her.
What’s even more appalling - is that if you read the language of the North Carolina bill - it says any OCCUPANT of a public space can legally demand you remove your mask.
Its essentially deputizing the public to enforce mask bans - and designed to dissuade people from masking in the first place
Given these bans have been pushed by Republicans - and JD Vance spearheaded the federal ban on mask mandates - it’s prudent to fight back now while we still can.
Wearing a mask in public shows solidarity. It helps normalize them as a medical device. It will make them harder to ban.
My full article on the Nassau County ban and why medical exemptions aren’t the answer is below - I just found out Facebook has removed it for “disinformation”. And we wonder why more people don’t know mask bans have already happened 😞
https://www.disabledginger.com/p/nassau-county-ny-makes-masking-illegal
#nomaskbans #maskbans #wearamask #CovidIsNotOver #covidisairborne #ableism #eugenics #discrimination #disability
Mask bans are a return to ugly laws that will further isolate & exclude disabled people from society.
Medical exemptions are inadequate & leave many people behind (like healthy covid cautious people)
My article goes into it in more detail - but police are NOT medical professionals. It shouldn’t be up to them to determine who’s “medically justified” in wearing a mask
Many of us have invisible illnesses & struggle to convince our doctors to take us seriously
What hope do we have with police?
Moreover - disabled people don’t exist in a vacuum. We have friends, family and caregivers who we rely on to mask to protect us. They don’t qualify under most medical exemptions.
If you’re non disabled and want to stay that way? If you’re trying to avoid covid? That also doesn’t qualify.
These bans represent escalating fascism. They’re preying on people’s hatred for the disabled as well as their anger over mask mandates and covid policies.
The best way to push back? Wear a mask. Right now.
Call local lawmakers & tell them you won’t visit any state or county with a ban.
The Governor of North Carolina vetoed the bill - but the senate super majority overrode his veto.
Right after the mask ban bill passed - a woman with stage 4 cancer was accosted for masking.
The man called her a liberal, identified himself as a conservative & coughed on her.
What’s even more appalling - is that if you read the language of the North Carolina bill - it says any OCCUPANT of a public space can legally demand you remove your mask.
Its essentially deputizing the public to enforce mask bans - and designed to dissuade people from masking in the first place
Given these bans have been pushed by Republicans - and JD Vance spearheaded the federal ban on mask mandates - it’s prudent to fight back now while we still can.
Wearing a mask in public shows solidarity. It helps normalize them as a medical device. It will make them harder to ban.
My full article on the Nassau County ban and why medical exemptions aren’t the answer is below - I just found out Facebook has removed it for “disinformation”. And we wonder why more people don’t know mask bans have already happened 😞
https://www.disabledginger.com/p/nassau-county-ny-makes-masking-illegal
#nomaskbans #maskbans #wearamask #CovidIsNotOver #covidisairborne #ableism #eugenics #discrimination #disability
Nassau County, NY Makes Masking Illegal - Why Medical Exemptions Aren't the Answer
Defendants of mask bans point to medical exemptions as proof that disabled people have nothing to worry about. They're wrong. A look at why bans are ableist, discriminatory and dangerous.Broadwaybabyto (The Disabled Ginger)
I think I want to start tracking upcoming legislative and political changes especially when they directly impact #disabled people who can tell compelling stories. If anyone has anything they would like to share, please send a DM my way and we'll talk. #accessibility #disability #journalism
More evidence that to work for the DWP first of all you have to have your soul & any humanity surgically removed before you are let loose to judge benefits claims....
I'm not sure the DWP can be reformed; like the Metropolitan Police, closure & re-establishment with different, more human mores & practices is what is required.
The DWP is only fit for purpose if the purpose is: denying benefits to people who should receive benefits!
#DWP #disability #benefits
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/nov/09/blind-woman-denied-benefits-because-she-attended-dwp-interview-with-help-of-mother
I'm not sure the DWP can be reformed; like the Metropolitan Police, closure & re-establishment with different, more human mores & practices is what is required.
The DWP is only fit for purpose if the purpose is: denying benefits to people who should receive benefits!
#DWP #disability #benefits
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/nov/09/blind-woman-denied-benefits-because-she-attended-dwp-interview-with-help-of-mother
“If you’ve been fighting for Covid mitigations for the last five years - you more than likely saw this coming. It was painfully obvious when the great unmasking occurred that many people on BOTH sides of the aisle didn’t care about the “vulnerable”. Didn’t care about community or protecting their neighbours. Didn’t care about anything other than their own ability to go to brunch, travel, socialize and get ‘back to normal.’
I’m not saying people should have shuttered inside their homes forever. None of us are. But they should have kept masking. There was no reason to stop. Respirators are highly effective at stopping the spread of Covid. The vast majority of people CAN wear them. We have mask blocs all over the world to provide masks to people who can’t afford them. It’s a simple thing you can do to protect yourself and - perhaps more importantly - protect others.”
If you missed my latest - it’s about the U.S. election, disability rights, eugenics, fascism and how we got to where we are. Perhaps more importantly - it’s about what comes next.
https://www.disabledginger.com/p/how-did-we-get-here-and-what-comes
#CovidIsAirborne #CovidCautious #CovidIsNotOver #CleanAir #WearaMask #Disability #LongCovid #Ableism #Denial #CleanAir #Pandemic #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Eugenics #SafeHealthcare #N95 #Respirators #MasksWork #MaskUp #Spoonie #Discrimination #Dysautonomia #mecfs #pots #mcas #communitycare #wearamask #chronicillness #keepmasksinhealthcare #MaskBans #NoMaskBans #fascism #election2024
I’m not saying people should have shuttered inside their homes forever. None of us are. But they should have kept masking. There was no reason to stop. Respirators are highly effective at stopping the spread of Covid. The vast majority of people CAN wear them. We have mask blocs all over the world to provide masks to people who can’t afford them. It’s a simple thing you can do to protect yourself and - perhaps more importantly - protect others.”
If you missed my latest - it’s about the U.S. election, disability rights, eugenics, fascism and how we got to where we are. Perhaps more importantly - it’s about what comes next.
https://www.disabledginger.com/p/how-did-we-get-here-and-what-comes
#CovidIsAirborne #CovidCautious #CovidIsNotOver #CleanAir #WearaMask #Disability #LongCovid #Ableism #Denial #CleanAir #Pandemic #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Eugenics #SafeHealthcare #N95 #Respirators #MasksWork #MaskUp #Spoonie #Discrimination #Dysautonomia #mecfs #pots #mcas #communitycare #wearamask #chronicillness #keepmasksinhealthcare #MaskBans #NoMaskBans #fascism #election2024
How Did We Get Here and What Comes Next?
Disabled people have been warning others for nearly 5 years that eugenicist Covid policies would lead to a rise of fascist, racist, bigoted, misogynistic hatred. It's here now. So what’s next?Broadwaybabyto (The Disabled Ginger)
UPDATE RE: MY ESCAPE FROM VIOLENT ABLEST PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ABUSE
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Good morning Mastodonians, emphasis on "good"! I have made my escape over the wall across enemy lines from abuse, and I am recovering in the resistance safe house. Translation for any "Neurotyps" out there: I've escaped my very abusive living situation and I'm finally in a place that feels like a home… like my home.
I'm waiting for someone to pinch me and wake me up because never in a thousand therapeutic escapist daydreams could I have imagined the wonderful things that have happened to me in many areas of my life in the past few weeks. I'm home in a healthy, happy, healing, nurturing, creative, neurodivergent place with a wonderfully accommodating person of like mind and spirit.
Believe it or not considering everywhere I've been, I now live in an area that I've never been before. I'm surrounded by nature's beauty outside my home, and beauty, peace, love, and sanctuary inside.
There are so many opportunities for me here, and I'm extremely excited to have not only a new creative partner, but a partner in OutOfExile_IDR efforts with the same fiery passion as I.
Among many other creative endeavors, we are also collaborating on music. This stellar individual has helped me to remember that despite having a limb difference disability (one functioning hand), I am still a highly skilled musician with decades of experience I thought I lost after my accident(s). As a result of the inspiration that comes from combining with this person, I'm teaching myself to play guitar again, left-handed.
And best of all, this person has a punctuation fetish. You've read my stuff, right? They keep my creative meanderings in check. What a perfect yin to my yang.
#MutualAid #disability #homelessness #abuse #regeneration #home #sanctuary #love
1/2
Good morning Mastodonians, emphasis on "good"! I have made my escape over the wall across enemy lines from abuse, and I am recovering in the resistance safe house. Translation for any "Neurotyps" out there: I've escaped my very abusive living situation and I'm finally in a place that feels like a home… like my home.
I'm waiting for someone to pinch me and wake me up because never in a thousand therapeutic escapist daydreams could I have imagined the wonderful things that have happened to me in many areas of my life in the past few weeks. I'm home in a healthy, happy, healing, nurturing, creative, neurodivergent place with a wonderfully accommodating person of like mind and spirit.
Believe it or not considering everywhere I've been, I now live in an area that I've never been before. I'm surrounded by nature's beauty outside my home, and beauty, peace, love, and sanctuary inside.
There are so many opportunities for me here, and I'm extremely excited to have not only a new creative partner, but a partner in OutOfExile_IDR efforts with the same fiery passion as I.
Among many other creative endeavors, we are also collaborating on music. This stellar individual has helped me to remember that despite having a limb difference disability (one functioning hand), I am still a highly skilled musician with decades of experience I thought I lost after my accident(s). As a result of the inspiration that comes from combining with this person, I'm teaching myself to play guitar again, left-handed.
And best of all, this person has a punctuation fetish. You've read my stuff, right? They keep my creative meanderings in check. What a perfect yin to my yang.
#MutualAid #disability #homelessness #abuse #regeneration #home #sanctuary #love
Hidden behind this budget is a terrible bombshell: billions in cuts for disabled people
One analysis of Labour’s plans (I use the term in the loosest sense) for people with disabilities in the UK (well certainly England and Wales). I will not be affected but I know of many who will be. I wonder whether Labour will challenge the albeit brief summary? Note I refuse to use the term ‘benefits' in my hashtags.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/05/tax-and-spend-budget-disabled-people-austerity
#Disability #UK #Support #UKPol #LabourPromises
One analysis of Labour’s plans (I use the term in the loosest sense) for people with disabilities in the UK (well certainly England and Wales). I will not be affected but I know of many who will be. I wonder whether Labour will challenge the albeit brief summary? Note I refuse to use the term ‘benefits' in my hashtags.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/05/tax-and-spend-budget-disabled-people-austerity
#Disability #UK #Support #UKPol #LabourPromises
"Much like when George Osborne aimed to cut the #disability benefits bill by a fifth, “#welfare reform” based on arbitrary cost-cutting says the quiet part out loud: #benefits won’t be awarded based on who needs them – just on what they cost."
#UKpolitics #Labour
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/05/tax-and-spend-budget-disabled-people-austerity
#UKpolitics #Labour
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/05/tax-and-spend-budget-disabled-people-austerity
Despite the change in Govt. for the disabled austerity continues remorselessly...
as Frances Ryan details once again its the disabled who will be bearing the brunt of a Govt's 'difficult decisions';
f we judge a society by how it treats it vulnerable & disadvantaged (which is how we should judge a country!), then the UK stands accused of a callous inhumanity towards those type able ignore or discount.... we should and can do much better
#disability #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/05/tax-and-spend-budget-disabled-people-austerity
as Frances Ryan details once again its the disabled who will be bearing the brunt of a Govt's 'difficult decisions';
f we judge a society by how it treats it vulnerable & disadvantaged (which is how we should judge a country!), then the UK stands accused of a callous inhumanity towards those type able ignore or discount.... we should and can do much better
#disability #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/05/tax-and-spend-budget-disabled-people-austerity
People spend their lives running from suffering. Doing whatever they can to avoid feeling pain. The idea of “forever suffering” is terrifying to them. I think this fear is behind a lot of the disdain we see directed at disabled people.
We remind others that suffering can be permanent. That it can’t always be outrun.
We exist in the grey. Our illnesses won’t kill us - but they also won’t ever get better. There’s no cure on the horizon. No “are you better yet?”
This reality scares the crap out of people.
As such - they pull away from us. They abandon us or treat us with such disdain that we walk away from them. The ones that stay often expect us to hide how sick we are. To plaster a smile on our face and say we’re “fine” so that they don’t have to feel uncomfortable.
When they ask how we’re feeling or if we’re “any better”… they don’t want to hear the truth. In fact - if you tell them the truth you could find yourself facing a lecture on “positive thinking” or how you just need to “try harder” and you will suddenly overcome your illnesses.
People are unable or unwilling to face the realities of chronic illness - so they make it harder for us to face it as well. They treat it like it’s our fault. Like we did something to become ill or like we could get better if we “really wanted to”.
They will push our boundaries, gaslight us and yes - put us at risk for covid. So this is your reminder that it is ok to set and hold boundaries. It’s ok to protect yourself. If someone won’t be there at your worst - they don’t deserve you.
https://www.disabledginger.com/p/we-dont-do-sick-if-you-cant-hide
#CovidIsAirborne #CovidCautious #CovidIsNotOver #CleanAir #WearaMask #Disability #LongCovid #Ableism #Denial #CleanAir #Pandemic #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Eugenics #SafeHealthcare #N95 #Respirators #MasksWork #MaskUp #Spoonie #Discrimination #Dysautonomia #mecfs #pots #mcas #communitycare #wearamask #chronicillness #keepmasksinhealthcare #MaskBans #NoMaskBans
We remind others that suffering can be permanent. That it can’t always be outrun.
We exist in the grey. Our illnesses won’t kill us - but they also won’t ever get better. There’s no cure on the horizon. No “are you better yet?”
This reality scares the crap out of people.
As such - they pull away from us. They abandon us or treat us with such disdain that we walk away from them. The ones that stay often expect us to hide how sick we are. To plaster a smile on our face and say we’re “fine” so that they don’t have to feel uncomfortable.
When they ask how we’re feeling or if we’re “any better”… they don’t want to hear the truth. In fact - if you tell them the truth you could find yourself facing a lecture on “positive thinking” or how you just need to “try harder” and you will suddenly overcome your illnesses.
People are unable or unwilling to face the realities of chronic illness - so they make it harder for us to face it as well. They treat it like it’s our fault. Like we did something to become ill or like we could get better if we “really wanted to”.
They will push our boundaries, gaslight us and yes - put us at risk for covid. So this is your reminder that it is ok to set and hold boundaries. It’s ok to protect yourself. If someone won’t be there at your worst - they don’t deserve you.
https://www.disabledginger.com/p/we-dont-do-sick-if-you-cant-hide
#CovidIsAirborne #CovidCautious #CovidIsNotOver #CleanAir #WearaMask #Disability #LongCovid #Ableism #Denial #CleanAir #Pandemic #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Eugenics #SafeHealthcare #N95 #Respirators #MasksWork #MaskUp #Spoonie #Discrimination #Dysautonomia #mecfs #pots #mcas #communitycare #wearamask #chronicillness #keepmasksinhealthcare #MaskBans #NoMaskBans
Family Abandonment During Covid Pandemic. They 'Don't Do Sick'.
A look at relationship dynamics, ableism and the importance of setting (and sticking) to personal boundariesBroadwaybabyto (The Disabled Ginger)
People are angry that hospitals are bringing back mask mandates due to COVID outbreaks.
Patients like me are angry that we have to risk infection to get medical care. Some of us have died due to hospital acquired COVID.
Masks make sense in hospitals - why oppose them?
I’ve yet to hear a decent argument against mask mandates in hospitals.
The people who oppose them are almost always the ones screaming about how strong and healthy their immune systems are - so theoretically they never spend any time IN a hospital. Why do they care?
Inevitably people just trot out the tired “if your mask works then no one else needs one”… which just highlights that they’ve never spent any significant time in the hospital.
If you’re sick enough to need the hospital there’s decent odds something might prevent you from masking.
Even if you CAN mask - if you’re admitted what do you do when you need to eat, drink or brush your teeth? What if you require oxygen, having vomiting or airway complications?
The responsibility to stay covid safe shouldn’t be left to the patient.
It’s cruel and unusual punishment.
Mandatory masks mean that patients are protected by those around them - which is how it should be.
No one should have to risk covid to get care - and the normalization of hospital acquired covid needs to stop.
If you’re someone who opposes masks in healthcare - or who doesn’t understand WHY they’re necessary - please read my plea to healthcare workers.
Vulnerable patients feel unsafe. Expendable. Terrified.
Needing the hospital is scary enough - we shouldn’t have to worry about forced infection too:
https://www.disabledginger.com/p/a-plea-to-maskless-healthcare-workers
#CovidIsAirborne #CovidCautious #CovidIsNotOver #CleanAir #WearaMask #Disability #LongCovid #Ableism #Denial #CleanAir #Pandemic #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Eugenics #SafeHealthcare #N95 #Respirators #MasksWork #MaskUp #Spoonie #Discrimination #Dysautonomia #mecfs #pots #mcas #communitycare #wearamask #chronicillness #keepmasksinhe
Patients like me are angry that we have to risk infection to get medical care. Some of us have died due to hospital acquired COVID.
Masks make sense in hospitals - why oppose them?
I’ve yet to hear a decent argument against mask mandates in hospitals.
The people who oppose them are almost always the ones screaming about how strong and healthy their immune systems are - so theoretically they never spend any time IN a hospital. Why do they care?
Inevitably people just trot out the tired “if your mask works then no one else needs one”… which just highlights that they’ve never spent any significant time in the hospital.
If you’re sick enough to need the hospital there’s decent odds something might prevent you from masking.
Even if you CAN mask - if you’re admitted what do you do when you need to eat, drink or brush your teeth? What if you require oxygen, having vomiting or airway complications?
The responsibility to stay covid safe shouldn’t be left to the patient.
It’s cruel and unusual punishment.
Mandatory masks mean that patients are protected by those around them - which is how it should be.
No one should have to risk covid to get care - and the normalization of hospital acquired covid needs to stop.
If you’re someone who opposes masks in healthcare - or who doesn’t understand WHY they’re necessary - please read my plea to healthcare workers.
Vulnerable patients feel unsafe. Expendable. Terrified.
Needing the hospital is scary enough - we shouldn’t have to worry about forced infection too:
https://www.disabledginger.com/p/a-plea-to-maskless-healthcare-workers
#CovidIsAirborne #CovidCautious #CovidIsNotOver #CleanAir #WearaMask #Disability #LongCovid #Ableism #Denial #CleanAir #Pandemic #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Eugenics #SafeHealthcare #N95 #Respirators #MasksWork #MaskUp #Spoonie #Discrimination #Dysautonomia #mecfs #pots #mcas #communitycare #wearamask #chronicillness #keepmasksinhe
A Plea to Maskless Healthcare Workers from Vulnerable Patients
If you see a mask - wear a mask. Better yet - wear a mask all the time and show us you understand that we're still IN a pandemic. We are depending on you to keep us safe - please don't betray that.Broadwaybabyto (The Disabled Ginger)
#Trump Says He’ll Fight for Working-Class Americans. His First Presidency Suggests He Won’t.
==
From cutting children's #disability benefits to allowing employers to pocket workers' tips, Trump tried to slash protections for the working poor in ways that have been forgotten by many.
#News #Politics #Government #Election #Election2024 #Workers #DonaldTrump
https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-agenda-working-class
==
From cutting children's #disability benefits to allowing employers to pocket workers' tips, Trump tried to slash protections for the working poor in ways that have been forgotten by many.
#News #Politics #Government #Election #Election2024 #Workers #DonaldTrump
https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-agenda-working-class
Mikey Erhardt (Disability Rights UK) on the Budget's extra funding for Special Educational Needs & Disabilities in schools
headline: its not enough to make up for historic underfunding which continues to limit the opportunities for children with disabilities.
'We all agree that our children are our future but the government seems resigned to the idea that Disabled children & young people are a burden rather than people with rights'!
#disability #children #education
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/budget-special-education-needs-disabled-children-labour-rachel-reeves-send-ehcp/
headline: its not enough to make up for historic underfunding which continues to limit the opportunities for children with disabilities.
'We all agree that our children are our future but the government seems resigned to the idea that Disabled children & young people are a burden rather than people with rights'!
#disability #children #education
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/budget-special-education-needs-disabled-children-labour-rachel-reeves-send-ehcp/
#Disability Rights Are Technology Rights - https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/06/disability-rights-are-technology-rights
Disability Rights Are Technology Rights
During Disability Employee Awareness month, we call out the medical tech industry for fighting disabled people's right to repair or modify the tech that they own.Electronic Frontier Foundation
A few months ago a friend told me I needed to stop “being a burden” on those around me & find somewhere with round the clock care to live & accommodate my disabilities. Knowing no such place exists for someone like me - I gave them a challenge.
I told them that I had looked for such a place many times - and I’ve come up empty because people like me (relatively young with unstable chronic illnesses) fall through the cracks. We aren’t considered when care homes are being established.
We have homes for the elderly, rehab centres and hospices but almost nothing for a young person who isn’t imminently dying but also has no expectation of improvement. I challenged this friend to find me a place - within a reasonable budget - and said if they did I would move.
Of course they were unable to find anything - and in fact even when they tripled their budget they came up empty. There was one contender that provided a brief glimmer of hope - but as soon as they discovered my heart condition they said no.
The reason? “She’s too unstable and we don’t have adequate monitoring. She should be in hospital or try hospice.” Most chronically ill people know that hospitals are short term solutions & will often discharge you before you’re strong enough to be on your own.
And hospice? You can’t enter hospice unless you are imminently dying. So around & around this friend went… hitting all the same roadblocks I’ve hit time and time again. Finally they asked if I considered private in home nursing?
In home nurses where I am start at around $36/hour. If you need round the clock care that’s just over $6000 a week. Clearly not an option for the vast majority of people.
Finally my friend conceded that I was right and there was no magical place where I could have round the clock care & cease being a “burden” to those around me. They were flustered and apologetic & kept saying “I just assumed you hadn’t really looked”.
Therein lies the problem for so many of us - our friends & family always seem to assume they know better and/or that we have simply failed and not “tried hard enough”. The reality is we often spend all our energy looking for solutions - but those solutions simply don’t exist.
I thanked my friend for apologizing & for their efforts in trying to find a place - but I also asked them to consider how it feels to be called a “burden” just for needing support to survive. To be told you needed to go away & stop “bothering” friends & family?
Of course my friend didn’t have an answer - just uncomfortable silence followed by some muffled apologies. I share this story to implore people to stop assuming disabled people haven’t already tried the things you’re suggesting.
This doesn’t mean it’s wrong to make suggestions. But if we tell you we’ve already tried it and it’s not an option - believe us. It’s exhausting spending your days dealing with chronic illness - we don’t need to be explaining ourselves to people who should have our back.
Lastly - disabled people are NOT a burden. There’s nothing wrong with needing help to survive. Telling someone they should feel bad about receiving that help is an unkind thing to do. Please offer help or keep quiet. Most importantly - believe us when we say we’ve tried.
#CovidIsAirborne #CovidIsNotOver #CovidCautious #sarscov2 #maskup #WearAMask #CleanAir #Pandemic #Disability #accessibility #DisabilityRights #N95s #Ableism #CommunityCare #Eugenics
I told them that I had looked for such a place many times - and I’ve come up empty because people like me (relatively young with unstable chronic illnesses) fall through the cracks. We aren’t considered when care homes are being established.
We have homes for the elderly, rehab centres and hospices but almost nothing for a young person who isn’t imminently dying but also has no expectation of improvement. I challenged this friend to find me a place - within a reasonable budget - and said if they did I would move.
Of course they were unable to find anything - and in fact even when they tripled their budget they came up empty. There was one contender that provided a brief glimmer of hope - but as soon as they discovered my heart condition they said no.
The reason? “She’s too unstable and we don’t have adequate monitoring. She should be in hospital or try hospice.” Most chronically ill people know that hospitals are short term solutions & will often discharge you before you’re strong enough to be on your own.
And hospice? You can’t enter hospice unless you are imminently dying. So around & around this friend went… hitting all the same roadblocks I’ve hit time and time again. Finally they asked if I considered private in home nursing?
In home nurses where I am start at around $36/hour. If you need round the clock care that’s just over $6000 a week. Clearly not an option for the vast majority of people.
Finally my friend conceded that I was right and there was no magical place where I could have round the clock care & cease being a “burden” to those around me. They were flustered and apologetic & kept saying “I just assumed you hadn’t really looked”.
Therein lies the problem for so many of us - our friends & family always seem to assume they know better and/or that we have simply failed and not “tried hard enough”. The reality is we often spend all our energy looking for solutions - but those solutions simply don’t exist.
I thanked my friend for apologizing & for their efforts in trying to find a place - but I also asked them to consider how it feels to be called a “burden” just for needing support to survive. To be told you needed to go away & stop “bothering” friends & family?
Of course my friend didn’t have an answer - just uncomfortable silence followed by some muffled apologies. I share this story to implore people to stop assuming disabled people haven’t already tried the things you’re suggesting.
This doesn’t mean it’s wrong to make suggestions. But if we tell you we’ve already tried it and it’s not an option - believe us. It’s exhausting spending your days dealing with chronic illness - we don’t need to be explaining ourselves to people who should have our back.
Lastly - disabled people are NOT a burden. There’s nothing wrong with needing help to survive. Telling someone they should feel bad about receiving that help is an unkind thing to do. Please offer help or keep quiet. Most importantly - believe us when we say we’ve tried.
#CovidIsAirborne #CovidIsNotOver #CovidCautious #sarscov2 #maskup #WearAMask #CleanAir #Pandemic #Disability #accessibility #DisabilityRights #N95s #Ableism #CommunityCare #Eugenics
Tweet: Autism Awareness Aus @AutismAwareAus
Starting school is a big deal, particularly for children with #autism, #disability or additional needs. Learning Links shares tried and tested strategies for supporting an #autistic child to successfully transition to 'big school.' #disabled #kindergarten
https://sourcekids.com.au/top-tips-for-starting-school/?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-sourcekidsau&utm_content=later-39854543&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkin.bio
Starting school is a big deal, particularly for children with #autism, #disability or additional needs. Learning Links shares tried and tested strategies for supporting an #autistic child to successfully transition to 'big school.' #disabled #kindergarten
https://sourcekids.com.au/top-tips-for-starting-school/?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-sourcekidsau&utm_content=later-39854543&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkin.bio
Top tips for starting school - Source Kids
By Tamar Kaplan Transitioning from pre-school to ‘big’ school is an important milestone for any child, as well as for …Source Kids
The rest of you, enjoy the internet. I'm going to sit here and twiddle my thumbs because every damn content provider out there has decided to make their site inaccessible to me by plastering it with ads and gifs in constant motion.
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#ActuallyAutistic
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#AccessibilityMatters
#DisabilityRights
#Accessibility
#Disability
#UX
#UXDesign
#SensoryProcessingDisorder
#ActuallyAutistic
#ADHD