[professorpotato-deactivated2021]

the best way to explain autoimmune disease to others (via @kuroown when I was in the hospital and this joke she made still makes me laugh)

[genericdubstep]

The notion that disabled people who can’t work are “useless” is a result of the sickening capitalist brainwashing that has plagued our society for decades.

[edmiar]

Me: “I am disabled”

Ableist: “don’t say that! You are not! You do things! you are capable! Do not undervalue yourself. Disabled are those who have to live off of people’s compassion”

VS

Non-ableist: “ah good to know. Which disability do you have? How does it affect you?”

Me: “is called (medical terms) and affects me that way”

Ableist: * shocked victorian drama gesture * “omg, how are you ok saying that?” * either distances you or is rudely intrusive, still refusing to accomodate your needs *

VS

Non-Ableist: “ah, good to know. If you need help with that, let me know how I can help” * accomodates your needs and treats you the same way as before *

[ultraviolet-techno-ecology]

Every “Why my disability didn’t stop me from living” article written can be summarized as having access to resources materially and socially.  Which results in a fascinating intersection between ableism and classism, as the resulting inspiration porn - used against disabled folk via the “Why are you more impacted than this person in the article” - essentially boils down to shaming people for not having access to the resources required to mitigate the disability. 

[sunflower-cane]

Just because someone with your illness has a job, goes to school, or can do things you generally cant, does not mean youre faking it.

Dont compare yourself or your illness to them, every illness affects every person differently.

Youre doing the best you can, remember that.

[adhdandcats]

[Image description: A person lies in a hospital bed on an IV and holds a hospital bill. The caption reads, “What doesn’t kill you, bills you.”]

[ithelpstodream]

This week, the Office for National Statistics has added ready-made mashed potato to the UK’s official shopping basket, which it uses to measure inflation, and people are up in arms. Who buys a pre-chopped onion that costs three times as much as a whole one? How lazy do you have to be to choose a frozen omelette over a couple of eggs?

These kinds of convenience foods are an easy target. But for the 13.3 million people in Britain with disabilities – and those living with arthritis, chronic illness, recovering from injury or surgery, or undergoing cancer treatment – convenience foods aren’t just convenient: they are a lifeline.

This is an issue close to my heart. I’m a professional cook, but I also have a chronic pain condition, and there are occasions when I can’t even hold a knife. In times like those, I’m never going to opt for the impenetrable whole butternut squash over one that has already been diced for me.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2018/mar/16/pre-chopped-onions-arent-pointless-if-you-cant-hold-a-knife

[citizenshipandsocialjustice]

[ladyautie]

Don’t know if you’ve witnessed the controversy created by the new Battlefield video game trailer, but it truly saddens me. People are not only horrified that a woman is portrayed as one of the main characters, they’re horrified that a disabled woman is playable in their favorite FPS franchise.

Honestly, I don’t care much about FPS games. My coordination skills don’t allow me to play them well enough to make them entertaining for me. But I don’t get why they’re so angry at the idea of playing as a disabled woman. They’re treating is as disgusting, while pretending that they’re all about historical accuracy.

‘Scuse me, but when you’re allowing this to happen in your “historically accurate” game without a complaint :

[gif of a Battlefield video game. Three soldiers are riding the same horse, while using flamethrowers]

You’re not allowed to claim that THIS is not supposed to be in your game because it’s “inaccurate” :

[picture from the Battlefield V trailer. A woman with a prosthetic arm is standing, while the POV of the picture shows that our character also has a prosthetic arm]

I’m a female disabled gamer. I rarely get the occasion to see myself portrayed in video games and I often have to be satisfied with either a female character or, even more rarely, a disabled character. Not both at the same time. 

Disability is often used as cheap way to add “original” gameplay to a game. I’m thinking about “Perception”, where your character is a blind woman. The only reason they made her blind was to make her use some kind of echo-location stuff and it’s not even accurate. 

She doesn’t even remember that an object is next to her, you have to tap it with your cane every time her “echo location” stuff is no longer working. I’m not blind, but I’m pretty sure blind people can actually remember that an object they tapped with their cane is right next to them.

As for autistic characters, my disability, they’re either very secondary (I’m thinking Patricia Tannis from Borderlands, and yes, most people don’t even know she’s autistic) or they’re escort mission (like Amy from the video game “Amy”, which, I think, has been hailed as one of the worst escort missions video game ever made) or they’re barely a character (like the psychic kid in “Fahrenheit : Indigo Prophecy).

We don’t have much intel in who this character is or how it’s going to be portrayed, but I’m hopeful.

Honestly… Guys, you have BILLIONS of game in which you can play your white able bodied man as a main character. You could at least have the decency to let exist the game with the disabled woman as the main character without throwing a frickin’ tantrum about it.

[lipatti]

The struggle of brainfog

[chronicillnessmemes]

alarm: take ur pill

me: ok

goes to kitchen and gets water

sits down

drinks all the water

1 hour later

me: wait

[september-raven]

When your body begins to fail you

There is nothing left to do but embrace it.

To wrap your broken arms

Around a skeleton that has become more cage

Than body

[mamoru]

hey before you call something wheelchair accessible just go ahead and invite a wheelchair user or two over because I almost guarantee you that an able-bodied person is not capable of guessing what is accessible without having ever used a wheelchair solo before

some but not all cool things nobody ever thinks of:

put hand sanitizer or a sink in the accessible bathroom stall, or alcohol wipes outside of it. people who cannot use their legs have to use unwashed hands to roll to the sink, and people who can use their legs are afraid to walk out of stalls because they get harassed and even assaulted.

enough space for wheelchair in doorway…AND ARMS. HOW DO YOU THINK THE WHEELCHAIR MOVES! if I cannot roll through it without scraping my arms it is not accessible

brick paths suck the end

gravel paths suck. make it smooth

a ramp is not accessible if it is too steep. not every wheelchair user is ripped enough or capable of using muscles enough to propel themselves up a steep angle safely. some wheelchair users have heart issues. you want heart attacks? this is how you get them

perfect 90 degree turns suck and are often impossible to turn through

some wheelchairs have foot rests. account for them

wheelchair accessible means wheelchair accessible while alone. if you expect someone to have to be helped out to use your facility, that is not acceptable or accessible

yeah

[rogueoftimeywimeystuff-deactiva]

The belief that someone might be faking it means they don’t deserve help is one of the greatest social ills put upon us as a society.

Let me explain:

With every charity there will be at least 5% of people (more or less depending) that look like they don’t deserve to benefit from the charity due to their clothes, phone, ability to walk, looking cis or het, looking white or any outwards sign of privilege that they might seem to show.

In actuality, about 0.01% of these people either do not qualify for the charity in question or actually have the privilege that they look like they have.

An example:

You are at a food bank. Mrs. White come up in a shiny Escalade with 4 kids all piled in the back. She comes in to get food for her, her husband, and her 4 kids. Immediately after they leave, you hear one of the other volunteers criticizing the fact that these “obviously well off individuals” are coming in for food.

In reality: Mrs. White’s husband was in a car accident that cost him his ability to walk for long periods of time, the car, and his ability to work. The insurance company paid for the escalade (a dream car of the husband’s) and disability allows them to keep the house, but Mrs. White is barely able to work part time to take care of her husband and the kids. They rely on the donations at the food bank to get by.

Another example:

You see a pair of people walking in the pride parade that look cis and het and are being affectionate at Pride. You hear someone snarl about invaders.

In reality: They are both trans or Bi and this is their first Pride being out.

Another example:

A person on the internet talks about their experience with Autism and how it means they have a hard time working. They’re self-diagnosed.They’ve gotten jeering comments about how they’re faking it and making it hard for real Auties.

In Reality: They’re autistic but can’t afford a professional diagnosis because they have a hard time working and they showed atypical traits as a kid.

I could go on and on.

I’ve heard it all. From just about anyone. But mostly? Mostly I hear it from people who think that if you don’t fit the stereotype you don’t deserve help. That you must be in the very lowest place you can be before you get help. But that’s simply not how it should be.

We should reach kids before they’re on the verge of death, someone before they’re on the street, a person before they’re grasping at the end of their rope. And if we were able to do this, maybe more people would feel comfortable asking before they had no other option than to beg for the scraps that society can leave them.

Society’s greatest illness isn’t those who fake need, but those who think that that tiny bit of people who don’t need the help asking for it is worth forsaking everyone else who does.

[impotsiblelife]

I wish healthy people understood that getting a diagnosis ≠ getting an effective treatment. 

There are so many chronic illnesses for which there aren’t very effective medications or therapies. Even if your chronic illness has a few good treatments available, they might not work for you, or they might be out of your reach because your doctor won’t prescribe them or your insurance won’t cover them. 

If you do find a medication or treatment that works for you, it might only alleviate some of your symptoms and restore part of your function. It might come with unpleasant side effects that interfere with your life in new ways. 

Chronic illnesses are complex, and treating one is never as simple as getting a diagnosis and being prescribed a pill that fixes everything (or even helps). 

[so-over-ableism]

5 Things Not To Do When You See A Disabled Person Under 21

I’m a disabled high schooler so I experience this shit a lot and I just wanna tell y’all what not to do, not to be mean but to just educate y’all

Assume we don’t know things. This happens to me a lot. I’m a straight A student, I’m in honors classes, and yet people still think I’m in need of educational help. I know it’s the cane cause people will talk to me normally, but then speak like I’m a 5 year old when they see my cane. It’s rude and honestly disrespectful so pls don’t.

“You’re too young to be disabled.” Holy shit no. Some of us are born with a disabilty and even if we aren’t, you don’t get to say shit about that. My legs didn’t stop working because I’m young, it’s because I have an actual illness.

“You’d be better if you went out more.” I have dealt with this so often. When I’m in extreme pain, instead of getting me pain meds or help, I normally get told I need to go out more. Walk around a bit. Fuck you.

“You shouldn’t rely on that ___” Hell no. If you take away my cane, I can walk but I’ll be in so much pain I’ll start crying. Also? Have you thought that maybe I actually need this cane? I’m not doing it for attention.

Which brings me to… DONT CALL US ATTENTION SEEKING. I promise you that if I could walk without my cane, I would. I don’t want this shit, and you saying it’s not real makes it worse.

This is just the tip of the iceberg but here’s some basic no-nos.

[chronicallyjessica]

"Sweetie, you're too young to have all these medical conditions"

[impotsiblelife]

Me, right after I get a new diagnosis: HA, I knew it! All those crappy doctors who told me I was faking it were WRONG! This is great news!

Me, several hours later when the news actually hits me: *sobs alone in my room*