#cognitively disabled

[vampire-loving-vampire]

I hate that not understanding something or getting confused or mixed up is always moralized . like no its not because I "wasn't reading" or "not paying attention" or I "don't care" or on purpose . I just have brain damage etc but that's usually seen as an excuse 🫠🫠 be nicer to intellectually disabled people !!!!! be patient , be understanding , but whatever u do don't minimize their symptoms as some kind of intentional incompetence or having a cold heart . misunderstandings are just that , not a secret signal into someone's malicious plan to feign disability for .... no reason ?

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

when people w intellectual or cognitive or language disabilities ask “what does that mean” please like. actually explain what it mean to us.

even when it like. most ridiculous wild thing conservative say, for example. when we genuine ask what it mean please not respond with “oh it just some ridiculous stuff don’t worry abt it”

that not help. that leave us out of information.

you able read it, understand it, n then make up own decision about it. we struggle with first thing, so we ask for help, but by respond that way you take away our chance do the next two things.

we deserve same right as you we deserve have access to same information and make our own mind n opinion about it.

[she-is-autiblogging]

support cognitively disabled voices with limited understanding of ableism.

support cognitively disabled voices who don't notice when they're being discriminated against.

support cognitively disabled voices who want to be told when they're being discriminated against, and support cognitively disabled voices who don't want to know. support cognitively disabled voices who only want to know if they ask.

support cognitively disabled voices who notice that they're being treated differently, but can't communicate how they feel about it.

support cognitively disabled voices who do understand and notice, but others incorrectly assume they don't.

support cognitively disabled voices who don't know ableism exists at all.

equal rights and treatment shouldn't only be available to those who understand it and can fight for it. don't leave cognitively disabled people behind.

[nightmaretour]

If you tell your loved ones with brain damage that they're a different person now and that they're not your loved one anymore, even if hell didn't previously exist they actually made one just for you

[eptck]

do you ever think about how little people even consider disability and get super fucking depressed ? like not even in accessibility ways but in media , people rarely think about disabled people living in the world they're creating , and when they do ...

cyborgs in scifi are so frequently viewed as fundamentally less human for their mechanical features . amputees in fantasy and scifi are pretty equal in people completely forgetting that they're amputees at all ( sometimes with clear authorial intent to have the audience forget too *cough* luke skywalker *cough* ) . mobility aids beyond prosthetics are hardly ever seen at all , and if they are , it's likely because the hero is recovering from something that should have killed them in a few days-weeks . don't worry tho , next episode/season they'll be fully able-bodied again ! poor portrayals of blindness or low vision are a plague on fantasy media specifically ( no that's not how it works . no their eyes don't look like that . please do any research at all ) . and if sign language use is portrayed ( which is INCREDIBLY rare on its own ) it's usually by someone hearing , because deafness is just too ~difficult~ to portray , i guess

and that's only physical disability . ( low empathy , poor memory , hallucinations , plurality , etc . are nowhere near being portrayed better here , but i'm tired )

please share additional frustrations within this topic , if you're so inclined

[the-fox-collective]

FND is full body disorder. Drop attacks, tremours, gait issues, limb weakness, distonia, tics.

FND is full sensory disorder. Numbness in limbs, feel like limb isnt part of body, visual symptoms such as snow or double vision.

Cognitive disorder. Memory issues, dissociation, focus. It affect brain in entirety.

Speech problem. Physical and cognitive.

Seizures. Dissociative, functional, epileptic. Some caused by FND, some comorbids.

It cause many problems, not comprehensive list.

[ayronaught]

I love the people in my life that support my dignity to risk and understand that helping me make bad choices in a safer way is better than getting pissed at me.

My friends do not like the fact i go on walks. I leave school (<- fully allowed to) to walk around the fields behind school to calm down and regulate myself. This isn't the smartest thing to do because I am at risk for medical episodes or just fucking walking into traffic. But they have a proper go at me for it so I just don't tell them anymore.

And I get why. However, they don't seem to understand all the stuff I have in place to keep me safe, including but not limited to, certain people being able to check my location, multiple forms of ID (state and medical), stuff in my bag, etc. And they don't understand that I'm allowed to take risks even as a vulnerable person (even if the risk taking is a bit more controlled.)

But my SEND person sat with me for a few minutes with google maps earlier today after I told her I need to go on a walk, and showed me a better route that i can walk which is still An Escape but is a bit more accessible and closer to civilisation in case something happens. A very nice route too, might I add. It's still far away from noise and houses and you can't hear the road, but it's never more than about 500m from a road.

And actually something did end up nearly happening today which I'm not ready to talk about but it would have been a hell of a lot worse if I hadn't chatted to her about where to walk and stuff.

So yeah. Dignity of risk is cool.

Not looking for advice on my situation – like I said, I have a lot of support irl.

[this-is-my-main-i-follow-from]

As a stupid person, I feel the need to advocate for us:

We aren't stupid on purpose. Sometimes we choose to act stupid in a misguided attempt at reaching a goal, like trying to lead people to an answer themselves instead of telling them outright. Sometimes we choose to remain ignorant because I don't care how deep the marianas trench is. Those are some examples of "being stupid" on grounds of purpose.

Otherwise, please be patient with us. Teach us, help us, or just let us go.

This reminds me a lot of that post:

"Bullying someone for acting weird is bad if they have autism but fine for normal reasons." & then everyone assumes it's normal reasons.

Some of us are cognitively disabled, mentally ill, neurodivergent, developing slower (slow, as in retardation, late as in tardy, but please don't effing call us "retarded"!!!), intellectually disabled, etc. Some of us didn't have access to education the same way you did, our parents never taught us something, we have a different skilltree than you, we were poor, our country didn't allow us to get an education, etc. Maybe we're just stupid!

We are still people! Stupidity is not a moral failing! I don't care if you consider it a failing otherwise. Stupidity does not make us lesser humans! I don't care if it makes us lesser in intelligence.

Maybe we are lesser, maybe we do fail, but we deserve care & help, not animosity. (& sometimes, we need more help to overcome ignorance than our smart counterparts. Stupidity & ignorance are not synonymous.)

I'm not saying "boohoo you need to dumb stuff down for us," I am saying "please give us the tools to understand."

Stupidity is not malice!