#tistics talks

[tis-tics]

This is a reminder that

DISABLED is NOT A BAD WORD.

No, it's not negative in any way. It just describes a state of being, the state of having something that impacts ur daily life.

And on the same vein:

there is no "THAT" type of disabled

The other day, someone told me I'm not "that" type of disabled trying to imply that there are subcategories of disabilities in terms of worse or better or, more likely, that there are more socially acceptable ones (to put this bluntly for example: when people imply autism is a "better" or "nicer" disability than down syndrome)

We can't go around categorising disabilities by how socially acceptable each one is because that also means we start treating different groups better or worse than others because of the "type" they are

[tis-tics]

So I have some things to say pertaining to something a family member recently told me.

I was writing the acknowledgements of my thesis, and I mentioned that I wouldn't have been able to make it through university being disabled if it weren't for my family and friends, which really has been whats set me back SO much during these last few years.

My mom reads this and says to take the disabled part out cause I'm not disabled

I have tourettes and autism (both disabilities)

And then I said yes I am? And she was like, " Yeah, but ur not THAT type of disabled" ??

I took it out reluctantly and replaced the word disabled with "health issues" but the more I think about it the more it infuriates me.

DISABLED IS NOT A BAD WORD

also

THERE IS NO "THAT TYPE OF DISABLED"

Yes, there are different severities of being disabled, but that doesn't make anyone less valid. Trying to imply that there is a better type of disabled is wrong for so many reasons.

I'm not afraid to call myself disabled BECAUSE i am FULLY aware of how much it affects my day to day life. My family does, too, so I don't see why she would try to invalidate me and my experiences like that

[tis-tics]

My school just updated my reasonable adjustments (adjustments made to rules in classes to make up for/ help me with my disabilities)

And now, instead of letting me go out of class for a while in case of any "episodes" (in my case, tic attacks (tourettes) and meltdowns (autism)), they specified only 5 MINUTES!

Idk about you guys, but I've never had a meltdown or tic attack that only lasted 5 minutes

IDK what to do. Should I say something? Or do u guys think this is reasonable?

[tis-tics]

Hello I need some advice

I recently have had periods of time where if I become stressed or anxious, my brain becomes foggy, and I find it hard to communicate. It's not the first time I haven't been able to speak, but before it happened all at once and I was painfully aware of it, now it's more like I just have a hard time with it, like it takes me longer to respond and I stare off into space and in general I feel like there's static in my brain.

Has anyone else gone through this?

For context, I'm an adult who has autism (low support needs) and tourettes

Don't worry, I'm not going to self diagnose myself based on what anyone tells me, I just want to find out if anyone is going through anything similar and what it could be so i can research more into it and bring it up with my doctor or even get tips on how to deal with it

[tis-tics]

I'm so used to having minimal tics at home that when i do have constant tics its WAY more annoying. like WHY NOW I'M NOT EVEN DOING ANYTHING.

Idk what I hate more, tics at home when I'm in rest mode, or heavy tics every time i go out (doesn't matter anymore I guess CAUSE NOW I HAVE BOTH AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA)

[tis-tics]

Alright this is gonna be a bit controversial but

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS SHOULDN'T BE TREATED THE SAME/ HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS AS SERVICE ANIMALS

What I mean by this is that there is a GREAT difference between the two. ONE (service animals) are trained not only to do a specific task to help people with disabilities, health issues, disorders, etc. but are also behaviouraly trained aswell (including: learning to not be distracted by people, other animals or other stimuli, knowing recall and to stay, toilet training, etc.). THE OTHER is not necesarrily trained to do anything and is just there (as stated in the name) for emotional support.

This is the main reason why service dogs are protected and emotional support animals aren't. Service animals are literally TRAINED to be a part of your daily activities in public, and it takes a long time for them to be so.

Emotional support animals are potentially a danger (not neccesarily in the physical danger way, but in the way that they make it easy for people to want to even prohibit THEM in places just like esas) to service animals since they are not trained how to react to different animals they encounter, even if your animal, lets say a dog for this example, get along well with other dogs, they may still distract them from the others duties which is obviously not a good thing. I've heard of many cases where people bring their untrained esas to places and have them behave poorly. This is why people don't want them around. if you can't control your dog to not cause problems for others in say a store, then I fully agree that they can't be there even if you want them to be.

The whole differece is one is trained for these situations and one is not. And the reason esas are banned may not be because of something your one did specifically but what many others did.

Before u come up to me and be like "well i have anxiety and need an esa" THERE ARE SERVICE DOGS FOR SEVERE ANXIETY. They are called Psychiatric Service Dogs and can help with anxiety/panic attacks and help with reminding to take medication.

Having an untrained animal there to support you emotionally might help you, but it may hinder other people and/or service animals.

If you want something to help you with your disabilities, health, severe anxiety, disorders, etc. Consider getting a service animal to help you with your needs, and don't be surprised if you get an emotional support animal, and they are denied in specific places.

[tis-tics]

Hello it is me! Again!

In need of more of your boundless wisdom

So where I live, there's this thing you have to do (by law) called "social service" in order to graduate university. Basically, it's where we work (without pay) for a non-profit organisation for six months or 480h in total

There is one I want to apply for that's about helping disabled people to get jobs as models and to star in inclusive fashion shows. I really feel like I could help this organisation, and it'd be something I can do that I'm actually passionate about in comparison to the other jobs i could get.

Here's the problem:

Do i disclose I'm disabled when applying?

I have tourettes and autism, hence why I'm so hyped to maybe get this job, so that people who have my conditions or others can also have a fair opportunity to be models.

Even tho the point of this organisation is to find a way to better integrate disabled people into different spaces, I have a fear that once they know that I too, am disabled they may think I wont be able to handle it?

Like what if they think, "How can she take care of other disabled people if SHE is also disabled?"

I know that when they see me in person, they'll know I have tourettes weather I like it or not because my tics are VERY visable, BUT the first stage of applying is all digital so if I don't disclose it, they wont know.

On the other hand, maybe they'll be MORE likely to hire me in an attempt to include disabled people in the staff aswell. Maybe they'll see how the fact that I can relate to the community is a strength rather than a weakness.

So what do you think I should do?

[tis-tics]

Vent

I hate being disabled

I HATE IT

I'm uncomfortable all the time

I can't do things at the pace that other people do or under the same amount of pressure they do

I can't even SIT AT A FAMILY DINNER without having a million tics, getting stuck, disassociating (at least that's what I'm calling it in the meantime before I can actually see my doctor), and in general being a huge distraction to everyone

I hate that people have to constantly worry about me, but even more than that

I HATE THAT I HAVE TO CONSTANTLY WORRY ABOUT MYSELF

I feel like I'm accomplishing only a percentage of what my peers are, and I can't even do anything to make up for it

The worst part is that IT'S FOREVER

like it will always be like this

And I don't know what to do with it all