#systematic ableism

[chronicsymptomsyndrome]

"Am I the only one who prefers human relationships to money anymore" no shut the fuck up

people actually need money for

healthcare

mobility aids

transportation

medicine/equipment/supplies

coutless different kinds of therapy

clothes/stuff that make them feel good about thems like themselves at all

all the other things that allow them to comfortably leave the home and do things

a hospitable place to live where people can comfortably come over and spend time

Money and resources are (unfortunately) increasingly required to access and maintain meaningful human relationships in our world and I think that chasing the former to achieve the latter is the exact opposite of shallow. If you can’t understand that then you’ve probably never had relationships damaged or lost due to lack of personal resources.

[sephrxn]

FYI/PSA TO ALL HEALTHCARE WORKERS: if you can't even bring yourself to acknowledge how deeply ableism is baked into healthcare, then just know that you are indeed part of the problem.

if the experiences of chronically ill/disabled people don't count, guess what? you failed the very system you swore to uphold.

thanks and good day :)

[disagigglebilities]

Disability hearing went weird today. They had an "expert" cardiologist who completely ignored my diagnoses and then proceeded to tell the judge he thought I had somatic symptom disorder.

I was literally sobbing by the end of his testimony and the judge practically booted him from the call as soon as was possible. I now have a psychological evaluation sometime in the next month.

My lawyer said the judge appeared to not be happy with the way the "expert" treated me and my health issues and that the so called "expert" had been super unprofessional and that all and all it might end up helping my case still. But damn talk about traumatizing as fuck. My friend had to calm me down after all was said and done, I was crying so hard.

[a-moth-called-mof]

DETECTIVE WHAT THE FUCK???

[psychiatricwarfare]

okay no im not done bc when i was about 5ish years old, i was diagnosed with OCD, it's still on my chart to this day. i spent the majority of my childhood thinking i had "a weird kind of OCD" as my dad called it. he said i obviously had the same kind he had because i acted just like him and that his doctors told him it was a "rare form of OCD" he'd forgotten the name of. i don't have OCD. not a rare kind or any other kind. but i am autistic.

i'll put the full story under the cut but basically

tl;dr- stop talking about professional diagnosis as if it's the only true way to know if someone actually has the disorder. professionals are wrong all the fucking time, actually + getting a misdiagnosis can be so much worse than not having a professional diagnosis at all.

for about half my life, i remember sitting up at night, wondering why i was the way i was. why i am the way i am. even after receiving my diagnoses (the others aren't important rn), i couldn't understand myself at all. i tried researching OCD as best as a small child can but most help for OCD is aimed towards adults, not children, and none of them talked about the specific things i struggled with the most. i thought i was broken

it wasn't until i was 15 years old when i was talking to my latest therapist (at the time) and she asked me to explain my diagnoses and how they affect me that my entire world would slowly start to change. i told her about all of my symptoms of OCD and she asked me why i do those things, no one had ever asked me that before so i explained it to her.

and she tilted her head, the confusion growing on her face the longer i talked and when i finished, i'll never forget what she said. "that doesn't sound like OCD.. those aren't the motivations behind OCD and that's probably why trying to help you with it hasn't worked. you don't have it. it sounds, to me, like you have autism spectrum disorder." and as a teenager with a passion for psychology, i was, at first, insulted at the idea that i could have been so wrong about myself and got angry.

once i calmed down i realised that despite my raging 15 year old ego, i had never actually looked into OCD in-depth, just surface level stuff when i was a little kid. so i decided to delve more into it and found that she was right, both the DSM-5 and stories from people with OCD didn't lign up with my experiences very much when looked at beyond the surface level. so i decided to do some more in-depth research into autism, which spiralled into very in-depth research into autism, which spiralled into an identity crisis lasting years.

so after literal years of denial before eventually coming to terms with being misdiagnosed and having misunderstood everything about myself for the majority of my life at that point, at 19 years old, i sought out a legitimate diagnosis. i found a psychologist and simply told him everything i told had told the therapist, all the things i had thought were because of OCD, but this time explaining my thought process behind each one and also all the other things i struggled with that the Advice For Adults With OCD books and blogs never mentioned like my difficulties with social situations.

then, this licensed medical professional said to me, "well you've described asperger's perfectly.. but i don't think you have it because autistic people don't know there's anything wrong with them"

he, then, went on to say that i'm obviously "too smart to be autistic" and to "just get a tutor to help with the social anxiety". he went on and on about how i don't look autistic and i'm so good at verbalising so i just can't be autistic. i really hope i don't need to explain how that's ableist as fuck for anyone to say, let alone a medical professional. also. asperger's was not considered a valid diagnosis at this point in time so literally nothing he said has any basis in science whatsoever. in fact, if you read the criteria for level one autism, it actually explicitly states that the person may not appear outwardly autistic as sometimes the symptoms present more inwards.

do you understand why people don't want to seek a professional diagnosis? i was told point blank that i had literally described "asperger's" (now classified as level one autism) to a fucking T and was still refused a diagnosis for the crime of being able to understand that i struggle to function in a world not designed for me and articulate those struggles to someone who's job is supposed to be to help me.

i chose not to seek a diagnosis after that. i do not wish to ever have autism on my records whatsoever. i do not want to ever face a situation where i have an autism diagnosis on my record and i meet another doctor like that psychologist, who will see that and assume that i am incapable of thinking for myself or to refuse me autonomy, using my diagnosis as grounds to say that i don't understand the gravity of my own choices. i have heard many horror stories of doctors refusing to listen to diagnosed autistics or take them seriously. the american psychiatric system is actively harmful and violent towards disabled people.

in fact, i do not care for the psychiatric system in america whatsoever, i do not respect professional diagnoses as having anymore credit than well-researched self diagnoses. i do not blindly trust that any mental health "professionals" are actually knowledgeable in their field until they prove themselves to be. i have faced far too many who would frequently tell me, when i was in my teens, that i should be a therapist or a psychologist because i was teaching them things. that's not a brag btw because that's not a fucking good thing. if your 14 year old client is frequently teaching you things, you aren't doing enough research into your own field. this is not a testament to my intelligence, it's a testament to their incompetence.

people who get so hung up about being "professionally diagnosed" are so funny to me bc they have clearly never had to deal with having been misdiagnosed & the genuine stress (+ potential trauma) that can come from it

like oh, so you think medical professionals are infallible? do you really, genuinely think that doctors have zero biases? especially against certain diagnoses? especially against women and minorities? you don't think there's a severe lack of research for the majority of the population despite the fact that the majority of medical research is done on white cis men?

trying to get a diagnosis in order to get help for a disability can be incredibly difficult to begin with due to the stigma of being disabled. so i really need yall to understand that if you do manage to get a diagnosis and it turns out that it's wrong, the best case scenario is that it's going to make getting the help you need much harder while you continue to struggle with whatever disability you actually have and wondering why nothing helps for however long it takes for you discover to that you were misdiagnosed (if you ever do) & tell a doctor who might believe you and might give you the proper treatment.. if you're really, really lucky

[my-person-suit-is-defective]

Once again contemplating asking about getting a wheelchair, mainly for placement but also just life. The amount of energy walking around the hospital takes and pain it causes despite my smartcrutches means I'm absent a lot of the time. Or I'm too tired/in pain to doing basic personal care let alone any studying or hobbies. I'm meant to be going to a significantly larger hospital in January for a month where I'll also have go commute to the hospital via bus. The thought alone makes me want to cry. Ironically, the placement is in physical rehab.

[hydrossity-zone]

hey the anon telling me about agab and the tma/tme framework. Youre right, I agree with you, Ive typed up a response even but I fear posting it cause I know its something thatll likely make a lot of white perisex self-described “tme” folks and tirfs mad if they find it and I dont wanna deal with that. Youre cool though 👍

[pinkpinkmermayyy]

so…are we going to discuss the ableism in cars 2 or what??

@thisismisogynoir @fancylala4 @punkeropercyjackson @champmorado @kaderp @y7kierre

[disagigglebilities]

Welp might be getting kicked out twice in a two week period for being disabled. I do hate my life rn

[deoidesign]

Hi! I was thinking about writing a character that uses a cane, but is also a renowned fighter. The cane would possess a kind of magic that eases the pain during a fight while turning into a sword. If it gets knocked out of the character's hand it stops working and it's overall short lived. I was wondering if it's in some way offensive to do that? I really don't want to come of as ableist or downplaying the injury which does affect the character's life in a major way

Ok I get a lot of asks like this so since this one is anonymous and generally kind I'm just going to make a blanket statement!

I'm not an authority on ableism. I'm not an authority on writing.

As with everything when it comes to writing, context and execution are one million times more important than concept.

Some things that might seem ableist in concept end up being beautiful representations of really complicated experiences, and things that might seem totally fine end up being incredibly ableist or eugenicist when viewed as a part of a whole.

All I can say is do your research, and treat your characters like people. Just do your best to be respectful and understanding! Seeking to create a story that's perfect and completely inoffensive 1: is impossible 2: denying the infinitely varied realities of those around you and how they'll perceive your work and 3: will stop you from producing anything meaningful to anyone.

Write. Listen to those around you and learn from them, and use it to write better. But to do so you have to write, and to write you will mess up. But you have to do it anyways.

So good luck. Idk if your concept is ableist or not cause idk how you'll handle it in the narrative. Care enough to try again should you fall short the first time.

I probably won't answer other asks about "is my idea ableist" this is my opinion on the matter so if you're asking that just read this post!

[sodachalice]

NOOOO TUMBLR USERS WHO RELATE TO FACTORY MARES DERPY NOOOOOOO SHES A CAUTIONARY TALE NOOOOOO SHE IS A TOOL FACISTS USE FOR EUGENICS NOOOOOOOO DONT IDENTIFY WITH HER

[goodluckdetective]

There’s been a push to make workplaces more accepting of neurodivergence or mental illness recently and that’s great, honestly, but there’s one thing about it that has me frustrated.

I really dislike all the emphasis on the person who is neurodivergent or mentally ill to do so much of the work.

Like in some ways it makes sense: the people who need the changes should be the ones in charge. But sometimes it feels like the good idea that “the people who are margalized should have the largest voice in the room” gets used as “and if those marginalized are having a rough time, well they should have just disclosed their situation.”

It feels like the blame goes from “society is ableist/unaccepting of diffeeence” to “if you had just SAID SO well it would be fine!” Without considering the many very good reasons people might not want to speak up. Stigma has gotten better but it’s not gone.

You can add all the stress balls and wellness seminars into your workspace as you want, but for me personally, that doesn’t mean jack shit if the only way I MAYBE can get slight flex in my lunch hours for doctors appointments is to disclose my mental illness to not only my Supervisor, but my Boss and HR. You can add in discounts to Yoga class, but if the only talk of mental stuff in a workplace is about hypothetical “other” people, can I really be blamed for not exactly wanting to play those cards?

Is it really my fault that I don’t want to label myself when that label might become the first thing people associate me with?

I’m not saying people shouldn’t do those things like get accommodations: they absolutely should and I hope no one has to fight for them. I can get defeatist at times and I want to be very clear that getting what you need is worth it and if anyone gives you shit, they’re dicks. I just wish that that more concrete policies to help people who are neurodivergent or mentally ill didn’t require folks to share what they might not be ready to talk about.

And that if that isn’t possible, to not act like the only barrier to acceptance in the workplace is created by those who need it the most.

[thenetvvork]

"well when you as a system experience ableism it isn't SPECIFICALLY because you're a system it's just because you're Not Normal so actually systems aren't oppressed for being a system" I think people were put on this earth just to piss me off

[cyanomys]

yes, there are that many really disabled people on the internet actually

When I was less sick I used to think, "It seems like such a large portion of people on the internet are disabled, it can't possibly be that large of a percentage of the population" and then let my ableism demons tell me it was because they were faking (the same ones that told me I was faking, until I made myself really ill.)

But now that I'm sicker and wiser I realize I was logically just wrong because

The internet is disabled people's lifeline. There are more disabled people on the internet because OF COURSE. People who aren't disabled can be less chronically online because they don't have to be. This is textbook selection bias!

But actually also I was almost right, because there are way more disabled people in society than you would think! They're just systematically hidden and excluded from public spaces for abled peoples' convenience! 🙃

Anyway maybe this will help you understand and/or explain to abled friends and family.

[bioethicists]

it's very important to understand how a personality disorder diagnosis functions in the psychiatric system, even if you identify with the diagnosis or find it useful.

personality disorders on your medical record will be used to discredit anything you say or do. they indicate "don't bother listening to this person; apply treatment regardless of their wishes but also they're probably manipulating/attention-seeking so maybe don't bother treating them". needing support becomes attention-seeking. behaviors that would be treated + supported in someone without this diagnosis are ignored or treated as manipulative. providers are instructed to "withdraw warmth" (a real thing in the DBT provider's manual, btw) in response to self-injury or suicidal ideation.

if you have been dx'd with a personality disorder professionally, you likely understand this.

now, here's the important part: this is not an issue of 'stigma' against a politically neutral, pre-discursive True Disease which is being Unfairly Maligned. these diagnoses were formulated based on the idea that some patients cannot be trusted, that some patients seek care too much. they are applied to patient charts as a justification for withdrawing care or as a dismissal of someone "not getting better" fast enough. in the uk, they are often employed by the nhs to shame or problematize people who use large amounts of nhs resources, arguing that receiving a lot of care through the nhs is a negative behavior stemming from a disordered personality.

there are elements of personality disorders which resonate strongly with many people, including myself, but you need to be clear-eyed about the origins + functions of this diagnosis. as a whole, they were created + function as ways to discredit + mistreat noncompliant or "difficult" patients. 'reclaiming' them is not going to change how they function systematically- it is going to make it easier to engage in this systematic neglect by evoking 'ableism' or 'stigma!' when people question the utility or application of the diagnosis.

[disagigglebilities]

Complaining to the city for having shitty sidewalks and housing with no sidewalks because it's dumb and I'm disabled and I can't just walk the side of the street like an abled person (the incline messes with my cane :( )