I think the reason why people want to know what's "wrong" with disabled people is because they want to reassure themselves.
They want you to say you were in a horrific accident or that you have a well known and treatable disease because they think they can stop it happening to them.
They think their health is a given because they aren't a dangerous driver/ an alcoholic/a drug user/obese/an unhealthy eater etc. Obviously this isn't true but it's easier for them to think of it like that.
Until one day they meet someone who did nothing. They're not really asking "what's wrong with you". They're asking "what went wrong" because they think they can avoid it.
So when they meet someone who made all the right choices, who was healthy, who was safe and one day woke up sick and never got better, it scares them because some part of them realises that it could happen to them.
They can exercise and eat a balanced diet and be as careful as possible and it doesn't do a thing and they can't do a thing about it. That terrifies able bodied people.
People like to look for something or someone to blame and they hate it when there's nothing there.
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Nah but let’s talk abt how ppl use disability terms/harmful stereotypes/ derogatory words so casually this disabled pride month (tw ableism below)
The new terms are “sch*zoposting” and “delulu” but shit like this has been around for years and it’s so incredibly frustrating.
Another example is those TikTok POVS about “the weird kid in class” but they are all stereotypes of autistic ppl.
Or the misuse of the word triggered, the misuse of the word OCD, the misuse of gaslighting, of cr*pple, “are you deaf?” “Are you blind?” “Hellen Keller isn’t real.” I could go on and on but I will simply say this.
Disabled people are real people with feelings, emotions and lives. We deserve to use the terms that we need to COMFORTABLY. We deserve to exist without people taking the language used in the context of ourselves and putting it in a negative light.
We deserve to exist.
We deserve happiness.
Check in on your disabled friends.
Don’t assume things about people you don’t know.
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I made my own pain and fatigue scale charts. Because I'm so adept at overcoming my symptoms the normal pain scale doesn't really work for me. I adjusted my numbers so that I could change the number into something I could tell a doctor when they inevitably ask me to rate my pain.
[Image Description: Pain Scale Chart with rainbow gradient background for each row, starting at red and ending at blue.
Row 1: Mine Drs Pain Scale Description
Row 2: 10 X I am not leaving my bedroom or bathroom, someone needs to bring me food and I need something to dull the pain or the pain will cause tears.
Row 3: 9 X I am not leaving my bedroom and bathroom for anything other than food.
Row 4: 8 10 Speaking is difficult. It is no longer practical to do activities outside of the bathroom or bedroom, but they can be done with assistance.
Row 5: 7 9 Necessary care activities are sacrificed. Academic activities and social activities can no longer be tolerated.
Row 6: 6 8 My pain is tiring. Paying attention is difficult. All activities require pacing and extra effort.
Row 7: 5 7 My pain is so distracting it is making me tired. It is hard to think. Necessary care activities are no longer all doable.
Row 8: 4 6 My pain is so distracting it is making me tired. It is harder to think. Necessary care activities are starting to be limited.
Row 9: 3 5 I can continue to do most activities
Row 10: 2 4 My pain bothers me but I can ignore it most of the time
Row 11: 1 3 My pain bothers me, but I can ignore it most of the time.
Row 12: 0 2 I am aware of my pain only when I pay attention to it
Row 13: X 1 My pain is hardly noticeable
Row 14: X 0 I have no pain. END Image Description]
[Image Description:
Fatigue Scale Chart with rainbow gradient background for each row, starting at red and ending at blue.
Row 1: Mine Drs Fatigue Scale Description
Row 2: 10 X Can barely sit up, needs assistance to get out of bed. Holding conversations is impossible. Laying down for most of the day is necessary. It is difficult to eat. Focusing is strenuous.
Row 3: 9 X Able to walk and stand for short distances. Holding conversations is difficult. Laying down for most of the day is necessary. It is difficult to eat. Focusing is strenuous.
Row 4: 8 10 Able to walk and stand for short distances. Holding conversations is difficult. Sitting for long Periods of time is difficult. It is difficult to eat. Focusing is strenuous. Preparing a meal isn’t possible.
Row 5: 7 9 Holding conversations is difficult. Sitting or standing for long Periods of time is difficult. It is difficult to eat. Focusing is strenuous.
Row 6: 6 8 Sitting or standing for long Periods of time is difficult. It is difficult to eat. Focusing is difficult. Preparing a meal is difficult.
Row 7: 5 7 Standing or walking for long periods is difficult. It is difficult to eat. Focusing is difficult.
Row 8: 4 6 Standing or walking for long periods is difficult. Focusing is difficult.
Row 9: 3 5 Cooking for longer than 15 minutes is extremely challenging.
Row 10: 2 4 Not everything can be done in the day. Activities are slowed down. Difficult mental challenges are sacrificed.
Row 11: 1 3 Tiredness makes it difficult to enjoy fun activities.
Row 12: 0 2 Things take more effort than usual, but everything is still doable.
Row 13: X 1 Slightly tired but still able to carry on as normal
Row 14: X 0 Not tired at all
END Image Description.]
Feel free to use them yourself if you like them!
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hello!! so im going to try to make a disability inclusive picrew and id like some help making sure i include as much as i can!
the person would be seated and pretty much all of the body would be visible. ill post it when im done!
its mostly focused on phys disabilities, bc i so rarely can find picrews w good diverse mobility aid options, but ofc im including non phys disabilities as well! (sorry for clunky phrasing, im unclear on the preferred term for non phys disabilities so thats the term ive been using)
what i have so far is below the read more. be warned it is a very long list! (every option/category of option i could think of)
if you think i missed something, please recommend it!!! (related note: id much rather get recommended something that is already on the list than miss something!)
category: head
various jaw shapes
missing jaw
crooked/misaligned jaw
category: skin
wide range of skin tones, including white/extremely pale (albino)
freckles, lots of scar variation (including burns), vitiligo, acne, facial hair, eye bags, other skin conditions (trying to make a list)
breathing tubes, masks, bandages
bindis
category: eyes
blue, grey, green, hazel, medium brown, dark brown, black, red
heterochromia options
lazy eye options
clouded eye options
closed eyes that look like winking and closed eyes that don't
missing eyes
category: mouth
general expressions
variations for color
variations for cleft lip, scars, facial paralysis
category: ears
ear size, shape, missing ears, deformed ears
category: eye/ear accessories
earrings, earplugs, hearing aids, bone anchored hearing aids, headphones, earmuffs (modifications for missing/deformed ears), cochlear implant
glasses, sunglasses, blue light glasses, eye patches, eye masks/bandages
category: nose
various shapes & sizes, bumpy noses, deformed noses
category: eyebrows
lots of expression options, thickness options, color options (including white)
one missing, scarring, eyebrow slits
category: body
body types: very skinny, skinny, fat, very fat (options for muscularity too if i can figure out how)
body hair, scarring, freckles, tattoos
range of missing limbs, deformed limbs, prosthetics
diabetes patch
category: hair
wide range of hairstyles, bangs, and colors
patchy hair, scalp scarring, receding hairline
category: head coverings
range of hats, hair accessories, headbands, bandanas
range of hijabs, turbans, kippot (+ more variation in cultural headwear if theres space)
head bandages
category: clothes
range of styles and colors
adaptable to body types (+ breasts), missing/deformed limbs
category: shoes
range of styles
adaptable to body types, missing foot/feet
category: hand accessories
gloves, bracelets, rings, nails, wrist braces, splint rings
range of types, adaptable to missing/deformed hands
category: pins
range of queer pride flags
pronoun pins
animals, fandoms/characters (def muppets, feel free to recommend characters and i'll try to include some of the most popular ones)
general disability pride, cripplepunk, madpunk, sign union flag, & pin (for systems), specific disabilities (need some help with these, send me specific flags and i’ll include them!)
category: seat
chair, manual wheelchair, power chair, spinny chair, throne, rollator, electric scooter
category: mobility aids
cane, white cane, crutches (underarm/axillary and forearm), rollator, walker (with and without wheels), electric scooter
joint braces (shoulder, elbow, knee, ankle, back, others?), joint tape, compression garments
category: other disability aids
AAC tablets, word cards, glucose monitor, sunflower lanyard, inhaler, medical id bracelet
stoma bag, central line catheter, picc line catheter, heart monitor, breathing tube, feeding tube (nasal and abdominal), tracheostomy
stim toys/chewelry, stuffed animals, phone
service animals
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if you can't have kids for medical reasons, i love you. a lot of people emphasize the joy of children, talk about how they changed their life, etc., and that's just not possible for some of us.
so. shoutout to:
• people who can "technically" have children but can't risk the financial stress due to being already disabled/chronically ill
• people who can't get off their medication long enough to conceive
• people with uteruses who have endometriosis or PCOS
• people who can get pregnant, but have a connective tissue disorder which makes them unable to handle the progesterone during pregnancy since it causes flares (hi, it's me)
• intersex conditions that makes you infertile
• anyone who has a terminal illness
• people who've had medically necessary surgeries which caused infertility
• people with genetic conditions they don't want to pass on (me again)
• those who require IVF that's just not in the cards for whatever reason
• and many, many others
• feel free to add on
you're not broken, you have a reason for being like this. i know it's hard. i love you. it's going to be ok. 💙
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