#supporting the disabled

[el-ffej]

FUCK YES

[cringecorp]

they say you can't pour from an empty cup but i've been doing it my whole life and aside from all of these mysterious ailments it's working out great for me

[2003-playground]

Can we stop using "still lives with their parents" or "unemployed" or "doesn't have a drivers license" or "didn't graduate high school" as an insult or evidence that someone is a bad person? Struggling with independence or meeting milestones is not a moral failing.

[clover-wasnt-here]

Hey, it’s ok to not be a “productive member of society.”

Some people are housebound. Bed bound. Some people physically can’t eat, shower, or use the toilet without the assistance of a caretaker. Some people don’t have the spoons to get out of bed in the morning, let alone work a 9-5 job in this capitalist hellhole.

You’re not lazy. You’re not less than.

And this is coming from a disabled person with chronic pain who can leave the house and walk (with some pain) without mobility aids.

You deserve to take up space. You deserve to cost money. You deserve to be here without feeling guilty just because you can’t give back in the traditional way.

You’re worth it, hun. 🫶🏼

[disabledavocado]

maybe harsh take. but. shitting on people who can't care about selves. who live with parents. who rely on partners in 'basic' tasks. (yes even body care tasks). who got chores done for them. who don't work. is ableist. even if clarify 'this specific person isn't disabled.' it still perpetuates stigma. it still ableist.

say exactly what wrong. have they overstepped someone's boundaries? have they pressured someone into care? have they manipulated abused etc.? something else? point wrong behavior. n critique this behavior.

'they're 30 n live with parents' not bad behavior. 'their parent cut their nails' not bad behavior. 'they don't work' not bad behavior.

'but they're abled!' 1) you don't know for sure. can't know for sure. undiagnosed n invisible disabilities exist. not every undiagnosed individual able to take care of self. recognize undiagnosed n invisible disabilities existence not only when they look 'nice' for you. 2) it still contributes to stigma around needing care. disabled people often not seen as disabled. even if visibly disabled. every individual presumed abled because ableism. so disabled individuals will be shitted on because need care. because presumed abled.

to destigmatize needing care. have to destigmatize getting care. even if not see as 'reasonable' n 'justified.' can't destigmatize needing care if say 'getting care depending on others living with parents etc. is bad but disabled is exception.' because still stigmatize process of getting cared.

people don't need allowance n approval of society to get care.

(not say not call out bad behavior. ask call out bad behavior specifically. not stigmatized neutral things).

[zebulontheplanet]

Yes. Some autistic people can pay taxes, write poems, live an independent life, etc.

But some of us cant. Some of us, like me, cant live independently. Cant be without someone. Cant be a member of society without extreme accommodation and help.

I need help in everyday life. I have a caregiver for gods sake. I need help in everyday life and will never be independent. It’s frustrating to constantly get comments about how autistic people can live independently. Cause some of us cant, and that needs to be talked about. I get sores from not showering enough. I get sores from my wheelchair. I have cavities from not brushing my teeth enough.

Life with higher support needs shouldn’t be something that is ignored and not talked about. My caregiver helps me live life as independently as possible. Independence looks different for everyone. Our caregivers are an extension of ourselves. Our caregivers are important and should be recognized. Stop throwing us under the bus for your “salvation”

We are all at risk, and throwing higher support needs people under the bus will not benefit you. You’re ruining years of advocacy by your words and videos.

[chronicbitchsyndrome]

so: masking: good, unequivocally. please mask and please educate others on why they should mask to make the world safer for immune compromised people to participate in.

however: masking is not my policy focus and it shouldn't be yours, either. masking is a very good mitigation against droplet-born illnesses and a slightly less effective (but still very good) mitigation against airborne illnesses, but its place in the pyramid of mitigation demands is pretty low, for several reasons:

it's an individual mitigation, not a systemic one. the best mitigations to make public life more accessible affect everyone without distributing the majority of the effort among individuals (who may not be able to comply, may not have access to education on how to comply, or may be actively malicious).

it's a post-hoc mitigation, or to put it another way, it's a band-aid over the underlying problem. even if it was possible to enforce, universal masking still wouldn't address the underlying problem that it is dangerous for sick people and immune compromised people to be in the same public locations to begin with. this is a solvable problem! we have created the societal conditions for this problem!

here are my policy focuses:

upgraded air filtration and ventilation systems for all public buildings. appropriate ventilation should be just as bog-standard as appropriately clean running water. an indoor venue without a ventilation system capable of performing 5 complete air changes per hour should be like encountering a public restroom without any sinks or hand sanitizer stations whatsoever.

enforced paid sick leave for all employees until 3-5 days without symptoms. the vast majority of respiratory and food-borne illnesses circulate through industry sectors where employees come into work while experiencing symptoms. a taco bell worker should never be making food while experiencing strep throat symptoms, even without a strep diagnosis.

enforced virtual schooling options for sick students. the other vast majority of respiratory and food-borne illnesses circulate through schools. the proximity of so many kids and teenagers together indoors (with little to no proper ventilation and high levels of physical activity) means that if even one person comes to school sick, hundreds will be infected in the following few days. those students will most likely infect their parents as well. allowing students to complete all readings and coursework through sites like blackboard or compass while sick will cut down massively on disease transmission.

accessible testing for everyone. not just for COVID; if there's a test for any contagious illness capable of being performed outside of lab conditions, there should be a regulated option for performing that test at home (similar to COVID rapid tests). if a test can only be performed under lab conditions, there should be a government-subsidized program to provide free of charge testing to anyone who needs it, through urgent cares and pharmacies.

the last thing to note is that these things stack; upgraded ventilation systems in all public buildings mean that students and employees get sick less often to begin with, making it less burdensome for students and employees to be absent due to sickness, and making it more likely that sick individuals will choose to stay home themselves (since it's not so costly for them).

masking is great! keep masking! please use masking as a rhetorical "this is what we can do as individuals to make public life safer while we're pushing for drastic policy changes," and don't get complacent in either direction--don't assume that masking is all you need to do or an acceptable forever-solution, and equally, don't fall prey to thinking that pushing for policy change "makes up" for not masking in public. it's not a game with scores and sides; masking is a material thing you can do to help the individual people you interact with one by one, and policy changes are what's going to make the entirety of public life safer for all immune compromised people.

[reasonsforhope]

"For [Tanner] Green, the chief engineer at Not a Wheelchair, this is one of the thousand complications standing between his team and a rather lofty goal: upending the manual wheelchair marketplace.

If you’ve heard of Not a Wheelchair, it’s likely because of its owners, Zack Nelson, the star of the 8.8-million-subscriber YouTube channel JerryRigEverything, and his wife Cambry, a para and manual wheelchair user. The Nelsons got into the mobility equipment business a few years ago when they released The Rig, an electric, adaptive off-road device with a simple yet robust and functional design priced significantly lower than anything else on the market. Now, they’re bringing that same ethos to manual wheelchairs.

Not a Wheelchair aims to offer a base-model, custom manual wheelchair at a similar or better quality than most of the insurance-approved wheelchairs in the U.S. for $999.

Yes, that’s just under $1,000 for everything — wheels, handrims, tires, side guards and rigid, angle-adjustable backrest included. And the company plans to have a turnaround time of weeks, rather than the monthslong slog that it typically takes from order to delivery.

When I first heard about this, it sounded awesome and a bit far-fetched. It’s hard to find a pair of quality wheelchair wheels for less than $500. Same with a rigid backrest. How were they going to offer both, plus a custom wheelchair frame without compromising on quality? I drove to their headquarters in Utah to find out...

So how does Not a Wheelchair’s base model chair stack up to other options on the market? I hate to sound like a preacher, but … it’s totally reasonable! It hits the mark of being at least as good, if not better, than the majority of insurance-approved wheelchairs in the U.S.

Touring the factory, I saw other prototypes scattered all around the facility. There’s a beefier, four-wheel drive version of The Rig that the company just launched. There’s a track wheelchair that’s still in development. It’s clear that Not a Wheelchair doesn’t intend to stop at a simple, manual wheelchair. Inexpensive components, more advanced electric off-road devices, power assist, it’s all on the table. “We’re just really excited to see where this leads,” says Green."

-Article and video via New Mobility, October 1, 2024

[lastoneout]

I keep thinking about all of the disabled activists and people before me who stranded themselves on the 4th floor of buildings for weeks and crawled up stairs and fought with airline staff and schools and doctors and refused to stop existing in the face of injustice and bigotry no matter how big and scary and hopeless it seemed. Every time I get angry and scared the protests that lead to the creation of the ADA pop up again and remind me that disabled people are so much fucking stronger than anyone has ever given us credit for, and I can't help but be proud of that. And I know not all disabled people feel like we should take pride in our disabilities and have flags or whatever, but I think not just living, but thriving, in spite of a world that wants us dead and gone, in the face of both illness and persecution, and how we've not only bought ourselves forward, but uplifted the disabled people around us, secured more equal futures for everyone who will come after, and truly changed the way so many abled people have seen us for the better is something to be damn fucking proud of.

We have always been here and we always will be, there will never be a world without disabled people because being disabled is not bad, it's a natural part of the human experience and yeah it sucks some times but even when it sucks we have fought to build beautiful, unique, happy lives with people, both like us and not, and that should be celebrated.

The first sign of human civilization is the healed femur. The body of the profoundly disabled person who would have needed help to even just eat being carefully laid to rest after decades of a full, happy life. The medicinal plants showing even before we were entirely human we were doing what we could to not just survive, but alleviate suffering while we're at it. Above everything, evolution selected not the baby who can walk and eat and be quiet, but the one that can ask for help.

Disabled people are not just angry cockroach motherfuckers who refuse to die, we are proof of humanity's HUMANITY. Proof that natural selection selected a species that takes care of each other. From healed femurs and medicinal plants to vaccines and IVs and insulin to now, we are driven to help one another, we are at our strongest when we don't leave our most vulnerable behind. And I am living proof of that. My mother is living proof of that. Every disabled and chronically and/or mentally ill person I know is living proof of that.

And I don't know about the rest of you, but will carry that shred of humanity's true nature inside me like it's my fucking soul. I am scared and angry and hurt, but I have a lifetime's experience being scared and angry, and I can shake off the kind of pain that would make Atlas crumble to dust like it's nothing but a stiff fucking breeze. Disabled people have always been here, turning fear and anger and pain into joy and beauty and connection, and I'm not going to let everyone who came before me down. I'm not going to give up. Not now, not ever.

It's okay if you're disabled and you've hit your limit, you're too scared and tired and hurt, I won't blame you. But I won't abandon you, either. I might not be able to right all of the wrongs in the world, but I'll be strong, I'll carry all of you with me, I will not give up.

As I've said before, society hates a cripple who won't die, so we must spite them and live anyway.

Please, live anyway. I know if anyone can, it's us.

[gateway-2000]

severely disabled trans person needs help preventing their electricity from being disconnected

hello there, i am a severely disabled trans person who is currently developing crohn's disease who also deals with arthritis, schizophrenia, and hypermobile ehlers danlos syndrome. i have been very sick for the past 6 months, dealing with unhealthy rapid weight loss, nausea, vomiting, diahrrea, constipation, dehydration, exhaustion, brain fog, and malnutrition. i have barely been making any money lately because of how sick i've been, so i have fallen behind on electric bill payments due to having to prioritize rent.

i am too sick to get a conventional job at this time, i currently make my living with my online shop where i sell handmade jewelry, accessories, zines, and paintings. i also offer traditional illustrations on card stock, and custom jewelry and keychains! :) you are more than welcome to ask about requests for custom jewelry and keychains and i will see if i'm able to fulfill your request! i also have a gofundme for saving up for my rent & bills

$0/$134.16

if you're interested in helping me, you can do so in the following ways:

cash app: $glitterGraphix venmo: $Equinoxian pay pal: glittergraphicnightmare @ gmail .com chime: $Equinoxian

[sayruq]

[chronic-melon]

Reblog if you understand that disability is not a monolith and two people with the same disability do not have identical experiences ✨

[clover-wasnt-here]

Since autism acceptance month is coming up in April (I know I’m very early), shout out to all autistics and disabled people in general who:

Can’t get out of bed, leave the house, feed themselves, use the toilet, or perform other ADLs without assistance. I see you and you are not gross or weird or lazy or broken. You deserve a good caretaker.

Cannot communicate in any way. Like even AAC doesn’t work for you effectively, so someone else might have to speak on your behalf.

Can’t hold down a job, stay in school, or live independently.

Isn’t a savant, isn’t skilled with their special interests, or can’t do anything without immediate access to their special interests.

Has an intellectual or learning disability.

Has level 2 or level 3 autism that can’t be masked away so that you’re pretty much visibly autistic.

Has disturbing intrusive thoughts. They don’t define who you are, your actions do. You’re not a bad person for having intrusive thoughts; you can’t control them.

Experience delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, or any other psychotic traits. You’re not crazy or scary, and you’re welcome into this space.

Dissociate, have amnesia from trauma, have gaps in your memory, have an identity or personality disorder, etc.

You’re worth it, hun. 🫶🏻

[folklorespring]

If you want to support Ukrainians, DO NOT donate to Red Cross. Can't speak about their work in other countries, but they're useless in Ukraine. The only trustworthy international organisation I can think of is World Central Kitchen.

Donate to World Central Kitchen

And it's even better to donate directly to Ukrainian organisations. Here are a few good legit places:

hospitallers.life - "Hospitallers", Ukrainian paramedics on the frontlines

savelife.in.ua - "Come Back Alive", assistance to the army

prytulafoundation.org - "Prytula Foundation", assistance to the army, humanitarian causes

starenki.com.ua - "Starenki", helping elderly people

everybodycan.com.ua - "Everybody Can", helping disabled children, elders and hospitals

uanimals.org - "UAnimals", saving animals

[21stc3nturyd1gitalb0y]

it shouldn’t be taboo to admit that there are disabled people who are more or less disabled than you.

i consider myself mid support needs. i am in pain every day of my life, all the time, and am significantly impaired by that. i can’t work full time. i require significant support to get through the day. i need my service dog to function properly. i can’t live alone, at least not right now. i can’t effectively mask my autism.

but i still have privilege over other disabled people. i can walk. i don’t have to worry about wheelchair accessibility when i travel. i have no visible deformities or intellectual disabilities. i am verbal.

some people are more disabled and others are less disabled. it’s okay. it doesn’t mean that you’re not valid or that you don’t deserve help. it just means you do not have the exact same needs as someone else.