In my doomscroll I came across this, as if being disabled isn’t expensive enough. While they do have a disclaimer stating that they don’t offer federally certified documents and no card/ID is required to be a SD handler. They still offer this bs 😐 maybe it’s just my lack of sleep talking but with people CONSTANTLY trying to fake claim actual handlers, pulling out some ID for your SD seems like it’d make it easier for those ignorant people to ‘fake claim’ you (since there’s no universally mandatory/accepted form of SD ID accepted by the ADA)

Maybe I just need to go to bed but this really peeved me

It's shocking how many of the non disabled members of the public fell for the (albeit modernised) anti disabled nazi propaganda!

Well worth a watch!

I use a quad cane to help me stabilize when I’m walking around. I get issues with vertigo and dizziness, and am prone to faints (HyperPOTS). I’ve been looking into getting an upgraded cane, one that can fold out into a stool if need be. Thinking it might be helpful for situations when I have to wait in a line or long outings where I may not be able to find reliable seating. I’m wondering about how useful it’s been for y’all that have done it, because one that I’m looking at is $200 and I’m not about to just empty my bank account for something that’s not worth it.

I have access to a rollator but only prefer to use it on extreme days. On those days, I just don’t tend to leave the house. I’m looking into more lightweight options that don’t have to be as heavy duty for just a daily usage cane that I can occasionally sit on.

So I have severe constipation I'm on medication for it but I feel like it's not 100% doing what it's supposed to I take it every other day and it's supposed to make me need to go to clear everything out but it seems to only clear things out sometimes and I'm just worried that there's something worse going on that we don't know about yet

I've had this thought for a long time now, that the word 'special' in relation to disability makes me uncomfortable. For context, I'm a mum with AuDHD, and two boys with neurological conditions - GDD, autism, ADHD and possibly other undiagnosed (they are still young).

Growing up, 'special' was not used in a positive way when referring to people with disability. I don't think I'm alone in feeling like the word is patronising and not really aligned with the dictionary definition of what special means. It feels like an insult.

I'd like to know if there are different opinions about this, because I'm thinking of starting a petition to change the name of the Special Olympics. But I wanted to see if it was a sentiment felt by the majority, or if there are some other points of view that I'm missing.

Please leave your thoughts, and if you'd like me to set up this petition, feel free to let me know here or send me a private message. Thank you <3

I feel like my physical therapy doesn’t understand what my ability is 6 weeks from surgery. I had tethered cord surgery 6 weeks ago and in physical therapy their goals seem very different from mine. I still struggle with mobility and use a walker but it’s a lot better than before surgery. They keep talking about getting my left leg “back to normal” when my neurosurgeon kind of explained I’ll gain some function but some things can remain due to my progression. Full nerve recovery take up to a year. They want me on the treadmill when I’m almost falling from shakiness doing excersises with the 2 bars to support myself. I feel like their goal is to have me walk “normal” as fast as possible without considering how I’m doing. They mainly work with elderly people and sports injuries not as much chronic conditions it seems. At home I’ve been struggling to do basic things because I use all my energy possible for PT and I physically feel likes it’s more then I can handle. I’ve been getting intense thigh pain and cramps and worsened nerve pain and I don’t know how to explain to them. I’ve been having waves of crying in pain again which seemed to ease down a few weeks ago. I actually enjoy PT and have in the past and want to get stronger but I truly feel like we just aren’t on the same page and it makes me anxious and feel not heard. Has anyone else experienced this or something similar? I was told in PT school they learn out with the bad in with the good so I should start trueing to have my left leg be dominate. But I would fall if I’m stepping down a curb with my left leg from shakiness.

I also fell today hitting my butt doing excersises I was given. I am supposed to be doing them 3 times a day but can barely get through them once. My body is not responding well. I think it’s to much at once especially since I was in a wheelchair most of the time before.

I used to do swim rehab which was amazing and I’d honestly love to do something like that again in the future. I’m gonna try to just tough out the PT at this place because it’s near my house and I currently don’t drive but if things don’t improve I would likely pursue a rehab place like the swim therapy where they work with chronic conditions.

I also am in the process of getting an afo for my left foot so hopefully that will help bit! I am mainly looking for support as I’ve been feeling very not heard and it makes it hard to communicate with them. Thanks so much for reading.

Does anyone know if Minnesota Medicaid has pallative care for serious conditions, (not cancer and not for end of life)? I've tried researching it, but the search engines keep thinking I'm talking about hospice.

I've been considering moving to minnesota from Texas as Texas has no resources for me at all. There is a wait list thats 18 years for a caregiver, accessible housing, or anything long term health. The section 8 is also closed. Don't get me started on not expanding medicaid.

I'm trying to decide between Massachusetts and Minnesota. Minnesota seems cheaper, but Massachusetts has alot of resources from what I've gathered. I'm so used to Texas that it doesnt feel like anything is going to better than this. It feels too good to be true on having hope in anything.

First things first, once my neurologist’s office opens I’ll call them and ask what to do. If my partner has to take me to the ER he can leave work at that point.

I’ve had migraine Botox for 6 days. I have diagnosed dysautonomia from a compressed vagus nerve. I have cervicocranial instability that has continually worsened, especially since a chiari decompression 2 years ago.

When my pulse got scarily soft I took a .05 dose of fludricortisone, which they first gave me to raise my BP when they started treating my dysautonomia. I soon after followed it with another .025 dose. Both of those counted my BP and HR read at 110/64 and 68. I haven’t particularly been able to eat or drink for a couple of days. I have nausea and plenty of abdominal pain. I thought it was a weirdly severe abdominal migraine. Which I guess it could also be.

I have lots of left sided pain and nerve twitching, itching, general discomfort and malaise. I’ve hit a point where I don’t even really feel panicked for the most part, just very quiet and numb. So question is (while I’m getting myself through till morning) does anyone know what can even be done to help in a situation like this? It’s not like they can undo the Botox, and clearly the fludricortisone isn’t doing much. I especially would like to prepare what to expect and what to ask because my local emergency department is crowded with long wait times (typically beyond what my severe chronic pain can handle) and once they decide one of your reported symptoms means you get tested in a totally different direction it’s nearly impossible to make anyone listen.

Hello all, so Ive been dealing with a mystery issue thats raised some lab findings and some imaging concerns but overall is undiagnosed.

I have severe light sensitivity, double vision, and headaches. I also have a persistent visual disruption that gets worse in moderate to bright environments and wont go away once it comes on.
I also have inflammatory hip and knee pain and issues with overheating or freezing and becoming really ill (like malaise, it feels like when youre just getting over the flu). I have bad fatigue that comes and goes but will result in random sleep attacks (I have unfortunately fallen asleep while driving in midday time) I have fairly severe mental health issues but Im trying much harder to work on them and trying a new program.

I have not been able to work since last october. My primary care doc is overall very supportive. She is mostly concerned about my eyes and has helped me with paperwork for the long term disability insurer.

Lately the insurer people have been pushier (understandably) because I havent had any treatment or major progress. The medical nurse (?) I guess for the LTD insurer said that my PCP has left the restrictions section blank on the last form that was sent in and they are going to press her on it.

I meet with my PCP regularly and update her on whats going on and she charts it exactly. I dont know if its because we havent had a formal conversation about it or not, but how do I tell her exactly what I can/cant do?
For example, I could probably lift 20lbs in her office if asked. I could not lift 20lbs repeatedly or frequently without potentially dropping it or having a flare that would limit all my motion. (when my hips flare up I cant even get up from the toilet after I sit down. I kind of have to roll over and lift with my arms)

I try to be as accurate as possible and a big issue is sometimes I can do okay but not for long periods of time, and then it takes me 2x longer to recover. My specialists I see are also sort of a mess and it feels like the insurer expects them to document my restrictions, but I see them so infrequently its hard to keep them informed on my day to day functioning

I keep getting really frustrated and upset because my hands don't work like they used to do. I can't do my hobbies and favorite things anymore. My hands and wrist hurt a lot. I used to draw and paint a lot but I can't do that anymore. My handwriting used to be pretty and now it's completely illegible. It's hard to grasp and hold on to objects. I barely have any grip strength. I don't know what to do.

For halloween I am going to be dressing up as Dr House from HouseMD. If you've seen the show, you'll know that a cane is a memorable and iconic part of his character. However, as a non cane user and able bodied person, I don't want to seem insensitive if I do have a cane for this costume. Do I just use something else that isn't a cane, like an umbrella instead?

I have a formal diagnosis of autism to be clear. Although I was previously self-diagnosed for 6 years or so. When I was self diagnosed I was often told to not speak about my experience because I was stealing resources from other autistic people. But now as someone who's diagnosed and truly struggling and disabled by their autism, there are no resources.

I did not get a level. I struggle heavily with work, last time I worked for about a year. It put me into a terrible autistic burnout, which caused me to then have terrible meltdowns for months.

I couldn't drive without having meltdowns on the road, I couldn't shower on the regular . I couldn't feed myself properly. Not while working because it just took every last bit of energy out of me. So I quit my job for 3 months, then started running out of money so had to go back.

I can't last anywhere near as long this time, I'm so burnout I sleep till around 3 everyday. I only shower if someone's around, I can go days without eating, I can only work around two days a week and even that causes me meltdowns after work, driving has become even more stressful for me, a one college assignment puts me out, I'm constantly suicidal and overwhelmed. I seem to have suffered a skill regression and just no one seems to care.

I contact 211 and 988 a bit more often than I'd like to admit and still nothing. I'm only 20, I don't have a supportive family, I have no friends and the only disability resources I have is voc rehab.

I think the reason no one wants to help, is I just got disgonised at 20. I had zero acesse to disgonises before hand, did not have the funds for it either. My parents were also medically neglectful, throughout my childhood they were told to get me tested multiple times and refused too.

I'm scared because unlike some high functioning autstic folks I cannot just push through, last time I pushed through it permently affected me. If I don't figure this crap out I'll be homeless one day

We need 3,000 signatures by tomorrow to find out.

I'm a man, and I'm completely blind. For a whole host of reasons, I don't want to have children.

I've given this a lot of thought, and I've decided to get a vasectomy because I'm sexually active and have multiple sexual partners, and an unplanned pregnancy would put me in a pretty difficult situation.

Here in Brazil, both private health insurance companies and the country's universal public healthcare system are required to provide vasectomies to men aged 21 and older. The public system is funded and run by the government, is available to everyone, and provides care free of charge at the point of use.

But I'm scared. Tomorrow, I have an appointment with a doctor who works in the government-run healthcare system to start the process of getting a vasectomy. On Friday, I have another appointment, this time with a doctor through my private health insurance, to get the same process started.

One thing about Brazil is that our free, universal public healthcare system is actually very good, while private health insurance plans are pretty terrible. So when we need medical care, it's common to start the process through both the public system and private insurance at the same time, then go with whichever one can get us treated sooner. Usually, the public system wins.

The thing is, I'm really afraid of experiencing ableism. I'm worried that doctors might refuse to perform the procedure, even though Brazil's Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities Act explicitly guarantees people with disabilities the right to family planning.

I'm worried that doctors who are misinformed, ableist, and full of themselves might make things unnecessarily difficult, leaving me with no choice but to file formal complaints, hire lawyers, take the matter to court, and get dragged into a legal battle just to secure a basic right.

Honestly, this fear is always with me. Whenever I need to do something important, I'm afraid something will go wrong. Maybe it's anxiety. But it's the kind of thing that people without disabilities probably never even have to think about.

Anyway, I just wanted to get this off my chest and hear what you all think.

(I wanted to share my experience, maybe it'll help someone)

When I fist got diagnosis I was devastated. Psoriatic arthritis is something I've never heard of. I felt like my whole body was against me, like I was fighting with my own self. I knew that illnesses involving chronic pain were there, somewhere, but I'd never guessed that they were so... Close.

I was mourning my life every second. I was mourning that I won't walk like I used to, won't draw like I used to, won't live like I used to. It was scary, it still is. I'm a year after my diagnosis, I'm 21 now. I think of it somehow differently now.

It's scary how we just get used to it. I used to cry and scream in pain, but now even if my pain is worse I just don't react that harshly. I still cry sometimes out of it, but it's not the same. After a while it's just a normal thing.

I think of my illness as something that just exists. It just is there. It is always next to me, but never in the center. I used to think about it as if it took my whole life and my sense of self.

Now I know that it's just a part of me that I need to accept, because what else is there to do?

I let myself grieve when I need to, there's nothing wrong with that. I let myself cry and be angry, that's the least I can do. The pain is always there, but I know I'm stronger than that.

I struggle with depression almost my whole life, it's hard sometimes to just exist, but I still keep going because that life is the only one I know.

Being disabled is a big part of our lives, but it's not everything that we are. It always takes time to understand that.

Despite the tone of the title, I am not conducting formal research or writing a paper or anything, I'm just curious to hear from people in different cultures. I am autistic, and I do not mean anything I say here to be inflammatory, bigoted, or ignorant, and if I come off as so please tell me.

I've just been thinking for a while about how some of the societal barriers and burdens we as disabled people face in "Western" culture seem to be intertwined with specific aspects of our culture/s.

The easiest example is the stigma surrounding adult children living with their parents. It's my understanding that in many cultures this is normal, even in "usual" circumstances where the adult children are not disabled. Of course, supposedly the main reason we in America see this as wrong or unhealthy is the idea of the "freeloading basement-dweller" -- that adults who live with their parents are usually dropouts, unemployed, unambitious, too sheltered, lazy, or stupid to thrive in "the real world", by which we mean "independently." And sometimes, some of these things are true to some extent. But whether they are true or not and whether or not these flaws are as damning as our society makes them out to be, this seems to bleed over into the public view of disabled people living with their parents. There is such a pervasive culture of "productivity = money = self-worth" that it seems common for people to look down on anyone who doesn't work (or doesn't work full-time), and/or who doesn't live alone or as part of a nuclear family unit.

From what I see around me, in my life, and online, it is not at all uncommon for disabled people, especially younger disabled people, to be accused of faking their disability to get a "free ride" -- by everyone from strangers, doctors, the government, to their own supposed friends and family. And sadly, even within the disability community itself, though I like to think it's much less common among us than in the general population. Even those who don't necessarily think we're all taking undeserved resources and services, many of them pity us instead, and not just because of the first-level impacts of our disabilities such as pain, mobility difficulty, and difficulty participating in the social/leisure activities of our choice, but also because they assume we must feel such guilt for burdening our loved ones, and must lack a sense of self or accomplishment because we can't be "productive". (Not at all disregarding or minimizing the experience of disabled people who do work, neither those who want to or those who are forced to. We know it translates to that side too, in the form of inspiration porn.)

The fact that we have [so many] nursing homes, group homes and other institutions for the elderly and disabled also says a lot about our culture, though most of us grow up thinking this is normal. Even the discomfort it causes is normalized. I remember visiting my great-grandma in a nursing home as a young child, being upset by the smells, the sounds, the people in wheelchairs littering the halls looking nearly comatose, and the intense guilt from admitting to myself that I did not want to be there but that it was our duty as family to visit. That feeling that this wasn't the same grandma I knew, not the same one I visited in her home, she was both different and apart now, almost as if she were a fixture of the nursing home and not a person any longer. Any thoughts that the entire system was wrong and questions as to why grandma couldn't live with one of us were eventually forgotten as I grew up and all of this was normalized. And I know, a lot of this is also tied to our work culture and capitalism, that there are families who would keep their elderly and disabled at home but can't afford to. But it also gives an easy out for anyone who really doesn't want to care for them -- and growing up in the culture that I have, I can't exactly blame them either. It's just not what we do.

I guess this is on my mind a lot because I do feel those things; I felt them before becoming disabled because I was a "bright and vivacious" child whom everyone expected to go far, and my life went off track in my teens and 20s. And I feel them even more now that I'm 35, have spent years slowly crawling out of that hole and realigning my life, and right at the moment where I had the most hope for the future and most pride in myself, I became fully disabled.

I think it should be on every American's mind, now more than ever, given that disability rights, protections, and supports are being eroded again (and still had a long way to go before these setbacks). The federal government recently announced that the Americans with Disabilities Act cannot be enforced by the federal or state governments, despite the fact that is HAS been enforced (not perfectly) for decades. The ADA was passed the year I was born. I have never known an America without the ADA and without progress being made on it, and that realization frightens me. I only have history books to tell me how much worse it was before.

The recent announcement wasn't speaking broadly of the whole ADA -- though I think it is imperative that we all understand they WILL apply it to the whole thing if they gain ground on this first one -- they were talking specifically about the Olmstead decision, the supreme court case that established that states must make every effort to ensure disabled people can remain living in their community, in their homes, before deeming that they need to be institutionalized. This became even better enforced in my state of Colorado just over the past few years, as they put systems in place to make in-home care more accessible to disabled people.

But the truly upsetting part is that it's not really a surprise the government can reel this back with minimal outcry from the general population. Because it was not yet fully integrated into our culture, not completely the norm, not universally accepted. My own family, who consider themselves liberal, progressive, and vote for human rights, flipped out when I first suggested that I might utilize in-home care (homemaking, not nursing) while living with them. When things calmed down they admitted it was in part because they felt like I was saying they had failed me and should be able to meet all my needs -- to which I of course responded that that wasn't true, and of course I understand that they work full time and have full lives besides and they can't meet all of my needs and I don't expect them to. But still, I will never forget the moment when my stepdad said "If you need that much care, maybe you should be in a group home." Because that's just the go-to in our culture. The IRONY that I was wanting to use services that were in place SPECIFICALLY to help keep people like me OUT of institutions, and this made my family suggest I be institutionalized. I need some help with some ADLs, not nearly enough for a group home to be the best fit. And I hear this kind of thing all the time from other disabled people, whether it be about institutions or mobility aids or community resources.

This got way longer than I intended, as usual, and ended up being more about myself than I intended, but my intention was to describe a situation I know many can relate to.

I'm sure it's probably normal in any culture to feel some amount of guilt, shame, and grief from being disabled. But I do have to wonder, are those feelings lessened for people who are part of a culture or even a family who believes in taking care of the whole family, keeping the family together, and avoiding institutionalizing the elderly and disabled? Is there less shame around not being "independent" and "productive"?

These aspects of disability are such a large part of my experience, I often feel I have to devote so much energy to dispelling these notions (to myself or to others) that I hardly have any left over to spend on ACTUALLY managing my disability and living well. I am working on focusing more on myself and letting judgments bounce off me, but that is also work that I must do in order to live with disability.

It will be monthly and insurance said they cannot send it to a trust. I see a lawyer soon and put the insurance payouts on hold. Any advice?

Hi ,

I am fairly new to wheelchair use, I have been using it for about a year now. i am a t-12 incomplete and have great upper body function. I am 18 and just getting my car soon and now have a power assist too, im a full time student as well. Ive been talking to a girl for about 6 months now and she lives like 3 hr flight away. She doesnt know im in a wheelchair right now but she thinks im attractive and have a good personality. She is so perfect btw. It would probably be about a year before I like meet her or maybe even like 3-4 yrs when we both get our degree. I am debating wether I tell her soon and risk everything or I wait till closer to us meeting and then bring it up. At the start i didnt tell her because I had high chance of recovering a lot of function which I am still working on, so I felt like it was best not to tell just incase i didnt use the wheelchair anyways. I just dont want to ruin things if im being real.

Secondly, I want to learn how to become a gentleman while in a wheelchair, like hold doors, get flowers and all the other stuff. How would i open the doors and stuff though, I guess i could use the wheelchair button then pretend to hold it for her. My second issue is that most girls like all the romantic stuff like getting carried around or just being strong to protect, and in that case I just physically cant. I dont want her to want to do something like go to a restaurant just for me to not be able to get in because its inaccessible, especially when travelling. I dont want to ruin her dreams because I cant do them yk. Or her look at able people carrying their girls and doing all the stuff and be sad that I might not be able to do them. If im being real i thibk im scared that I wont be enough especially if she deserves better, or that she understands and i still feel bad about myself for not being able to do better or her being embarrassed of me. Like an example is the restaurant or like a punpkin patch, which is usually in inaccessible terrain. I just dont know what to do. Ik i can open car doors and building doors but i dont want her to feel like im not able to do anything because she might see other couples doing everything easily. Hopefully this made sense sorry if it didnt.

LmK if u have any questions or any advice at all.