Apr 30, 2017 | Accessibility, Disabilitiy |
Most of the time when I go places, I stand out. People notice me. Not by choice, just by circumstance. Because my situation is different than most, accommodations are required routinely in my day to day life. I have to find the elevator. Or a curb cut. Or the...Apr 22, 2017 | Advocacy, compassion, Disabilitiy, Get To Know Me, how to help, Mental Illness, negative perceptions, Psychiatric Diagnosis |
The question usually comes from good friends, at a time when I am struggling. They want to know how to help me the most. What is it like to have a psychiatric diagnosis? It’s like there is a dark cloud following me all the time. It isn’t always directly...Apr 12, 2017 | Ableism, Advocacy, changing perspectives, communicating respect, Disabilitiy, Friends, inclusion |
It was a beautiful and crisp October day a couple of years ago when I met Chris. As Director of Community Health at the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, he, like me, wasn’t officially one of a team of people spearheading the effort to renovate East Ninth...Apr 3, 2017 | Advocacy, cerebral palsy, Disabilitiy, Government Programs, Independence, Medicaid |
In one of my college classes, someone shared his opinion that when Patrick Henry said “give me liberty or give me death,” he meant that if he could not be in control of his life, then he didn’t want to live. On March 27th, Mark Smith, a businessman...Mar 28, 2017 | Accommodations, Advocacy, Attitudes, dance, Disabilitiy, Get To Know Me, negative perceptions, service dogs |
Special. The word warms my heart in many ways. Except when it is used in the context of my disability. Then it kind of drives me crazy. Maybe it’s the label. When I was in school, I was mainstreamed. It was decided very early that it would not be appropriate for...