#Disability Rights

[psychiatricwarfare]

before i start seeing those "july is pride pt 2" or "july is queer wrath month" posts circulate since june is almost over, i just wanna remind everyone that july is actually disability pride month and to please let disabled people have the spotlight for our month, thank you

[wildwren]

hey, if you're a usamerican getting the news, not knowing what to do, this is really really really good time to get acquainted with the national council on independent living, the independent living movement, and your local centers for independent living.

independent living centers provide services and support by disabled people for disabled people and can help with: navigating systems, self-advocacy, and accessing services, among many other things. in their truest form, CILs function not in the model of state agencies, but as a form of structured in-community mutual aid. my local CIL provides services like counseling, advocacy, grants to cover some home needs, and meals on wheels for disabled adults under sixty-five. CILs can't fill all the gaps in services we have in this country, but they do important work to keep people alive. if you need help, your local center for independent living may be able to help. if you can give help, your local center for independent living can definitely use your help!!!!!

please do reblog <3

[northgazaupdates]

🆘TEEN GIRL DYING WITHOUT OXYGEN‼️

15-year-old Nour is in a severe state of hypoxia!! Her heart is struggling to function due to her chronic condition, and her blood is unable to circulate oxygen throughout her body! She urgently needs funds for supplemental oxygen treatment OR HER ORGANS WILL SHUT DOWN!!

Please help save a teen girl’s life!!! Anything helps!!!

Current: $63,826 CAD

[chris-in-eugene]

And help them advocate for themselves.

Help them get used to using disability aids.

“june is over so now it’s gay wrath month” blah blah reminder that july is disability pride month and is often ignored and disregarded!! funnel that wrath into advocating for your disabled peers and amplifying their voices

[whatbigotspost]

From @ closetedHistory on Instagram

[lore-gore]

Happy Disability Pride Month disabled people are going to die because of the big shitty bill

[the-angry-acrobat]

happy disability pride month from the king of the barrel (and the king of chronic pain) 🖤🥃✨

[love-ardour-anarchism]

I am featured on this (under the name Scarlett Mueller) with a couple poems alongside so many amazing people 💖💕✨

Check it out ❤️

[ichliebemeinkissen]

Happy disability pride month, reminder that here in america disabled people protested to get 504.

For those that don't know, the 504 states:

No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States, as defined in section 705(20) of this title, shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency or by the United States Postal Service. 

The government didn't want to implement this, so disability activists did a sit-in. While there were multiple, the 504 Protest refers to one that lasted 28 days. During this the government tried everything they could to stop the protest. They even turned off the electricity.

The people protesting were mainly disabled people themselves, a lot if whom needed a lot of care & accomodations. How hard this was to stay there for 28 days cannot be overstated. However, they did have the invaluable help of the Black Panthers bringing hot meals & supplies.

After a long fight, they finally got enough national attention to pressure the government into enforcing the 504. Which later paved the way for ADA.

The fight isn't over by any mean, but I hope people realize how far we came. How hard the fight was just to have the mosy simple of things.

Obviously I cannot give a fully in depth story because I'm bad at regurgitating, but look it up! Very cool. And while you're doing that, learn the name Judy Heumann. She's a really cool disability activist from over the years.

[ownedbyaubrey]

I have complex seating needs. If a part on my wheelchair breaks, it takes 3 months MINIMUM to get repaired. As far as I know, there are less than 10 techs qualified to repair it in my ENTIRE STATE (and Florida is a big state). And insurance will fight tooth and nail before covering it. Engracia Figueroa, a disability rights activist, DIED after United Airlines damaged her wheelchair, and using a "loaner" chair unsuited to her needs led to a fatal pressure ulcer. SHE DIED because her wheelchair was damaged. That is unacceptable.

wheelchair users deserve a minimum of three wheelchairs to meet different needs. like, bare minimum of indoor chair, outdoor chair, and off road chair. chairs that meet different needs for transport, activity, positioning needs, energy levels, etc.

there is not "one chair" that can meet every need. wheelchair users deserve to have multiple chairs that meet specific needs, no matter how complex their seating/positioning needs. we deserve to at least have a backup if our chair breaks that is just as suited to our needs.

[northgazaupdates]

UPDATE: *NEW* NEW LINK!

Yahya and his family were displaced by the IOF, and are currently residing in Deir al-Balah, south-central Gaza.

Life as displaced Gazans was already extremely difficult for them. Food is very scarce, and their living conditions leave them exposed to the elements. Here is the frequent condition of their tent now that the winter rains have come:

Then, Yahya’s father was injured. Some cartilage was damaged in his neck, and doctors say he requires IMMEDIATE surgery to avoid permanent paralysis.

Yahya and his family previously had another campaign, but it was suddenly shut down by GFM with no explanation. They have created a new one, but it has EXTREMELY LOW FUNDS.

The surgery is a stifling $16,000 USD. Yahya and his family have no hope of paying for it without your help.

I am currently watching an elderly loved one lose their mobility, and it is an extremely heartbreaking and isolating situation. I cannot imagine what Yahya and his family are going through, having no social or financial support and only minimal medical care.

Please give what you can to this family. You are their only hope to save their beloved father’s mobility!

[luulapants]

If we wanted to engage in nuance (lol, lmao) on the "are audiobooks reading" debate, we really do need to bring literacy, and especially blind literacy, into the conversation.

Because, yes, listening to a story and reading a story use mostly the same parts of the brain. Yes, listening to the audiobook counts as "having read" a book. Yes, oral storytelling has a long, glorious tradition and many cultures maintained their histories through oral history or oral + art history, having never developed a true written language, and their oral stories and histories are just as valid and rich as written literature.

We still can't call listening in the absence of reading "literacy."

The term literacy needs to stay restricted to the written word, to the ability to access and engage with written texts, because we need to be able to talk about illiteracy. We need to be able to identify when a society is failing to teach children to read, and if we start saying that listening to stories is literacy, we lose the ability to describe those systemic failures.

Blind folks have been knee-deep in this debate for a long time. Schools struggle to provide resources to teach students Braille and enforcing the teaching of Braille to low-vision and blind children is a constant uphill battle. A school tried to argue that one girl didn't need to learn Braille because she could read 96-point font. Go check what that is. The new prevalence of audiobooks and TTS is a huge threat to Braille literacy because it provides institutions with another excuse to not provide Braille education or Braille texts.

That matters. Braille-literate blind and low-vision people have a 90% employment rate. For those who don't know Braille, it's 30%. Braille literacy is linked to higher academic success in all fields.

Moving outside the world of Braille, literacy of any kind matters. Being able to read text has a massive impact on a person's ability to access information, education, and employment. Being able to talk about the inability to read text matters, because that's how we're able to hold systems accountable.

So, yes, audiobooks should count as reading. But, no, they should not count as literacy.

[newtsoftheworldunite]

Also, because I see that monkey's paw curling, it DOES NOT COUNT if this happens because disability benefits are eliminated entirely and disabled people just aren't able to get any assistance with meeting our needs through a shared public safety net.

Liberal Jane ‘24

[icarusinfreefall]

reminder that adhd medication isn't a luxury or preference, but a lifesaving medication. a 10 year long study in the usa showed that, when properly medicated, the rate of car crashes people with adhd get into goes down significantly--men's rate drops by 38%, and women's by 42%. the med shortage, denial of meds by doctors, rising prices, and the "war on drugs" has killed--with such a car dependent society, not driving frequently isn't an option, which means we need better healthcare and need it now.

https://shorturl.at/8VD8B

edit because i forgot to explain: short link is to an article by the washington post, it should be free to read

[sayruq]

10 children a day lose their limbs in Gaza. All hospitals in Gaza are basically barely functioning and the amputations are done in unsanitary conditions and without anesthesia