#Disability Services

[autisticmind]

Do you guys ever feel so much sudden rage at society for failing to provide the bare minimum support you needed/need to survive/thrive that you have to actually time. out. your mind for a while to calm down????

[not-a-medical-student]

Photo from ECAD

Important information for those not familiar with service dogs:

Don't touch or pet without permission.

Do not remove a service dog from a passed out person, even if they are resting on top of them. That may be the dog’s job during an episode, so just call an ambulance.

Do not let children pet service dogs without permission, It's usually best to tell them you shouldn't pet at all because the dog is at work.

Emotional support animals are not the same as service dogs and are not medically necessary.

Any dog that sits in a shopping cart or purse is not a service dog.

There are idiots out there who fake service dogs, but don't accuse people of faking if you don't know how training is done.

Although service dogs are well trained, their work can be interfered with by loud noises and especially untrained, faked service or emotional support dogs being in spaces expected to only allow service dogs and no other animals. This is especially prevalent in Walmart and other public spaces.

Service dogs are still dogs, if you see one in public with someone it's best to leave the dog alone completely. Even merely making eye contact with the dog can distract it and cause him or her to miss something important. Dogs are very susceptible to human eye contact, it's in their DNA.

And of course don't try to feed them or talk to them while they are on duty.

ALSO

Some service dogs are trained to smell or otherwise detect specific disorders and alert their human in any number of ways. For example, if someone with diabetes blood sugar is too low/high, their dog can smell that and may alert them by laying their head on the human's foot. If a service dog does it's alert to you or anyone who is not the owner of the dog, you should go to the doctor to get checked out because it's possible it's a real alert that the dog sensed in you.

Thank you doggies!

[69constellationsinatrenchcoat]

Disability services interactions be like

ds: we can offer a support person, or home help, or some level of assistance!

me: ...but i don't want a support person?

ds: we can offer a supportive person to help you live better

me: i just said i don't want a support person

ds: we can give you home help and someone to keep you company

me: are you completely ignoring me. i want to keep what freedom i have left.

ds: we can offer support person, you can pick them, we don't chose them for y--

me: i want to stay as independent as possible!!!!!! i've already lost most of my life to my disability! i was told you'd help me find ways to be independent. having a person to help me will ruin my mental health because i hate being seen as incapable.

ds: oh.

ds: we can offer a support person!

[cameoutstruggling93]

Open House at work today 👉😎👉

I'm not wearing healed shoes for a bit.

[cy-cyborg]

So, right before Christmas I got some good news in the NDIS front.

Turns out they DID recognise my non-physical disabilities when this funding plan started, but just...didnt tell me... or anyone else. It still says my only disability is amputation due to meningococcol on everything I have and all the paperwork, but apparently they have my documents saying that i have "very clear but unspecified cognative and developmental difficulties" (my origonal "diagnosis" if you could call it that) so my Local Area Cordinator says they've acknowledged it on their end and agreed to help with it.

Why didn't anyone realise any of this? Since that should mean I have funding to support those disabilities in my plan?

Turns out the answer is just that my plan is REALLY fucking weird. Outside of my LAC, no one ive spoken to has seen anything like it, Something about the way it's structured is really bizarre, which is why my prosthetist, wheelchair maker and other providers had so much trouble getting paid last year: the category they usually take their payment from for 99% of their clients doesn't exist in my plan. I had the funding, but it was somewhere else, and no one told me how to get it because they thought I already knew. None of this was helped that I never got a copy of my plan myself until the advocate pushed for it. Apparently, someone was supposed to tell me all of this and explain it all, but I suspect that didn't happen because this plan started during the later Covid lockdowns, and everything was chaos.

So good news, I have funding to get help with daily tasks and other stuff that im struggling with relating to my non-physical disabilities. A lot actually. Over 2 years worth of funding.

Bad news though, Whatever's left over at the end of this plan period - 4 or 5 months from now - will be used to judge weather I actually need that funding or not. When the plan renews, if it's not all used, they might determine I didn't need it after all, and they are cracking down on this type of funding so they're unlikely to accept "I didn't know I had it".

That's a problem for after new-years though. Right now I'm just happy I don't have to spend several more months jumping through beurocratic hoops for the NDIS just to get some help. Well, any more than I already had to, lol.

Now I can focus on dealing with centrelink next year instead... yay...

ID: a gif of someone running across a field. the caption says: "[screaming]" /end Id

[an-undercover-bi]

I am having to deal with so much Disability Services bullshit at my university right now so. . .

Here’s a sick academia-related tip for every chronically ill person out there:

Document. Everything. For real.

• Take detailed notes during accessibility-related meetings.

• Print out any accessibility related emails (your emails you send, their emails they send) with the dates clearly specified.

• Record the accessibility meetings themselves*.

It’s also worth noting that simply choosing not to delete the emails you send may not be sufficient depending on the email provider’s policy regarding old emails and how stable your internet connection/access to internet is.

So, paper copies are best.

To keep the emails: print them out, stick them in a folder or a binder and use sticky tabs to label the general subject discussed.

Trust me. This will come in handy.

You have rights. Exercise them.

* Check on your country’s/state’s laws prior to recording others without gathering consent first. These vary by country and locality. In my state—Virginia—it’s a single-party state, so only one “party” [in my case, me] needs to know the meeting is recorded). Make sure you know the laws in your area regarding this before you record.

[autisticlee]

so many services that can help with disability or medical needs are based on progress and working to make you not need them. why are they so against long term/life long help and management?!

for example, i need PT but for life. my hypermibility won't magically be better after a month of PT. doing it alone at home always results in injuring myself because no one corrects me doing wrong things. stopping doesn't help either. but there's no service for long term or life!!!! only private trainers that want thousands of dollars a month. another example is I need a case manager to help me do phone calls and male appointments but you need to call to make an appointment to get. you need to listen to a long list of info and provide your info over the phone. what if you can't do that? out of luck I guess (I only got their email because my therapist called and asked them for it for me. it's not available on their website)

good health is a luxury for the rich and disability services are only accessible for the abled. it sucks.

[bookquotesfrombooks]

“Doctors hold positions of power and dominance over the people in their care. They are gatekeepers of services, medications, and information. Their credentials grant them the authority to make life-or-death decisions, and their directives often go unquestioned. With that power comes great responsibility, so my expectations are uncompromising.”

Meghan Ashburn

I Will Die On This Hill

[chronic-chronic]

I am soon going to send my application to the city's disability services. I hope it'll be approved and I'll get transportation!

[thedashproject]

[ladymalchav]

Hey, if you're reading this and you're disabled (officially or not) do yourself a favor and check out these two orgs: United Cerebral Palsy and your state's Rehabilitation Commission. These two orgs are how I got all my adaptive technology AND a homemaker.  

UCP doesn't require a doctor's note. They got me a bath chair, a no-touch can opener, a UV lamp, and a bunch of other stuff. These are what they call adaptive technology. They eve offered to set me up with Smart Home tech! For FREE! There's lots of stuff they can get you. 

UCP CAN get you a homemaker, but I didn't go through them for some reason I don't remember. ANYWAY! The Rehabilitation Commission! It's known as MassRehab here, so just Google search for [your state] Rehabilitation Commission. Through them I DID get a homemaker. She cleans, she shops for me, she could even cook for me if I needed it. I don't remember what all I had to show them to get her, but it's worth finding out! The RC can also help you get back to school AND PAY FOR IT, but that's another conversation. 

So, yeah. If you're disabled at all, the tiniest bit, check out these orgs. They have been lifesavers! Feel free to ask me questions, and I'll try to help.(5/5)

[underleveledjosh]

Voc rehab says that there has been several unsuccessful attempts to contact me. They have not attempted to contact me, or perhaps they somehow got my phone number wrong? "In an effort to provide continued services, we have made several unsuccessful attempts to contact you. If we don not hear from you within ten working days the assumption will be made you are no longer interested in services and your cases will be closed."

Bitch what the fuck you completely fail to contact ME within ten business days without sending me a letter and you are putting it on ME? How about get your shit together. If I don't hear from them today, I won't be continuing services with them from now on.

I have come to the conclusion that Vocational Rehabilitation is a ploy for cheap labor. You get paid, but only minimum wage. I haven't learned much job skills at all. It's a scam.

[69constellationsinatrenchcoat]

eighty five minute holds to talk to disability services is insane

...their music choice is so bad too

[cameoutstruggling93]

Today was a bit rough, got my Mental Health First Aid certification but the topics of bipolar, suicide, non-threatening self harm, and panic disorder were only SLIGHTLY triggering.

So! Came home, changed, and took a weed gummy cause I can't smoke well due to this facacta cough. My brain is feeling less....heavy. Self care its best.

[bleakbeauty]

It's been very difficult getting good help from job services. I've gone through several job coaches, and none have been effective. One placed me in the job I have now, and I don't like it. He made bad assumptions about what the job would be, so he gave me bad information about what to expect from the job. Now I'm trying to get out of my current job and find another one.

My experience working with a job services provider has led me to believe that job coaches aren't trained in any way to interact with disabled people. Most just seem to be random individuals off the street who know how to use job search websites. My current job coach talks a lot, but she's a poor communicator and an even worse listener.

I can't believe that she's ever worked with an autistic person before. I've tried to explain my specific social challenges, but she ignores me. There's no malice in this; she's simply the kind of person that isn't capable of understanding social disabilities. She also disregards what I say I want in a job. If she has any kind of training or special aptitude, she can't be drawing on it.

The process of working with job services to try to find a job that doesn't make me miserable has itself made me miserable.

[sowilo1]

Disability Services l sowilo.com.au

Social workers who specialize in disability services often work from their offices, but they also spend time visiting their clients. Those visits can include their clients’ homes, schools and workplaces.

Movement and orientation in buildings can be a challenge for persons with disabilities when signage and information is not accessible. This is especially true for persons with cognitive disabilities.

Health and Wellbeing

Persons with disabilities face challenges when trying to access ongoing, quality health and wellness services. Their health needs are often overlooked because many professionals don’t take into account the presence of a disabling condition or consider the onset of secondary conditions (eg, mental illness) that might be related to or stem from a person’s primary disability.

People with disabilities also face barriers to healthy lifestyle choices. For example, they are less likely to get regular checkups and more likely to have unmet healthcare needs because of the cost.

To help them, disability support services provide education and training to encourage more proactive care. OPWDD, for example, is committed to promoting wellness through a variety of programs and initiatives. This includes addressing the physical, social and emotional well-being of people with developmental disabilities through policy, systems and environmental changes. It also includes a comprehensive work readiness program, which is designed to meet clients where they are at – whether they are ready to find employment or just need more basic vocational skills.

Education and Employment

People with disabilities can get help to prepare for, obtain, and keep a job. The Social Security Administration offers benefits that can assist with working, and vocational rehabilitation programs can provide training.

Colleges may have professional tutors with a background in learning and thinking differences, or run study skills workshops for students with disabilities. They might also arrange accommodations for classes and exams, such as extra time to take them.

Each CUNY campus has an office of disability services, overseen by a director. They use an individualized and interactive process to verify and approve reasonable accommodations. They also help arrange vital auxiliary aids and services, including assistive technology, note takers, readers, interpreters, housing, and accessible transportation.

Most Federal agencies have a selective placement coordinator or special emphasis program manager, or equivalent, who helps to recruit, hire and promote people with disabilities. They can use Schedule A hiring authority to bypass the normal competitive recruiting process and hire or promote employees on a non-competitive basis.

Social Inclusion and Community Participation

Social and community participation services support people with disability to access and participate in local events, activities, and organisations. These activities can help improve wellbeing and increase study, volunteer, or paid employment opportunities.

These services are provided through the Creating our Common Wealth program, which is designed to promote choice and control for people with disability and their families and carers. The program includes services such as adult day care, homecare, respite, community access and support coordination, and life story work.

The premise of these services is that the right to live, work, and play in a community, with the same choice and control as others, should be recognised as a

human right. This approach is often referred to as the social model of disability. It is consistent with a public health orientation that recognizes the impact of both social determinants and socioenvironmental factors on health. It also stresses the importance of ensuring that environments are accessible through physical modifications and communications supports to maximize person-environment fit.

Advocacy

The nation's congressionally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and Client Assistance Programs provide legally based advocacy for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. These agencies investigate abuse and neglect and seek justice for individuals. They have access to facilities, records and the right to enter and monitor settings, and can bring lawsuits on behalf of people.

On a systemic level, these agencies help change policies and remove barriers that keep people with disabilities from being fully included in society. This can be as simple as adding a ramp to someone's home, creating a device that will open a jar, or working to get lifts on public transportation.

NDRN works in Washington on behalf of the P&A/CAP network to strengthen their advocacy functions and promote laws that protect civil rights for people with disabilities. NDRN also provides training and technical support to P&A/CAPs and operates the Training and Advocacy Support Center. NDRN is an independent nonprofit membership organization funded by ACL and private grants.