#Disabled community

[squid-socks]

Right now being sick and neurodivergent IS my personality. I hope that sort of rectifies itself as I build acceptance with what I have going on. Bcs this being all that I am is very depressing. But I’m fixing some fucked up foundations - building gotta look like a messy, crooked pile of nothing for a bit✨🫶😭

[paperboy-pb]

🔴 SMALL UPDATE REGARDING THIS! Keep reading for a sec, will ya?

Sorry to flood our pages with an even longer post. I'll try to be quick!

Just correcting some SLIGHT misinformation, but even then, I need help verifying something & Google isn't giving me the answer I need. Autism Speaks, apparently, actually DID release an apology for I Am Autism. I see a lot of people saying they didn't, but it does exist now if you do some digging.

It's... ehh? It could be a lot worse. They mostly take accountability. But they also semi-excuse it as saying they have a "deeper understanding of Autism now"; implying/admitting that they, as an ORGANIZATION, did not have a deep understanding of Autism as a condition even after 4 years of operation...?

They also claim that they are working with Autistic employees, again? And it's been a while since any have publicly walked out on them. But it's not clear how many are on board exactly. Which, in a way, is fair, as no one really has to disclose their disability to an employer or the public for any reason. But do with that information what you will. Just know that working in tandem with the community you aim to serve is vital, and that other Autistics have bailed on them for justified reasons even in the 2010s; I'm kind of surprised they don't have a PUBLIC team of Autistic people specifically employed to overlook everything. That's what I would do if I led this.

Don't get anxious now, though. I'm not warming up to Autism Speaks anytime soon, and these further facts are why.

1: This ad was NEVER "a product of its time," as it was considered offensive even upon release. That's literally why it was pulled & swept under the rug in the first place a few weeks later. Even for 2009, it was deplorable! This isn't comparable to, say, animated cartoons being racist in the 1900s, especially seeing as Autism Speaks were the professionals here. The people with researchers "educating" & spreading awareness for the public. I'll always shit on Disney, but at least it WASN'T their literal *job* to help a minority group back then, now was it? Autism Speaks, though? That's their whole purpose.

2: (See above.) IMDB says that it was was never meant to be distributed publicly. Which I find shady given that

I 100% saw the beginning part of this ad as a small child. Because, upon seeing it re-uploaded to YouTube again at 13 (early 2017,) I recognized the visuals immediately. While it WAS actually shown in my state (NYC,) my family had no business attending the event mentioned. So it couldn't have been there. If it *didn't* air on TV, then I likely saw it floating around on YouTube. Thankfully, I didn't actually retain any of the statements that were made and forgot most of it. But if I (a VERY young Autistic elementary schooler at the time) could've accessed it, I'm sure other children did, too.

Disability Scoop claimed in TWO articles written shortly after it debuted (2009) that it was on Autism Speaks' YouTube channel. Meaning that it WAS, indeed, publicly distributed, IE: uploaded by the company. It's also cited as having been on their website.

And now, 3: Again, I've paid close attention to Autism Speaks as a brand since 2017, even when Sia first mentioned her movie (which released in 2021; yeah, I learned about that back then, I was DEEP in the rabbit hole.) And yet I've never seen this apology. You'd think they'd push it more to the forefront if they took it so seriously, no? Especially they've been getting heat for I Am Autism SINCE 2009.

Something tells me this wasn't posted until AFTER 2020. OVER A DECADE OF TIME. There's no date on this article & I cannot find one. But can somebody PLEASE let me know if they can verify and/or find out when this apology was published? While it's better late than never, there is NO REASON it should've taken that long other than damage control now that the Autistic community has risen up.

Any help is appreciated. Please let me know what you find.

The fact that I even need to say this astounds me.

I understand times change, but 2005-12 was not the fucking dark ages. Let alone some other offenses they've gathered up past that. People knew better. It wasn't okay then OR now. If Autism Speaks was SO dedicated to providing resources, maybe they should've focused their material more on that than fear-mongering. Or at least owned up to it with their whole chest w/ an apology & promise to be better. But you know. Corporate's gonna corporate. 😐

[forsapphics]

Happy Disability Pride Month! 🩶💚❤️🤍💛💙🩶🌈 (x)

[sayruq]

[neuroticboyfriend]

IM GOING TO CRY THEY MIGHT INCREASE THE SSI ASSETS LIMIT TO $10,000.

it's a bipartisan bill too! and for anyone unaware, people on SSI (which is different from SSDI), can only have $2,000 in assets (unless they have an ABLE account, which comes with its own rules). this assets limit has been in place for FORTY YEARS and is a giant part of why being on SSI keeps people incredibly impoverished.

i've also heard they might remove the marriage penalty but i don't have the spoons to read or explain it so someone else please add on!

this is huge! please spread the word and do what you can to help ensure this happens!

[raging-guanche]

friendly reminder you dont need a diagnosis to be in disability spaces, as an example im in constant pain and fatigue, have migraines every week and my joints hurts to a point I can't write, but since familiar gaslighting/medical trauma and the fact that im an indigenous, brown skin fat man a diagnosis is fucking hard (but im in my way! :)) , but i still deserve a safe space to talk about my experiences and to feel valuable and supported.

never feel like youre interrupting someone's space or that you shouldn't be here cause you dont have a diagnosis, disabilities existed before diagnosis

[yellow-dress-basil]

QUICK PSA FOR THE DISABLED COMMUNITY

If you take any daily medication, do not eat grapefruit or activated charcoal unless you know for a fact they won’t affect your medication.

Both Grapefruit and Activated Charcoal will cancel out medication.

‘Where would you ever eat activated charcoal?’ You may be asking

Well

Halloween eve is here y’all and if you want a black cocktail or cupcake, it was probably made black with activated charcoal! So please double check before consuming!!

[froggiethelesbian]

I found a guide for a no tape, easy to unwrap wrapping tutorial to make Christmas a little more accessible, wish I just found it sooner

[nomoremrnicefat]

in honor of disabled pride month, i want to give a shout-out to all disabled fat people who had to roll their eyes who have been told "you're not disabled, just fat" or "thats because you dont eat well/exercise"

[chronicsymptomsyndrome]

I know its kind of silly to say “don’t feel bad for canceling because of pain, fatigue, etc” because I know guilt is a reflex you can’t easily refrain from. But you can reason with yourself so instead I’ll say this:

Nobody can feel what you’re feeling but you. Nobody knows the severity of what you would be putting yourself through if you were to “tough it out.”

If you do “tough it out,” the purpose for you doing the thing will most likely not be fulfilled anyway. You probably will not be mentally present or engaged. You probably will not have a good time or get much out of it. Etc.

If people really have such a problem with it, thats a huge red flag. Being transparent about your needs and boundaries is a great way to weed people like that out of your life.

If you have any kind of chronic illness or disability, remember that you probably have a very warped judgement of what is “reasonable” to endure in terms of pain, fatigue, burnout, etc.

You didn’t ask for this, you don’t deserve this, there is no reason you should have to bear the weight of it alone. I bet if someone else was in your position, you wouldn’t mind helping accommodate for them?

Low energy days are truly sacred, take them seriously. Please respect your body’s signals. “If you do not choose times to rest, your body will choose for you” or however the saying goes

It is so much pressure to have to deliberate what sacrifices are necessary for proper self care. Give yourself extra credit for having to deal with that stress on top of whatever is putting you in that position in the first place. Thats a lot at once

You are leading by example and showing others that you would never expect them to hurt or overextend themselves for your benefit. Putting yourself first always inspires other to do the same.

Please be proud of yourself for even considering canceling and putting your needs first. That is so strong of you <3

[squid-socks]

Being chronically ill means being both the most adaptable person imaginable whilst also being not spontaneous at all.

And I cannot find my balance 😭😭

[chronicallyillandcoping]

New favourite thing to do is to remind people of how much they hated lockdown when they say they wish they could stay home as much as I do.

Like no you dont you were miserable when you were forced to stay home all day everyday for the good of your health. Thats my entire existence as a disabled person so pack it in.

[crazycatsiren]

No, you don't need to list your disabilities/illnesses in your bio or anywhere on your blog/profile.

No, you don't need to tell anybody anything when they ask you what your disabilities/illnesses are.

You have the say on what/how much you disclose about yourself. Nobody is entitled to your personal information.

[alex2xander]

Be nice and don't mock tumblr users that communicate differently.

Examples:

1.) Typing quirks

2.) No punctuation

3.) Random Capitalisation

4.) Long run on sentences

5.) Frequently misspelled words

6.) Missing spaces between words

7.) Repeating words and sentences

8.) Posts audios and videos instead of typing

9.) Express themselves through custom emojis

10.) Use an AAC (Augmentative and alternative communication) device

Some users have intellectual disabilities, use speech to text, struggle with grammar, have hand tremmers, have high support needs, etc.

Regardless of how they communicate and their reason why, they still deserve respect. They are trying their best.

[neuroticboyfriend]

once again thinking about how fucked up it is that special ed used me and other disabled children as unpaid, coerced labor. i worked enough to be making $100 a week. i was "paid" in fake money redeemable only at the school cafeteria, which i worked at, and was forced to do things that distressed me. they gave us $1 a week, if they remembered to give it to us at all.

this was while i would sometimes go the entire day without eating because i didn't have the money to buy food and the free food was not sensory safe. we also worked outside the community - grocery stores, warehouses, shoe stores security tagging items. all under the guise of job skill development, we did $100 of labor a week without ever getting paid. and we were demeaned while we did it. and we were just teens.

so no, i don't want to hear about how special education is good. not with the way me and my peers were treated and taken advantage of. death to institutionalization, in all forms.