#intellectual impairment

[sickly-sapphic]

[ID: A background with deep blue in the centre, which fades to a lighter blue. Text reads; background by valerianknows (pinterest). This disability pride month don't forget about...

this disability pride month don't forget about... high & medium support needs autistics.

this disability pride month don't forget about... Full time AAC users.

this disability pride month don't forget about... high & medium support needs autistics. (Full Time) Nonverbal or non-speaking autistics.

this disability pride month don't forget about... autistics with speech delays and/or speech impairments.

this disability pride month don't forget about... autistics who LIKE using functioning, level, support needs, etc. labels.

this disability pride month don't forget about... autistics that cannot type in "complete" sentences.

this disability pride month don't forget about... autistic people of colour and indigenous autistics.

this disability pride month don't forget about... intellectually disabled people.

this disability pride month don't forget about... developmentally disabled people. End ID]

[mxmorbidmidnight]

I’ve noticed that in the drama group I’m in a lot of the time the improv characters people make up are just imitations of people with disabilities. Faking a limp or manipulating their body to mock people with cerebral palsy or imitating speech impediments and people with intellectual disabilities. I felt particularly alienated when one kid made a cripple joke and everyone laughed, people who claim to be “politically correct”, people who I consider my friends. People who call themselves disability allies, who call themselves punks. Everyone’s a leftist, everyone’s all for being kind until it comes to disabled people.

[lisowa]

Hi guys! This post is not related to arts, but I will be very grateful to you for sharing it.🌸

This is a survey for my university's research. I study the problems of disabled people in tourism and recreation. This survey is anonymous.

The statistics collected in the surveys will be used for my university project.

I will be very grateful to everyone who completes the survey and sends it to their family members or friends✨️

The more people complete the survey, the more detailed statistics i will get, so it is important to spread it as much as possible.

You can scan it or use links below:

Ukrainian 🇺🇦

English 🇬🇧

Polish 🇵🇱

[the-delta-quadrant]

intellectual ableism and ableism against eye conditions are so deeply linked that an old german word for amblyopia translates to "d*mb-sighted". they're so deeply linked that i've had people assume i'm intellectually disabled (as if that's a bad thing) and call me slurs based on that just from looking at my eyes more times than i can count. ableists don't actually understand disability enough to even be remotely able to tell what kind of disability someone has by looking at them. they constantly move the goalposts too: my eyes looking weird means imtellectual disability but when i tell them there's actually something wrong with my eyes i'm lying because i just saw something. the majority of ableist slurs has been used against all kinds of disabled people, regardless of whether they were the "intended" target. because ableists don't actually care what your disability is, just what they see you as.

[s1yeye]

when kuru unable do thing (because cannot see, because cannot think right, because not good problem solve, or even because struggle mobility) mom always say kuru am is "weaponizing imcompetence" and "use disability as excuse". kuru feel bad and wrong, but still cannot do thing, so now just not tell her when cannot do and pretend to do, but when she find out thing is still not done she get even more mad and say kuru being lazy. kuru dont know what do any more. upset upset

[hussyknee]

Fucking hate how in stories (both mainstream media and fanfic) someone nearly dies or is thought lost, but then turns up changed with brain damage or some kind of disability. And their family and friends, instead of being happy the person they loved is alive and returned to them, they just start mourning the version of them they knew. "Please God let them live!" but then "No wait not like that". And then it's all about the tragedy of them "having to see" the one they supposedly loved changed and impaired, instead of gratitude for their life or focus on their thoughts and feelings in their disabled state. Like that one horrible TV show said: "I don't know what I'll do if this is all that's left of the person I love."

"All that's left." Disabled people being hollow shells instead of different versions of themselves who are still as important, who can feel happiness and joy and love. Once cognitively impaired we're less than human, the mourned living.

I know that "love is not love that alters when it alteration finds" is incomprehensible to abled people, whose compassion and care is inherently conditional, but at least once I'd like to see a story that said "as long as they're alive, we can figure out the rest". It's a very strange kind of love that can't grant you enough humanity to at least be happy that you're alive.

[rincewindsapprentice]

Still kind of wild how earlier disability theory just didn't account for things like chronic pain.

[i-may-be-an-emu]

(self diagnosed inclusive, mentally ill included as nd)

[stardust-sunset]

another rant but not about the fandom

so i’m taking the PSAT this week.

And if you’ve been following me for a while then you know I have albinism. Meaning I have a visual impairment. Meaning I have an IEP. (Basically means I have accommodations so that things are easier for me to see and I have the same opportunities as the rest of the kids in school)

And I’ve been told this whole fucking time that I would have every accommodation I need, meaning the font would be bigger, I can write essays on my computer and I’m allowed to use a magnifier to help me see

And now according to the damn cCollege Board, it’s ‘against the test policies’ and I can’t have my font enlarged and I’m also not able to type stuff up. Which is literally in my IEP that I’m allowed to do. And this isn’t as big of a problem for now because it’s just a PSAT, but I’m taking an AP test in May run by the College Board and I’m ALSO TAKING THE SAT soon. So essentially, I’m fucked.

[healingwgabs]

When you have energy and somewhat of a functioning brain 🥰😭

[meeda]

reasons why I prefer audiobooks

it’s easier for me to listen to something than it is to look at words on a page

i can draw, paint, crochet, play video games, and drive while listening

lack of a physical copy means I can save space in my already crowded environment

what annoying people think are the reasons why i prefer audiobooks

i hate reading

i lack the ability to read

I think books are obsolete

I’m too stupid to read

I want to get rid of books completely

im a technology poisoned shit for brains that can’t comprehend the idea of holding a physical book in my hands

[cripplecharacters]

Where to Start Your Research When Writing a Disabled Character

[large text: Where to Start Your Research When Writing a Disabled Character]

So you have decided that you want to make a disabled character! Awesome. But what's next? What information should you decide on at the early phrase of making the character?

This post will only talk about the disability part of the character creation process. Obviously, a disabled character needs a personality, interests, and backstory as every other one. But by including their disability early in the process, you can actually get it to have a deeper effect on the character - disability shouldn't be their whole life, but it should impact it. That's what disabilities do.

If you don't know what disability you would want to give them in the first place;

[large text: If you don't know what disability you would want to give them in the first place;]

Start broad. Is it sensory, mobility related, cognitive, developmental, autoimmune, neurodegenerative; maybe multiple of these, or maybe something else completely? Pick one and see what disabilities it encompasses; see if anything works for your character. Or...

If you have a specific symptom or aid in mind, see what could cause them. Don't assume or guess; not every wheelchair user is vaguely paralyzed below the waist with no other symptoms, not everyone with extensive scarring got it via physical trauma. Or...

Consider which disabilities are common in real life. Cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, stroke, cataracts, diabetes, intellectual disability, neuropathy, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, thyroid disorders, autism, dwarfism, arthritis, cancers, brain damage, just to name a few.

Decide what specific type of condition they will have. If you're thinking about them having albinism, will it be ocular, oculocutaneous, or one of the rare syndrome-types? If you want to give them spinal muscular atrophy, which of the many possible onsets will they have? If they have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which one out of the 13 different types do they have? Is their amputation below, or above the knee (it's a major difference)? Not all conditions will have subtypes, but it's worth looking into to not be surprised later. This will help you with further research.

If you're really struggling with figuring out what exact disability would make sense for your character, you can send an ask. Just make sure that you have tried the above and put actual specifics in your ask to give us something to work with. You can also check out our "disabled character ideas" tag.

Here are some ideas for a character using crutches.

Here are some ideas for a character with a facial difference (obligatory link: what is a facial difference?).

If you already know what disability your character is going to have;

[large text: If you already know what disability your character is going to have;]

Start by reading about the onset and cause of the condition. It could be acquired, congenital, progressive, potentially multiple of these. They could be caused by an illness, trauma, or something else entirely. Is your character a congenital amputee, or is it acquired? If acquired - how recently? Has it been a week, or 10 years? What caused them to become disabled - did they have meningitis, or was it an accident? Again, check what your options are - there are going to be more diverse than you expect.

Read about the symptoms. Do not assume or guess what they are. You will almost definitely discover something new. Example: a lot of people making a character with albinism don't realize that it has other symptoms than just lack of melanin, like nystagmus, visual impairment, and photophobia. Decide what your character experiences, to what degree, how frequently, and what do they do (or don't do) to deal with it.

Don't give your character only the most "acceptable" symptoms of their disability and ignore everything else. Example: many writers will omit the topic of incontinence in their para- and tetraplegic characters, even though it's extremely common. Don't shy away from aspects of disability that aren't romanticized.

Don't just... make them abled "because magic". If they're Deaf, don't give them some ability that will make them into an essentially hearing person. Don't give your blind character some "cheat" so that they can see, give them a cane. Don't give an amputee prosthetics that work better than meat limbs. To have a disabled character you need to have a character that's actually disabled. There's no way around it.

Think about complications your character could experience within the story. If your character wears their prosthetic a lot, they might start to experience skin breakdown or pain. Someone who uses a wheelchair a lot has a risk of pressure sores. Glowing and Flickering Fantasy Item might cause problems for someone photophobic or photosensitive. What do they do when that happens, or how do they prevent that from happening?

Look out for comorbidities. It's rare for disabled people to only have one medical condition and nothing else. Disabilities like to show up in pairs. Or dozens.

If relevant, consider mobility aids, assistive devices, and disability aids. Wheelchairs, canes, rollators, braces, AAC, walkers, nasal cannulas, crutches, white canes, feeding tubes, braillers, ostomy bags, insulin pumps, service dogs, trach tubes, hearing aids, orthoses, splints... the list is basically endless, and there's a lot of everyday things that might count as a disability aid as well - even just a hat could be one for someone whose disability requires them to stay out of the sun. Make sure that it's actually based on symptoms, not just your assumptions - most blind people don't wear sunglasses, not all people with SCI use a wheelchair, upper limb prosthetics aren't nearly as useful as you think. Decide which ones your character could have, how often they would use them, and if they switch between different aids.

Basically all of the above aids will have subtypes or variants. There is a lot of options. Does your character use an active manual wheelchair, a powerchair, or a generic hospital wheelchair? Are they using high-, or low-tech AAC? What would be available to them? Does it change over the course of their story, or their life in general?

If relevant, think about what treatment your character might receive. Do they need medication? Physical therapy? Occupational therapy? Orientation and mobility training? Speech therapy? Do they have access to it, and why or why not?

What is your character's support system? Do they have a carer; if yes, then what do they help your character with and what kind of relationship do they have? Is your character happy about it or not at all?

How did their life change after becoming disabled? If your character goes from being an extreme athlete to suddenly being a full-time wheelchair user, it will have an effect - are they going to stop doing sports at all, are they going to just do extreme wheelchair sports now, or are they going to try out wheelchair table tennis instead? Do they know and respect their new limitations? Did they have to get a different job or had to make their house accessible? Do they have support in this transition, or are they on their own - do they wish they had that support?

What about *other* characters? Your character isn't going to be the only disabled person in existence. Do they know other disabled people? Do they have a community? If your character manages their disability with something that's only available to them, what about all the other people with the same disability?

What is the society that your character lives in like? Is the architecture accessible? How do they treat disabled people? Are abled characters knowledgeable about disabilities? How many people speak the local sign language(s)? Are accessible bathrooms common, or does your character have to go home every few hours? Is there access to prosthetists and ocularists, or what do they do when their prosthetic leg or eye requires the routine check-up?

Know the tropes. If a burn survivor character is an evil mask-wearer, if a powerchair user is a constantly rude and ungrateful to everyone villain, if an amputee is a genius mechanic who fixes their own prosthetics, you have A Trope. Not all tropes are made equal; some are actively harmful to real people, while others are just annoying or boring by the nature of having been done to death. During the character creation process, research what tropes might apply and just try to trace your logic. Does your blind character see the future because it's a common superpower in their world, or are you doing the ancient "Blind Seer" trope?

Remember, that not all of the above questions will come up in your writing, but to know which ones won't you need to know the answers to them first. Even if you don't decide to explicitly name your character's condition, you will be aware of what they might function like. You will be able to add more depth to your character if you decide that they have T6 spina bifida, rather than if you made them into an ambiguous wheelchair user with ambiguous symptoms and ambiguous needs. Embrace research as part of your process and your characters will be better representation, sure, but they will also make more sense and seem more like actual people; same with the world that they are a part of.

This post exists to help you establish the basics of your character's disability so that you can do research on your own and answer some of the most common ("what are symptoms of x?") questions by yourself. If you have these things already established, it will also be easier for us to answer any possible questions you might have - e.g. "what would a character with complete high-level paraplegia do in a world where the modern kind of wheelchair has not been invented yet?" is much more concise than just "how do I write a character with paralysis?" - I think it's more helpful for askers as well; a vague answer won't be much help, I think.

I hope that this post is helpful!

Mod Sasza

[vm-sys]

laws should be written by simple language.

scientific books should be written by simple language.

studies should be written by simple language.

rules & regulations should be written by simple language.

every information, especially important one, should be written by simple language.

it's basic accessibility. people with intellectual disability, people with developmental disabilities, people with learning disabilities, people with language processing issues/language impairment, people with brain fog/low concentration, and people with other conditions that make comprehension difficult should have access to every information, especially important one.

i'm autistic and have some language processing issues. so i feel very isolated when i can't read studies, articles, books, and other info. i'm really interested in it, but can't process language. so i have to rely on others' interpretations instead of original text.

i wanna have access to first-hand information. i wanna have the opportunity to form my own opinion, not rely on others' explanations.

btw, "simple language" doesn't mean "avoid complicated ideas & nuances", it means "explain complicated ideas & nuances using mostly simple words and short sentences".

[bunny-bunny-boing-boing]

i don’t know how much distress tolerance and radical acceptance i’ve got left in me

[the-delta-quadrant]

normalise disabled eyes. normalise crossed eyes, normalise lazy eyes, normalise nystagmus, normalise how disabled eyes look and move. stop being shitty to vision impaired people and others with eye conditions about our fucking eyes. our eyes tell you fuck all about how "smart" we are (stop being intellectually ableist anyway), they don't tell you if we're listening, they just tell you that we have an eye condition.

[kittnpaw]

i hope all disabled members of the agere community are having a great disability pride month!

this includes:

all physically and/or intellectually disabled / impaired age regressors, pet regressors, flips, caregivers, age dreamers, and pet dreamers

regressors who are non-verbal, lose speech, or otherwise experience difficulty with verbal communication

regressors who use mobility aids (canes, wheelchairs, crutches, braces, etc.)

regressors who use communication aids (AAC devices, communication cards, signs, etc.)

regressors who use other accessibility aids (eye tracking, screen readers, etc.)

incontinent regressors and regressors who use diapers / pull-ups to cope with other aspects of their disability

regressors who struggle with defining a regression age range because of their disability

regressors who regress because of their disability, or feel as though their regression is heavily impacted by their disability

regressors who are proud of their disability or find joy in being disabled

regressors who feel ashamed of their disability or have struggled to accept it

regressors who have difficulty playing or doing high-energy activities, whether it be due to mobility, fatigue, or self-consciousness / anxiety

regressors who feel like they don't fit in with very stereotypical representations of agere because of their disability

pet regressors who's connection to a certain animal is because of / linked to their disability

age dreamers who age dream because their disability prevents them from regressing, or if dreaming makes them feel more comfortable

caregivers who worry they're not able to care for regressors properly due to chronic pain / fatigue (you're doing great btw)

feel free to add on! /ᐠ 𒒬 ﻌ ^ マ☆