Cannabis and Disability

June of 2015 is when my pain started. My doctor told me I had bursitis in my foot, so they did their normal treatment. Fast-forward to September of 2015 and my pain is only getting worse. I lay in bed at night clutching the sheets in my fists and wincing until I fall asleep.

how do you experience the world?

I spent twenty minutes with my eyes closed, and I went about my daily business in my room. I opened drawers, found objects, put on bracelets, blew up a balloon. I decorated my room some. I even drew a picture.

Obvious or not obvious?

A few inabilities are a greater number of clear than others. Numerous are quickly obvious, particularly on the off chance that somebody depends on a wheelchair or stick. In any case, others — known as “imperceptible” inabilities — are most certainly not. Individuals who live with them face specific difficulties in the work environment and in their communities.

Judging Invisible Battles

 

I recently read a heart breaking story about a woman with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome who was shamed for using a handicapped parking spot. The woman in the story was having a good day, meaning she was actually well enough to walk.

Happiness and Disability

Have you ever thought to yourself: “I’d rather be dead than disabled?” It’s not an unusual reflection. Disability, in everyday thought, is associated with failure, with dependency and with not being able to do things. We feel sorry for disabled people, because we imagine it must be miserable to be disabled.

Understanding Disability

What makes a person disabled?

Self Diagnosis

It’s pretty standard, that the first time I do anything new, I have a panic attack.

General Anxiety Disorder: Humanity’s Fight or Flight Reflex on Overdrive

What happens when two people with Anxiety high five and one of them is wearing a stone ring meant to help alleviate anxiety attacks?

Schools are not for the disabled

Our last class discussion really had me thinking about how un-accessible schools really are. Not only in physical lay out but also in policies and attitudes and I wanted to talk about it a little more. For students with mental disabilities there’s the issue of “proving” that you have an issue that could affect you in class, going to the doctor’s, reporting it with the school where it is then on file, then outing yourself to your professors which can be very stressful for someone. Also once you talk with a professor it is a guessing game on whether they will be accommodating or act like you are taking away from others. For those with physical disabilities our campus is not designed for easy access while getting around, our desks are small and uncomfortable and overall there is just so many obstacles to overcome.

Class also made me think about things we don’t often attribute to this issue. Bigger individuals, whether it be height or weight, have a hard time fitting into the desks and yet it is not thought of as an issue. The same goes for pregnant women who are not given appropriate accommodations, they face a variety of issues such as discomfort/ pain, fatigue, doctor’s appointments, sickness etc. and teachers often don’t think of them as needing any help.

The school as a whole is often set up to work best for someone who can afford tuition, is young, able bodied, can live on campus, doesn’t have to work, and takes the classes their adviser tells them to. But what about the people who don’t fit into this. I’m young and luckily I’ve gotten through college without much trouble but thinking about it critically I can find times where I was seen as a nuisance because I didn’t fit into the appropriate mode. I am on scholarship so I have to take a certain amount of credits and get a certain GPA, also I take more than the needed amount of credits because my scholarship only lasts until the end of this year. I also have to work in order to get through college and I’ve been told many times I should quit my job, or I need to just stay in school longer and take more classes even though that’s not a possibility for me. Commuting also opens up problems that students face. There’s only a small number of students who fit into the accepted form and yet nothing is being done to change how we deal with all of the others.

I don’t know if we have one already but if not I think we should have a group or panel that discusses these topics and try to make change.

Disabilities in the Media

We talked briefly last class about the representation of disability in children’s movies (How to Train Your Dragon 2) but we failed to cover disabilities represented in adult movies. The following is a summary followed by an analysis of a movie, “The Machine,” about a futuristic, semi-apocalyptic world full of cyborg technology.