Weekly Check In Aug 12 - 18
August 13th is Left Handers Day
Those who are left handed share an experience that many of us with disabilities do - many things are designed to be convenient for the majority, but may not work the best for us - like writing from left to right, tends to cause more smudging for those who write with their left hands.
Are you a righty, a lefty, or a mix?
What's something that you don't think is designed with your needs in mind?
How are things going this week? The good, the bad, the ugly or the amazing - whatever you would like to share.
** Note about our Guided Discussions/Adult Disability Support Room:
Like some subcommunities have already been doing, we are going to be involved with mix and match. This means most discussions will be moved into the Support Session Room. The disability support room will remain open 24/7 for chatting, and open chats and fun sessions lead by mods & room supporters will stay within disability support.
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@AffyAvo
I'm a righty.
I'm ok. I am doing ok.
I am sad about the loss of discussions in Disability Support because it was a great draw of members to the room and they were fun to do. We have 78 topics while the new format only had 5. It seems to me the support room creates a bottleneck where rooms will have to compete for space/time. I am also naturally resistant to change,
@WeedyGarden
I'm also a righty.
It does sound like most of our topics can go ahead, but only 5 are available to choose from at one time point, with those options rotating in/out. Hopefully it means we will get to all of them more consistently? I agree on the bottleneck possibility, we will see what happens though. I think things will change as necessary (maybe 2 support sessions if needed?) I do hope we see more disbility discussion in general being run with the new format, it does open it up to more people hosting them.
I'm right handed, however I want to learn how to use my left. Mostly cause I like to draw on my arm but I want to be able to draw on my right arm, too.
Pretty much every house and most buildings. Stairs are painful for me but very few places are stair free or have an elevator.
Not great, I'll admit. My mental health isn't very good right now and I did a ton of walking around yesterday which felt great until I got home and my chronic pain flared up.
@RenWaterLily I hope your pain level goes down soon. I am glad you were able to enjoy the walk for a bit though, and yes, stairs are super common, but not the most accessible option.
I'm a mix, I'm clinically ambidextrous. That means I can write forward with one hand and backward with the other. Which makes playing the piano impossible!
In my town, sidewalk ramps. They're not within 30 feet of the handicapped parking spaces, or totally absent. Few of the crosswalks have ramps, but you'll see a random ramp elsewhere. At a bus stop right in front of handicapped housing, they removed the ramp, putting a ramp a block away! It makes us feel very unwelcome.
This week I feel like I'm finally on top of everything I need to do. I went through some trauma in June and July, and took time to just rest and get my head together. I'm so glad I got to go out and be with my friends!
@purpleRaven76 That's cool you can write backwards. Maybe you could do a really interesting piano song with the right notes too.
That's disappointing about the ramps, here I would say when it comes to sidewalk access they are pretty good, but business access is a different story.
It sounds like you're on a good path from recovering from trauma, great job!
I am new to this support group and struggle with spinal pain issues and depression. Some days are harder than others. Some days I just feel so broken at 56.
@bgdave sorry to hear of your struggles.
Welcome to the group!
@WeedyGarden
Thank you
@bgdave I hope you find we can be beneficial on the days you're feeling broken.
@AffyAvo
Thank you
I'm a righty. I'm disabled due to mental illness. I feel so alone and don't even know how to acquire enough energy and motivation to get a job for myself. I feel so heavy and lack any motivation to do anything. :(
@fearlessWriter78 Welcome!
I think illness can often sap motivation.
Have you tried setting specific, small goals before? That can help sometimes.
The Positivity & Gratitude subcommunity has some areas focused on motivation but you're welcome to discuss what you're working towards and the hurdles here too.
@AffyAvo Thanks so much, I'll definitely check out that other community too!
I'm a mix. And I feel like *society* isn't designed with my needs (or most marginalized folks' needs) in mind. There seem to be two sides to disability - that which is inherently debilitating no matter the environment, and that which is debilitating only because people refuse to prioritize accessibility.
I use mobility aids (wheelchair or walker), am hard of hearing, and am neurodivergent, so those affect every aspect of my life... But the biggest challenge in terms of having needs met is actually in terms of chemical sensitivity. Toxins are everywhere in modern society! And people are so attached to their toxic "personal care products" that it's considered socially acceptable for them to put that above others' health.
Respect and empathy to everyone on this thread. A lot of your experiences of access needs being met really resonate with my own experiences. (My town finally improved some of its accessibility, after pressure from various folks including me and my friends - so change is possible!)
@earthsteward I also have an issue with many scented products, plus things like 2nd and 3rd hand smoke. I do find that society is becoming more aware though, these things were so much worse when I was a kid!
I'm really glad that you were able to start the steps to getting things made more accessible!
