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Fighting for Accommodations

Some of my work invloves event planning, over the years I’ve noticed we could do better at offering access needs. So I’ve been setting meetings for the team to learn about accommodations and what correct language we should use. But no one wants to offer accommodations because, “they’ll ask if they really need something or help”. But that’s not what we should wait for. We should offer these accommodations so people don’t feel like they are an obstacle. We should have events that accept everyone walking/wheelchair users, hearing impaired, visually impaired, etc.

It’s tiring to fight for this but if I don’t fight who will? I feel like those of us whom need accommodations want them offered in more places and those who don’t have accommodations can’t wrap their head around it.
#Accommodations #VisuallyImpaired #HearingImpaired #Blindness #Deafness #AutismSpectrumDisorder #MentalHealth #Anxiety

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I’ve made so much progress on Brazilian Sign Language the past weeks #Deafness #Blindness

So, even being blind I’ve been making some effort to learn Brazilian sign language. I want to be able to communicate to deaf and deaf-blind people, also want to be able to add sign language interpreting to the videos I post regarding accessibility, because if I want to promote accessibility, I want to include what I think is the most isolated community of all disabled people. It’s so hard to find someone who can hear and knows sign language that it saddens me.
But I’ve been improving, I have a very fast learning capacity, so much that braille I learned in two hours. So even if I’m being active on learning sign language for less than a month, I’m almost confident I can add it to my rĂ©sumĂ©.
Go on thinking I’m useless for being blind ableists, I dare you! đŸ˜ŠđŸ€ŸđŸ»

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Can you tell me a thing? #Deafness

Hey so I’m learning Brazilian Sign Language and they point out a lot about facial expressions. Is it possible to communicate having trouble with facial expressions? I’m blind but I’d like to also be able to freely communicate with deaf people, and also I’m autistic and for this reason sign language can help me a lot since if I get a bad crisis I get absolutely non verbal and I need to find a way to communicate without verbalizing, so ‘til now I’d use the phone to write what I mean or spell out what I feel in sign language since I know the alphabet, so sign language can help me get by if I get to one of these situations I just am not able to talk. But also cause of ASD I have the hardest time making facial expressions, I usually am not able to spontaneously make them and for that sometimes a lot of people struggle knowing what I feel because I don’t show it on my expression, mostly we joke I can do good with poker, but I’m worried if I might miscommunicate if I can’t do the facial expressions. Please if anyone could tell me about it, I’d be grateful.

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I'm new here!

Hi, my name is Voiceunbroken67.
I’m here because my story has been one of survival: deafness, bipolar disorder, PTSD, trauma, and years of being silenced. But every scar I carry became fuel. I’ve lived through violence, poverty, and institutions that failed me — and still, I rose.
I am more than labels, diagnoses, or statistics. I am a Justice of the Peace, an investigator, a student working toward criminology, and an author turning pain into purpose. I study from dawn until night not just for grades but because every page I finish proves wrong those who once told me I would never succeed.
I joined this space not just to share my story, but to stand as proof that resilience can be louder than suffering. If you have ever been written off, overlooked, or broken down by the systems around you — know this: you are not powerless.
My voice was once taken from me. Now it is unbroken.And I will use it to challenge silence, stigma, and injustice — every single day.
#MightyTogether #PTSD #BipolarDisorder #DeafAwareness #resilience #traumasurvivor

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An In-Depth Look At What “Self-Love” Looks Like, How It’s Different Than “Self-Care”, And A Reminder That Self-Love Is At The Top Level Of Everything

There is More talk about Self-Care than the Most Critical Key to Happiness and Great Relationships of all types——-“SELF-LOVE”.

With this in-depth look at what Self-Love looks like-for your own personal growth, I would like you to take an honest look inwards and determine if you Practice Self-Love.
If you’re not, or if you’re not doing all of the bullet points given below, don’t worry— “Each morning, we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.”

As always, let’s have a great conversation about this topic below 👇 in the comments where you can use this space for your own place in your mental wellness journey. Not your mental illness journey— I am here as a friend to guide you through to the other side as much as possible—yes, that is where I stand, and the magic only happens if you let me—so how about more group members join in for your sake.

The Mighty friends that have opened themselves up to this opportunity are telling me and showing me that they are really starting to get it, and they are taking bigger, new, determined steps in their lives.

"Self-Love" refers to a deeper internal state of accepting and valuing yourself unconditionally, while "self-care" focuses on taking practical actions to maintain your physical and mental wellbeing, like getting enough sleep, eating healthy, and engaging in activities you enjoy; essentially, self-love is the mindset that drives you to practice self-care. Self-Love is the mindset too that heals the pain and keeps you in the light, Determined to keep pushing away any darkness and to stop doubting yourself.

Key points to remember:
* Self-love:
* A feeling of intrinsic worth and acceptance, regardless of circumstances
* Becoming your own best friend - treating yourself with the same respect and understanding you would give a close friend.
* Be the love you never received.
* Includes embracing your flaws
* Foundation for setting healthy boundaries and prioritizing your needs
* learn to say no when needed and clearly explain why
* Don’t seek Anyone’s validation
* Positive self-talk: Use encouraging language to speak to yourself, focusing on your strengths and accomplishments.
* Pay attention to your thoughts and feelings, recognizing negative self-talk and actively replacing it with positive affirmations/relabel upsetting thoughts
* Say something nice to yourself in the mirror — looking into your eyes & smile at yourself & say “I love you”and your name. (Yes, I actually stop myself to do this & it’s Wonderful)
* cultivate self-compassion
* Encourage Yourself
* Talk to someone you trust who *Has The Capacity To Listen*-and, Another Big Key Here is that ***Being vulnerable - completely honest and thorough- about what you’re going through with someone else is a major form of self-love because you’re taking the time to dig deep, regardless of how uncomfortable it is, And, on top of that, you’re showing yourself that you want to work out whatever’s going on with you***
* avoid comparing yourself to others
* practice gratitude
* Seek out opportunities for growth
* Creating a safe zone all your own is an act of self-love because it gives you a designated area where you can focus on your needs and emotions instead of other people’s. The key here is creating a space that feels good and peaceful when life is neither of those things.
#MentalHealth #Mindfulness #Selflove #Selfcare #Selfharm #SuicideAttemptSurvivors #SuicidalIdeation #SuicidalThoughts #Suicide #Trauma #MajorDepressiveDisorder #PersistentDepressiveDisorder #Depression #Anxiety #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #Agoraphobia #BingeEatingDisorder #EatingDisorders #EatingDisorder #ChronicIllness #ChronicFatigue #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #LymeDisease #ComplexPosttraumaticStressDisorder #PostTraumaticStressDisorder #PTSDSupportAndRecovery #PTSD #BipolarDisorder #BipolarDepression #AutonomicDysfunction #AuditoryProcessingDisorder #Deafness #ADHDInGirls #ADHD #AspergersSyndrome #AutismSpectrumDisorder #Addiction #CerebralPalsy #IntellectualDisability #Disability #Blindness #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #BorderlinePersonalityDisorderBPD #Fibromyalgia #ChronicPain #Migraine #IfYouFeelHopeless #BrainInjury #MotorDisorders #MultipleSclerosis #RheumatoidArthritis #Arthritis #Grief #Loneliness #AnorexiaNervosa #Relationships #SocialAnxiety #FamilyAndFriends #Caregiving #CrohnsDisease #CysticFibrosis #AlopeciaAreata #Cancers #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #ParkinsonsDisease #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #POTS #Stroke #Diabetes #SelfharmRecovery #RareDisease #DownSyndrome #AddisonsDisease #IrritableBowelSyndromeIBS #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #ObsessiveCompulsiveandRelatedDisorders #ObsessiveCompulsivePersonalityDisorder #DissociativeIdentityDisorder

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Glad to be here

Hello everyone, I joined in 2017, but never joined any groups. I’m 52 years old & have delt with chronic pain for 25 years. I have hEDS, RA, deafness, tinnitus, MCAS. I’ve had so many surgeries that I’ve forgotten some! 😂 I just wanted to find a group who understands instead of being given advice on what I need to do. Believe me in 25 years, I have tried it all.

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I heard the sea for the first time after my cochlear implant

I’m quite happy with this accomplishment. For the first time in almos 2 years, I was able to hear the ocean, after getting my coclear implant done. I have been quite anxious about that. Certainly it was the most beautiful and poetic experience I had since I activated the implant 6 months ago. It was so special, that I was able to write a poem about it. #Deafness #Hearing #cochlearimplant #newperspective

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First time hearing the ocean #Deafness #cochlearimplant

I really love to be part of this amazing community. Here, we feel safe to share our fears, concerns and also our victories. I was on vacations last week and, for the first time in two years, thanks to the Cochlear Implant I got nearly 6 months ago, I was able to hear the ocean. It was confusing at first, but then, when I realized I was actually hearing the waves it was amazing. Did not feel like leaving the beach lol . It was so amazing that I was able to write a poem about it. It is amazing how the technology can change our lives. I will be forever grateful for this opportunity, specially after more than 20 years losing my hearing due to #APS #AntiphospholipidSyndrome and other factors.

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Asperger's and Communication (Part 2)

We are not compatible with the school system because we don't know how to behave and it doesn't stretch us (I hated it but fitted in better than many in my position, except when it came to maths. A certain teacher aimed questions at me, in front of the whole class, deliberately to humiliate me as he knew I couldn't answer them).

We are non conformist, not because we deliberately want to rebel against authority but because we don't have the social skills to fit in (we are size ten feet in size five shoes as I once put it). Our rebellions (temper tantrums) are because of sensory overload. Like a bucking bronco we kick off unwanted pressure and distractions from outside. For instance when I was a volunteer at The Dunn Nutrition Centre in Cambridge, I lost my temper because my room was beside the toilet block and I got fed up with banging doors and toilet seats. I locked the entrance into it and threw the keys in the courtyard, leaving shortly after that.

Digestive sensitivity (histamine reaction to wheat and food additives), disclosed themselves through indigestion, hay fever and twenty odd years of migraines. It may also be why I have to continually crack joints in my body (not only knuckles but knees, wrists, neck, lower back, between the shoulder blades, ankles and for some odd reason my left big toe but not my right). I also have restless leg syndrome, which is probably an offshoot of this. I also flick, tap and raise individual fingers, which I assume is my form of ticking but not like a clock.

Why is apparent deafness is one of autism's principle symptoms? Well that is because hyper visual concentration means shutting out all distractions from the other senses and that includes sound, hence the appearance of deafness. Even ordinary people need to do that because sound especially, turns our attention outwards into the world and away from visual attention aimed down and in.

The OCD component is I believe two fold but related. The first is the obvious fear of contagion (disease mostly) and the second is a fear of chaos. This is why we have our own rituals and the urge to create order around us (disease and dis-ease as objective and subjective parts of the condition). Illness creates internal chaos in our bodies and dis-order does the same thing with our minds.

Visual thinkers like me can instantly see answers to why things are the way they are. If you look at my writings (philosophical speculation), you will see that they are formulaic or even balanced equations, unless I didn't write my thoughts down instantly when they came to me, in which case they would have rambled into lengthy diatribes, no better in most cases than anyone else.

I too find talk confusing because of its speed and the efforts of verbalisers to work in depth is minimised. Temple Grandin’s point about the blind using bat echo location, falls into line with my point about sign language and forcing the deaf to talk. They have no sonic feedback ability, so cannot improve their ability to talk. They do see however and can speak with their hands as quickly and fluently as verbal speakers can with their mouths. My next door neighbour has developed motor neurone disease, so can no longer speak clearly but her handwriting is still as legible as it ever was, so this remains her principle means of communication.

Alters, valences and MPD sufferers are all attempts to take on the characteristics of those who are more successful in society than we are (adopt their persons).

At school my maths teacher at secondary level, always picked on me because he knew I couldn't answer any abstract questions he threw me. Then on the last day of the final term in his class, he produced a game for the whole of the class to solve and I was the only one to work it out because it was visual (you have two rows of three coins, arranged so that the top row is offset, sitting on the bottom row: all the coins touch two others and you have to turn the design into a circle by moving one coin at a time, so that they still touch two other coins, until the figure is complete).

When the autistic talk about their condition being a traumatic experience, they are correct. My wife broke her wrist about a month ago and since then has had an NT arm and an autistic arm. The injured hand is ultra sensitive. When she uses it to touch the sleeve of her jacket, it feels like sack cloth she says but the other hand has no such effect (hot and cold are equally contrary).

When I used to have migraines, it was the same for me but there was little discernible difference in body sides just a whole body sensitivity to touch, light, sound, smell and taste (in all cases input was too much). This makes me wonder if it's the same for epileptics and stroke victims? Is autism simply nerve damage that remains undetectable by our present medical technology, which in turn is not sensitive enough to pick up such data?

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