Able and Disabled

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Anxiety, Stress, Mental Health Hey! I hope you've been well. Honestly, I've been finding the last couple of weeks very challenging; physically and emotionally. To anyone who has spent time with me recently this will not be a surprise. This first term has been tough and it has knocked me and it has tired me, and it is only now that I've started to show myself my kind of compassion that I have needed. Today I thought that I'd talk a little about my recent experiences with burnout, stress and mental health as an autistic person with mental health and physical health challenges, partially for awareness and partially to let anyone who is having a difficult time right now know that they are not alone and that it is okay to struggle. I have always been one to push myself and expect myself to be capable of doing more and more; in short I have never been very good at showing kindness to myself. I have always been heavily critical of myself and have always...

Hey Everyone! What I want to talk about today is a slightly different and complex issue; feeling confident when claiming multiple diagnoses or labels. There are hopefully lots of people who have no problem being confident when saying they have several diagnoses, but for others it may be a little more difficult. In a society that so often invalidates disability, especially when they are invisible or fluctuating, is it is understandable that some individuals may struggle to not feel like an imposter when declaring a handful of different diagnoses. In the UK we live in a society where people are frequently doubting disabled folks' rights to use accessible parking spaces and are often accusing disabled individuals of faking to receive benefits. This sense of insecurity can be heightened when someone is experiencing multiple diagnoses, resulting in increased self-doubt and comments like "can you really have all of those conditions?" or "that's a weird coincidence!...

Hey All! Hope you are all well! I now this post is coming to you a little early, with my weekly posts normally going on Wednesdays, but I thought I would give a little extra reading this week! I'm not entirely sure whether that is in fact a positive way of wording it but oh well, I have something really exciting to talk about today! As regular readers will know in June I became involved in an awesome project called 'Scope For Change.' 'Scope For Change' is a six month programme aimed at training young adults to become disability campaigners and at helping them set up their initial campaigns. Following the Launch Event in June, this weekend was the Residential, a REALLY fun weekend of both activities and talks, both of which were designed to bring us even closer together as a group and help us further consider what we want our campaigns to be. I thought I would post today to tell you a little about my experience of the Residential and the kind of direction in whi...

Hey All! As mentioned in my blog post this time last week I was preparing for a day out that would be the first step of an amazing opportunity! The big news I had been keeping under wraps was in fact that I have been chosen to participate in this years 'Scope for Change' programme, a six month project that will give me the skills to be an even more capable and avid activist for the rights of disabled folks. The purpose of this programme is to provide me with the networks and techniques to be an influential campaigner. Many involved within the UK Disability community will be more than aware of the work and significance of Scope as a leading national charity, meaning that excited does very little to describe how I feel about the prospect of this mind-blowing opportunity! My personal reasoning for participation in the programme, as a large proportion of my Facebook friends will know, is because I want to help create a world in which everyone finally understands that not all im...

Hey All! We all appreciate the odd compliment and like to think that those around us notice or appreciate the things that we do. It is our nature to wish to inspire and be inspired? However, is the impact of this very word weakened when a disabled person is told that they are 'inspirational' simply for not being sad about being disabled? Recently I have been reading (and thoroughly enjoying) Francesca Martinez's book "What the **** is Normal?!" and it has reminded me of this topic's constant relevance and importance. Throughout my life I have come into contact with people who have aimed to congratulate me but have rather patronised me. Sure, compliment my stubborn nature or the things I create or the things I know, but not my ability to simply exist with disability. It is my belief that more often than not being inspirational is not about who you are but rather what you do with who you are, it is an action. This is why today I am constructing you a list of p...

Hey All! It is officially exam season, yay (not)! As a first year this is my first ever assessment period as a university student and I am half way through my exams for this year, an achievement that has required a lot of rewards and a heavy dependance upon the Lilo and Stitch soundtrack. What is also new is that around 6 months or so ago I was diagnosed with Dyslexia. Of course Dyslexia isn't something new, in the sense that it doesn't only become a problem post diagnosis. However, I think that the difficulties that lead to my diagnosis definitely became more obvious during A-Levels and the beginning of university, most likely because of the shift in how I was expected to learn. I had always benefit from teacher-led and multi-sensory education, as well as class-based reading, so what felt like a sudden turn towards independent study was a lot to adjust to. I had never benefited from read and learn type of methods, I had always need tasks and activities, a way of using the in...