Able and Disabled

Hey! Hope you are well. I've been pretty overwhelmed recently but today I wanted to discuss the access to BSL (British Sign Language) within our community. I've personally wanted to start learning BSL for sometime now, but along with being busy it's difficult to know my place within this particular space. BSL isn't just for the severely deaf but is used by many within the hard of hearing community who may struggle with clarity or understanding. Furthermore, sign language can be used by many without hearing problems but who struggle with communication for any reason, such as those living on the autistic spectrum. My hearing loss is mild. In 1:1 conversations or when I'm watching something on my own I can cope without my hearing aids. However, in loud or heightened social situations I can definitely struggle to gain clarity and fully know what is going on around me. In these kinds of circumstances knowing some basic BSL and being able to share that knowledge with ...

Hey All! Truthfully, I have spent my fair share of time in Hospitals for both extended treatment and more immediate surgery. Some operations and treatments, while not exclusively reserved for individual conditions, can be somewhat more closely tied to disability and chronic illness. The distinction I wish to make is between treatments particular familiar within disabled communities and those which can easily come with age or less persisting illness. Many of my earlier experiences with surgery and treatment will have been far more familiar to those with similar disabilities, including cerebral palsy. In particular, physiotherapy and botox spring to mind. However, my experiences with bunion removal during year eleven and thirteen felt significantly different, primarily because this is a common procedure performed upon disabled and able-bodied folks alike. The removal of bunions is a procedure that is not as closely linked to disability as many of my previous experiences, with the dev...

Hey All! Tonight's episode of Holby City (my absolute favourite soap opera, being the only one I follow) was a show dedicated to marking the 70th anniversary of the NHS. That's why despite the time, I thought it would be the perfect moment to write this particular post. If no one objects the following post will simply be me gushing over the NHS and all it has done for me personally, sorry not sorry! I think it's incredibly easy but dangerous for any of us with access to the NHS to take its services for granted. This is especially true within today's political climate, with certain individuals currently in power pushing for privatisation and allowing cuts that will only put our national health service under increased pressure. Indeed, less funding and support, as well as the potential loss of staff due to Brexit, have left our NHS fragile. However, some take this as a cue to criticise rather than support those who keep the NHS alive despite the interference of those ...

When you tell someone that you wear Hearing Aids the assumption often is that you are deaf or severely hard of hearing, and that you have been so since birth or early childhood. This is not always the case. For many hearing loss can be a more mild but still noticeable challenge, and can also be developed over time or due to circumstance. For me, my hearing loss was caused by a Gromit falling out from my left eardrum years after the treatment of tonsillitis. Due to the more circumstantial nature of my hearing loss it took time to worsen to a point that warranted the use of Hearing Aids, meaning that I didn't actually receive my Hearing Aids until my Summer exams in 2016. Next month I will have been using my Hearing Aids for just about 2 years. Of course, the causes and severity of my own hearing loss impacts the issues put forward by my disability. Because of the hole in my eardrum my ears are a bit like a dodgy speaker, the more noise you put through them the worse the sound qual...