Tweet
December 3rd is the United Nation’s annual International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Some background:
The annual observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December, aims to promote an understanding of disability issues, the rights of persons with disabilities and gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of the political, social, economic and cultural life of their communities. The Day provides an opportunity to mobilize action to achieve the goal of full and equal enjoyment of human rights and participation in society by persons with disabilities, established by the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1982.…Globally, almost one in ten people is a person living with a disability and recent studies indicate that persons with disabilities constitute up to 20 per cent of the population living in poverty in developing countries. Many persons with disabilities continue to face barriers to their participation in their communities and are often forced to live on the margins of society. They often face stigma and discrimination and are routinely denied basic rights such as food, education, employment, access to health and reproductive health services. Many persons with disabilities are also forced into institutions, a direct breach of the rights to freedom of movement and to live in their communities.
I’m one of those with invisible disabilities; Pam, who also has invisible disabilities, is one who now in bridging into the world of having visible disabilities.
“April,” the trans university student I’ve mentored for over three years — a young woman who long ago went from being visibly trans to invisibly trans — in the past few months has become visibly disabled. It’s disheartening that she’s reported to me that she’s already faced as much or more harassment for being disabled than she did when she was visibly trans. So, not only must “April” deal with the limitations that her disabilities have now imposed upon her, she now must endure the staring of strangers, ugly commentary from a few of these strangers, and endure stalkers — she’s had three men stalk her…sexualizing her visible disability and/or attempting to prey on her because of her visible disability.
So today, on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, take a moment to think about those who are disabled in terms of harassment and discrimination — things that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and other people in protected classes experience.
And too, take a moment to think about the intersections of minority communities — we have people who identify as LGBT community members who also identify as disabled. Many of us belong to more than one identity group, and experience harassment and discrimination exponentially because we are identified as double, triple, and even quadruple minorities — Disability being one of those minority experiences that intersects with LGBT.
21 Comments
Do I hear an echo in here? LOL
ThanksResolved…
You’re welcome…..…..I just thought it was kind a funny
Yeah, I blame disabled PHB SoapBlox software…(Hee-hee!)
Thanks for posting this, AutumnFor many people, it’s very difficult to discuss invisible disabilities — while fibromylagia and diabetes can be ones that are hidden for a long while, at least most people know someone with the latter. Those with the former are only now being validated by research; many were told fibro was all in their heads. Well, they were partially right — it wasn’t psychosomatic, it’s a neurological condition that’s difficult to treat because not everyone is responsive to current meds.
Anyway, all of those illnesses don’t compare to the stigma of mental illness; despite millions of people on some sort of anti-depressant or psych drugs, it’s always treated as some sort of scarlet letter or weakness, despite a lot of public education. You’d think that the myriad examples of people whose actions, some violent, some self-harm, others reflecting retreat from society because of untreated mental illness would validate the need to take it seriously and speak about it openly.
An aside — having been on a couple of anti-depressants (during my search for relief for fibromylagia since some, like Cymbalta seem to work on the neurological component) that have numerous side effects and hard acclimation and withdrawal perious, these drugs are serious business. I cannot believe general practictioners often prescribe them like candy.
Autismis a disability I knew very little about, until Jean’s diagnosis. Every day is “Disability Day” at our house.
Too many people like Michael Savage think autism is a fraud. That someone with a national audience spouts such hateful and stupid nonsense makes it difficult to increase awareness and further positive TRUTHFUL public education.
Fortunately, there are far more people who understand the truth about people with disabilities- like the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver and VP Joe Biden…
Where to begin with all the disabilities in my family…My brothers and I inherited fibro from our mother, who as far as we can tell, inherited it from her father. We all suffer from depression. My oldest brother is bipolar with an allergy to lithium and I’ve suspected for a while now that he has Asperger’s Syndrome. The psychiatrist I saw before I moved also suggested that I have it too. I don’t think there’s anything I can say about all that that someone else won’t say better.
The hearing impairment most of us have seems to occupy a nebulous area between visible and invisible. Our hearing aids are easy enough to spot, but so few people seem to be able to figure out how to react to them. The general school of thought in people seems to be that if you can hear, that you’re not really disabled. There are also far too many people who think that if you know how to deal with someone who’s deaf you know how to deal with someone who’s hearing impaired when the truth is, the two issues are extremely different. Even without my hearing aids, it’s extremely rare for me to completely miss hearing something. The problem comes from sounds getting distorted, especially if the person speaking to me doesn’t get my attention. It’s very similar to listing to the adults in the old “Charlie Brown & Snoopy” cartoons. I wish I could count the times my brother and I have been told that we just need to pay more attention.
I’ve written about my paralysis before.And about the reactions to it I’ve sometimes gotten. ”Gimp” is one of the nicer things I’ve heard. As I’ve said before, I’ve experienced more outright discrimination and hostility for my (very visible) disability than I ever have for being a gay man.
The other side of it is that when I’m out and about wearing my neck brace and walking on my cane, some people are much more polite, deferential and considerate than I ever noticed when I was “whole.” So paradoxically my disability has actually brightened my outlook, if only a bit. But the negative reactions sting so badly…
So thanks very much for posting this, Autumn. It makes me feel just a tad less alone.
YES – StigmaWith mental illness, far too many people dismiss it as a disability altogether; they disbelieve that mental illness can and does prevent work-related functioning for some folks.
Anti-depressants can also be scary – I mean homicidal/suicidal scary. From experience (I’m on Effexor XR), you have to be extraordinarily diligent about refills; going on and off these HAS to be gradual. I went 3-4 days without Effexor once and it was like going from Mr. Rogers to Norman Bates (to “Mother”!) and back. Yeah, these meds are very helpful for many (including moi), but holy shit are they also dangerous.
Another tip from experience – if you are undiagnosed as bi-polar and you are on some anti-depressants, you can also go from zero to madness in one breath. Once combined WITH meds for bi-polar, things are just dandy!
Mental disabilitiesI suffer from bipolar type 2 and SAD (which makes this time of the year extra fun for me). The social stigma is lessening, slowly, thanks to PSAs and that there are alot more of us willing to speak out (social stigma means little to me as I rarely care what society thinks about me anyway). My wife and I are fighting because she says “able-bodied people need to get off their asses and work.” That would be fine if I was able-bodied. I also have degenerative disc disease in my neck and beginning stage arthritis there. This causes chronic pain which intensifies to the unbearable stage when my neck decides to lock up. I’m looking for a job anyway, despite the fact that unemployment figures are over 10% here and the sunday jobs section consisted of 1 page last week. I’m just not in the mood to lose another job because my disabilities decide to gang up on me, making me unable to work. It feels like a vicious cycle.
My stepdaughter’s boyfriend suffers from clinical depression and keeps going off his meds. I think he is tied into the culture of “mental illness = weakness” and that “those drugs are bad for you.” I can’t argue much about the latter statement.
The main drug used to treat my bipolar has the side effect of suicidal thoughts and depression. Umm, I’m type 2 so why would I want to increase the likelihood of suicidal ideation and depression? It can also cause a deadly rash and I had to be ramped up SLOWLY to an effective dose to keep this from happening. Not to mention double vision, which landed me in an MRI tube.
Then there is seroquel. Headaches (YAY! To go along with my migraines which I get at least 2X /mo AND every time I have an orgasm!)High cholesterol (YAY it is already to the point of my doc wanting me to take those pills). Weight gain, back pain (yes, I need more back pain to go along with the degenerating discs) and constipation. Vision problems.
Tegretol: depression, suicidal ideation (WTF?) and various physical problems that I am already fighting. Oh and double vision.
Lunesta: icky taste, gynecomastia (DAMMIT, tho I wonder if I could find a friendly surgeon to do the surgery under insurance now). Suicidal thoughts. I am weaning myself off of this one because seroquel does a pretty good job of knocking me out.
This is just my current regimen for my mental disabilities. I was misdiagnosed for many years with clinical depression and doctors tried all the usual SSRIs which either did nothing, made me psychotic or had a hand in my suicide attempts.
I also take synthroid (damn thyroid still isn’t right) and propranelol (which I am STOPPING because I still get migraines and that little issue of the Iranian doctor who blew the whistle about torture in Iran who just ended up dead from an overdose).
Does anyone else feel like they are on the pharma merry-go-round? Does anyone else just get so sick and tired of it that they’d just prefer to pull the shades down, close the door and sleep for a few months? Are you frustrated that the people that you think should understand what you are going through need to be given a clue? Sorry. I know this is a rant. It’s been bottling up for some time and I guess I’ll add this to the list of things to discuss with my therapist.
Please take care of yourself this solstice seasonAnd this goes for everyone here, be it the Winter Solstice/Yule/Dong Zi/Yalda, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and of course, Holiday. Yeah, I had to wiki a couple of those; everyone should!
This time of year is chock full of stress, be it from seasonal viruses, shortened daylight, cold temperatures, societal behavior and demeanor changes (think parking and shopping), family discord, seasonal downsizings…the list goes on. If you weren’t fighting depression before…you just might start, if you don’t find people around you to care for and that care for you. But now underlay all of that seasonal stuff with the things that don’t go away, things like visible physical disabilities, invisible physical disabilities including mental illnesses and it’s a wonder any of us make it through to January!
Back to the posted topic somewhat, my first thoughts were something like,”If it weren’t for Sen. Helms, being trans would be a recognized disability”. It’s an interesting thought game, treating transness as a purely medical issue. One that pretends that privilege doesn’t exist. And it parallels other physical disabilities quite closely…
Up til a few years ago, my wife used to work for an assistance animal NPO. From what she saw and learned, it comes down to confidence. People do treat visible and invisible disabilities different, but in either case success is found in realizing that it’s not your shortcoming that is causing the problem, it is theirs. It comes down to having to train yourself to recognize what kind of person’s opinion matters to you. And some days it’s still damn hard. Find your friends, become part of your tribe. It’s love that makes the difference.
I have Asperger Syndrome…but because AS was little known before the last decade I was only diagnosed in 2004. I’m what’s known as “high functioning”, which means my AS only becomes apparent when I’m stressed or suffering from depression. This can make me very confusing to people who don’t understand AS, because perhaps 95% of the time I act just like any normal human being. Even an expert in AS wouldn’t necessarily realise I have it. This is not unusual for people with AS.
One consequence of this is that many people think I’m faking the problems associated with it. I’ve even been accused of being a fraud by a medical professional in the past – a psychologist whose background was mental institutions who had no experience whatsoever of AS. The fact that AS isn’t always obvious, combined by a lack of awareness & training for some coworkers, was a key issue in why I lost my job nine months ago – the HR department engineered a situation where my AS would cause a problem that would allow them to fire me.
We are both disabled hereFor most of the world our disability isn’t particularly visible, those who know several people living with AIDS would see our disability.
I’ve been hurt more deeply concerning AIDS than I ever was being gay, and I’ve survived an attempted bashing by 3 men with clubs.
Maybe it doesn’t seem such a big deal when a family dentist clinic refused to remove an impacted tooth once they knew I had AIDS, and that 4 other dentists not treating me, or coming anywhere near the office I was in, and they all dressed like they needed hasmat protections.
But I’ll never forget that day.
I’ve told how I was treated the night Dan died so I won’t repeat it again.
“temporarily abled”I think it was a post on this blog where I read that expression, and for me it really highlights the human condition. Feeling immortal and impervious? Yeah, just give it a minute.
We must commit to look after each other, not just in our families, in our communities, in our states, but nationally, and someday, internationally. It is at once both admirably altruistic and completely selfish. Mantra: strong public option, strong public option, strong public option …
addendumI’d like to add that the advice and lessons she (and subsequently I, secondhand) learned are applicable only to dealing with every day honest ignorance or unfamiliarity, NOT the learned hatred or fear of visible disabilities or differences. You can’t just “confidence” away someone who is harassing or threatening or that intends to harm.
DepressionI have suffered from depression for many, many years. I have tried every anti-depressant on the market but none have had any effect on my mood.
People I meet on the street have no idea, because I put a smile on my face and do my best to pretend I feel something instead of this constant numbness. On many days I don’t even have the energy to pretend, so I just stay at home and curl up under the covers with my laptop.
The people where I do volunteer work are aware of my disability and are supportive and understanding when I just can’t make it in sometimes. If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t be able to do any outside work at all.
And yeah, I find it much easier to talk to people about being trans than about having a mental illness. Even my Dad, an old school Mennonite, has had a much easier time accepting my transness than he does my depression, which he thinks doesn’t exist and is just laziness and a lack of self-discpline.
I wouldn’t wish what I have on anyone else, but I do sometimes wish I could give them a taste of what it is like just to disabuse them of their smug ableism.
A common problemfor folks is the lack of understanding- these are SPECTRAL disorders and not cookie cutter situations. I used to get told that Jean was “faking” some of her symptoms once in awhile.
Best analogy I have found yet to describe is this:
Take a TV set hooked up to cable. The TV works fine and the signal is being sent, but the cable box has intermittant problems with unscrambling the signal. Sometimes it works fine; sometimes it doesn’t.
That’s how my kiddo’s head works. She’s a smart kid and very capable of learning, but occasionally various things interfere. Apraxia and dyslexia have really made some things hard, but she fortunately (?) is a bit on the determined/stubborn side and keeps at it…
Another analogy would be trying to see the world while looking through a sheer curtain- you can ALMOST see everything just fine, but it’s not 100% clear.
We have all learned how to adapt and frankly, life is pretty darned pleasant and nice in our family. But alot of hard work (ongoing) has been instrumental to figuring out so much, as well as trying to strike a balance so everyone in the family is treated fairly…
Charlie looks very fitBut the reality is that he has horrible arthritis that flares with cold, over-exertion, or just because it’s Tuesday.
It’s something we deal with- the cold doesn’t affect me 1/8 as much, so I try to compensate with cold weather chores and keep him comfortable. No doubt folks have looked at us oddly, when he goes inside for coffee at the convenience store and I stay out in the cold to fill his car’s gas tank, or I carry more heavy items than he in the winter- but let ‘em look…
And as he once had a broken neck that took 2 years to heal, the “collar and cane” is a look I am well acquainted with!
You are far from alone, Q…
We’re friends hereNever feel you have to apologize for ranting OR explaining!
THIS.Exactly why I give a big hug to the folks I know are poz, with no hesitation and a happy smile to see them.
Having worked in a clinic years back where we were constantly checking T cell levels, I learned a few things: that developing skill with use of a butterfly on the teeniest spider veins can make all the difference in the world and that the “HAZMAT” mentality and prejudice is widespread.
butterfly needles are greatIn an AIDS art show I sold a painting I made which, was an abstracted landscape with butterfly needles flying throuch the image. I did big circles like dandelion puffs all made from counting Hash marks, I continued the image on to the frame showing the inability to contain it.