Ponderings On A Theme

[brumeier]

Our current theme here on the AU comm is People with Disabilities. This is a theme that has resonated with me almost as long as I can remember, because I’ve always been interested in how people with disabilities make their way through a world that is rarely set up to accommodate them.

One of my favorite books when I was a kid was Follow My Leader

Comments

[nagi_schwarz]

When I was in middle school, one of the girls in my sister's grade had Downs Syndrome. A lot of boys picked on her, but I tried to be nice to her whenever I was around her, and it made me so angry that the boys thought they could do whatever the wanted to her (they also picked on my sister, who is heavily dyslexic). When I signed up for Facebook over a decade later, she found me, and she remembered me, and I felt like I hadn't done anything worth being remembered for

[brumeier]

It was good of you to reach out to all those people. I've always been beyond awkward around people with visible disabilities - not as bad as I used to be, but still not great. (Don't even ask my stance on nursing homes.) When my work friend came to my mom's birthday party with her brother, who has Down's Syndrome, I was paralyzed. What do I say? What do I do? I don't know why I'm like that. My parents are chill with everyone.

I'm striving to be less awkward, though.

Your migraines are absolutely a disability. I feel like you're getting them less frequently now, which is awesome, but I remember when they were coming every day, and still you were doing mom things and housework and stuff. Like some kind of superwoman. I'm glad that app gave you pause and helped you realize that you don't have to push yourself through that. I worry about you. ::hugs::