The Voiceless Minority

 What comes to mind when you hear the words “physical or occupational therapy”? Most of you who will read this are probably only familiar with the words in the context of rehab. By that, I mean most readers of this post will associate physical and occupational therapy only with injuries or accidents. In my opinion, this is because these services are believed to “fix” a problem. If one hurts their meniscus or knee, as my now wife, Samantha, or as I like to call her “love bug,” did several months ago, for example, you would go to physical therapy with the goal of gaining function back in your knee. Once you get to what is known as your baseline level of functioning, or you stop making progress towards a goal, your therapy comes to an end. In theory, that would make sense except for the fact that most people with disabilities need therapy to maintain a basic level of functionality and are not receiving therapy as a result of an injury that will “get better” over time. The problem co...

Mental health is as important as physical health, but the way we treat people’s mental health needs in the United States, you wouldn’t think that we value mental health. A disturbing study that came out last summer in the Journal of JAMA highlights the poor standing of mental health in our society. The study focused on people who are on Medicaid, i.e., low-income or those with disabilities. While the study found that there were clinicians who “accepted” Medicaid, it found that in the five cities studied, only 15% of providers who were accepting Medicaid were available for appointments. This is not only sad but ridiculous. I am going to open up for a minute and let my readers know that I take advantage of psychiatric and counseling services. I think everyone should do so, especially with all the garbage that life, the universe, and other humans throw at us. I have been using psychiatric services since the age of 18. Let’s just say I wasn’t always as okay with my disability or other as...