The Voiceless Minority

  As a journalist, it is your job to always be on the lookout for the next story or trend. I am no different; I am always looking for the next topic to cover on this blog; however, I never thought I would find it while chilling with my dad on a Tuesday afternoon. For those of you who don’t know him, let me quickly make an introduction. My dad is a loving, caring, ornery 63-year-old pain in my butt, but I love him with all my heart. Approximately 13 years ago, he became disabled, and we have grown closer since. Due to the nature of his disability, my dad has changed not only physically but also in other ways as well. He no longer has the attention span to watch a whole TV program or even read an entire chapter in a book. This means he enjoys doing so; it simply means that where you and I can watch a half-hour program in one sitting, it takes tremendous effort for my dad to do so. Therefore, he spends most of his time in his man-cave watching short YouTube clips. They can range from ...

Some people with disabilities require the assistance of a caregiver. Below are some questions you can ask during an interview. Interviewing a caregiver beforehand allows both you and that potential caregiver to get to know one another and see if the care they can provide can meet your needs.  Note, these are not the only questions you should ask during an interview; the questions below are a good place to begin if you are unsure of what you should ask. These questions were transcribed from one of Samantha's YouTube videos entitled "Top 10 Questions To Ask A Caregiver in 2021", which can be found on her YouTube channel called Being Sammy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPytfu95odc How many clients do you have? Ask this question right away because it will let you know how much time they have to dedicate to your needs. Sometimes, when they have too many clients, it can lead to schedule conflicts, double bookings, and even emotional stress for the caregiver, especially if tha...

“Casting call! Casting call! Calling all actors and actresses. We are looking for someone to play someone with a disability.”  Anyone who knows me knows I'd jump, not literally, unless we are talking about a spasm, if I saw a casting call flyer with the criteria listed above. The sad reality is, crip casting is a thing. Crip casting, for example, happened in the movie The Upside. Bryan Cranston, who I am not denying is a great able-bodied actor, was chosen to play the disabled character Phillip, even though it does not appear as if he has a physical disability himself. The example of crip casting in The Upside is not unusual.  For the most part, disabled characters in TV and film are not portrayed by people with disabilities but rather by the able-bodied community.  Perhaps this is why there are three archetypes of disability. We are either portrayed as someone who needs saving, needs to be cured, or is a villain. Let me further illustrate what I mean. The earlier example...

Did you know that Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) is required to help out with paying for out-of-state services if similar options cannot be found within the state? That’s right, the U.S. Department of Education’s guidance shares what to do when out-of-state requests are made. This also includes requests for postsecondary programs for people with Autism and/or other developmental disabilities. The document states that if a VR recipient is seeking services that fall into their Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE), the agency should accommodate an out-of-state option if there are none available in-state.  I have not personally had any experience working with VR, so I cannot speak on that front. However, I do think that it’s important to note the importance of accessibility. If states do not have programs that fall in their IPE, are those states doing anything to create them? Having to uproot your life to access a program is not an easy thing to do - not just financially, but emot...

Imagine being employed by a large corporation as a person with a disability. Now imagine being told that your absences from work were excused because you needed time to recover from medical episodes. Now…next thing you know, you get fired from your place of employment. This is a harsh and unfortunate reality for those with disabilities. In one case, a previous Walmart employee in Henderson, NC, had five seizures between January and May 2017. The Walmart location knew about her epilepsy diagnosis and was given doctor’s notes. The location promised her that each absence would be excused; however, they did not explain the reason for her absences. Instead, they fired her due to her attendance.  Oh, you thought that was it? Walmart has done this in two other locations in North Carolina.  One previous Walmart employee in Raleigh and Statesville, NC, fired an employee for attendance issues when she had to go to the emergency room as a result of her Crohn’s disease. Another Walmart em...

Did you know that obesity during pregnancy may contribute to their child potentially developing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?  This shocked me, too! According to an Australian meta-analysis, obesity during pregnancy was found to be more than double the risk of a child developing ASD, while the risk of ADHD increased by 32%. In this meta-analysis, maternal overweight and obesity before and during pregnancy were studied, and interestingly enough, showed significant links with psychiatric and behavioral problems in children later in life. I was reading this from a Newsweek article, and, of course, I have to practice philosophical doubt, meaning I have to question its credibility. Then I stumbled upon this research article . As a behavior analyst, I find myself curious to look at the data behind this. Lo and behold, the scientific evidence showed up, and my doubts were silenced.  It’s interesting, though, because I would have ...

What does it mean to experience intimacy? Are disabled people even capable of it? These are good questions, and hopefully this post will provide some answers.  There are several types of intimacy one can engage in during a relationship. However, intimacy is generally defined as “a feeling of close connection and deep understanding between two people” (Dictionary.com). For the purposes of this post, we will discuss the following areas of intimacy. Emotional, Physical, Sexual, Intellectual, Spiritual, Social. Seeing that I’m no expert in psychology, having taken only enough psychology classes to earn a minor in College, I will rely heavily on other resources for this piece.  The idea for this piece came about after reading an article in Rolling Inspiration magazine. It talked about how to maintain boundaries and intimacy after someone becomes disabled due to a spinal cord injury. The article, which I will link at the bottom of this piece, prompted me to think about my family’s ...