TikTok Encouraged Me To Do Some Deeper Digging About Myself, But I Did The Research. And I’m Trying

I’m somewhere between 4 & 5, closer to 5, with a dash of ADHD wtf-ness. Almost all of my brain noise is audio, and I have to really focus to see a vague shape of anything.

i have neither a good imagination nor aphantasia, but a secret third thing

I love the "glasses are disability" thing because it applies to basically every complaint abled people have about disability

"You're not even that bad, why would you get that?" Have you ever used a magnifying glass for small details or zoomed in on a picture

"Why do you have that accommodation TODAY?" Why do you wear reading glasses when you're reading

"It seems like your 'needs' are inconsistent." Yeah and you wear sunglasses when it's sunny and not all the time

"But you can technically walk without that." Yeah and if I put the page really close to your face you could read it, it would just hurt and be hugely impractical, inconvenient, and limiting

"But you COULD go without it all the time, you don't NEED it to live." And maybe you could technically see without your glasses, doesn't mean it's comfortable or practical day to day

"If you REALLY had a hard time seeing you would have glasses." Have you ever known someone who couldn't afford a new pair of glasses? Or eye appointments? Someone who needed vision therapy or special prism glasses? Someone whose vision only gets bad during migraines or seizures? Someone with astigmatism that glasses can't help? Someone who didn't qualify for LASIK?

"You only use it when you're out in public." Have you ever gotten up to use the bathroom at night without putting on your glasses

"Decorating it is just trying to get attention, and it's a medical device so stop glamorizing it." Do you hate any patterned or colorful glasses frames too? Art with characters who wear glasses? People who make OCs with glasses? Glasses chains, prescription sunglasses, aesthetic fake glasses with tinted lenses?

"There are secretly lots of people just using aids for fun and attention." There are secretly lots of people wearing fake glasses or colored contacts for fun and attention, it does not affect you

"We need to find fakers, they're stealing disabled resources!" Someone pretending to need glasses is "taking" a seat in the front from someone who might need it more. That sucks and they shouldn't do that. But I'm not going to scrutinize every person who wears glasses to see if I think they really need that seat. You personally are not the arbiter of who is (based on the random times you've seen them) secretly not disabled

"My friend has that and doesn't act like that." Does every pair of glasses in production, or even every pair close to your prescription, work for you? Is your vision identical to every other nearsighted person?

"If you can do X why can't you do Y? Some people with that can do Y."/"But if you have that how can you do X? People with that can't usually do X." Some people are nearsighted and some people are farsighted and some people are both. Some farsighted people can read some without glasses and some can't. And good distance vision doesn't mean you don't ever need glasses, it's just an entirely different reason you'd need glasses

"You're too young to need that." And there are young people who need bifocal lenses

"Why don't you use this DIFFERENT aid though, it would look like you didn't even have an aid." Why doesn't everyone in the world wear contacts

"Why can't I/my friend/my kid play with it?" Do you let random strangers and children try on your glasses at the grocery store

"I was just trying to help, I thought you'd need a push/you were in the way." Are you cool with me suddenly pulling your glasses off your face to clean them, or because the glare was distracting me

"You'll eventually stop using it though right?" Are you planning on no longer needing glasses someday

Disabled people are free to add

I am aware this is not a 1-to-1 perfectly accurate post. Do not come into the notes trying to "um actually this isn't a perfect comparison." I know. Just don't

It almost seems like non-disabled people have a harder time accepting when a chronically disabled person will never get better - and maybe even deteriorate over time, than the affected person has.

"Aww don't lose hope"

There is no hope to be had? Stop pushing your toxic positivity down my throat when I have come to terms with my situation and am grieving already.

Losing hope is what has given me an ounce of peace of mind. This is what life is now. It's not your grief, it's mine.

What about when your health is a shit ton of lemons, and you have to deal with those lemons plus the life lemons? I’m so tired of making lemonade. I just want to throw those fuckers.

Source

I stress about having to use my card properly and not take too long and what if it doesn’t read right and what if there aren’t seats and what if I have to sit next to someone who wants to talk and where do I look and ALL THE NOISES.

And that’s just for buses and the light rail. I’ve been rehearsing air travel for much longer.

To other autistic people, how do you feel about travelling on public transport?

I feel like this about the doctors responsible for caring for each party too. Managing your own care is exhausting af.

my body is a group project and no one is doing their part correctly

I’m dealing with this myself right now. I know I’ve had food issues all my life but wth body? Why now? What’s triggering it? The idea of food is sometimes meh or icky, but when I’m eating safe foods I’m usually okay. Even my gag reflex has been hypersensitive lately. I blame hormones and the autism.

I felt this…

Autism

ADHD

Hunger

Needed to hear this today

Your disabilities’ effect(s) on your schooling do not make you a bad student; you are not a bad student because you are disabled.

Catzilla is tired and requires a nap

(via)