Dan Piraro, Bizarro Comics 2006

Here's some positivity towards people with medical devices that others view as "gross", or "shouldn't be seen in public". It's bullshit the way this gets treated and I want more positivity about it, so I'm making it myself.

People with catheters. People with stoma bags. People with feeding tubes. People who have tubing or medical alterations they can't hide. People who otherwise have medical devices which are deemed "not socially acceptable" and "gross".

Your medical devices deserve to take up space. We should not be made to feel ashamed for devices which keep us alive. We should not be made to feel insecure for the ways our bodies function and the assistance we need to live. You deserve to be yourself, you deserve to exist in public as a disabled person, and you deserve to be accepted and celebrated as yourself, medical devices included.

Please Share this so that Scar can get some help !!

Tweet Link: https://twitter.com/GTWScar/status/1697685975848325613?t=KeuexKfOuWNFEFdQDKg7Zg&s=19

I just remembered something my doctor said when he recommended crutches for me. my mum was there and she also used crutches but she had decorated them since she didn't like using them and having them look funky made her feel better. he said (and I'm paraphrasing here since I have an awful memory and I've only just now recalled this appointment lol): "but don't let them do that, we don't want to encourage them to use the crutches". what would I need them for if not to use them??? and I was bullied at school whenever I used mobility aids. having them look cool in my eyes made it just a little bit better.

moral of the story tho: decorate your mobility aids if that's what will make using them more comfortable for you. your mobility aids are there to help you and you're not "giving up" or "being lazy" for using them. put the cool tape on them, pin badges to them, add keyrings, whatever brings you a little joy.

Tips for wring amputees: its ok if your amputee can't repair their own prosthetics

There's a trope in fiction for amputees to always be these mechanical geniuses who can make and repair their own prosthetics, endlessly tinkering away and improving them. This isn't a particularly trope, and i dont think its harmful or anything, but in reality, prosthetics are REALLY, REALLY complicated, and a lot of amputees cant do their own repairs. And thats ok. Like, prosthetic creation and repair is way, way harder than I think people expect. Well outside the skillset of your standard mechanic, handy man or craftsperson.

People who make and repair prosthetics are called prosthetists. To become a prosthetist, most countries around the world today require you to have completed a bachelor's degree in specifically in prosthetics and orthotics, which covers not only how to make a prosthetics (and orthodics) but a great deal of medical knowledge, physics, how different forces impact "non-standard" bodies, the additional biological wear-and-tear that comes with being an amputee and so much more. This will qualify you to do the job of fitting/making the prosthetic socket (the part that attaches to your body) and putting premade components together to make a functioning device. On top of this, many prosthetists are also expected to have artistic skills, sewing skills, good physical strength and dexterity, IT skills, and more recently, knowledge of 3D modelling and printing.

You want to make all the high-tech components the prosthetists put together to make the full prosthetic? The requirements for that vary country to country, but most will require at least some level study in the field of engineering and/or medicine, on top of what was already required for the prosthetics course.

The reason for all this is because even "basic" prosthetics are extremely finicky, and messing up one thing will have a domino effect on the rest of the body, especially in more complicated prosthetics. It can also result in people getting severally injured if anything is even slightly off. many leg amputees for example end up with spinal issues due to extremely minor issues with their prosthetic that weren't caught until years later, and by then the damage had been done.

Some amputees do learn to do basic repairs. This is most common in places like the US, where a visit to the prosthetist can cost hundred to thousands of dollars (depending on your insurance), but it's also quite common in rural parts of countries like Australia, where cost isn't an issue but access is due to vast distances between major cities. I was personally in this category; as a kid, my nearest prosthetist was 6 hours away. My prosthetist was able to teach my dad, who later taught me, how to do some of the simple repairs, but we still needed to go in every few weeks for the more complex stuff (Kids prosthetic need more adjusting than adults because they're still growing. Also I was rough on my prosthetics and broke them a lot lol).

But even after being taught how to do repairs and having my prosthetics for 20+ years, I only ever did these sorts of repairs to my below-knee prosthetic. I will not do any repairs of any kind to my above knee leg, which is much more technologically complex. Every time I tried, I made it worse to the point where the leg was unusable. I just leave those repairs to the guy who went to university to learn how to do it, and sometimes even he needs to send it off to someone with even more specialist knowledge when it's really badly messed up lol. Last time that happened Australia post lost the package. Not really relevant to this post, I just find the idea of it being sent to the wrong place by accident hilarious, it was one of my more realistic legs too so someone probably had a heart attack when they opened that package lmao.

Anyway, back on track lol.

This isn't even touching on the fact that on some more advanced prosthetics, many features are actually locked behind a security barrier only prosthetists can access. My prosthetic knee has an app on my phone I can pair it to, that allows me to change certain settings and swap between certain modes for different activities that tell the leg to change its behaviour depending on what I'm doing (e.g. a mode for running, a mode for cycling etc). but most of the more in-depth settings I can't access, only my prosthetist can, and he can only gain access to those settings with a security key given to him by the manufacturing company that requires him to provide proof of his credentials to receive it. I don't really agree with this btw, something about being locked out of my own leg's settings makes me feel a bit of an ick, but it's set up like this because people used to be able to access these settings and they would mess with things to the point their leg was virtually unusable. Because altering one setting had a domino effect on all the others, and a lot of folks weren't really paying attention to what they were messing with, all their prosthetists could do was factory reset the whole leg, which causes some issues too. Prosthetic arms are often similarly complex, as I understand it and have similar security barriers in place for more advanced arms. I don't know for sure though, so take that with a grain of salt.

All this to say these are incredibly delicate, finicky and complex pieces of equipment. There's nothing wrong with having a techy amputee character who can do their own repairs, but in reality, that is pretty rare, and its ok to have your character need to see a prosthetist or someone more knowledgeable than them. It's a part of the amputee experience I don't see reflected very often in media. In fact, the only examples I can think of in fiction (meaning not stories based on real people) where this is reflected are Full metal alchemist.

technically I think Subnautica Below Zero also mentions prosthetists are a thing in that world, but its a very "blink and you'll miss it" kind of thing...in fact I did miss it until my last playthrough lol.

(Tw for a VERY brief mention of infantilization)

I want to talk about interacting with AAC users in person, specifically for speaking people.

1. Being an AAC user, I get left behind during conversations a lot because it takes me longer to add in my statement. By the time I'm done, the topic has oftentimes changed and then what I want to say isnt relevant anymore, and sometimes wont even be understood because to everyone else what I just said was out of place and random. This feels really frustrating and sometimes isolating, as well as embarrassing. Please wait for us, we want to converse too.

2. Sometimes when I am not yet done responding, people will watch me and try to guess what I'm going to say. If all I've got down so far is "I already", people might go "I already.. know!" "I already.. saw!" etc. Please stop doing that. Even if you got the idea correct, you might use the wrong words, which frustrates me. And even if you say it all correctly it's still frustrating, imagine if someone tried to guess what you were saying by interrupting you every time you started to talk. It's annoying.

3. Dont comment on what in our folders. If I open a folder to get to another word, and whilst doing that you see a different word in it that's funny or inappropriate or whatever, keep it to yourself. Its annoying. You have acsess to those words, and it isnt treated as weird, so why is it for me?

4. Don't infantilize us. We aren't perpetually children. We are our age. Treat us as if we are a speaking person of our age.

hey disabled babes. i promise your disability aids do not ruin your aesthetic. they are an aesthetic. rock them.

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The psych ward was hell for so many different reasons (most of the staff hated Mad people, the food was mostly inedible, it was a glorified prison, ect) but one of the worst parts for me was how inaccessible it was as a physically disabled person.

I wasn't allowed to have my cane or my earplugs (both of which I need), I was "required" to shower daily or get marked as "noncompliant" even though I have severe pain issues that make that near impossible, walking was a constant requirement because not only were there "meetings" and "classes" that you attended or got marked "noncompliant" but if you needed water or I dunno help you had to walk to the front desk and ask. You also had to walk to the nurse's desk and stand in line to get medicine or get marked as "noncompliant" because she sure as hell wasn't going to bring it to you.

I was constantly getting both my glasses and my sunglasses taken from me by people who did not believe I needed them and the chairs were all hard plastic that did not work well with a broken body.

They also did not keep food allergies in mind and lactose intolerance also did not count as an allergy so that was hell too.

I have chronic migraines but "wasn't allowed" to take any medicine for it unless I wanted one ibuprofen. There were also windows everywhere and no curtains which went beautifully with super bright lights, so I never ever felt like I wasn't dying from a migraine and general light sensitivity. There were no quiet rooms, no dark rooms, nothing but light and loud. I was also taken off all my pain meds for over a day because they "weren't sure" if I "actually needed them" and I was taken off my heart medicine repeatedly because they really just thought I was too young for that.

I was given a walker instead of my cane, which does not work the same, and doctors constantly kept trying to take it away because "you don't really need that, do you?". There was often not enough space in certain areas for my walker which made me extra vulnerable because when I was being harassed by people, I couldn't just walk away and staff was pretty much useless.

Not to mention, we were "encouraged" to wake up at five in the morning every day and if we didn't, it would get written down, which is wild because my pain meds require I get a certain amount of sleep or they fuck me up.

It would've been hell even if I wasn't physically disabled but I am and all I could think the whole time was about people who had worse physical disabilities than me and needed more support and accessibility and how they would get or did get treated in places like this. There was almost no consideration all the time and staff was actively hostile over it.

A bunch of psych wards refused me as a patient because my files show I'm physically disabled. What are we supposed to do? Where the fuck do they think we can go?

Just a reminder to those who need it: Towel bars and shower curtain rods are NOT grab bars and should NOT be used as such.

just a reminder that if an accessibility aid would help your quality of life, then you can use it.

this goes for everything from wheelchairs and noise cancelling headphones to fidget spinners and acupuncture rings. You don’t need a diagnosis to start accommodating yourself. Especially on the mobility side. Trust me when I say that the only people who want those are people who need them. you aren’t taking resources from others you are using them as intended. you don’t need anyone’s permission to make your own life easier.

shoutout to people with spine curvature conditions - especially ones that are quite noticeable, or ones that require supportive wear. you don't look like a monster. you don't look like a freak. you don't look foolish. you don't need to hide your body, or feel ashamed.

you and your body are just as worthy of compassion as everyone else. you're beautiful, and you and your body are doing their best. you are seen, heard, and loved. it's okay.

i’m on a roll with disabilityposting so i wanna share about an aid i haven’t seen mentioned online before. LIFTING POLES, for if you have trouble sitting up or adjusting position in bed. what is it? it’s just a helpful handle above your bed! this was one of the first aids i got and it’s a lifesaver. in the past i sometimes needed to call someone to help me sit up, but with this, i just use the handle :)

here’s my lifting pole - it’s built into my adjustable bed, but you can get freestanding ones! (bed is propped up in the pic, the handle doesn’t usually touch the pillow)

and here are some glamorous stock images

i used to put cool stickers on mine. anyways, since i spend so much time in bed, i use this way more than my wheelchair and i wanted to give it some attention. underrated aid. they’re good for people with weak muscles, coordination trouble, or anything that makes it hard to move.

thanks for reading and learning a thing!

no you cannot hold my cane while im not currently using it

no you cannot grab it from where i rested it while i was sitting

no you cannot borrow it nor try it out for a sec

no you cant take it from me while im occupied with a task

even if you did ask my permission before doing any of this id still say no

keep your fucking hands off my aid

the only time you can touch it is if i ask you to pass it to me, and no that doesnt mean you get to try it out that is not permission for you to use it.

Here’s some symbols for various types of canes :)

[Image descriptions:

A person standing with their cane, which is purple and has a derby handle. The rest of the emojis follow this format of a person standing with their purple cane.

A person standing with their cane, which has an offset ergonomic handle.

A person standing with their cane, which has an offset ergonomic handle and quad base.

A person standing with their cane, which has an offset ergonomic handle and a pop-out stool attachment.

/End ID]

You do not have the right to touch someone's disability aid without asking, whether that aid be a wheelchair or an AAC device.

"It's just a tablet, though." No, it is not. It is my voice. Touching or moving my device without my permission is like touching my mouth without permission, it's weird, gross, invasive, and rude. Stop.

Pushing someone's wheelchair without permission is like picking them up and moving them out of the way eithout permission, its weird, invasive, gross, and weird. Stop.