i looked up what "a silent voice" was and i think i'm actually dumbstruck, did they REALLY make a film about some guy getting ostracized for bulling a disabled girl and we're supposed to root for him and want him to get with her? even "me before you" wasn't this hand-wringy and wishy-washy with coddling ableists!

THATS LITERALLY IT LMAO like he repeatedly assaults her and rips her hearing aids out of her ears causing them to bleed and damages multiple pairs costing her family thousands of dollars and bullies her so severely she has no choice but to transfer to a different school and some years later he feels Really Bad and tries making it up to her :( and were supposed to feel bad for HIM... I honestly would like the film a lot more if it was moreso a case of him grower from young ignorance and not extremely violent physical assault and bullying

Just a reminder that people who still live with their parents as adults deserve respect and for you to stop being ableist. There are multiple reasons someone could still live with their parents! From invisible to visible disabilities, finance issues, and more!

Stop using the “well they’re gonna turn into a creep living in their parents basement” punchline! It’s disgusting. STOP. BEING. ABLEIST. STOP. FORGETTING. THE. POOR.

"low support needs disabled people are often not believed to have a disability at all and therefore struggle to get accommodations."

"high support needs disabled people's accommodations are often seen as 'too much' and therefore are not met."

"neurodivergent people's needs are often dismissed because nothing is physically wrong with them."

"physically disabled people people often cannot physically access buildings and people refuse to do anything about it."

"invisibly disabled people are seen as lazy by society."

"visibly disabled people are ostracized from society."

IT'S ALMOST LIKE THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE DISABILITY

Disabled people should be allowed to exist in public. Yes, I mean all disabled people.

That includes people with tic disorders.

That includes people who smell ‘bad’.

That includes people who can’t help being loud.

That includes people who move ‘strangely’.

That includes people with bulky mobility aids.

That includes people who drool.

That includes people who struggle with incontinence.

We all should get to exist, however that looks, and go out in public, use public transport, do activities outside our homes. And we should be allowed to do those things without being glared at or having ableist things said to us.

stop villanizing disabled people. stop assuming we're just being lazy. stop assuming we could be trying harder. stop assuming that we'll "feel better" in a few weeks. stop assuming that we have the same energy levels as everyone else. thanks for coming to my ted talk.

Dear parents

Pretending that your kid isn't disabled and getting mad at them for needing more help and support than your other kids and wanting them to "try harder" and also pretend that THEY aren't disabled by ignoring their OWN needs as well doesn't make them less disabled by the way

pregnancy not being considered a temporary disability literally haunts me. it's ignored in so many disability spaces and so many feminist spaces fail to properly address accomodation for pregnant people because they don't have the knowledge of disability justice to discuss it.

but if you look at pregnancy in the light of disability justice, it clears up so much. there are so many types of accomodations that should be accessible for pregnant people, so many changes to the system and ways to implement them.

it also brings to light the ableism pregnant people often face while pregnant, from the frequent claims of "lazy pregnant people" to the lack of accessibility and options to deal with side effects like pain and loss of mobility.

the lack of intersectionality in both disability and feminist spaces leaves things like pregnancy slipping through the cracks and it's so painful to see.

I think the reason why people want to know what's "wrong" with disabled people is because they want to reassure themselves.

They want you to say you were in a horrific accident or that you have a well known and treatable disease because they think they can stop it happening to them.

They think their health is a given because they aren't a dangerous driver/ an alcoholic/a drug user/obese/an unhealthy eater etc. Obviously this isn't true but it's easier for them to think of it like that.

Until one day they meet someone who did nothing. They're not really asking "what's wrong with you". They're asking "what went wrong" because they think they can avoid it.

So when they meet someone who made all the right choices, who was healthy, who was safe and one day woke up sick and never got better, it scares them because some part of them realises that it could happen to them.

They can exercise and eat a balanced diet and be as careful as possible and it doesn't do a thing and they can't do a thing about it. That terrifies able bodied people.

People like to look for something or someone to blame and they hate it when there's nothing there.

relapse is not a moral failure. substance use and addiction are not a moral failure. mental illness is not a moral failure. disability is not a moral failure. you have a health condition. you are struggling. recovery is not mean to be perfect, and if you're not in recovery, surviving is good too. i'm glad you're here, and i hope life treats you better soon. please know this is not your fault. you do not need to feel guilty over your own health.

Hey, able-bodied folks, if a disabled person is complaining about something being unfair/inaccessible because of our disabilities, you know you don't have to explain to us why that unfairness/inaccessibility a thing, right? Chances are we know it is the way it is. It's still unfair and we still want to talk about it.

I saw a video by an amputee warning other disabled people not to go to Thorpe Park in England, as they paid full price to enter, but were only allowed on 3 rides due to their amputation. This is something I also experienced when I went to the Gold Coast (mostly at Movie World, Wet n' Wild and, to a lesser extent, Dreamworld) and at Lunar Park in Sydney. There were also several others in the comments talking about similar experiences elsewhere.

But among these comments were dozens of people saying, "it's for health and safety reasons! The ride won't be able to hold you in!" And like... yeah, we know why. It doesn't make it any less unfair that we pay the same as you for a fraction of the experience. It doesn't make it feel any less shitty when you scrimp and save to do something like go to a theme park only to have to sit on the side line and watch your friends/family have fun without you. It doesn't make it any less scummy that there's very little warning that this will be the case (most of the time) until you arrive. It doesn't make it any less frustrating that so many recreational and fun activities don't even consider the possibility that disabled people would want to join in.

It's not just this video. It happens a lot. Any time someone complains about inaccessibility, there's always someone there trying to explain why the inaccessibility is there.

A resteraunt or shop isn't accessible? "Have you considered the person just didn't know/didn't have the money to fix it/were renting and weren't allowed to fix it?"

You called to see if some place was accessible, were told it was but when you arrive, it's not? "Have you considered the person didnt actually know/ thought it was and just made a mistake?"

You complain that a device/item/furniture item you bought isn't usable because of your disability despite there being no indication this would be the case before you bought it/no way to further verify it before hand? "Have you considered that disabled people make up such a small minority of their buyers they just didn't realise?"

Yeah, we know. Every single one. We considered it. a lot more than you did, i promise. We know why. We know sometimes mistakes happen, people don't think to consider us, there could be health and safety reasons for the lack of access, that people just don't know, and that it's not usually maliciousness or intentional ableism. I promise, we know all of it. We still need to talk about it though, so things can get better.

Look I get that we all want to relate to one another. I really do. But seeing people on my post about how shitty it is to exist as a visibly deformed & disabled person in public say things like "that's why i don't stim in public" or "that's why i'm scared to bring my cane in public" is just... You're missing the point.

Some of us cannot mask our disabilities. You can simply not stim if you can supress it in the first place. You can leave your cane at home if you're doing that already in the first place. A knee brace doesn't make you look like a "freak". You do appear abled otherwise.

I cannot. Many people I know cannot. I can't just "hide" my deformities and abnormal gait or convulsions to appear abled. I *need* my crutches everywhere I go. I can't supress my tics. Full-time wheelchair users exist. High support needs autistics exist. Schizospecs who cannot mask exist. People with William's Sydrome, Down's Syndrome and various obvious deformities exist. Little people. People with severe chemical burns or otherwise or scarring. People with Parkinson's, Tourette's, Huntington's, Cerebral Palsy, every disabled person who looks "abnormal".

We can't just "turn it off" like you. People WILL stare at us. Point their fingers at us. We have no power. They used to put us into freakshows. Not you. Not you who can hide your disability to "appear normal". That post was not for you to "relate to". I and many people are sick of many invisibly disabled people claiming they "want to look disabled" so they'd be "taken more seriously". It's not an invitation of you to declare you leaving your mobility aid at home or shit like that. It's not the damn same.

ableism is being told "it's good to see you on your feet" by family members as you're forced to walk because your wheelchair didnt fit through the door

ableism is being scared about having a carer for the first time, but every internet search for what it's like are "what it's really like to be a carer" articles that paint disabled people as invalids without a say or entitled dickheads hurting nurses

ableism is being told "have you tried yoga?" "my friend said the alkaline diet cured her fibromyalgia" "of course you're in pain, you don't do any exercise"

ableism is that fucking marathon analogy. "if i want to run a marathon I have to train - at first one mile will hurt me, but eventually it'll be a breeze" grit your teeth through the pain, it'll get better.

what about when it hurts to type on your phonescreen? or it takes you 5 minutes to crawl to the bathroom? how long do I have to endure these things everyday before they get easy? it's been a year

ableism is telling your doctor over and over you can still move your legs, there is no nerve damage or loss of mobility, it just hurts so much you can't bear to move. and finding "possible nerve damage and loss of mobility" on every. single. file.

and this bullshit ignorance has come from not just family, but trained professionals - physiotherapists, occupational therapists, general practitioners, and neurologists

LISTEN TO ME, listen to us, please listen! stop talking, stop suggesting, just fucking listen

do this for your physically disabled friends because i promise you they aren't getting that from anyone else

as if the pain isn't exhausting enough, being constantly ignored, talked over, and misunderstood is torture

shouldn’t have to be saying this, but if i’m having a medical episode in public i should NOT be being filmed or photographed by random strangers. I don’t care WHERE you saw me faint, I don’t care that you think it’s wrong to sit on the floor of a shop, I don’t care that my tics are ‘weird’ to you, and I don’t care that you don’t like me ‘staring’ at you when i’m having an absence seizure. I did not give you permission to document my disability. Don’t film people in general, but ESPECIALLY not vulnerable moments like someone fainting or seizing thank you.

if you "offer disability accommodations" but mandate the person have an impossible amount of paperwork to "prove" that they're disabled before even speaking to them, you don't fucking offer accommodations.

I just have to say that one of the most annoying parts of being a wheelchair user is how random strangers will automatically start pushing you without your consent. Who taught people this was okay? Apparently the fact that it is wrong to do this is not common knowledge, so I will lay it out:

If you see a wheelchair user, please do not automatically assume they need your help.

If you’re genuinely concerned they need your help, please ask them first.

If they tell you they’re okay on their own, please respect that.

If they do need help being pushed, please do not assume you know where they need to go.

If a wheelchair user is in the way of where you need to go, it is still not okay to push them without their consent. Make them aware that they are blocking your path, and they will move out of the way on their own.

It can be genuinely frightening to have someone you don’t even know come up behind you and start moving you around. It can also cause injury to the wheelchair user, if their hands get caught up between their wheels and the pushrims because they weren’t expecting their chair to suddenly move.

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to ask before pushing someone’s wheelchair. Treat their wheelchair like an extension of their body; you wouldn’t simply pick up an able-bodied person and place them where you want them to be, would you?