Disability, lifestyle, and nerdy thoughts.
October is Disability Employment Awareness month! In true Karly fashion, I’m slipping this post in right at the last minute. Anyway, working for me has been a real stressful ride. I have a job, one I really like and am extremely grateful for. But it…
I was talking with someone the other day about how a lot of standard accessibility features don’t really work for me. A room or building might be ADA compliant, but it’s still not actually accessible for me. Which makes sense, when you think about it.…
Travel is the one thing that really bums me out on a regular basis. Because it’s one of the things I want to do more than anything in the world – and something I can’t do because I’m disabled. I have never taken a trip…
July is disability pride month, and what better way to celebrate than to celebrate my wheelchair! I recently got a new chair (her name is Edna) after a long, difficult process and I’m excited about all the adventures she’ll take me on in the next…
People use wheelchairs for many different reasons and not everyone needs to use them full-time. Some people who have physical disabilities are able to walk with crutches and may only need them for long distances while others may have severe joint pain. When you are…
I didn’t really find my way to the disabled community until I was in college. Towards the tail end of it, even. In high school, I was online heavily like every other teenager, but I didn’t seek out people like me. To be honest, I…
Most of my friends are abled, which is how it’s been pretty much my entire life. Ever since I was a kid, I was usually the only one in a wheelchair in class or in a group of friends. If there was another disabled person,…
Recently, Dr. Phil (ugh, I know, just stay with me) aired an episode featuring an interabled couple. The man was disabled and his girlfriend was responsible for his day to day care. In this episode, he told the struggling couple that the reason for all…
Nearly every day I read another story about a disabled person being harassed in a public space for “faking” their disability. As a full time wheelchair user, and someone who’s very visibly affected by my disease, I’m lucky. No one ever really accuses me of…
In my experience, people tend to overcomplicate interacting with disabled people. Talking to me shouldn’t be any different than it is talking to anyone else. I’m still just a person! Even with the best of intentions, it’s possible to get things incredibly wrong when it…