How It Goes

Because this post needed a photo, and mammoths are awesome

Trump and bullying aren't exactly the greatest topics to leave people with for the better part of a month, but I've been a little busy.

After a break for a few months, I've started to look for work again. Only this time, I'm seeing about getting some help from the employment centre where I did my placement. I've inquired about how I could do this, but I suspect it'll be slow going until after the holidays, so more on this if/when it happens.

I've also got a speaking opportunity lined up for the winter! It'll be with the Social Work class I spoke to last autumn, on a panel about family and disability.

And if that wasn't enough, just last week I went in for surgery. It was to get a new set of tubes put in my ears. The tubes are supposed to help with drainage and typically last three to four years. I've had multiple sets and many surgeries throughout my life, so it was nothing. Went in Friday morning, out by that evening. Some soup, ginger ale, and cartoons and I was up and moving by Saturday afternoon!

But, as I posted the first of the month, I have still been writing a lot. Just more free writing than I figured. I'm working on a few posts which I'll publish ASAP, and I've been thinking of some changes I want to make to the book which is still going to happen at some point.

All of this plus half my Christmas shopping done!

Cheers until next time.

When Bullies Win

I hesitate to write this because some people could very well be offended by it, and that is absolutely not my intention. But, I do want to get it off my chest.

Over the past several weeks, I've seen quite a few things related to bullying: Unity Day, an entire day devoted to anti-bullying, a discussion about bullying in a group for disabled youth and adults, an article about conservative author and columnist Ann Coulter's use of the term "standard retard" to describe the man with cerebral palsy Donald Trump mocked during a rally and most recently, a story about a boy with cerebral palsy who attended a Trump event to advocate for better treatment of people with disabilities.

Well, last night I was genuinely appalled to learn that a great number of bullies, including some of the ones mentioned above, got a great deal of power.

I'm not going to get political. To each their own and so on. And I know that being from a different country, I have no real say in events. However, as someone who has experienced bullying first-hand and has both written and spoken about anti-bullying, I will say that, on a human level, the events of last night disturb me.

What worries me is the thought that those now-influential people have the power and ability to act on the crazy and ignorant things they've been speaking about for the past several months. Things that could alienate and do harm to many people. They also have a platform with which to insult and push around even greater numbers of people.

Again, I'm respectful of people's personal beliefs, and what's done is unfortunately done, but this kind of stuff needs to stop! We need to stop making excuses, get past petty grudges and differences, and show these people, and others just like them, that misogyny, racism, and other forms of discrimination are not acceptable.  Otherwise, all the anti-bullying, advocacy, and messages of hope and equality will mean nothing.

And with that, this rant is over.

Cheers

Writing Month

November is Nanowrimo, or National Novel Writing month, and while I'm not writing a novel, I will be using it as an excuse to do a month full of writing.

I've been sitting on a couple blog post due to both thinking them over and laziness, and this, I think, will be good motivation to finally load them on here. I also want to start the book I said I was going to do, though I've decided make it less about actual transitioning to adulthood with a disability, and more about just coping and living with a disability. But, more on that later!

And, just to break up the seriousness a little, I'm thinking of revisiting some of the projects and characters I made in Scriptwriting for some fun writing exercises. Maybe something good will come from those!

Should be an interesting thirty days.

Cheers.

Review: Switched On by John Elder Robison

Back in April, I had the pleasure of attending an event where John Elder Robison was promoting this book, and I finally got around to reading it.

Robison is autistic. His first book, Look Me In The Eye, which I read and reviewed earlier, was a memoir about growing up un-diagnosed. Switched On, his latest, is about Robison's involvement in a research trial to try and stimulate emotional awareness in individuals with autism through a process called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS for short), and it's results.

The science behind TMS is hard to explain in a blog post. Parts of the book where it's described mention lasers,  magnets, neuroscience, and other things that went way over my head. The procedure itself involved about a dozen sessions of Robison having parts of his brain stimulated non-invasively. Before and after each session, he was required to do simple exercises where he would identify words, objects, and people's facial expressions to gage his emotional responses and understanding.

After one of the first sessions, Robison was driving home, listening to an old tape of music. He had heard these songs many times before. Robison writes that he could identify the basic emotion of the song (happy, sad, etc.), but he was always more in tune with the instruments and equipment than the lyrics and feeling of the music. But, on this one night, Robison says that the music "came alive."  The emotion of the music finally hit him. It was so powerful, he was brought to tears and had to pull over.

The book continues with Robison's new-found emotional awakening. For a while, he describes a heightened awareness like being able to "see inside people's souls." This would ware off, but his better understanding of people's emotions would remain.

Robison chronicles effects of the TMS sessions, both good and bad. On the upside, several Robison's friends and customers noticed an improvement in his social skills, and an increased attentiveness when listening to people. On the negative side, Robison writes about how his increased awareness of emotions opened his eyes to his then-wife's chronic depression and started to drag him down.

Switched On ends with a fairly lengthy, but thought-provoking discussion about some of the ethical concerns that could potentially come from procedures like TMS. Robison writes a lot about cures for autism and other disabilities and conditions and whether those afflictions should be cured, and brings up the idea of difference and uniqueness in people like himself, using his own proficiency with electronics as an example, and whether or not gaining social awareness but losing those unique qualities is a worthwhile trade-off.

Despite being way too technical and science-heavy in parts, Switched On was still a pretty good book to read and, like Look Me In The Eye, I would highly recommend it.

Cheers!

It's Just Doughnuts

A while ago, I was reading this article about a mother's reaction to her disabled son being given free doughnuts out of pity from an incorrect assumption that the boy couldn't talk.

The staffer was in the wrong for making an assumption like that, and I can understand why the parents were upset, but my first thought upon reading this article was "It's just doughnuts." The boy obviously wanted a treat and, even though it was out of pity, the staffer still did a nice thing.

My point is that sometimes, free stuff is just free stuff. Regardless of the giver's perceptions, you should be appreciative (especially when it's something this small) of the person's generosity.

Over the years, I've received many gifts and freebies because of my disability, ranging from t-shirts and CDs to artwork and hockey tickets. I even got a cash award at my high school graduation for "being a special needs student going into college or university." Some of those gifts were probably given because of pity, but some of them weren't. I never questioned why. I just accepted them, was polite, and put them to good use.

So yeah, people will treat you or your child differently because of a disability. It's pretty much a given, unfortunately. But when it comes to free stuff, just remember to be polite, be thankful, and just enjoy the doughnuts.

Cheers! 

We Could All Use Some Quokkas In Our Lives

 

That's a quokka. They're a small Australian marsupial, and they always look happy. With what seems like so much aggression and mean-spiritedness in the world lately, I really think we could use more of these little so-and-so's. 

 

Everyone knows about grumpy cats and sad pandas, but there's also tons of photos of these little guys online, each more pleasant and goofier than the last.

 

Yes, that's a real photo!

 So the next time you feel you're being inundated with negativity, especially online, take a moment and look at some quokkas. I dare you not to smile afterwards.

 

Cheers!

 

 

The Bump

Fun Friday post.

That is my left hand. That odd looking thing up there next to my pinky finger is what remains of a sixth finger or, as I affectionately refer to it, the bump.

When I was born, doctors thought it was out of the norm but 26 years later, I would learn it is one of the major signifiers of Joubert syndrome.

The finger was amputated when I was just a baby, and I've had the bump ever since. It's mostly just tissue in there, so it never gets in the way.

It's a pretty good conversation starter, too! People always ask about it, and I'm pretty quick to bring it up. Fun story: When I was in grade Primary, so about five years old, another boy in my class was missing several fingers. I guess I had told him I was born with extra and the doctors could give him mine.

The bump isn't without controversy, though. It is always a cause for debate between me and my mother. She always thinks it's growing (it's not!) and wants me to see about getting it removed. I have an appointment with my family doctor coming up, and I've agreed to at least ask about the possibility of maybe having it looked at. But I've played around with it, moving it backwards to see what my hand could look like without it, and it just looks so...normal. *shudders*

Cheers