Disabilities and their effects on our lives

[Motormouth95]

Hi all,

I was born with a mild form of Cerebral Palsy. I'm able to live on my own and do most tasks any non-disabled person can. However,  obviously, it does affect me in some ways. For example, I can't always wear the clothes I would like to Because they're too troublesome to deal with. Take shoes, for example, I can't tie shoes, so I can't wear those tennis shoes I like so much. I also can't button pants, so it's either elastic(which has become very popular in young men's clothing ?) or a metal fastener.

Often, my disability is just a giant pain in the butt, so I thought that a topic for us to discuss whatever physical or mental limitations might be a good idea. Perhaps through discussions, we can both vent to and help each other with whatever problems we have and how they affect our lives. If there is a topic on this already,  I do apologize. I didn't see it. 

[Ronin82]

I have Autism (formerly known as Asperger's), and Fibromyalgia. Both are a total pain, literally and figuratively. The autism is life-altering since its very difficult for me to build relationships with people. I want to feel connections, but I can't. Also, I'm not capable of the emotions necessary for a romantic relationship, so my future looks quite lonely. While I have been able to learn coping strategies and masking techniques so I can at least have friends, I still don't have many, and those relationships will never be like what I see Neurotypicals have. This is just something I've learned to accept and I enjoy the relationships I DO have. I just know it is very possible that I will always be alone in my own world. This also affects my job capabilities as I SEEM normal, but the autism creeps in and managers don't know what to do about it, so they fire me thinking I'm being "difficult". I don't get let go because I can't work (unless its a physically demanding job), I get let go because of personality conflicts and the inability to "fit in".

 

The Fibro however affects my physical life in a way that depresses me terribly. I'm very athletic and love to move, work out, and do intensely physical jobs, but my body just can't do it anymore. Debilitating pain and inflammation have ruined my life, and I've had to stop training Martial Arts because of it. Of all the disabilities I deal with THIS ONE is the bane of my existence. The worst part is there is no documentation for it, so no SSI for me, even though I can't do the jobs that would support me because of the pain. I have something cooking that may work out, or at least may make me capable of going to doctors to find a lifestyle/medication regimen that makes me more functional, but DAYUM. I've struggled long and hard with this one.

 

Interesting thread. It will be fascinating to see what others have to say.