The neurodiversity argument always seems to me a misguided one. It argues that these neurological identities/configurations are not inherent problems but just differences which are only made to have negative effects on the person's life by societal preconception and bigotry. Those things do make it much worse and need to change, but I would argue that doesn't stop these brain-states from being independently troublesome. The author mentions problems with speech processing, speaking, sensory overload, sleeping, getting out of bed, eating, smells, textures, and navigation. None of those problems were created by society and none of them can be fixed by the neurodiversity paradigm.
Am I Disabled?
71–80 of 245 posts
Re: Am I Disabled?
#72This reminds me abouts Kubecon Europe 2020's survey which had questions like: "what's your race", and "what's your gender". As a European, this was a huge WTF moment (my co-workers had the same moment). Why would you ask something like that ?
We are going off topic, but I registered at kubecon with my work email and I was spammed by them with marketing emails, asking if they can sell stuff/trainings to my company.
Re: Am I Disabled?
#73Likewise flummoxed by the equivalent “race” question almost always asked on the innumerable forms you’re subjected to in the USA. In the country I was born in there was one correct answer for me (though the question was rarely asked); later that changed. In my mother’s country the legally determined answer is printed on your ID card, which at least removed the need to think about it. In the USA there is a very differ…
I remember Google Campus having a form for filling in before a tech event that was crazy invasive - asked for literally everything: race, gender, sexual orientation, religion and so on.
Pick random answers when asked stupid questions. If enough people start doing this they'll stop asking.
Re: Am I Disabled?
#74I have the same question. I’ve had a trans-metatarsal amputation on one foot and the little toe and the bone behind it on the other. My balance is way off and I move like I’m 20 years older than I am. Yet, I hesitate to say I’m disabled because I can still move (not run at all, but I can still walk). I don’t think disabled, I guess, at least not in public. It’s a kind of personal question to be asking.
Do you need accommodations.. officially. If not, wouldn’t you be.. not disabled, for the purposes of this question? I ask, earnestly.
That doesn't follow in the the general case though.
You can be disabled and sometimes force yourself to do things without accomodations via willpower, but it may have consequences for your mental/physical health and shouldn't be expected of anyone.
Eg. Chronic fatigue. If you push through the boomerang effect can hit you like a truck.
Re: Am I Disabled?
#75> Do you consider yourself to be a disabled person?
> Yes: No: Prefer not to say:
ughhhhh.... As a mixed-race ADHDer: Is this box becoming a thing too?
I totally get that this is a hard thing to design a database schema for (see https://qntm.org/gay). Just...oy. This is going to have a UX that reminds me of applying for colleges and trying to figure out if I'm Black or not.
We live in a world of trade-offs.
Re: Am I Disabled?
#76The website is disabled. Throws a modal popup at the first scroll event.
As usual, archiving bypasses this nonsense: https://archive.ph/tDOQy
Re: Am I Disabled?
#77I have the same question. I’ve had a trans-metatarsal amputation on one foot and the little toe and the bone behind it on the other. My balance is way off and I move like I’m 20 years older than I am. Yet, I hesitate to say I’m disabled because I can still move (not run at all, but I can still walk). I don’t think disabled, I guess, at least not in public. It’s a kind of personal question to be asking.
Heyyyy I'm with you here. Broke my ankle a few years ago, badly. I had surgery but recovery is... well, probably never happening, at this point.
It's invisible, but walking hurts. The more I walk, the more it hurts. Damn, I used to go on weeklong treks...
Anyway back to the "am I disabled" topic. I guess it depends on when you're asking.
Good luck!
Re: Am I Disabled?
#78This reminds me abouts Kubecon Europe 2020's survey which had questions like: "what's your race", and "what's your gender". As a European, this was a huge WTF moment (my co-workers had the same moment). Why would you ask something like that ?
We are going off topic, but I registered at kubecon with my work email and I was spammed by them with marketing emails, asking if they can sell stuff/trainings to my company.
And you let this wonderful opportunity of giving them your boss e-mail to slip by you? What a shame :).
Re: Am I Disabled?
#79I think this is a pretty good writeup on how disabilities are dealt with in society. For myself, I'm bipolar. I've had significant difficult my entire life but I didn't know why until recently. Being bipolar has a severe impact on every aspect of my life. In relation to work, it's just painful. I need accommodations to handle a 40-hour work week. I need a regular schedule. I can't be on-call during the night because…
There is such a bias towards regularity, I feel like an alien when trying to question why we should care. I had a coworker that might have been bipolar as well but didn’t really explicit it, and we felt we shouldn’t dig. In a week to week basis work was done. We were a team of 7 so someone being on or off at a given time had little impact, hell any member could be warped into another project for 3 days and come back…
There are all sorts of arbitrary requirements to behave in certain way as a proxy of achieving results. Unfortunately this is quite common as it makes the manager feel safe and in control if his subordinates achieve the results in the way she expects them to, but it raises the bar high for no benefit to the bottom line.
Re: Am I Disabled?
#80This came up for me a few years ago when I was filling out a job application. At the voluntary self disclosure stage it listed epilepsy among the list and it stopped me in my tracks. A few brain surgeries later and I'm no longer epileptic, but it did make me ask this exact question. For several years, my onset with in 2012 at age 36, I considered it more of a bummer and inconvenience and never thought about it any ot…
As a current epileptic (spinal injury, recovered partial paralysis) I still have to deal with the fact that I'm in fact, disabled. Working at a FAANG in silicon valley really highlights that. My commute is 4 hours a day because I have to take public transit, and working late hours is a bigger burden than unaffected people in similar life situations. I'm completely dependent on others to take me places, even for groce…
Why don't you just live in the parking lot? 4 hours is insane