Am I Disabled? • Hacker News Board

Re: Am I Disabled?

#61

Post by kolinko » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 9:14 AM UTC

Excellent question. As a person with ADHD (but on meds), and a possible CFS, I ask myself this sometimes.

While I wouldn't use a disabled parking spot, there are some exceptions from social norms that I allow myself:

- segregating trash (keeping an apartament clean and organised is crazy difficult by itself, and I still learn to put things into trash after using, at the age of 36)

- getting a sitting space in a crowded bus, even if there are old people around

As for the disabled parking spots, when I was ~25y.o., I had a knee issue for half a year. I didn't limp much, but every single step was painful and difficult. It was just half a year, and I didn't bother to get a disabled license plate, but still fully deserved to use the spots.

Since that time I always have doubt whether to point out to someone that they took a disabled parking spot. The way I handle it now is by asking someone who leaves a car, who doesn't look disabled, if they need some help (instead of pointing out that they are assholes). If they are indeed disabled, they won't mind, if they aren't - they feel like assholes :)

Re: Am I Disabled?

#62

Post by henvic » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 9:15 AM UTC

What if I wear eyeglasses and have to fork anything from 1% to 10% of my yearly income (in many cases even more, driven up by taxation) just to be able to see properly? It's especially bad if your economies mean you cannot afford to have at least a single backup or have one that is many years old.

It affects something so essential, but it's hard for people to recognize it.

Re: Am I Disabled?

#63

Post by inglor_cz » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 9:21 AM UTC

henvic wrote: post #62

What if I wear eyeglasses and have to fork anything from 1% to 10% of my yearly income (in many cases even more, driven up by taxation) just to be able to see properly? It's especially bad if your economies mean you cannot afford to have at least a single backup or have one that is many years old. It affects something so essential, but it's hard for people to recognize it.

Are eyeglasses that expensive in the Netherlands?

I live in the Czech Republic, good glasses with a titanium rim will cost about 500 eur and last for around ten years.

I personally prefer daily contact lenses (the kind that you discard before sleep) which cost me about 400 eur a year; I know this is a bit of a luxury, but even this only touches the 1% of yearly developer income. Glasses would be in the 0.x% category, depending on how much your acuity changes over time.

Re: Am I Disabled?

#64

Post by ageofwant » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 9:28 AM UTC

Don't worry scro. there's lots of tards out there living really kick ass lives. My ex wife is tarded. She's a pilot now.

Re: Am I Disabled?

#65

Post by kolinko » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 9:36 AM UTC

gumby wrote: post #20

Likewise 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.

Re: Am I Disabled?

#66

Post by p_l » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 9:41 AM UTC

Faaak wrote: post #57

This 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 ?

It's common in UK on some forms, AFAIK it might actually have had a positive impact at one point due to tracking correlations between rejections on requests and applicants race/gender.

Still doesn't really make sense at Kubecon

Re: Am I Disabled?

#67

Post by sideshowb » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 9:50 AM UTC

kolinko wrote: post #61

Excellent question. As a person with ADHD (but on meds), and a possible CFS, I ask myself this sometimes. While I wouldn't use a disabled parking spot , there are some exceptions from social norms that I allow myself: - segregating trash (keeping an apartament clean and organised is crazy difficult by itself, and I still learn to put things into trash after using, at the age of 36) - getting a sitting space in a crow…

Tangentially related: it took me 3.5 years of having a child to remember that the wider 'family' parking spaces were actually for me. I'd used them maybe twice in all that time, and now I don't need them any more. Could have saved myself a tweaked back a few times...

My point? I think this is a measure of how strongly we're wired to respect resources for those who need them. Which is a good thing, but obviously fails when it extends to inaccurate judgement of those with invisible disabilities.

Re: Am I Disabled?

#68

Post by nvarsj » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 9:54 AM UTC

I'm more shocked that the author managed to get a diagnosis on the NHS at the age of 42. In my experience, the NHS won't refer you to a psychologist unless you're on the brink of suicide or complete mental breakdown. It's incredibly tough to get mental help in this country.

Re: Am I Disabled?

#69

Post by jyriand » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 9:55 AM UTC

dagmx wrote: post #27

anodyne33 wrote: post #7

This 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…

4 hours seems like a lot. Do you still have to commute, even amid the pandemic situation?

Re: Am I Disabled?

#70

Post by DanBC » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 9:56 AM UTC

nvarsj wrote: post #68

I'm more shocked that the author managed to get a diagnosis on the NHS at the age of 42. In my experience, the NHS won't refer you to a psychologist unless you're on the brink of suicide or complete mental breakdown. It's incredibly tough to get mental help in this country.

Waiting times for ASD assessment services vary, and almost all of them breach the limits, but it's not impossible to get an appointment.

Access to IAPT is very good. Latest figures are here: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/sta...

> One of the stated targets of the IAPT programme is that for referrals finishing a course of treatment in the month, 75% enter treatment within 6 weeks, and 95% within 18 weeks5. These are based on the waiting time between the referral date and the first attended treatment appointment.

> 89.1% of referrals waited less than 6 weeks to enter treatment