The internet is real, and so are we

[brightlotusmoon]

This is especially fornaamah_darling because it talks about how powerful and precious internet communication is especially for disabled people.

http://palsycorn.livejournal.com/2269.html

She is one of my dearest friends. We met on a Facebook support group for people with cerebral palsy. She is the creator and head moderator and she is amazing. She is studying Disabilities Studies in college, she adores SF/F and is writing several stories and at least one SF novel with disabled superheroes, and she is the reason I am so down with being a crip, cripple, "ceep", etc. I love her.

Quote:

"I am a multiply disabled person. Phone calls require a type of mental, physical, and emotional gymnastics for me, which I seldom, if ever, have the spoons for. I have severe phone anxiety which I smash down and stuff deep inside me when I absolutely have to make a phone call. The anxiety is managed somewhat with the help of scripts (particularly helpful if I have to call to make an appointment or something, I write down exactly what I'm going to say, and approximate what the other person is going to say), and has gotten slightly better since the advent of cell phones (that way, I know that no one other than the person I want to talk to will pick up). But it is still VERY there. On top of this, I have to smash a phone against my ear and fight not to drop it, something which I do with alarming frequency, because my hands do spazzy things. This phone, which is usually supremely uncomfortable, because no one considers how it's going to feel when it's held against an ear when they make a cell phone, will have to be nearly glued to my ear for however long the call takes, requiring my arm to be held in an awkward position for that long, which, like most things I do with my body these days, will result in pain. Finally, phone calls require communicating verbally, and like many people with CP, I find it exhausting to coordinate the muscles needed for speech and still make my words clear enough to be understood. Put that all together and you start to see why I feel like I've ran a marathon after a long phone call."

YUP.

Comments

[palsycorn.livejournal.com]

I love you, dear <3