So I recently posted a video about migraines and it seemed like some people were a little

surprised at what migraines actually feel like.

- if you’ve no idea how bad a migraine is, you’ve never had a migraine.

And it made me consider other surprising things about becoming disabled that are… ‘disability

misconceptions’ if you will.

Particularly about actually BECOMING disabled

- because, shockingly, not all people are born with their disability [gasp]

That’s a little misleading on my part: I was actually born with my disability, it just

decided not to properly start smacking me in the face until my late teens. Probably

because I was such a weird looking child.

Yes, that’s my natural hair colour.

Anyway! I didn’t know I was disabled, I didn’t really know what being disabled was

like at all and I definitely had some misconceptions.

And maybe you do too

- (maybe that’s why someone sent you this video)

Or maybe you just like learning new things, or maybe you really painfully are aware of

all of these and just need a bit of solidarity.

Whether you’re disabled yourself or you love someone who is, you’ll probably relate

to these and please do leave any others in the comments below!

So here are 10 surprising things about becoming disabled:

1. It doesn’t actually get you lots of attention. You think it would. But it won’t.

No one actually throws you a party.

- Yay, Party!

[slurp sfx]

And you’ll probably lose some friends you thought you could count on… But you can

use the internet to make cool new ones!

Party!

[kiss sfx]

2. You also won’t be getting lots of money.

That whole ‘benefit scroungers’, ‘faking it for the disability money’ thing…?

No.

No one can be arsed filling in a 70 page document for that little money!

3. No team of glamorous and witty doctors with pent up sexual chemistry and a burning

desire to find the truth at all costs will be attempting to diagnose you.

In fact, you’ll probably just spend many hours on the internet attempting to diagnose

yourself and then finding a doctor that has the time to agree to the blindingly obvious.

On the plus side, you would now be excellent at medical pub quizes.

[typing sfx]

Um, I think you'll find...

4. There will not be a miracle medical cure- unless the doctors realise that the thing

they told you was progressive and going to kill you isn’t actually… at least, not

until you’re old anyway.

It’s best not to search for the golden bullet but try to fit your life around your body

5. you won't be getting the medical or mobility equipment that you need -

hmmm

I mean unless you're willing to wait for many, many years. Or you’re just loaded and can

buy them from your own money anyway. But you’re probably going to have to ask a charity for

help if you can’t wait.

And that’s in England. I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like without the NHS…

6. If you need a carer all the time you- you

don’t actually get a carer all the time.

They probably drop in for half an hour a day to move you, check you’ve taken your meds

and then leave.

Also, if you have any kind of disability that affects your cognitive processes or mental

health you will struggle to fill in all of those forms

and access the help.

7. People will talk to you. All the time. Random people. About really personal things.

They will also touch you. Even when you don’t want them to.

They will take the thing you need and put it where you can no longer reach it. To be

helpful. And they will expect you to say “thank you”.

8. People will not talk to you. Or touch you. They will get really awkward.

They will walk around you in a massive circle and talk to the ‘able-bodied’ person behind

you. They will ask your sign language interpreter what your favourite drink is.

- Eh? Ask her yourself.

- I'm right here.

Bless those silly sausages(!)

9. The world isn’t actually that accessible. Remember how you used to not see disabled

people that much? Or you’d think “disabled people don’t come here anyway” or even

“well, they could go somewhere else to eat”?

Ha ha, no…

One in five people has a disability. They’re just sitting at home because it’s

really hard to get into lots of buildings.

Yeah...

10. You still have a voice. No matter what anyone tells you, no matter how the world

might sometimes make you feel, you are still you. Disabled people have voices, we can speak

up and we can decide what others need to know about our situations and when we need to stop

sharing and protect ourselves.

We know best what ‘accessibility’ really means. So if a gathering is being planned,

an event, a new building, a school, it’s important to include disabled people in the

planning of it. There are many things you learn when you become disabled, these are

just 10 of them.

So those are just my 10 things but please add more of your own down below in the comments.

I hope you've enjoyed this video and I shall see you in my next one!

[kiss]