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What Help Is and Isn't Explained

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[Image Description: The image has a light purple background with my First Former Buddy Club President logo in the bottom left corner.  "Help ≠ fixing or curing explained" is in left-aligned dark purple text. ] Help is not the same as fixing or curing people. Help is not for the weak. Help is not bad. True help is support. Help is providing accessibility. Examples of these accommodations and adaptations: Providing ramps, elevators, and clear pathways for wheelchair and medical stroller users Hearing aids for the deaf and hard of hearing Hear monitors for people with heart conditions Feeding tubes for people with medical health conditions Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices for people who are nonverbal, have limited verbal speech, verbal emerging skills, articulation challenges, and/or difficulty with word finding skills Related Services, such as Speech and Language therapy, Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT), Vision Therapy, Behavioral Health...
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Facing Imposter Syndrome as a Public Speaker with an Invisible Disability

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[Image Description:   There are red stage curtains hanging on both sides with a dark opening in the center. There is a row of five stage lights with yellow light shining downward. There is a dark gray silhouette of a female center-aligned on the stage and facing left toward a black microphone positioned on a stand.] CONTENT WARNING: Please know that these instances are not all but only some of my personal experiences as a public speaker with an invisible disability. They do not define my overall experience as a public speaker with an invisible disability. I have also had positive experiences. The objective of this blog post is to advocate about issues that people with invisible disabilities face.      I have been a public speaker for five years. As a person who stutters, I have a unique relationship with public speaking. When people hear me stutter, it is common for either the following things to happen: Some people do not mention or react to my stutter due to automa...
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Define normal

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[Image Description: There is a red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple infinity symbol lapel pin with "Define Normal" in center-aligned black text over a white background. The pin is attached to a dark blue and bright yellow lanyard.]      "You look normal to me." "People with disabilities are not normal people." "Disabled people do not live normal lives." What is a "normal person?" What does this even mean? This language is outdated because there is no such thing as being not normal. There is no such thing as looking disabled. Every individual in the disability community experiences their disabilities differently and not all disabilities are obvious. This comment is even worse when it is supposed to be perceived as a compliment. In fact, plenty of people in the disability community actually take referring to people outside of the disability community as "normal" in comparison to them insulting. I will speak freely that t...
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10 Tips for If You Get Sensory Overload from Hot Weather and Sweat

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[Image Description:  "10 Tips for If You Get Sensory Overload from Hot Weather and Sweat" is in center-aligned gold text in a white text box. There is a sun emoji and hot face emoji on the right side of "Sweat." The text box is overlapping a light blue Procreate elements water brush pattern as the background. ] CONTENT WARNING: I would like to mention that I am not a nutritionist, medical professional, or therapist. All content posted on my disability advocate/teacher influencer page is for educational purposes with no intent to provide any professional services. Social media should never be used as a substitute for medical nor mental health care advice. If you suspect that you or a loved one is experiencing medical/mental health concerns, it is okay to get support. I highly recommend seeking support from a medical or mental health professional who is qualified to do so. As hot summer weather has arrived in my area and some other parts of the world, I un...
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Meeting the Needs of Students Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Devices

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                                  [Image Description: The image shows an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) electronic device on an iPad with a green protective case. The screen shows a grid-based communication system with many symbols and pictures. There are icons for people and common words like "I", "is", "do", "want", "like", "have", "where", "more", "you", "it", "what", "get", "make", "to", "on", "good", "of", "all done", "that", "stop", "not", "bad", "in", "out", "go", "come", "think", "eat", "help", "see", "some", and "up." ] CONTENT WARNING:  I would like to mention that I am not a medical doctor, psychologist, or therapist. All content posted...
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