Tag Archives: acceptance

Self-Determination is Important and Healthy for a Person’s Life

People live stronger and healthier when living with self-determination. Self-determination is moving toward independence with the support network we all need. However, many people who don’t have a strong support network need to find the inner strength to do it on their own finding people who can help them. No one needs to feel like any person with ableist attitudes will teach them that they are incapable, incompetent, and feel unwanted. Every one is capable, competent, and wanted with a mission to achieve anything they want in their life. Whether you already have a strong support network or you are trying to build one for yourself, it’s important to know that everyone in society is interdependent.

One way of gaining this support network and building your life is through self-directed services from your state developmental disability office. A lot of times self-directed services from each state’s developmental disabilities department helps create situations for people needing a way to live on their own, but with support. This program needs to be encouraged more so people with a developmental disability including those individuals graduating from high school or have been an adult struggling for a long time to receive these services themselves. It helps because as people reach adulthood, everyone lives in the community interdependently, experiencing responsibilities and respect from everyone around them.

The world needs to change by accepting disabilities in life because it’s all a part of humanity! So, when is the countries that are not accepting disability going to take the lead the United States is trying to do right now? I do know there are many Americans that are not accepting disability too. However, many Americans are leading in the fight for disability rights trying to create an inclusive community for Autistics and other Disabled folks.

Individuals in society achieve successes each day as an interdependent person no matter if you have a disability or not. So, why do many people still treat Disabled people either with an invisible disability and/or a visible disability like we are third world citizens who don’t belong with the rest of the community? Many people in the Disability and Mental Health communities live in institutions segregated away from their families and segregated away from the rest of the community without the respect from others. Many people outside of the Disability community throughout the world need to understand disability is a part of the human experience and does not need to be hidden. It’s important to improve the lives of every person in society and give support to the people who need it so no one is left in an institution for the rest of their lives. The most important aspect of our life is to create a situation where each community in society supports the individuals who are in that community.

Additionally, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States just reported yesterday that 1:68 people are Autistic in the United States. The media reported this as if Autism is a disease, however only 1 in out of every 68 people are being represented as Autistic. This is getting better, but we need more Autistic voices to represent themselves as Autistic. There is still too many people who hide Autistic people from society. Instead people need to allow Autistics to seek their own identity as Autistic, not being afraid of themselves especially the part that is autistic. Being Autistic is just as important as any other part of a person’s identity. Once we accept this as an identity, we will see the numbers increase more. Everyone in the community is here to help everyone around them. That’s a part of humanity, that’s a part of love for others, and that’s a part of the structure of the Human race. Humanity is a spectrum!! Everyone needs to accept and understand people without fearing the unknown races, religions, and cultures in their society. Thus, fear leads to much hatred, so why fear when you can love.

It’s time to give responsibility, respect, and immediate action to the Disability community young and old to be able to do things on their own by exploring their identity and working out their life with the support network when they need it to fulfill their life. This is important because it gives any person a chance to describe an identity that fits them. It’s essential for any one to have their own way of defining themselves. It also helps with fulfilling a person’s own mission to make a difference. We can all learn from each other by living in the community. There are many ways we can be supportive without doing and speaking for others, by giving choices to everyone.

Remember: Nothing about us, without us!

From The Grateful Dead’s “Uncle John’s Band”:

Well the first days are the hardest days, don’t you worry any more,
‘Cause when life looks like Easy Street, there is danger at your door.
Think this through with me, let me know your mind,
Wo, oh, what I want to know, is are you kind?

Be kind and respect everyone the way they want to be identified as. No one can be disrespected and hurt a long the way. Every one has their chance to live and be a part of the community at large 🙂

As Autism Acceptance Month approaches next Tuesday, Let’s build a strong United Community in the World!

OUT, J

What Disability has meant to me through childhood to being an Adult now

Today, I am generally recognized as Autistic, I have fought my whole life for this, starting as a disabled child when no one knew what my disability was. In the 1980’s especially where I live, people were completely in the dark on what it meant to be Autistic or Disabled. It’s time for societies today to continue to talk about disability to be accepted as just another part of humanity. There are no special needs, we need, we just need the same basic things as our Neurotypical counterparts. (Specifics may vary) Those needs we all have, are growing pains in the Disability and Autistic communities because most Neurotypicals turn their attention toward standardizing or normalizing society which is why we need live our life our way to get through a single day.

Disability is a construct. Humanity is not perfect. Disability is truth about life. Disability gives us our humanity. From my childhood, there have been many people who did not understand what being Disabled means. Disability does not mean dependence and even does not mean failure, it just means growth: Growth where we live, growth in our minds, growth in our strength, and finally growth in a spirituality like anyone else would. From that growth, we will all succeed! It truly means that disability is a not a raging war against others and it’s not rage against humanity; it’s just part of humanity. We need to respect all of humanity.

The Disabled community has suffered oppression, seclusion, segregation, and confusion from Abled society. Autistic people in particular are told to quiet our hands, tone down our voices, schedule our days to what they want from us. They cover their ears instead of listening to us. For instance, there even was a recent news story about an Autistic youth being given vocal cord surgery! Society is confusing when they state that people are always listening to each other. For example, the Autism Speaks slogan is “It’s time to listen,” well, now it is really time to listen to Disabled and Autistic people around America and beyond since most people still do not. Many people have started to listen in the past few years, but everyone needs to listen to us, the Autistic and Disabled communities of what it’s like to be us! No one can tell another person who and what they are, everyone knows who and what they are already.

Live your life and everything will work out. Don’t feel like you need to hide anything about yourself. Disability is a guide for us to live our life.

(I know it’s a while since I posted last, but I have been going through a lot lately. I will be posting more often.)

OUT, J

Accepting society and who we are

The weather is changing, February ends, the Ides of March is beginning to start. I can sense change. A feeling of sadness brings feelings of joy. When Purim begins I noticed the sun brightens each day. This year is still a transition, but with every transition we realize what a good life we live after all.

Since the day I was given a second chance, from the end of Summer, beginning of Fall, those times ago, I have sensed changes taking place. When my body went under while those faithful hands held on to a wand, the wizard performed his work. Then, I began to fly in to the skies for just a few moments.

Time and time again, I worked on the depths of my control, but realizing we need acceptance. I sensed the light,the skies, the passing Palace, but most of all I sensed I needed to correct my mistakes. Sometimes we don’t want to accept those mistakes continuously repeating the same scenario in our minds. However, if we can fulfill our hopes of living a more successful life, then we need more acceptance in all parts of our lives.

Sometimes its a matter of accepting what we have been brought here to do for this faithful planet. Most importantly we need to be able to give to society what talents we have, therefore not being someone we are not. Deep thoughts into our higher self, reveal one thing and nothing else further which inspires us to live.

Some of that might be to do something we are highly capable of while others may just be what we are not able to do, but motivated to try. Even though we try hard to do something, we explore all possibilities of what fits us best. Journeying in our life, we find the time to sit and breathe hard, the moments pass us by, and we encounter the realness we need in our life.

Sometimes we try something because we think we know what we want. Notwithstanding we need to feel empowered to lift the forces of nature to wake up to smell the flowers. I have been sleeping for quite some time, not accepting who I am, and I didn’t realize my purpose.

Fortunately, I feel the evolution of my life bringing forth greater acceptance of self and society around me slowly. Distinctively, I am returning closer to the enlightenment I have listened to in my mind as I fall asleep after each sunny day: to be able to accept things I repressed since I was a child and accept many other aspects of life. Acceptance truly inspires a powerful positive force to feel and be successful. My diction of my life says, to just be myself and life will go smoothly. However, my determination to be myself is not well accepted in my every day life. I start to appear in society as who I am, looking forward to more successes in my future.

There are many things I want to do to be successful in my life, but the most important thing to me is to help others in any way I can in my most creative way.  

Ability Caring Coping Excellence Performance Teaching, Allowing New Catchy Explorations (ACCEPTANCE) to

 Dream, Intellectualize, Create, Empower, and Succeed!!

additional posts coming this week,

OUT, J

What a new year brings each year to all of us, Its Rosh Hashanah!

Rosh Hashanah is here which means Yom Kippur is just around the corner. As many of you don’t know yet, Yom Kippur is my favorite holiday. The essence of the holidays does not mean someone has to go to synagogue to hear a rabbi dictate prayers. Although it does help many people who need to pray in a community setting. The essence of the high holidays is to say prayers yourself and express your love for g-d. By knowing you are expressing prayer for g-d however you can do it, does not matter, all that matters is that you show g-d you are being the best you can be. As I always know, we need to give as much as we receive and g-d will reward us more. Some people think the only way to pray is in a community synagogue with a Rabbi dictating prayer, but this is not necessarily true. Prayers can be good and as well as how much they can be bad if you curse someone, expressing yourself to g-d is important whenever you feel you need it. There are different ways someone can express their love for g-d. When you express yourself to g-d, you should always do it in the most comfortable way you can think of doing it. Its okay to express your fears, weaknesses, and failures to g-d. It only makes you grow and become more successful. Every one fails before they succeed, it is the common ground of the learning process for success.

Although this world is changing very quickly as the internet world becomes faster and we see news feeds right away in a blink of an eye. Is this a better way of living? or Should we be waiting to receive news like we did 30, 40, 50, or even 100 years ago? We live in a world where every one has to feel connected to each other all the time. The more we feel connected and closer together, the more we all feel better, however, we also feel more pain from someone who hurts us. Is it really our right to have the internet nowadays? even cell/smart phones? People use their cell phones/smart phones even in cars because they need to feel connected to someone a lot more now. Technology is alluding us to what really matters with connections and that is waiting for someone to approach us to have a conversation after not talking for quite some time. Whatever happened to the pony express after receiving a message from someone we haven’t heard from in a long time. Now we can hear from any body from around the world in no time. Has technology given us more hope for a better tomorrow? I feel technology does give us hope because there are many positive things the technology we created helps us even though there are many negative attributes too. Bullying is one of the main things technology does to hurt us more because now people can do this through cyber space. I like what technology gives us, but people think they can start in with others without any remorse. Why are their bullies? Why do they have to use something so positive and try to make it negative. The internet is for everyone to enjoy and cherish, not to bash and rehash! Think about it…

For instance, I observe in the world how many wars are begun due to people fighting over what they think they deserve. Sometimes these wars are widespread and sometimes they can just be in a narrow field of view. At the end of the wars, people finally realize what life is all about and peace resides inside of us as g-d helps us to realize and appreciate why we are here. Money is an object for controversy because every one wants it to feel more powerful. Power lies within all of us and realistically money has nothing to do with power. Its important to give as much as you receive because you will always receive. Wars are troubling, but in time people grow. Hopefully we learn one day to accept everyone’s point of view whether we like it or not.

I hope this year in 5772 we all think about what we can do to live a better life where we can finally put our differences aside to acceptance of any human being.

More posts coming soon,

OUT, J