young people with disabilties

[tomboy]

Hi....my name is Taz and yes i am a dyke but no i don't have a disability....Hi jo thought i'd put a little ad on here for some personal accounts of what lifes like with a disabilty....I'll quickly explain why i'm asking everyone this...I'm training to be a youth worker and the topic i've chosen to do my main presentation on is young people who are disabled in 2002....I would love to hear back from people telling me what it's like for them and what obstacles they may come across in the able bodied world we all seem to live in....

I better tell you something about me aswell so that i don't sound too loopy and mad.....Well as you know my names Taz and i live just outside London with my gf clarey....i work as a special needs nanny and family support worker.....I love all thingz that are fun and at the moment i spend alot of time out taking b/w pics of stuff.....yeah i love b/w photography....what else can i tell you about me well i have a wicked sense of humour and a wicked smile to match my sense of humour....oh yeah i have tinitus which my mum has aswell but only midly at moment.....a little bit of buzzing in the ears don't hurt 24hrs a day....7 days a week...hmmmmm....so now ya know abit about me...drop me a line either on here or at my e.mail [e-mail]

p.s any good web sites on the above topic would be goods aswell.....

[PurplySparkleyJoey]

Hiya Taz, glad you desided to post, just wanted to make sure you pointed out what's young and what isnt!! I think its still under 25 but you might want to make it clear??
I hope you find what your looking for, and like i said, im more that willing to answer any questions you have
Take care lovey!!
Jo xx

[tomboy]

Hi this is taz again ......everytime i come on here the amount of people that have viewed my ad has increased but only sparkly has replied .....I'll explian in a bit more detail what i'm looking for.....I'm going to be doing a presentation on being young (16-25yrs) and disabled and the difficulties you may have experienced cause of it. This could be access/assessibilty to buildings / clubs / shops etc which somebody like me takes for granted. Sterotyping of your condition by people around you.. Transport to going out in ie. buses....taxi's etc.... and really any other problems or suggestioins would be greatfully recivied on areas i could cover... Hope that explains more......Taz.... ;D

[Kathy]

Hi Taz! I'm sorry nobody's posted yet. Some folks are just a bit shy I guess. I qualify as disabled and between the ages of 16-25 but I'm not sure what to tell ya. I don't usually have any trouble with access cause my disability is a visual impairment not a mobility issue. To be honest though, I feel more comfortable being with other disabled people than other queer people. Not that I don't have friends of all different abilities and sexualities, but if I had to spend time with strangers, I'd be more comfortable if they were disabled and even more comfortable if they were queer and disabled. I just have this feeling of being out of place sometimes, usually when at an event or something and I can't find my way, and/or people are staring. To make a very broad overgeneralization with no basis besides my own experience, I think queer people stare almost as much as striaght people, just a little less. And I don't mean 'stare' as in, a glance that stops in one's direction, I mean the stare that begins when you're walking towards someone, continues as you walk past them, and follows you as you walk away. I've seen people about throw their neck out just to stare at me and my friend. Anyway, I'm kind of rambling here.
Have you read any books on the topic Taz? I would recomend Restriced Access, and With the Power of Each Breath. They're both anthologies of short stories women have written about being queer and disabled. With the Power... is actually just an anthology of disabled women, but there are quite a few stories by disabled lesbains.
If ya have any questions, or ya want to know about something specificaly feel free to ask?

[PurplySparkleyJoey]

Me again!! Just wanted to add some of my own storys (and some of Frans!) We get all sorts of looks .. lol .. forinstance, at the air port last night (yes i have been up sence 9am YESTERDAY ... and yes i am that dedicated to you all!! .. ) we asked for asistance, i cant walk that far, so when the lady came with a wheel chair and i sat in it there was mass histeria!! The woman on the desk started to flap about and panic thinking that we would need another wheel chair ... Fran can walk further than me (When she feel's like it ) In the end we talked them round .. lol .. and they let Fran walk. (Bess her, she's very good to me)
But there are so many storys like that, and im sure if you asked Fran she would tell you all about them!!
My only other bit of imput .. the more 'visable' your disability is, the more people stair ... so some one who is deaf forinstance might not get half the looks i get for walking round in circles when i cant bance!
Also, its not access in a physical manor ... does that make sence?? I mean, Fran is able to walk in to a building if it only has a few steps, but she might not be able to get any futher if the woman behind the desk doesnt listen to what she is asking for, see what i mean?
There are so many storys i could tell you ... most of them VERY funny as the time and not so now mind
Any way, ask away!!
Jo xx