It is early 2012. The phone rings and my brother George answers. Silence. Eventually I whisper: “I need to get out of here. I need help.” But the story starts in 1995, at a party, where a friend was having so much more fun than everyone else. “What’s he on? Is he drunk?” Our innocent questions were answered with “Ecstasy” and a journey into 18 years of intense addiction began. That first pill was exactly [...]
HIS BANNER OVER ME IS SINGLE Last month I was supposed to get married. There was no ring on my finger, no invitations in the mail. But there was a date on a calendar and the seed of a dream that had been planted in my heart many, many months ago. I’d had a plan—we’d had a plan—in a world where I was part of a “we,” in lifetime that doesn’t feel all that long [...]
Being a bloggerist [as i like to call myself] can be a roller-coaster whirlwind of emotions, and often is. The tension that exists between writing what you want to, what feels like it might be importantly significant, or giving in to the little red guy on your shoulder of page view stats where you slide into writing what the people want to hear. Sometimes those things line up and it is easy. Any time [...]
I think it is important that I give an examples of how 'baseline' thinking can help us navigate difficult waters. 1.) The issue of employment equity is a difficult one. My take on it is that from my experience both young white and black people fundamentally want to feel like they are being treated fairly and of course that is a most reasonable thing, but I do want to latch on to the idea of [...]
My name is Louise and I have Asperger's syndrome. Not many people know what this is, especially those in the church. There are two polar opposite views that I have come across in the church when faced with any mental or psychological disorder. On the one extreme its total denial of the illness or disorder (something can't be wrong with a Christian) and on another extreme its you have demons in you and we need [...]
"Why do you wear those things on your knees?" "Look at Steph, she is so slow. Ha ha!" "Why can't she run and jump like a normal kid?" "Steph you're a freak." These are the refrains that followed me around as a child born with the mildest possible strain of Ataxia, which is a form of Cerebral Palsy. As an adult, I am incredibly fortunate that I now live a "normal" life, have a "normal" [...]
Being a dyslexic: Hi there, my name is Rebecca Benn, and I suffer (although I find my condition to be a blessing) from a learning disability or syndrome called dyslexia. The dictionary defines my syndrome as a developmental reading and spelling disorder that occurs when the brain does not properly recognise, transmit and process certain symbols, whether these symbols are letters or numbers. What this means for me is that as a 20 year old [...]
Hi I’m Keith. In the early hours of 26th of August 2012 I was found lying paralyzed on the floor next to my bed. I had suffered a seizure while sleeping and fell to the floor. I had broken my neck by fracturing my C4 vertebrae, which has left me to be a quadriplegic. I have no wrist or hand movement. I have regained use of my arms from originally not being able to move [...]
My name is Shaina Cilimberg and I am almost 27 years old. I was diagnosed with Asperger's in the Dark Age, the 2000s. Back then, there was limited knowledge on Asperger's Disorder. It was a time when mental illness was seen as demon possession or an excuse for sin. While Satan does attack everyone's (neurotypical or not) minds, mental illness is not demon possession. Demon possession has more to do with the individual, not with [...]
I am a mom to a child with special needs. This is not something we were prepared for or ever expected. Noah looks like a normal little boy and his disability, for want of a better word, is not visible. It makes it easier and infinitely more difficult for him. Because he is not visibly disabled there are no allowances given for what he battles with every day. He is labelled as naughty, undisciplined, disobedient [...]