Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Staff of Asclepius

Home

Home
Pagan
Blogging Against Disablism

Blogging Against Disablism

Last updated on: May 31, 2016 at 12:03 pm by Guest Contributor

Blogging Against Disablism 2016-05-31T12:03:51-05:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Diary of a Goldfish blog hosted a Blogging Against Disablism Day. I’ve been reading through the blogs that participated and found that I can relate to many of the writer’s experiences.

College and Disability blog “Why are so many people with disabilities unemployed?”

The author notes that according to the US Department of Labor 15.2% of people with disabilities are unemployed and 8.1% of people without disabilities are unemployed. They write about how there are three main things making it difficult for people with disabilities to find employment: academic barriers, place of employment barriers (meaning physical accessibility), and societal attitude barriers. Of course, the greatest barrier is the societal one.

From personal experience social attitudes, is the biggest one my husband and I have faced. He scored so high on his GED exam that he was offered one year paid tuition to a university. However, because of ADD he had trouble concentrating in a large classroom environment. He tried tutors and still had trouble in class. His academic adviser suggested he quit instead of finding some accomodation.

Most of the jobs I’ve lost were do to excessive sick days. I’m really not sure if the ADA protects people with disabilities for that. America does have some of the tightest sick day policies in the western world. At my mother’s job it’s just seven days. Since I have a weak immune system I got bronchitis for a couple of weeks every few months for a long time. My doctor now suspects I have asthma due to the constant infections. I was missing a lot of work. When I had an understanding manager/supervisor they advocated for me tirelessly to keep upper management from firing me. They knew that when I wasn’t ill I was damn good at my job. Other times I would just get fired.

Voodoodoll writes about working while coping with depression and anxiety as I do. “The Irony of Coping”

Out of all the participants my favorite blog title is Benefit Scrounging Scum. I see the humor in it since I’ve read or heard so many comments about lazy Americans on welfare and I would technically be in that category. There is a similar attitude going on in across the pond. This blogger is in the UK. They tell the story of how they were feeling extremely ill and forced themselves to drive to work because they wanted to do their job. They became sick all over the interior of the car. That’s when they realized they had to quit work. Something similar happened to me except I was at work. I wasn’t coping well with an increase in blood sugar medication. A couple of hours after a company lunch I had to rinse out my dress in the bathroom sink. I went to a female supervisor sobbing. She didn’t care how I smelled, or maybe I had cleaned up well enough with just dispenser soap and paper towels. She put her arms around me and said she’d let the main supervisor know I had gone home. The next day when I came in, the main sup told me it was my last because I had missed too many days.

However humiliating the experience was for me and the blogger of Benefit Scrounging Scum, we both started out paths toward better health. They became an advocate for the rights of people with disabilities.

There are other bloggers that participated in Blogging Against Disablism Day. Go browse and share them with others so they can gain some understanding of what it’s like to have a disability.

Health and Wellness

Protecting Your Rights

Blogging Against Disablism

Previous Post

May 2, 2012

You'll Survive if your Stem and Roots are Strong

Next Post

May 25, 2012 Service Animals and Familiars

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category About The Blog Adapting and Accessibility Current Events Entertainment Gatherings Guest Author Health and Wellness Holidays, Esbats, Sabats humor Interviews Magick and Spirituality Protecting Your Rights Science Share Your Story, Information, or Ideas Sports Sustainability Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 September 2010 August 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What king went insane and lived like an animal?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Belshazzar Herod Ahab Nebuchadnezzar