I am wondering if moving to infosec.exchange may be called for.
I'm switching from a civil service #cybersecurity#policy position to an #ISO function implementing #NIS2 and related directives at a critical infrastructure company in a couple months. Got some new skills to learn, but would still get wound up about #Politics, #disability and #GLBT rights.
If you have #LongCovid or #MEcfs and are considering filing a long-term disability claim, this white paper by my old lawyer, Barbara Comerford, is a must-read.
Barbara has been helping people win lawsuits against insurers for three decades now.
She took my case against Prudential to federal court & kicked their asses so hard the judge wrote an absolutely scathing ruling against Prudential that set some precedents.
Es gibt kaum politische Parteien, die sich wirklich für #inklusion einsetzen. Das ist traurig.
Echte Inklusion wäre ein Streben nach ganzheitlicher Teilhabe, ein Kampf gegen jede Institutionalisierung von Menschen mit Behinderung, der Einsatz für eine Gesellschaft, in der die Potentiale jedes Individuums gefeiert und gefördert werden würden.
Inklusion ist nicht einfach. Aber es ist nicht weniger als ein #menschenrecht! Und tatsächlich würde die ganze Gesellschaft, alle Menschen von Inklusion profitieren!
Today I discovered that not only is July #Disability Pride Month but also that we have a flag. It is so well done and extremely meaningful. It was created by Ann Magill, a disabled writer.
The entire thing will not fit into the thumbnail but if you open the image, it will tell you what each color and flag feature stands for. It is also in the alt text if you are unable to open it.
I came across Aubrey Small's Instagram page- Aubrey is a filmmaker and also educates people about little people, their history and visibility.
One particular video caught my attention in which Aubrey explaining how phobia of little people (and many disabled people) is bigotry. Aubrey actually was kind enough to give space to this woman talking about her "phobia" and explaining how representation has created this perception.(1/n)
Call for papers - ‘Intersectional and Critical #ADHD Thought: ADHDers Think Back’, for a special issue of the Canadian Journal of Disability Studies. The editors are seeking critical intersectional papers that “‘think back’, explicitly or implicitly, against medical and denialist models of ADHD.”
“At this point, it is fair to conclude that ADHD Studies is an acritical and non intersectional field, produced by non-ADHDers. What we need is critical and intersectional ADHD knowledge produced by ADHDers themselves.”
Submissions are welcomed from academics, PhD students and activists. See the CfP for a great list of topics, from “Trans-ing while ADHD-ing: questions for intersectional justice,” to critical approaches to ADHD and religious faith.
I really, really, really want a dog… but I doubt my 17 year old cat would appreciate it.
I also worry about my ability to care for one due to my occasional increased mobility restrictions (cane/wheelchair use).
I could use the emotional support. I could use the project of caring for a dog again. I miss it so much. I just don’t know if my body will allow me. Bummer.
#AI models were perplexed by a baby giraffe without spots. They're perplexed by me, too.
This article on #disability and #ableism within #GenerativeAI is more personal than I usually write. It would mean a lot to me if you read and shared it.
"Ableism is more than just bias: it's the entire idea that anything can or should be perfect in this universe of entropy and chaos, applied at the level of human bodies and ways of being." - Ashley Shew, Against Technoableism: Rethinking who needs Improvement. #Bookstodon#bookstadon#Reading#Disability#Accessibility#DisabilityStudies
Dr Ruth Ann Crystal: "A new report from the Economist shows the enormous economic costs of Long COVID in the US and in other countries because people with Long #COVID are no longer able to work.
In the United States, Long COVID is estimated to cause a whopping $152.6 Billion GDP loss this year due to lost work hours. In the UK, the equivalent of US$15.5 Billion is expected to be lost in 2024 because of #LongCOVID#disability.
The report also reports data on expected economic losses from Long COVID in Brazil, France, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Spain. Preventing COVID infections and Long COVID disability should be a priority for all countries for many reasons"
A friend of mine with significant visual impairment pointed out that the lack of description on images is a cultural problem on Fedi, not an individual failure.
So, let me do a thing to help build that culture.
How I Do Image Description
I close my eyes. I look at the image first, and close my eyes. Then I try to describe it without looking. I find this focuses me on the important things to get the image across, without getting distracted by unnecessary detail.
It's okay to peek. I have a strong visual memory, so I'm good with one look, but not everyone is. But do try and see the picture in your mind, if you're not aphantasic.
If you are, I'm not sure if I know a way to help. I apologise; I don't know enough about it to know yet. I did want to acknowledge that not everyone can do this approach.
Anyway, that's my contribution today to creating a culture of image description.
Hi, good people of mastodon. I find myself unable to add #AltText to my header photo on my profile. I use Pinafore on my Windows PC and Metatext on my iOS device, and neither is letting me do it. Any suggestions of things I can try would be greatly appreciated. @feditips@podcast#Accessibility#disability#blind#a11y
The rules for SSDI/SSI and a lot of other ableist policing are like the old trial by water for witches:
If we toss you in the water and you drown, you're innocent and not a witch, but you're dead.
If we toss you in the water and you swim or float in the water we've tossed you in, you're a witch and therefore we kill you by burning you. @disability#Ableism#Disability
I recently read a toot about the burden of being a caregiver for a person with Alzheimer’s disease and can sympathize with their perspectives since I was once a caregiver for a parent with Alzheimer’s disease. My brother and I moved our parents into a retirement community when the symptoms of my father’s Alzheimer’s disease became too much for my mother to handle. My father had recently struck my sister-in-law. My mother lived in the assisted living part of the facility and my father moved into a memory care unit. My mother visited my dad almost daily. My brother and I visited him most weekends and took him out bowling or golfing. It was tiring and stressful—as working parents, my wife and I had two young children to drag along for those visits that occupied one day of most weekends. Yes, being a caregiver for a parent with Alzheimer’s was stressful for the 5-6 years the disease lasted until his death.
When we moved our father into the Alzheimer’s unit, he was too mentally incompetent to consent. My brother walked him through signing his name onto an admission form, letter by letter. Notably, no disability rights attorney or judge was there to object, to defend his civil rights. No disability rights advocates argued he would be better off homeless or imprisoned. I suspect this is how things work for most families that make the difficult choice to move an aging parent into such a place. My reason for bring up the absence of such bureaucratic impediments will be clearer a bit later in this thread.
My father lived in that memory care unit for the last 5 years of his life and my family was fortunate that he recognized us until about the last six weeks. On some days, he delusionally believed that he was back living in his childhood home with brothers and sister. On other days he was more in touch with reality. He probably would not have chosen to live the last years of his life in such a place. But he quickly got accustomed to it. When we returned from our bowling or golf outings with him, he willingly returned to his new home and waved goodbye with a smile on his face.
" After public outcries, the Census Bureau says it's no longer moving ahead with proposed survey changes that could have shrunk a key estimated rate of disability in the US by about 40%"
I filed a public comment about this. I believe I learned about this proposed change on Mastodon, and I believe lots of you filed comments too. It's worth it to raise a stink & pressure officials, good work y'all
auf Bahn.de oder in der DB App steht bei der Wagenreihung keine Information darüber wo der #Rollstuhl Platz sich befindet.
Was für ein ICE fährt ist auch nicht in der App. mann muss sich entweder auskennen (Wagennummer kenne, was nicht bei jedem ICE gleich ist) oder viel durchklicken um info zu finden
auf Bahn Experte (keine DB Seite) https://bahn.expert/ dagegen sind die Informationen.
Dort gibts Live Infos zu den Zügen in den nächsten 2 Stunden. (Siehe screenshot mit einem Beispiel zu heute Bhf Lüneburg unten)
wäre gut diese Infos auch schon bei der Reiseplanung zu haben, und zwar alle an einem Ort. Um nicht mühsam zusammen suchen zu müssen. Denn je nach ICE Modell sind unterschiedlich viele Rollstuhlplätze, Platz für den Rollstuhl (ICE T vermeide ich wenn es geht, Erfahrung mit gewaltsamer Rausschmis, siehe https://blog.eichhoernchen.fr/post/die-deutsche-bahn-hat-ein-ableismusproblem/ war traumatisierend) .
Mit dem ICE 4 kann ich in der Theorie wenn der Bordlift funktioniert / das Personal in der Lage dazu ist spontan fahren. Aber schwierig wenn ich nicht weiß wo der einzige Wagen in dem ich rein komme hält. die Infos finde ich immerhin bei Bahn Expert.
Warum kann das die DB nicht machen?
Touchscreen card devices may prevent blind customers paying
'Blind customers are being left "frustrated" and "embarrassed" by inaccessible payment devices. Some shops have buttonless touchscreen card readers, meaning you need sight to tap in your PIN'
Very short-sighted tech developers. They should have thought about this, and about the security issues. As should the businesses involved.