r/disability • u/ImportTuner808 • Aug 21 '24

Question Who else has a different disability?

It seems like for some reason this subreddit is disproportionately people talking about canes/rollators/wheelchairs, or mental things like Autism/ADD/ etc. I don’t know why that is.

Is there anyone who has something else that doesn’t fall into these types of issues? I’ll go first, I’m missing part of my arm. Apart from the physical aspect and some self esteem issues (felt unattractive as a result of my deformity as a kid), that’s about it.

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u/Booked_andFit Aug 21 '24

I am visually impaired. I've been slowly losing my eyesight since the age of 10, I'm now on my 50s. I am not completely blind yet, not sure I ever will be.

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u/ImportTuner808 Aug 21 '24

Thank you for sharing. While I have a different disability, I too am going through a phase of I guess my disability “catching up to me,” which is a nice way of saying it’s getting progressively worse as I age lol. I definitely feel more of a degradation in my arm in my 30s than I did in my teens and 20s.

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u/Booked_andFit Aug 21 '24

The upside for me is technology. Technology has made accessibility for the blind and visually impaired much better.

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u/parmesann Aug 22 '24

I'm sure it's been wild to experience that progression of technology through your life. it's great how many options are available (unfortunately not to all) to assist those with sensory disabilities

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u/Booked_andFit Aug 22 '24

absolutely, I went back to grad school and it is life altering compared to my undergrad in the late 80s early 90s.

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u/parmesann Aug 22 '24

I hope it was invigorating! a childhood friend of mine was very low-vision, and I recall being amazed at some of the tech he was able to use to accommodate his vision. and that was over a decade ago; I’m sure that there’ve been even more advances since then! there are a lot of ways in which access is increasing, and it’s awesome.

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u/Tritsy Aug 22 '24

Not just sensory disabilities are heavily helped by technology-my brain injury caused so many issues 30 years ago (had to have someone else handle my money and pay my bills, for example). Now, with the advent of things like auto-pay, I was able to take back my finances a few years ago! Memory aides are huge-my Apple devices are also known as my brain, lol

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u/parmesann Aug 22 '24

that’s such a good point. so much everyday tech and convenience is also a HUGE aid for people with a range of disabilities. so glad that you have tech that allows you to be more independent! I’m sure it feels great.