The Winner: What I Do for Mental Health Advocacy
for people dealing with most physical disabilities. I also challenge the reader, whether a family member or friend of someone with a disability or the person dealing with long term disabilities, to re-think what a disability really is. It also has information and suggestions about how to make everyday tasks easier, what they should expect from dealers of medical equipment and more. I urge persons using a cane, scooter or wheelchair to decorate them so that it uplifts them and makes them less self-concious, and it also eases them into pleasant experiences whenever they have an opportunity to get to a store, mall or social occassion.
The TAB population seems to react very positively to this approach and are less intimidated or embarrased to interact with the person using the equipment.
The site also has material that I urge people finding themselves dealing with PPS to print out and share with family members and friends to open some honest dialogue about what they are really dealing with in a positive manner. Most people that grew up with a disability never developed the ability to
honestly discuss the subject with others because of the real fear of abandonment and rejection by others. They learned to wear a mask to be more socially acceptable, that eventually becomes much too heavy and tight as their abilities decline, to maintain.
The responses I have had from persons dealing with disabilites has made the work I put into the site very rewarding. In some cases, women married to men suddenly dealing with these issues contacted me asking for some insight as to why their husbands were closing them out, lashing out, etc. They wanted to
try to be supportive, admitted being fearful of what they might be dealing with down the line, but didn't know how to approach the subject with their husbands. They also needed some assurance that the stories some of the husbands started to share about their experiences dealing with the onset of polio and the after effects were based on truth and not a cop-out of some sort.
I think the site speaks for itself. I answer all emails and also respond to requests for information through the Ask The Experts bulletin board. If you think the site is helpful and want to suggest it to the Mental Illness bulletin boards etc., feel free to put a link to it. Who
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