Disability Corner

[Flaky Pudding]

I have another story of something I've overcome to share with everyone here so I can hopefully inspire someone in the future:

I was born with something else besides just ADHD and NLD. When I was little, I had something called ODD (or oppositional defiant disorder). ODD means that I had problems with anger. I would throw tantrums every time I didn't get my way, blame other kids for my mistakes, and do things purposely to annoy people. Mom noticed this when I was 2 and got me to the doctor to get me diagnosed. The doctor outright ignored Mom and said that ODD is a "myth" but the other doctor there told her that it is very much a real thing and that I did indeed have it. My family tried everything to stop these behaviors from punishments to rewards to everything in between. It took a long time to stop and when everything seemed hopeless, the year I turned 14 (I know it was a huge year for me), my ODD went away. Mom noticed me getting happier, accepting no, and being an overall more positive person even when I don't get my way. We talked to my doctor about it and she believes that it is gone. I was able to overcome the ODD eventually due to the help and support my family gave me and although it did take a good long time, I'm thankful that it's finally over. Just recently, my tweenage cousin was diagnosed with ODD as well and it seems as if she has it even worse than I did. I've been thinking about her and praying for her a lot. I've been trying to help as much as possible and hope that maybe someday, she will overcome it just as I did.

-DipperDude

 

[123Sunny]

Interesting to see other's stories. I am on the Autism spectrum which boosts my love for Jim Henson, as it's a special interest. I also have a good memory to learn trivia about it. I love all that stuff. I also love 'stimming' which is things like hand flapping and rocking.

The parts I don't like?
Stuttering, going non verbal, being super sensitive to loud noise, and people staring at me. I also had a hard time learning to tie my shoes and write legibly. I have anxiety attacks and sometimes meltdowns.


But I am cool with how I am. A lot of people might treat me weird, but my friends and family love me. I get frustrated a lot but I guess good comes with bad?

 

[mariolover]

I also like to rock as well

 

[123Sunny]

I also like to rock as well

It's very comforting!

 

[mariolover]

Agreed

 

[Flaky Pudding]

I have a question. What do the Autistic people on this forum think when Family Guy makes fun of Autism? Personally, I find it very offensive and I feel like they do it a bit too much. While I do like the show, I find the autism jokes to be the second most offensive thing on the show (with the jokes about God being the first). I almost stopped watching Family Guy because of how often they made fun of Autism, but I still watch it because I like the characters. As a a person with something similar to Autism, I don't like those jokes at all like the time when Peter referred to Grimace as "Ronald McDonald's Autistic friend," or worse of all the screaming Autistic lady clip. Anyway, I'm just wondering if I'm the only one who is offended by these jokes on an otherwise hilarious show?

 

[123Sunny]

I have a question. What do the Autistic people on this forum think when Family Guy makes fun of Autism? Personally, I find it very offensive and I feel like they do it a bit too much. While I do like the show, I find the autism jokes to be the second most offensive thing on the show (with the jokes about God being the first). I almost stopped watching Family Guy because of how often they made fun of Autism, but I still watch it because I like the characters. As a a person with something similar to Autism, I don't like those jokes at all like the time when Peter referred to Grimace as "Ronald McDonald's Autistic friend," or worse of all the screaming Autistic lady clip. Anyway, I'm just wondering if I'm the only one who is offended by these jokes on an otherwise hilarious show?

I am, the show can be quite funny, I love the visual gags but it also kinda has going to far as like, I part of it? It definitely kinda just pushes the 'it's normal to laugh at disabled/neurodivergent people thing :/

 

[Sgt Floyd]

I have often wondered if I have some form of social anxiety. Considering many times i struggle to motivate myself to just email a person about something important because i fear what they might say, and the fact I have panic attacks around people of authority (had a panic attack in front of my college dean. been scared of her ever since), makes me wonder. I know my mom is actually on medicine for a diagnosed anxiety disorder, and a lot of that can be genetic :s

However, I AM diagnosed with chronic migraines. Smells, humidity, and certain light patterns can trigger them. People seem to be under the false impression that migraines are just headaches, but they really mess with your ability to function normally. For starters, I get REALLY bad depression when a migraine is coming on. The kind of depression where you just want to lay in bed and not do anything because nothing makes you happy. (doesnt help that depression is a symptom of a migraine AND a side effect of my migraine medicine). Second, it seriously messes with my vision. Thankfully i dont get 'auras' very often (where you basically see a spot of light and it gets bigger until you are literally blind until it goes away), but I do get what I like to call screen burn for your eyes. The after image of whatever i was looking at just stays there for minutes and eventually things just kinda all blur together. It's very difficult to read because lines of text end up blurring into big blobs.

Lastly, migraines affect my ability to talk. I seriously cannot say more than two words without stumbling over myself, stuttering, or just losing my train of thought completely. It's been so bad some days that my friend has told me to stop talking and just take a breath because I do not sound ok :/

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

I have often wondered if I have some form of social anxiety. Considering many times i struggle to motivate myself to just email a person about something important because i fear what they might say, and the fact I have panic attacks around people of authority (had a panic attack in front of my college dean. been scared of her ever since), makes me wonder. I know my mom is actually on medicine for a diagnosed anxiety disorder, and a lot of that can be genetic :s

However, I AM diagnosed with chronic migraines. Smells, humidity, and certain light patterns can trigger them. People seem to be under the false impression that migraines are just headaches, but they really mess with your ability to function normally. For starters, I get REALLY bad depression when a migraine is coming on. The kind of depression where you just want to lay in bed and not do anything because nothing makes you happy. (doesnt help that depression is a symptom of a migraine AND a side effect of my migraine medicine). Second, it seriously messes with my vision. Thankfully i dont get 'auras' very often (where you basically see a spot of light and it gets bigger until you are literally blind until it goes away), but I do get what I like to call screen burn for your eyes. The after image of whatever i was looking at just stays there for minutes and eventually things just kinda all blur together. It's very difficult to read because lines of text end up blurring into big blobs.

Lastly, migraines affect my ability to talk. I seriously cannot say more than two words without stumbling over myself, stuttering, or just losing my train of thought completely. It's been so bad some days that my friend has told me to stop talking and just take a breath because I do not sound ok :/

Wow, I am so sorry you have to deal with this. I am one of those people who always assumed migraines were just really bad headaches

 

[Flaky Pudding]

Now it's time for me to talk about a cartoon who treats learning disabilites in a positive way which also happens to be one of my favorite webtoons:Happy Tree Friends. You may not know, but I've always had OCD-like tendencies my whole life, while I was never diagnosed with it:Mom kind of diagnosed me on her own. When I was little, Mom started noticing both obsessive and compulsive behaviors in me for example:when I was into Neopets as a kid, I felt like I had to have a picture of every single Petpet in the entire game to where it became an obsession and these behaviors would continue as I got older. Anyway, I give the Happy Tree Friends writers nothing but praise for making Petunia:a character that portrays OCD in a positive way. She's portrayed as normal (bar a few episodes) despite having OCD where most characters with OCD are portrayed as outright weirdos. I feel so happy that an adult cartoon finally represented a disorder I may have in a positive way where most adult cartoons like Family Guy and South Park would only make fun of that, .