Diabetes

     Recently I found out that Diabetes was considered a disability. I was surprised but here is why:

    There are numerous complications resulting from Diabetes. Several of those are eye complications, kidney disease, heart disease, dental disease and nerve damage. These can be reduced by proper management, but they still provide A LOT of work for the person with this disability.

     Disability is defined by the ADA, Americans with Disability Act, as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities. In accordance with the ADA you must not discriminate against those who have Diabetes.

                Another reason why Diabetes is a disability is that it strongly affects those  in the workplace. An employer cannot fire someone because of their Diabetes. The employer must provide accessible accommodations, if requested, so that an individual can complete their work.

So although 29 million Americans have Diabetes it is still considereda disability. Some cases are worse than others 

Man

          So I met this man through Facebook and he asked me out for coffee. I took a look at our mutual friends before I said yes. I thought it was a bit odd/cool that almost all of them had Traumatic Brain Injuries and I remembered them from Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse. This was a program I was in several years’ back that helped me look for work.

                Come to find out that he had a Traumatic Brain Injury when he was 4. He was in a car accident too. He is up and running so you can’t really tell.

   He had worked at both Shepherd Center and Side by Side and must have found me through others that went there. He is 35 too which is the perfect age for me!

 What worries me is that since he had his accident when he was four he has kind-of lived a sheltered life. He did not get to have a “normal” life like I did.

    However, I did not really care about all that. Who am I too judge?  So we had coffee at Starbucks and then I invited him to my church. He brought me to church in his mom’s vehicle which was easier for me to get into instead of his Jeep. We found a lot of similarities with our struggles. So these are all good things and we will see how it goes.

Support groups

I was once in a speech/language improvement group. All the individuals are brain injury survivors motivated to improve their cognitive and communication skills. The group offers support and assistance given by those who are dealing with similar experiences in a non- clinical setting.

   The group met every other Friday in Roswell, Ga. For about a year and  a half now, I have been unable to attend their meetings because I got a job at Parent to Parent of Georgia!

                I believe this group helped me to find my current position because it not only helped me feel more comfortable about my disability but it improved my speech as well! So if you’re a brain injury survivor, I encourage you to join a group. Check out our database to find support groups near you! Stay tuned because next week I will share some   very exciting news!