Original work from our Writers, Guest Bloggers and Freelancers
Non-verbal learning disability means that the verbal (especially visual) is easy for individuals like me to memorize and understand. Need me to write out and remember exactly how your long name is spelled? Honey, I got you. I’ll remember which vowels have the exact accent and umlaut over them.
The swift punch-in-the-gut of COVID-19 has hurled our wellbeing into a state of confusion, dilemma, and reflections. No longer do we wake up early to prepare for work, but change our top and plug the laptop’s charger to conduct remote working in the kitchen. Although it seems impossible, we have found ourselves more online to replace the in-person interaction at work, school, and personal lives. Besides such a leap of change, the news has flowed in with stories about death of loved ones, despair in isolation, and desperation for breakthroughs in news and research. While the gloom hovers in the air of the everyday living, a shift in narrative pervades.
“I want to be a citizen just like any other,” said a disabled Peruvian woman in an interview with the Human Rights Watch. Her statement specifically applies to voting impediments that prevent her from participating in Peruvian elections. In 10 words, she eloquently summarized the most pressing side effect of systematic voter suppression in reference to disabled people; they are rendered second-class citizens.
There are lots of great articles out there that detail the specifics of Chris’s training program, and the challenges he faced in preparing for the Ironman. I won’t rehash them here, as this is not a piece about athleticism. What I want to write about instead is Chris’s mission—not just to become an Ironman, but to be an advocate for and inspiration to, all individuals with Down Syndrome.
People who struggle with nonverbal communication, such as individuals on the autism spectrum or with non-verbal learning disorders, such as myself, are especially vulnerable to this. We struggle with understanding sarcasm, eye rolls, and other such nonverbal social cues. Making friends, as a result, is really, really hard for us, and when we get friends, we automatically assume that if they’re hanging out with us, they’re doing it because they love and care about us. Even when they say and do mean things to you.
I realize that in many cases the idea of having special needs or caring for someone with special needs can make other people uncomfortable, and they struggle to know how to help when they want to. I understand that from the outside looking in, special needs can seem like a horrible burden to individuals and families.
More than 40 million current U.S. residents came from another country in hopes of making a better life for themselves and their families. That’s 13.6 percent of the population, which puts into perspective how big of a role immigrants play in our economy and society.
I’ve never been a fan of stereotypes. The stereotypical woman has a wardrobe full of handbags. Not me. No siree. Mine’s full of stoma bags. Not quite as fashionable but arguably far more useful. Life with a stoma alongside multiple chronic illnesses has been a rocky ride, but this Gucci bag stuck to my tummy has taught me a few priceless lessons along the way.
Two of my ex-boyfriends from my college days, both brilliant engineers with incredibly broken spirits, loved labeling me as ‘weird’ and would call me that when they were irritated with me. I dated one right after the other, and both could not stand how non-verbal learning disability (NVLD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) had shaped me, snapping ‘Stop acting weird!’ more times than I can remember, so much so that being called ‘weird’ now causes me to physically flinch.
My mind is whirling, my heart racing. He’s in bed now, hopefully sleeping. We spent the day going round and round, to the detriment of all. He just knows how to push my buttons sometimes. I’d like to think that he’s doing this to me deliberately, just so I can feel better about my poor responses, but I know he isn’t. I know he is trying to explore the big world, and sometimes, his emotions just get the better of him.
