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I was very lucky
When I applied I had the help of a clinical social worker- this is my advice to anyone who applies- I later applied to the School of Social Work at ASU, my experience with her was in part the reason that I selected that school of study- it was to many emotions for my disability, but I did find my field or research along the way that lit the light bulb to my world!
Social Workers when properly placed can change lives!
I encourage you to find one who works with people with head trauma, they are use to helping people with those forms- contact a local social worker that works with clients that have TBI you might find they are better qualified to help you with those forms. The forms I was told are designed to make people get denied the first time, with the hope that they will go away. Also in my state I worked with Voc Rehab- they are a federal agency not very adaptable with every disability. The problems with Voc Rehab are extensive- I will not go into it here. But I will just say this, they have timelines that are often not in sync with a persons limitations. In other words in my example many times I had to take a college class more than once just to navigate around the information and to understand what was being taught. But in that program you are forced to make progress EACH and every semester. In reality most people with disabilities need latitude and each disability varies. In my case it turned into just a degrading experience. Every semester it was like begging for things that I needed from them, and then finally I was just so sick of the pervert running the office at my school I decided it was not worth it! I got most of my support from my ADA office at my college at ASU, they were so AWESOME! I could never say enough great things about the ADA program at ASU! If you ever learn of anyone with a disability that wants to go back to school that is a good place to go they are great! UofA never even gave me an appointment, with an ADA person, or got me my books in another format the whole time I was there! Every time they send me a bill I just roll my eyes and think, your lucky I am not sending you a million dollar lawsuit". Anyway, your right about being lucky, in some ways I have been, there have been a select few people placed in my life at just the right time, God made sure of that- but having a head trauma is not lucky, not in the least. It is not the life I would select if I had to pick one- I would pick one without.
I miss the days when I did not get upset so easily, I miss the parts of my mind that allow me to be around sound without freaking out, and I miss being around other people without getting exhausted, I miss having a full life- but more than anything I miss the years I have not been allowed to watch my daughter grow up- time has stood still- and when it stopped she was 5 now she is nearing 13.
I miss the feeling that everything is not about to fall apart- since the "accident" the years of mental torture and isolation from my daughter have really put me into a state of mind that is so hard to capture with words- its like someone took me and put me in a bottle- and I am inside this bottle waiting for the tiny little crums that I need to survive- like a genie I keep trying to wish my way out, but NASA seems to have other plans today.
Lucky, I guess some would say I have been lucky, but I would not wish my luck on you, or anyone else if your heading for Vegas! I am a grubby fighter- not really a lucky lady. Luck you call it, but I fought tooth and nail to survive this journey, and continue to do so. I write now for the business world- and I took that situation and wrote about it, then wrote about it. As a result you and I are now talking about luck, and sharing our stories, here in a social space.
Some people find love once, then never love again, where they lucky? SOme people get married 5 or 6 times lucky them, they also got divorced 4 or 5 times! The truth of hidden disabilities is that people can not see them, in your cas it is hidden from view, so it is assumed it will not change the way you live. Only you know how your life has changed, and only you can tell people this truth. You have done that here, with me. Because you have done that here with me, you now have been directed to contact a specific sort of social worker that you may not have known to contact before now, that may be able to help you explain what you are telling me to the people who review those forms. In a ideal world we would just be able to tell this information directly to the people who make those forms and all would be right that is now wrong.
I think that agency should hire people like you to talk to people with disabilities from computers and review those forms- it would get to the bottom of a lot of concerns that people have and that agency could use some empathetic people talking to the public. My experience yesterday was so shocking that I honestly can not imagine where the workers for that agency come from .. my first guess is the pits of hell!
Be patient, and take the next indicated step-
posted by
Harvardgirl_global
on May 8, 2008 at 6:34 PM
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consider yourself lucky to be getting one at all
I got turned down with a blood clot that was inoperable on the back wall of my heart, said blood clots in hearts arent enough to make you disabled
posted by
jesse_jean
on May 7, 2008 at 8:01 PM
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