TW: forced commitment, prisons

i used to buy into this. i don’t anymore.

as mel baggs explains, “don’t use AAC, you’re not disabled enough, not non-speaking enough” is the wrong way to approach things.

i’ve wanted to use AAC for years, and hid out a lot when i can’t speak, in part because of my assumption that i might offend someone if i used AAC, or learned how to fluently sign. it held me back, both personally and in terms of interacting in society.

the more people use AAC, the more common it becomes, which makes it better for *everybody* who can or might benefit from its use.

i’ve spent a lot of my life hiding being non-speaking, but i’m working on that being no longer the case. it messes with my communicating with other people (imagine having to rehearse most of your conversations, and what might happen as a result), and burns me out (imagine feeling like you’re trying to shift a large truck out of a stuck gear).

yes, i can script, and mask speech, at times. it doesn’t always work. i’ll be speaking, masking away, then…i can’t. so then i start trying to cover that up. until that doesn’t work either. so then, i’ll shrug, smile and silently hope for the best. then i’ll burn out, hide out or both.

go to the store? prepare in advance. go to a meeting? prepare in advance. meet a friend? prepare in advance. if i can’t script, mask. if i can’t mask, fake non-fluid speech. if everything shuts off, shrug and smile. pray not to get detained, arrested or 5150ed.

here’s to no longer hiding. 💃🏽

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