No One Seems To Notice I’m Disabled, Including Me
It’s time I unpack my internalized ableism
Ooh, look at all the pretty butterflies. Oh yeah, what was I going to say?
I’ve done that for as long as I can remember.
I’ll be trying to pay attention to something or someone, then something else catches my eye. It feels as though I can see and feel everything at once. It’s great that I’m keenly observant, except when I need to focus on one particular thing.
I excel at single-tasking yet feel like I’m multitasking most of the time, often overwhelmed by too many stimuli.
I have a poor sense of object permanence — if I can’t see it, it’s not there. That translates to forgetting appointments I don’t write down and setting reminder alarms. I forgot the earlier Public Service Loan Forgiveness deadline back in October because I forgot to write it in my calendar.
Executive dysfunction leads to all sorts of challenging side effects. I hyperfocus when I should be doing chores or do chores when I have to start a project.
Butterflies in my face are delightful but distracting. They command my attention.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. According to Forbes Health, more than 8.7 million adults in the U.S. have been…
