hello, is this thing on???

[theo]

yesterday was a bad one for me. i went to another appointment but this one regarding my disabilities and the technology i need to function and succed in school and future career. the person assigned to researching my needs of my dual disability (hearing and ADD) was very helpful during the research phase but then failed through cowardice when it came time to present the results of the research. i ended up having to justify everything that this nimwit agreed to prior to the meeting and rescinded during the meeting. this moron actually had the audacity to say that the technology i need to compete with nondisabled students would possibly put me at a superior advantage to them. excuse me? how does a wheelchair overadvantage a parapelegic? or hearing aids overadvantage a person with hearing impairment over one with perfect hearing? assistive technology helps the disabled with being on the same level as the nondisabled!!!!! needless to say, i went downhill from there. i am in the middle of so much crap going down right now and all i asked for was a little help in trying to obtain a balance while i struggle with the demands of nine hours of graduate level work under my disabilities (all three are seminars, which for hearing impaired and ADD like me means a wall of silence and confusion of a bakers dozen voices) and strugling with the increased hell of my ptsd. i aced the semester last semester. my "advantage"? a scanner that helped to digitize my textbooks that helped me to organize the work in a way that worked best for me. my real advantage? my intelligence. the tech just helped me do what others do without it. i almost lost it last night in terms of dissociating. i had to fight so hard to stay grounded and it almost didn't work. i am just so tired of fighting this stupidity.

 

[Mike Church]

Theo:

Your post rings so many bells for me. They just do not get it. But you know what. We are stronger than they will ever be and we are innovative.

You are gonna make it Theo because of your strengths and the LTheo.

Hang in there brother.

 

[Lloydy]

Theo
stupidity knows no borders, a Therapist I work with told me two horror stories tonight that have occured just this week and sent Survivors like us back to square one. In one case it actually caused a breakdown of a Survivor who's just completed over two years therapy and hard work.

The culprit was some newly qualified graduate working in an employement re-training department with the life and people skills ( and brain ) of an rattlesnake !

The Therapist is making an official complaint about this moron, and you should as well.

Dave

 

[theo]

dave,
i just noticed your signature quote. in the frame of tenuous mind that i am in right now that posed a very interesting image as a joke.

it did not occur to me to pursue a complaint. i did not want to implicate my counselor who has done a wonderful job, but that tech that .......speechless, me of all people

i am so sorry to hear about the one survivor under the moron you know. i hope the survivor will be okay. there should be criminal liability for something like that because it is the lives of human beings that are being dealt with. take care.


mike,
lady, little, and myself will find the way out of the dark. thank you.

 

[ScottyTodd]

Theo - They say talk is cheap and it sounds like the Tech supplied the cheapest thing they had - talk! When the "chips are down" their action (back tracking) speak louder than their words.

I'd complain...it may help to improve the Tech's performance and "talking up" abilities - next time!

Howard

 

[Leosha]

I am very sorry of the struggles you are having right now Theo. It seems similar to just providing proper medication to one who needs it. Is it advantage to give insulin to diabetic? That is ridiculous. But I realize that is something I may face some day also. Because any time, if I were to be in school again, or to be in 'real' job, the mental challenges that sometime take control of me would probably cause some problems. I hope that you are able to be successful, and gain what you need.

leosha

 

[theo]

wanted to update all those interested. i started the procedure for formal complaint by emailing the archive of the correspondence where the tech said she advocated the higher technology as being best for my needs plus explained the situation of the meeting to her supervisor. i receive a nice email informing me that said supervisor has investigated the matter and has found the tech to be above reproach in all behavior and is terribly sorry for any misunderstanding i had about the intricacies of the research and decision making process. i wanted to write back and tell said supervisor that i understand he must kiss the patooty of his people and thank you for the lesson in how hard things are for him and his "above reproach" techie, but i refrained and instead was very polite and told him that she was wrong, he was wrong, and i will be conversing with other professionals about this criminally negligent behavior. i wonder how that one will fly ? it should be interesting, but i will still pursue the complaint because what she said and did was an insult to all disabled people and her supervisor's condenscending attitude and dismissive response is also inappropriate. i will keep you all informed, and thank you all for your support. i did not expect to overturn the decision, all i wanted was a sincere apology and an accounting of the techie's stupidity. guess i will have to bang the drum a little louder for them, no? take care.

 

[Lloydy]

Theo
one great thing about healing from our abuse is that we begin to realise that what we've been through, and more importantly - the skills and effort we make to get ourselves through it - make us the kind of people who take no more crap.
We've had our share of it, why the hell should we live our lives having more heaped upon us ?

Up until a few years ago I would either be too afraid to complain about crap, and just accept it because I believed that was all life had in store for me. Or I would go ape s**t. And that didn't work at all, so I still ended up with the crap.

Not any more I dont !

Dave