Tag: Disability

Sponsored Post: Do you Qualify for SSDI?

Hello all! Welcome back to my blog! I have talked a lot about being a person with a disability here on my blog. 

I was born with my disability, but many people with a disability were not. The disability group is unique in that it is one minority group where people become part of it at any time. Accidents can happen, or illness can lead to disability. Also, as a person gets older, there is a large chance of them becoming disabled. Of all people with a disability, half are age 65 or older in my country of the United States. Overall, approximately 1 in 4 adults are living with some type of disability in the United States.

Unfortunately, some people have a disability that is debilitating enough to keep them from working. Fortunately, there is financial support available for such people. One program set by the United States government is Social Security Disability Insurance or SSDI. With SSDI you can receive financial support monthly. If you are dealing with a disability, you can get help to find out if you are eligible for SSDI and even how much money you might get each month from Disability advocacy group Disability Advice. A post with an SSDI calculator and details about SSDI benefits can be found on their website. 

The post was written by Linda Cosme, JD. She has extensive experience as a lawyer and advocate for people with disability. She is currently Vice President of Disability Policy and Strategy at an advocate organization called Citizens Disability. Independent Legal Consultant for those seeking SSDI, appeals officer for the Social Security Administration, and Case Adjudication Specialist for Disability Determination Services were some of her other roles. 

Checkout Disability Advice’s website and find out more about SSDI and if you should apply. Click here.

Thankyou for reading! Until next time!

– Charli 

Sponsored Post: Disability Doesn’t have to mean Loss of Independence

Hi all! Welcome back to my blog! 

I have been talking a lot about my experience with disability and the issues those with disabilities face. I have mostly talked about learning disability and invisible disabilities. This time, I am touching a little on physical disabilities, particularly limb loss or amputation. 

I have personally known people who had to have parts of their limbs amputated because of diabetes. I myself am prediabetic. Diabetes is a leading cause of amputation. Around 160,000 amputations are performed each year due diabetes in the my country of the United States. Approximately 185,000 amputations over all are done. Nearly 2 million people in the United States are living with limb loss. 

I was recently contacted by a company to share a guide on living with limb loss or amputation. Adjusting to limb loss is not easy. My blog is all about spreading awareness on the experience of living with a disability, so I decided to accept the company’s collaboration offer. Their guide focuses on helping people with amputations adjust to driving with limb loss. Amputation and limb loss does not have to mean the loss of independence. 

The company I’m collaborating with is a law firm called RichmondVona that focuses on injury cases. The law firm is located in New York in the United States. The company was founded by lawyers John E. Richmond and Keith R. Vona, who have over 20 years of experience. They have helped their clients win over $200 million. RichondVona prides itself on valuing each individual client like a part of a family. 

You can read more about the law firm here.

You can read their guide on driving with an amputation here.

Thankyou for visiting! Until next time!

– Charli 

Invisible Disability: Guest Post

by: Laiba Noor

picture taken from Pexels

Not all disabilities are visible. Not all pain wears a cast or walks with a cane.  Some battles are fought behind smiles, quiet moments, and struggles that are not spoken about. These are what we call invisible disabilities, conditions that don’t have obvious physical signs but still significantly impact a person’s daily life.

I didn’t always understand what “invisible disability” meant.  I used to think that disability came with a wheelchair, a walking aid, or some visible indication.  However, life has a way of teaching you things that books or preconceived notions can’t. Living with “What Others Can’t See”.

Whether it’s chronic pain, mental illness, fibromyalgia, autism, anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, or neurological disorders, these conditions are often misunderstood or even doubted.  You look “fine.” You chuckle. You show up. So people think you’re okay.But deep inside, there’s a constant balancing act. You calculate every move: Can I do this today?  Will this drain me?  What if I can’t make it through?

I remember days when just getting out of bed felt like moving a mountain.  Smiling felt like a lie. While I stood still and tried to catch my breath, the world moved quickly and loudly on. Yet, individuals would comment, “You don’t look sick.” Those words cut deeper than they knew.

The Weight of Invisibility 

The hardest part of living with an invisible disability isn’t always the symptoms, it’s the invisibility itself.The doubt. The verdict. The subtle eye-rolls when you cancel plans again. The coworkers who whisper, “She’s just lazy.”  The guilt you feel for not being enough, for needing rest, for having limits.

And sometimes, you begin to question yourself. Is it really that bad? Is this just my overreaction? Maybe I should try harder…

But no. You are not overreacting. You are surviving.And that is more than enough.

Raising Awareness, Not Pity 

This blog post is not intended to be supportive. It’s written for awareness. To tell someone out there: You are seen, you are valid and you are not alone.

Invisible disabilities affect millions. And yet, so many suffer in silence, afraid to speak up or explain themselves. The world must be aware that disability is not always obvious. That someone can look okay and still be battling every single second.

So let’s stop saying “But you don’t look sick.”  Let’s start saying, “I believe you, I’m here for you.”

Supporting Someone with an Invisible Disability 

Here’s how you can help:

Believe them, even if you are unable to comprehend their experience. Keep waiting. Flare-ups and bad days come without warning.

Don’t judge. Rest isn’t laziness. Canceling plans isn’t personal.

Educate yourself.  Learn about lupus, endometriosis, PTSD, ADHD, and other conditions. Offer kindness. It costs nothing but means everything.

Living with a disability that goes unnoticed is a journey of strength, bravery, and quiet resilience. The fact that it isn’t obvious to the outside world doesn’t make it less real. If you’re someone living with one, I see you. Keep going, even if all you did today was breathe and try. That’s enough.

And if you know someone facing this quiet battle, be the person who listens, supports, and never doubts what can’t be seen.


Meet the Author

This beautiful piece was written by Laiba Noor. Laiba is a hardworking Content Creator, Social Media Manager and Influencer Marketer who lives in Pakistan. If you enjoyed this post and would like to work with Laiba, you can reach her on LinkedIn or Instagram. 

Disability: Seeing the Unseen

“We hire Shaun and we give hope to…people with limitations that those limitations are not what they think they are, that they do have a shot!”

Dr. Aaron Glassman The Good Doctor Episode 1 Season 1

I’m a little late to joining the bandwagon as the show is already in its second season, but I started watching a show called The Good Doctor. For those who don’t know, the show is about a man named Shaun Murphy who is a surgeon. He also happens to be a man with autism. I’ve been really enjoying the show so far, and was inspired to tell me story about my own experiences as a person with a disability. 

There is one word to covers the two reactions people with disabilities generally receive: doubt. There is either doubt in the person’s capabilities, or there is doubt that the person has a disability at all. In the show The Good Doctor, Shaun Murphy fits into the first category. His memory, visual spatial skills, and analytical skills are far above average. He is an asset to the hospital he is working in. However, many of his coworkers can’t see past his very apparent disability. I, on the other hand, fit into the latter category. My disability is invisible, and I often find myself having to prove that I actually am a person with a disability. 

From the time I was a small girl, it was apparent to everyone in my inner circle that I was a little different from my peers. Spend enough time me, and one would definitely be able to see my deficits, but only if that person is paying close attention. 

“You don’t seem like a person with a disability to me”, a friend once told me. 

Little did she know that it’s that same sentiment that often makes it difficult for me to get the help I need. The specific kind of disability I have is learning disability. There are different kinds of learning disabilities, and most of them are language based. That means people with those types of learning disabilities have trouble with spoken or written communication. The most well known language based learning disability is dyslexia. Communication is not a problem for me though. In fact, I’ve been told that I express myself very well, especially through writing. 

For me, the problem lies in processing. Many activities that might take other people minutes to complete can take hours for me, however, this would not be easy to notice through mere minutes of conversation with me. 

“I wish I had your brain.”, a classmate from college once told me. She did not understand that it was not a superior intellect that made me successful during my time in college. It was my work ethic and perseverance that made me successful. Like any other person, I work extremely hard for what I want, and in some cases I have to put in even more effort than the average person. 

For Shaun Murphy from The Good Doctor, his disability is front and center for those who meet him, and masks his capabilities. They don’t take the time to understand him and realize that his disability is only one part of who he is. That is a reality for many people with disability. In my case, people don’t take the time to understand that some disabilities are invisible, and you never know what someone might be going through. My take away from the show The Good Doctor and my experiences is that we might all have our different stories to tell, but there is one thing that connects us: the desire to be understood.


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