Sun Cup Wellness

I had a lovely time joining the round table on s*xuality and disability at this year's Disability Studies Conference at the U of A. I'd like to thank the planners for recognizing the importance this topic.

happy autism awareness day (and greater month) from this late diagnosed autistic ! 👋🌈

the reality is, awareness is still not equal for autistic people and we still have a long way to go in seeing both representation and support for racialized, trans/queer, moderate + higher support, and multiply disabled autistic folks! 💚 and that means we need your advocacy ALL year round to fight attacks on disability rights and connected systems of oppression!

(image description pinned in comments)

💓

we can't let fascism win

Digital illustration of a young black man holding a skateboard & standing in front of a fence. Behind the fence are federal buildings and monuments. There’s text on his green hoodie that quotes Martin Luther King Jr ‘… it is not enough for people to be angry — the supreme task is to organize and unite people so their anger is a transforming force.’

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Consent to s*x isn't consent to parenthood. ⭐️ Pregnancy and childbirth aren't things women and people are punished with for their 'sinful choice' to have s*x. While most ‘pro-life’ rhetoric centers the pregnant person as the person who must "take responsibility" for their actions, it misses the fact that pregnant women and people are autonomous and capable of making our own informed reproductive decisions.

✨The choice to become a parent should be just that, a choice. ❤️

 Digital illustration of three people. Text reads “pregnancy and childbirth aren’t punishments for having s*x.”

Yes!

I was leaving the gym when I noticed a group of people with intellectual disabilities coming in.

Each person was walking beside a support person, arms linked or hands held.

As I passed, one man reached out his hand.

“John,” he said.

Just his name. A simple but understood introduction. An expression of self.

I assumed we were going to shake hands, but instead he gently held the tips of my fingers for a moment. It wasn't awkward, it was just his way.

“Hello,” I said.

Immediately, he lifted something I hadn’t noticed before.

“Bear!” he announced loudly, proudly. Loud enough that everyone nearby, and probably a few people not so nearby heard.

At that moment, I braced myself for a correction.

“Not now, John.”
“Put that away.”
“Too loud, John.”

But none of that happened. His support worker smiled at me and said, “He loves his bear.” Internally I sighed in relief.

When we think about boundaries in our line of work we often think about the staff person. But people who we support also have boundaries, and at that moment, she made it clear that John’s bear was his. That it belonged on the “me and mine” side of the boundary. That this small, furry expression of self did not need fixing.

“Nice to meet you,” I said. “And cool bear.”

John smiled, I smiled, and we went our separate ways. I met John and his bear and I hope I get to meet John and his bear again soon.

And what struck me most was how little it took to get it right.

All it required was a willingness to be a safe person.
To resist the urge to correct.
To not use power unnecessarily.

Being yourself isn’t something that needs to be allowed. It just needs space and respect. Sometimes that means letting a man and his bear walk into the gym without changing a thing.

This interaction reminded me of the Open Future Learning staff learning module 'Me and Mine' and what it invites us to think about. In this module Dave Hingsburger challenges us to look closely at how power works in our relationships, why people we support so often try to please us, and how easily a sense of self can be intruded upon. More importantly, he shows us how to do better, how to create space for people to build, protect, and defend their own sense of self.

It’s a module that changes how you see the people you support, and yourself within that relationship.

Are you a director of training and do you want to see how Open Future Learning can work for your team?

Link to demo: https://www.openfuturelearning.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=login.RequestDemo

P.S. Open Future is now SCORM compliant. Use our courses on any LMS!

..

ID: Text reads: If you don't like John's bear shut the f up! Image shows a man sat on a couch clutching a stuffed monkey

Thanks for having me back. I could have talked with you for an entire season. 😊

Disability Empowerment Now: Hannah Woelke part2 Season 4 Episode 22 part 2 Hannah Woelke has provided disability related services in Tucson for over adecade. Having witnessed the impact of missing or inade...

Thanks Keith, I had a great time 🙌🏼

Disability Empowerment Now: Hannah Woelke part1 Season 4 Episode 22 part 1 Hannah Woelke has provided disability related services in Tucson for over adecade. Having witnessed the impact of missing or inade...

For Philly’s inters*x community, Trump administration’s focus on gender and s*x is a threat Inters*x people are speaking out in the face of the administration’s efforts to define s*x as a biological binary.

🙌🏼

Let's learn about the stress cycle! 😎 (This is an updated version of a poster I shared in March 2020)



📎 Sources include Stephen Porges, Deb Dana, Pete Walker, Bessel van der Kolk, Stanley Rosenberg, Dr. Arielle Schwartz, and The Polyvagal Podcast

🤓 Learn more about the stress cycle at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyppUSV1FN0

🤩 More infographics - linktr.ee/TraumaGeek

🧠 Printable versions of these graphics are available for professionals - TraumaGeek.com

💻 For research consultations or 1:1 education - Calendly.com/TraumaGeek

💚 This work is made possible by patron supporters - Patreon.com/TraumaGeek

Thanks *xeducation 💓