I am a huge believer in the concept of nothing about us; without us.
I want more stories of empowered people with communication impairments getting on with their every day realities – and being heard!
Privacy is paramount though and most of the stories that I am privy to cannot be shared publicly.
Recently an adult who uses AAC asked me to share a success story anonymously on her behalf and I am honoured to share her story here.
(include adult topics)
She was experiencing extreme pain and suspected a flare up of endometriosis. She has had many previous experiences of not being listened to and suspected that she would find communicating with the emergency department to be challenging. Often in such moments, she finds herself unable to verbalise.
She found some symbols that related to what was going on (previously available at the Central MN Sexual Assault Center’s website - https://cmsac.org/communication-tools/) and created a powerful low tech, visual support using pen, paper, scissors, and a glue stick.
With this custom visual board, she walked into the emergency department, handed over the paper, and was immediately responded to and she trust that they were now aware of her relevant sexual history.
We still don’t have perfect treatments for endometriosis pain - but we can empower each other and ourselves to speak our truth firmly and clearly.
What are you going to do this month to empower people to stay safe, communicate clearly, and seek support when needed?