DISABILITIES/IMPAIRMENTS AND RPING
Something to keep in mind, RPing disabilities can be a very fickle thing, sometimes there is a very logical connection people make between their muses and a possible disability/impairment they might have. Indicators that could be there but never stated out loud because it simply wasn’t something that needed to be pointed out, or they already had a very obvious disability/impairment in their story.
These are things that make sense, they’re fundamental to how you portray a character HOWEVER something very, very important to keep in mind is that if your muse exhibits absolutely no indications of a physical or mental disability/impairment, absolutely none whatsoever, then you need to be very careful with what you diagnose them with.
Disabilities/impairments are not something that make you cool or trendy, they’re not there to make your muse unique just because they’ll be different, disabilities/impairments are extremely difficult, life altering things and unless you are willing to re-write a character completely, give them new mannerisms in order to make them actually fit, I’d suggest just staying away from them completely. Like I said, sometimes it’s not that much of a reach and if you have done your research and honestly believe that your muse just genuinely has that then by all means, go ahead.
As someone who deals with mental impairments, as well seeing the direct result of children who have PTSD, anxiety, schizophrenia, autism and many other impairments that can make day-to-day life very difficult, it is not something that you just give a character.
Do your research, make sure they actually fit what you are giving them and stick to it because like I said, these things don’t just blow over, they can change a persons life so drastically that if you fail to address these issues, you may as well not have changed anything.
Portraying a muse as disabled/impaired in any way just to make them trendy is INCREDIBLY offensive and you are undermining the struggles that people go through every single day.
If you are willing to put in the time and effort to somehow fit your muse into a specific diagnosis then by all means, help make people aware of just how much a simple thing to most people can be one of the hardest thing someone else might do. How hard it is to walk around being different than what is considered ‘normal’ but don’t do it just because it’s something ‘new’.
TLDR;Do not gives your muse disabilities/impairments unless are willing to portray them properly, do your research and ensure that your portrayal reflects it in all aspects. Ask around for help if you get stuck, I’m sure people will be very happy to give you the correct information but do NOT just make them disabled/impaired for the sake of it, it’s insulting to those who have that disability/impairment.
