DISABILITY

below, are four drawings of a very fluffy creature with different presentations of strabismus. they're each labelled "hypotropia (eye points downward)," "exotropia (eye points outward)," "hypertropia (eye points upward," and "esotropia (eye points inward)."

the last has an arrow, with text reading "i looked like this when i was born!"

bottom text: it's not a quirky character design, it's a real disability!

it does not mean someone is clumsy, "stupid," or autistic

(ableist depictions of autistic and/or otherwise intellectually disabled people often have strabismus. why do you think this is?)

strabismus can occur from birth, later in life due to separate visual impairments, or because of physical trauma or strokes. it can cause permanent vision issues.

i'm partially blind in one eye!

when you design a character, think about if the traits you give them exist on real people! they often do!

what do you want your art to say about disabled people?

Sometimes using a wheelchair means you can no longer get to the places that used to be important to you, and not because of man-made inaccessibility. I have sat with someone as they cried because they could no longer visit the place they had scattered a loved one’s ashes because not even the most expensive wheelchair in the world could handle the terrain. As much as I wanted to, my wheelchair meant that I couldn’t position myself in a way that would allow me to give them a proper hug. In that moment, our wheelchairs felt more like heavy weights than freedom.

And sometimes wheelchairs are like the legs of someone who can walk but would maybe benefit from a wheelchair themselves. Sometimes wheelchairs are exhausting and painful and you’re counting down the time before you’re able to be lifted into bed. Sure, like painful legs, you can do more with them than without, but constantly performing gratitude for something that hurts you is exhausting. And again, not because you need a better wheelchair, but because those are the limits of your body and the technology that exists.

One of those pamphlets or papers they give out in admittance will contain the number for the hospital ombudsmen or patient advocate. Save that! I had to contact them when they twice messed up a test prep for my grandfather by giving him food when he wasn't supposed to have any so they couldn't do the test. He was moved off that floor to the cardiac wing of the hospital, even though he wasn't in for cardiac care that time, in less than an hour after I called the ombudsmen. It was a much nicer room, and the patient to nurse ratio was better too. Document everything, and be firm but calm.

Don't be afraid to ask for a second opinion or another doctor. The best resource I found was to ask all the nurses which doctor they would use for their grandfather etc. I found him a different heart doctor doing that who was so much better than do nothing doctor he had before.

I've found, "How would you want your grandparent, sister, daughter etc treated," to be a bit magic in terms of getting them good care in general. I've literally seen medical people pause, and rethink what they're going to say after I phrase it that way. Also, women doctors generally spend more time listening to patients. I'm not saying that's always true of course, but there have been studies backing that up, and it's certainly been my experience as well. I went with my grandfather to an appointment with his GP, and reported all these symptoms I was seeing. He literally laughed in my face, and circled his age on the chart. I took him to my doctor, a woman, and it turned out he had Parkinson's.

The Internet is your friend, provided it's a legitimate medical site like the Mayo or Cleveland clinic etc. I saved my mother's eyesight finding an off label usage for a med, and found some stuff my vet ended up using for other patients.

In this case, accurately assessing their comfort levels might feel like underestimating themselves. But it's necessary to not overexert and avoid further burnout.