#accomodations

Hi all,

Happy spring! The GTA is blessed with a few public cherry blossom orchards, which are now in full bloom. They are absolutely gorgeous, and I recommend Torontonians stop by at High Park (and Mississaugans visit Kariya Park) to appreciate them :)

Onto the important matters. Accessibility for convention day!

Our Intake Form Killed Itself :(

Simpli Events, the service we use for ticket management, geared up in anticipation for ticket launch—but clearly they didn’t gear up enough! Somehow, the intake form got corrupted and we don’t have the data from our standard order form. That means the question “would you like to register for accessibility accomodations” was—ironically enough—inaccessible.

We will be sending out a three-question Google Form by email to all registered attendee emails. Please keep an eye out for this email!! It should be sent within the next few days. Our accessibility coordinator will then follow up with you about getting accomodations sorted out.

What do accomodations look like?

This year, someone registered for accessibility accomodations will receive an accessibility sticker which goes on their badge. This signals to our volunteer team that the attendee should be given early/priority access to washrooms or event spaces to facilitate mobility. Other accessibility accomodations are available and can be discussed further with our Accessibility Coordinator via her email ([email protected]).

The Chill Room

Conventions can be very overstimulating! Sometimes we just need a break. This is why DashCon 2 operates the Chill Room: a low-sensory space where congoers are invited to relax and get some peace and quiet. Cosplayers are welcome to relax in there as well and patch up their cosplays if they need a moment to reapply makeup or re-tie a bow.

That said, the Chill Room Rules will be strictly enforced. The Chill Room is NOT a designated costuming lounge area but a low sensory space. Please note that:

Talking above a whisper is strictly prohibited.

If you need to have an extended conversation, take it outside the Chill Room. Whispering should be used for short, perfunctory discussions.

Electric fans generate a lot of noise and are also prohibited.

DashCon 2 will provide manual hand fans for use by attendees, as they are quieter.

Overhead lights will not be turned on until 9:00 PM.

There are many windows in the Chill Room so there will be light to see by in the daytime

Once the sun goes down (8:40 PM) only one set of lights will be turned on, to ensure people have light to enter/exit by.

Phone flashlights are prohibited as they are intense and disruptive.

If you need help finding something, ask a volunteer for help.

Phone screens should be dimmed when it gets dark.

Taking a nap is okay, but volunteers reserve the right to wake you if they have a concern.

Eating is acceptable, but do your best to keep noise to a minimum.

We are still expanding the list of amenities the Chill Room will have on hand. Here is the current list:

Water bottles

Manual fans

Sleep masks (to block light)

Disposable earplugs

Disposable face masks

So kudos to this new print of Uno for adding those little symbols for the colour blind:

I will also thank Ticket to Ride for using symbols as well as colours:

I wanna get something together as a resource for newly diagnosed people that have to be going through this, or just for anyone in general :)

community support and shared information makes it less scary.

my favorite coping mechanisms and reminders:

keep a journal with all of your diagnosis information, appointment information, and symptom information if you have a complex medical history. questions for appointments, outcomes of appointments, important topics in discussions, etc.

write down all of your favorite coping skills and reminders, including some of these, and read them frequently

when my dark circles are really bad I put a little bit of red eyeshadow above and below my eyes and then put on eyeliner and mascara and I look like a little vampire

dinosaur socks/silly socks when you're not feeling well (my friends actually use this as an indicator for my good and bad days now)

coloring in coloring books or drawing with friends in person/over facetime

video games, especially if you have online spoonie friends that live far away, or if u are both too tired to leave the house

I also personally really like story and lore-based single player video games for when I am alone

going swimming at the pool or the beach

making an anonymous lowkey vent blog and screaming all your worst thoughts into the void whenever u need to (or just do it in your notes app idk)

getting a therapist that u feel understands u

posting in a community, like this, where you can meet other people and talk about your experiences and share advice and tips you have learned, or joining an in-person club or support group

filling your space with pretty decorations and lights on your good days so that on your bad days you can recover in a nice cozy place with pretty lights and things to look at

stuffed animals to snuggle

decorating mobility aids with tape, ribbons, stickers, paint, fake flowers, spikes, etc. to fit your personality

crying and not feeling bad about it because this is a grieving process and that is normal

stop being a perfectionist and be mindful of your energy levels I am so serious, look into pacing and the spoon theory/similar theories

remember that there are sooooo many alternative ways of doing things and there really are no rules, you can sit down on the ground outside if you can't find a place to sit. you can sit in a chair in the kitchen and wash your dishes and chop vegetables. you can get online grocery pickup or delivery if you don't have the energy to walk around a store, or find someone to do that for you. you can eat all the ingredients of a sandwich without making a sandwich. u can get hygiene wipes from the drugstore or use a warm washcloth in the sink if you struggle with bathing. washing your mouth with mouthwash is better than not brushing at all. you can get a wheelchair if you have trouble standing for long periods, just because it would make life a bit easier. the possibilities are endless

finding irl friends that are also chronically ill or disabled. one of my best friends is a T1D with POTS and MCAS, and my other best friend also has POTS. I absolutely love them and adore them and they frequently remind me that we have shared experiences and that I'm not alone. if u don't know anyone and u have a hard time making irl friends, you could try the "make friends" feature that a lot of dating apps have. I have personally made 4 friends that way.

surround yourself with loving, supportive, and patient friends, not people that will exclude you and act impatient just because you get sick a lot. those aren't your friends. usually this will be subtle, like passive aggressive or just weird comments or nonverbal cues. I promise it will make so much of a difference. my friends know that I sleep a lot, I sometimes don't respond, I get sick easily, I sometimes have to cancel last minute, and they know that if I seem tired or uninterested it's because I don't feel good. they know that I still try my best and that I love them regardless

if you're dating, remember to keep your standards higher than you think you should. I'm AFAB so this may not apply to everyone, but I personally think like bulldog advocate energy when you have to be in the delivery room during labor. that energy during appointments, that energy when you run into judgmental or unsupportive people. someone who will take the time to show up for you, understand your needs, and love you regardless of an illness.

focus on your quality of life over everything else!!!!!!

Like, let's say you have atypical circadian rhythms. Maybe your ideal sleeping window is between 9am-4pm. Obviously there'd be stuff like work accomodations and for appointments and things like that, to allow you to sleep within your natural rhythms to begin with.

But also things like, getting your bedroom soundproofed. So that, if your neighbors are outside doing yard work or playing or whatever, which are all perfectly reasonable things for them to be doing in the middle of the day, it doesn't disturb your sleep.

Which is also a perfectly reasonable thing for you to be doing in the middle of day.

Not to mention how much soundproofing would help accommodate people with auditory issues or sound triggers or whatever.

Idk it's just one small thing that would never come up in our current hellscape, but in a real society this is the kind of stuff we could be doing

Accommodating every level of our lives, so that our individual differences don't systematically disadvantage us in the world at large.