Robert Davis at Raw Story:

A woman who was recently released from custody by immigration agents described the horrifying way she was treated during a stop last month - one she said exacerbated disabilities - and the terrible conditions inside the Minneapolis-area ICE facility. Aliyah Rahman, an autistic South Minneapolis resident with a traumatic brain injury who needs a wheelchair for mobility, told lawmakers during a Congressional forum on Tuesday that she was stopped by ICE agents while on her way to a doctor's appointment. She said agents violently arrested her, including threatening multiple times to "break her f------ window" when she did not immediately comply out of shock, and slashing her seat belt with what appeared to be a hunting knife. She said they also dragged her by her arms, face down, from her car to an ICE vehicle, even while she was screaming at them about suffering from disabilities. "I now cannot lift my arms normally," Rahman said. She claimed the agents never read her rights, and the Trump administration never charged her with a crime.

The conditions she witnessed inside the Minneapolis-area ICE facility were even more concerning, Rahman said. Outside of the center, she saw hordes of "black and brown bodies" being mushed along by screaming federal agents.

[...] She added that she was denied medical care, and before she passed out from her injuries, she heard a voice outside of her cell door saying they couldn't help because they "didn't want to step on ICE's toes." She said she was later treated for assault at the Hennepin County Medical Center. Rahman shared her testimony at a time when Trump's immigration regime is facing significant scrutiny. Agents in Minneapolis killed two American citizens protesting ICE raids, and shot nearly a dozen more, according to reports. Their actions have renewed calls for several Trump administration officials to either resign or be fired.

Aliya Rahman, who was mocked by ICE thugs for asking for a wheelchair after being dragged out of her car in January while en route to a doctor’s appointment, testified in front of the House Oversight Committee yesterday about her experiences under ICE detention.

Video:

SBSK deserves more subscribers. I've been watching this channel run by Chris and Alyssa for over 5ish years, and I wholeheartedly believe that they are a shining beacon in this world. Anyways anyways they interview people with all sorts of differences; like physical/mental disabilities and illnesses, and share their stories. SBSK has really helped me develop more understanding and empathy over the years, and I think everyone could benefit from watching an interview or two. The video linked above is just the most recent, but here are some other stories (no particular order).

“Part of the problem with the word 'disabilities' is that it immediately suggests an inability to see or hear or walk or do other things that many of us take for granted. But what of people who can't feel? Or talk about their feelings? Or manage their feelings in constructive ways? What of people who aren't able to form close and strong relationships? And people who cannot find fulfillment in their lives, or those who have lost hope, who live in disappointment and bitterness and find in life no joy, no love? These, it seems to me, are the real disabilities.”

~Fred Rogers

Hi anon! Thanks for stopping by <3

Disability Asks~

9. how do you measure your energy? (spoons, battery, something else?)

I can't remember who or where, but a while back someone on the internet introduced me to a theory that more accurately describes my energy than spoon theory or battery ever did: ✨Ticket Theory✨.

Ticket Theory is similar to spoon theory, but more accurate for executive dysfunction and the thing where autistics/ADHDers have a lot of energy but can't do certain things. Here's how it works:

each ticket is one unit of energy

the tickets are each labeled with specific tasks or activities

the amount of tickets i get and what they're labeled with are never consistent or predictable

the tickets can and will expire quickly without warning

i cannot exchange, refund, or get back any tickets that aren't used before they expire

I have zero control over how many tickets I get and what task they will be labeled with or how long they will last

and i can only use a ticket for the task it is specifically labeled with.

For instance: it may have a lot of 'dishes' tickets, but no 'laundry' tickets, this means I may have a lot of energy, but no laundry is getting done while dishes will, no matter what I do. I may have a bunch of 'art' tickets, but no tickets for anything else, so even though I have a ton of energy the only thing getting done is art, despite how much I want and need to do tasks like cleaning or hygiene. and the worst one of all: I have tickets for everything, all the tasks and chores and activities- but the one thing I don't have a ticket for is getting out of bed. <- it's like having tickets for every ride at a theme park EXCEPT FOR A TICKET TO GET INTO THE PARK ITSELF, and it is so fucking frustrating.

This theory has been so helpful for explaining to impatient people or neurotypicals who just don't understand why I may have a lot of energy, but things I want to get done or need to get done won't get done no matter how much I want to or try. And it's honestly been more helpful to help myself understand what's going on in my head. Before being introduced to ticket theory, I used spoon theory, but it didn't quite fit and just made others more confused about my dysfunction and the randomness to my energy levels.

12. what's something (a struggle, a symptom, a weird phenomenon, or even a funny experience) people don't realize about your disability?

for my autism: pathological demand avoidance. for some reason, when a person asks or requests that I do something (even if they're very nice and polite)- my brain immediately perceives it as a threat or challenge, and all of the sudden I very much don't want to do the thing at all under any circumstance (even if i wanted to or was in the middle of doing said thing) to the point where i'll say "well now I don't want to do it", throw up my hands and not do it. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. no matter what the thing is. it's not so much of a struggle, it's mostly weird and a little funny.

for my adhd: waiting mode, I think. it's the thing where we adhders have a very important thing at a certain time (such as an appointment or interview), and for some reason under no circumstances can't I do anything while I am waiting, so I end up getting ready and then sitting for sometimes hours just waiting for when it's time for the thing. I can't do anything other than sit in anxious silence and wait, under any circumstance- not clean, not watch a movie, not work on something, NOTHING BUT WAIT. it's a bit of struggle and mainly a weird phenomenon.

15. what does disability pride mean to you?

For the most part- being unapologetically disabled, and very loudly telling the world "i don't have to change for you, I deserve to live a happy and full life just like everyone else, and you don't have the right to take that away from me."

Also self love. Lots and lots of self love and acceptance <33333

I also got scheduled for botox, and if that doesn't work, another type of injectable

it's so weird, I feel like my mental health taking a nose dive scares the bejeezus out of me so I do a bunch of stuff all at once. I even ordered gardening supplies on the phone today, so new skill unlocked (googling if I can instacart before trying to go to a store)