Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #DEHEM21

When we hear someone's rights have been violated, it's natural to want to help. Before you give advice, please refer to this infographic. Image description was too long so it follows.

#DisInHigherEd #AcademicAbleism #DEHEM21 #HigherEdLovesToViolateADA #HigherEd

Infographic. At the top is a stop sign and large text that reads, “Before you give advice about denied accommodations…” Then there is a dividing line. Text reads, “Are you recommending suing?” and there are the following sentences, “Unless you are offering to pay for

legal advice and cover all legal expenses or offer your services as a disability lawyer pro-bono, stop. Unless you know a lawyer or a law firm willing to take on a university or college, stop. Many professors, departments, and institutions will violate a disabled person’s rights

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Anonymous Story #21 - I'm Just tired

We will be posting this story as a thread below, but if you'd prefer to read it as a blog, you can do that.
[blog post] disabledinhighered.weebly.com/blog/im-just-t…
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#DEHEM21 #DisInHigherEd

It's hard to know where to start. I've spent the last decade feeling like I've been walking a tightrope, while people are constantly trying to push me off. If I don't just bear with it & instead push back, it increases. Now that I've long COVID, I think they'll finally succeed 2/

It's been a weird journey. I am Autistic, have ADHD, and POTS, as well as a few other things. I'm also the first in my family to go to college. I love working with data and helping people figure out how to use it best to solve their research problems. 3/

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Anonymous Story #20 - Wholly Unfit

We will be posting this story as a thread below, but if you'd prefer to read it as a blog, you can do that.
CW: Mentions of Sexual Assault, medication, and verbal abuse
[blog post] disabledinhighered.weebly.com/blog/wholly-un…
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#DEHEM21 #DisInHigherEd

I'm a grad student who didn't get diagnosed with my disabilities until fairly recently, and I did so under extreme duress - it was either that and have a legal right to dubious support, or be forced out of my program. 2/

I have ADHD, I'm autistic, and I have joint hypermobility issues which mean I get injured a lot in the course of my work (long field work seasons are rough on both my physical and mental health). 3/

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Anonymous Story #19 - Not disabled enough?

We will be posting this story as a thread below, but if you'd prefer to read it as a blog, you can do that.
[blog post] disabledinhighered.weebly.com/blog/pandemic-…
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#DisabledInHigherEd #DEHEM21 #DisInHigherEd

I'm currently on my second try at finishing undergrad after having to drop out due to my accommodations not being met. Not surprisingly, I might have to drop out again. 2/

On my first attempt at college, my autoimmune disorder developed in ways I had never dealt with and at the time that typically required me being very close to a bathroom, meds, ice packs and heating pads. 3/

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Anonymous Story #18 - Incapable of seeing ableism.

We will be posting this story as a thread below, but if you'd prefer to read it as a blog, you can do that.
[blog post] disabledinhighered.weebly.com/blog/incapable…
(1/8)

#DisabledInHigherEd #DEHEM21 #DisInHigherEd

I was diagnosed with autism in my undergrad career. It was wonderful to be able to understand myself and my needs and do so in a place where I felt safe. But I was sheltered in undergrad, fortunate enough to have a professor open about being ND. 2/

I connected with them more than other students did, not realizing why other students didn’t. And now I continue my journey in higher ed, facing extreme ableism from my PI. I want to make it clear that my PI is a genuinely good person, but is incapable of seeing ableism. 3/

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Anonymous Story #17 - Betrayal

We will be posting this story as a thread below, but if you'd prefer to read it as a blog, you can do that.
[blog post] disabledinhighered.weebly.com/blog/betrayal
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#DisabledInHigherEd #DEHEM21 #DisInHigherEd

Close to the end of my program, my health was getting much worse with no clarity as to why. I found myself struggling in school, so I visited a faculty counselor to help me try to get through the last chunk of my program and graduate as smoothly and quickly as possible. 2/

Part of these visits was explaining why I was having difficulty, and that my experiences had led to me being disillusioned with the program.

During this time, a classmate I worked with in a group project plagiarized their portion of the work. 3/

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Anonymous Story #16 - Waste of Resources

We will be posting this story as a thread below but if you'd prefer to read it as a blog you can do that
[blog post] disabledinhighered.weebly.com/blog/waste-of-…
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#DisabledInHigherEd #DEHEM21 #DisInHigherEd

...this is difficult for me to talk about. I'm chronically ill. I recently graduated with my PhD after 8 years in graduate school. I thought the best way to receive accommodations during graduate school would be to talk to the disabled students office–I was wrong. 2/

As a graduate student, because I was technically an employee, they could only help with accommodations for classes (which I ended up not needing accommodations for). 3/

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Anonymous Story #11 - Campus Tutor

We will be posting this story as a thread below but if you'd prefer to read it as a blog you can do that
CW: Sexual Assault, Suicidality
[blog post] disabledinhighered.weebly.com/blog/campus-tu… (1/6)

#DisabledInHigherEd #DEHEM21 #DisInHigherEd

My community college didn't have disability testing. They required doctor letters that have been written in the past 30 days. The only accommodation was 10 mins extra on test time, nothing else--no interpreters, notetakers, nothing. I'm Deaf. 2/

CW: Sexual Assault, Suicidality
I went to campus tutors constantly to help with notes, then was raped by 1 of them. No investigation. No sympathy. There were no counseling services. 3/

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Anonymous Story #10 - Removed from Campus

We will be posting this story as a thread below but if you'd prefer to read it as a blog you can do that [blog post] disabledinhighered.weebly.com/blog/october-2… (1/7)

#DisabledInHigherEd #DEHEM21 #DisInHigherEd

Content Warning: PTSD, Bipolar Mania⁠
⁠
I want to let people know my story, but I wish to remain anonymous because of the stigma. I have bipolar 1, autism, C-PTSD, and a constellation of chronic physical illnesses. 2/

My first semester of college, the only mental health diagnosis I had was PTSD, so I had no idea I am bipolar. I was experiencing my worst ever manic episode for over four months my whole first semester, and although I remember very little, I can tell you the outcome. 3/

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Anonymous Story #9 - Am I the only one?

We will be posting this story as a thread below but if you'd prefer to read it as a blog you can do that [blog post] disabledinhighered.weebly.com/blog/october-2… (1/X)

#DisabledInHigherEd #DEHEM21 #DisInHigherEd

I was really excited when I heard about DEHEM. I’ve been in grad school for 10 years, and I’ve met very few other disabled people. Still, even after reading through all of the roll calls, I feel like I’m the only 1 like me in academia. I’m a schizophrenic with borderline (BPD) 2/

In all the conversations I’ve seen about mental health visibility in academia, I’ve NEVER seen anything about academics who experience psychosis. Anxiety and depression are becoming more normalized, but psychosis is being left out of the conversation.⁠

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Anonymous Story #8 - Being Open about Plurality

We will be posting this story as a thread below but if you'd prefer to read it as a blog you can do that [blog post] disabledinhighered.weebly.com/blog/being-ope… (1/X)

#DisabledInHigherEd #DEHEM21 #DisInHigherEd

Haven't seen a whole lot of folks like us in higher education, which is probably why we're choosing to share that we exist.

Hello. We're an autistic grad student in the STEM field. We're also an undiagnosed (but seeking therapy) OSDD-1b system. 2/

In layman's terms: we're many people in one body as a result of identity dissociation, but do not experience traditional dissociative amnesia. This is also called "partial Dissociative Identity Disorder" in the ICD-10. 3/

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Anonymous Story #8 - Unsupportive Advisor

We will be posting this story as a thread below but if you'd prefer to read it as a blog you can do that [blog post] disabledinhighered.weebly.com/blog/unsupport… (1/4)

#DisabledInHigherEd #DEHEM21 #DisInHigherEd

This weekend I decided that I need to switch labs. I am starting my fourth year, so it will be extremely painful and likely hurt my career, but my advisor keeps telling me that I don’t belong in academia and if I can’t work longer or harder then I should just leave. (2/4)

I believe that there should be a place for people like me (I have depression & panic disorder, as well as hypothyroidism) & I want to make it through to help reduce the toxic cultural expectations, but I can’t do that if my advisor won’t give me a chance. I’m heartbroken.⁠ (3/4)

Anonymous Story #7 - How are you?

We will be posting this story as a thread below but if you'd prefer to read it as a blog you can do that [blog post] disabledinhighered.weebly.com/blog/how-are-y… (1/8)

#DisabledInHigherEd #DEHEM21 #DisInHigherEd

CW: mentions of anorexia

I dropped out of my undergraduate degree in engineering (returned 3 years later to finish it) due to severe depression.

I was on antidepressants and attending counselling, but we hadn't yet found the right combination that worked. (2/8)

CW: mentions of anorexia

It was my last semester and I simply could not muster the energy to finish it. In addition to struggling with depression, I was dealing with extreme pain from endometriosis and was in recovery from anorexia nervosa. (3/8)

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1/ CW: mental illness, ableism, racism, trauma

Thread: these are my experiences in academia that led to my own self-advocacy and advocacy in academia. I want folks to remember that many of us are advocates for the sake of our own survival in higher education.

2/ For the sake of not completely revisiting trauma and my mental health today, a lot of these next few tweets of my experiences re-entering higher education post hospitalization will be summarized.

3/ When I got back, I tried to make my hospitalization private. Somehow faculty who weren’t my professors that semester knew. Additionally, it was implied that I was lazy + irresponsible for not focusing on class registration.

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Thread: This week, we’re talking about disability-related minority stress and highlighting the disabled academics advancing this area of research.

What is minority stress?

1/

Minority stress is defined as chronic stress experienced by members of stigmatized minority groups due to marginalization, objectification, discrimination, and internalized stigma among others.

2/

Minority stress has been linked to both mental and physical health disparities, including hypertension, diabetes, anxiety, substance abuse, depression, suicidality, and adverse birth outcomes.

3/

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🧵(@manijadegarcia) Whew, responding to the twitter chat from yesterday stirred up a lot for me. After a break I will return to discuss some ideas for survival, stress management, joy & healing. I used the acronym ACCESS to organize the ideas.

#DEHEM21 #TainoSalud
BRB

1/

(@manijadegarcia) #Acceptance is a key feature of many eastern belief systems (e.g. #Buddhism & #YogaPhilosophy) & shows up in some Western therapies (e.g. #mindfulness #ACT & #RadicalAcceptance in #DBT).

Acceptance has many layers that apply to #MentalHealth & #Disability

2/

(@manijadegarcia) Important point: #acceptance does NOT mean to agree with or like something. It's about doing your best to accept the REALITY of something, including the emotions it may stir.

Acceptance may not always feel good, but I have found it to be good for me.

3/

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Q2 From MJ (@manijadegarcia): It seems uncommon to associate mental health struggles w/ disability. I do see discussions of this during #DEHEM21, which I feel hopeful about.

Academic culture is ULTRA VIOLENT & TOXIC towards people with mental health struggles.

#DEHEMChat

1/

https://twitter.com/DisInHigherEd/status/1450163518712463362

(@manijadegarcia) I am in a #ClinicalPsychology PhD program & have found that clinical psychologists are among the MOST violent & most likely to stigmatize #MentalIllness, mostly due to shame from avoiding confronting their own struggles & training in Western medical models.

2/

(@manijadegarcia) Applicants/trainees in clinical psychology are—as a rule— told NOT to discuss their mental health & are punished for disclosing.

This culture mixes in ugly ways with other core -isms in clinical psychology, like racism.

#DEHEMChat

3/

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We are so excited to have @manijadegarcia take over our account today!

You can learn more about them in this bio and stay tuned for their takeover.

#DEHEM21

Mani-Jade Garcia, or MJ (they/them) is a disabled Black-Indigenous-Latinx two-spirit abolitionist,

1/

science communicator, artist, and certified holistic yoga teacher exploring the relationship between holistic healing practices and mental health. Mani-Jade works as an educator for the Racial Trauma Center at Genesee Valley Psychology and as a community-based researcher/

2/

evaluator with Social Insights Research). Mani-Jade is currently completing their doctorate in Clinical Psychology. They are co-founder of Black In Mental Health (Twitter/IG: @BlackInMH), Black In Data (Twitter: @BlkInData) and founder/director of Refuge Workgroup

3/

Welcome to today's #DEHEMChat on mental illness/mental disabilties!

Question 1: Introduce yourself to the community! How are you doing today!

Use the hashtag #DEHEMChat to join the conversation. Feel free to DM us if you would like to submit an anonymous answer. #DEHEM21

@PhD_Balance @academicvoices @BlackInMH @blackinxnetwork @CactusMHS @DragonflyMH This chat might be of interest to all of you!

@LatinxInPsych

Discussion: How can Allies Tackle Their Ableism!
Hello to allies in the community! You may be wondering how you can participate in #DEHEM21 & support disabled students, staff, faculty, colleagues, and individuals in the community. 1 thing you can do is tackle your ableism (1/31)

Ableism is the discrimination & social prejudice against disabled people. Everyone can experience ableism, but it is most prevalent for disabled individuals. It can be both explicit or implicit. What can you do to tackle your ableism? (2/31)

Here are some Don’ts for Disability as an Ally: 1) Don’t use disability as a punchline or to mock people with disabilities. Often, people use disability in jokes or use ableist language to describe others. This language harms disabled people & the disabled experience. (3/31)

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Ava (^～^) (she/her)

@Ava_Nicole23

"We're already here, so like make it possible for us to stay here. Make it possible for people to be out & open about all of their identities. Because, no one is doing their best work if they are not able to show up as themselves or get the supports that they need" - @the_tweedy

"We are supposed to collapse our identities into the work that we do...People being able to show up as themselves and be supported anywhere, makes for happier people doing more interesting things & being better to the people around them." - @the_tweedy #DEHEM21

I think that was probably the most impactful few statements from Corin (@the_tweedy) out of the whole interview. Thank you! @LindaCCor @DisInHigherEd #DEHEM21 #DisInHigherEd #DisabledInHigherEd #DisabledInSTEM

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Ava (^～^) (she/her)

@Ava_Nicole23

This event is premering live right now on YouTube [link] .

This is an interview between @DisInHigherEd's Linda (@LindaCCor) and Corin (@the_tweedy), a trans & disabled individual in academia. Linda is an exceptional host (1/2) #DEHEM21
[Quoted tweet]

https://twitter.com/DisInHigherEd/status/1445811094069596162

And Corin (@the_tweedy) is just an amazing person. One of my favorite disabled peers & friends on the platform and can put into words so many things about the disabled & trans experience that I haven't anyone else do. (2/2) #DEHEM21 #DisInHigherEd #DisabledInHigherEd

And I'm with @LindaCCor that @the_tweedy's research area is awesome! #DEHEM21