Veronica With Four Eyes
Over the weekend, one of my friends sent me a video recorded by an active bystander for academic ableism who was showing a situation where a student with hearing loss was being berated by the professor for their disability. I don’t want to share the…
Due to an unpredictable chronic illness, I was not able to get medical clearance to participate in study abroad or study-elsewhere opportunities during my undergraduate years. Even though I never traveled outside of the United States, I still learned a lot about other cultures through…
I was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) after dealing with symptoms for many years and experiencing a serious fall on campus that required hospitalization. After I was discharged from the hospital, my neurologist told me that I had to re-evaluate how I would…
In 2019, my time living on campus came to a very sudden and unexpected close after I was diagnosed with a medical condition that made it impossible for me to continue living on my own. While this medical condition is now much better controlled and…
Even though I was diagnosed with low vision around the age of three, I didn’t realize until I was in middle school that blindness and vision loss was a spectrum and not a binary- up until that point, I figured that anyone who used a…
I recently came across a conversation thread on social media talking about how difficult it can be to keep a dorm room clean with chronic illness and how having a messy dorm can be frustrating not only for visitors, but for the person living in…
Recently, I had the opportunity to give a talk at the Inclusive Design 24 Conference (ID24) called “Why Everyone Should Design For Chiari Malformation,” in honor of Chiari Malformation Awareness Month. This talk was especially meaningful for me, as I ended up giving it the…
When I took algebra, my teacher had a classroom that was filled with a lot of bright lights and glare-inducing items, which was difficult for me as a student with low vision and photophobia/light sensitivity. I know that the teacher had not designed the classroom…
The first time someone asked me if there was anything they could do to make my workspace more accessible for my chronic illness/brain condition, I wasn’t sure what to say, as I had never considered how it could influence how I configure my desk or…
I receive disability accommodations in college for two different medical conditions- an eye condition that causes low vision and a neurological condition called Chiari Malformation. Both my eye and brain condition cause me to experience light sensitivity, sometimes referred to as photosensitivity, and my accommodations…
I love the look and feeling of a freshly-made bed, but I’ve found that many of my Chiari Malformation symptoms like neck/shoulder pain, headaches, and poor strength/coordination in hands are aggravated when I make my bed using traditional methods. Over the years, I’ve received tips…
I love listening to live music and watching concert videos and music videos from my favorite bands, but it’s difficult for me to attend events in person since I have a medical condition that causes photosensitivity, or a sensitivity to strobe and flashing lights. Since…
One of the main reasons that I am skeptical to try new devices or devices made by brands I’m not familiar with is because my brain condition can have a tremendous impact on how well I am able to use the device, or if I…
Dealing with medical emergencies while living in the dorm/on campus housing
A lot of people associate assistive technology with expensive specialty tools or items that are hard to find, but there are plenty of ways to transform or upcycle everyday objects and mainstream technology as assistive technology. As part of an assignment in one of my…