The last time I was a guest on a podcast, I was a first for that show in two different ways:
The host also happened to have a disability themselves, something that doesn’t happen often when I make guest appearances on podcasts. That alone was freeing. I didn’t have to mask my neurodiversity to keep up with someone else’s idea of “normal”.
So I was as transparent as I possibly could be, even when discussing heavy topics, like stigma and bullying, for example. …
I have written about the value of consistent content before.
There’s a justifiable reason for that though. I have created so much content that I’m a very easy person to find online. This particular talent attracts freelance clients. It has also helped me build an online community of neurodiverse people just like me, along with other, professional creatives.
This approach has worked so well for me for such a long-time. So in the early days of the pandemic, I thought that this approach would be just as effective. Turns out I was completely wrong. For example, I haven’t written a single new blog post on Rosie Writing Space, my blog since October. …
Everything you need to thrive in a fitness class I don’t have, and that’s entirely my disability's fault. I have Dyspraxia.
So let me just explain it by using some real-world fitness class examples. When you walk into a spin class or even a subdued yoga class there are lots of noises and sensory distractions.
People are shouting, playing music, and moving quickly. My Dyspraxic brain can’t keep up with the limitations of my environment, along with basic instructions when I get overloaded with sensory distractions.
Fight my way through it, and at least try to appear confident, or fly my way out of there as fast and as discreetly as possible. …
I am not a disability studies PHD, nor am I a medical professional. So there are moments where I feel like an imposter when I talk about disability-related issues. Although there is something extremely valuable I bring to the conversation: lived experience.
As I mentioned before, I’m a person who lives with Dyspraxia. For such a long time, I also lived with a severe case of Anemia. The Anemia made me physically weak and prone to fainting every time I had my period. It started when I was 13-years-old and ended when I was 18-years old. I knew it had gotten really bad when I visited a nurse at my local community health centre. …
This article was originally published in the summer of 2018 on the Pens & Needles website. Pens and Needles is an online magazine specializing in patient perspectives on living with chronic illnesses and conditions. I met the editor of the website when I accompanied my husband, along with the founder of the #insulin4all movement, on a trip to Washington D.C. The editor of the website is Audrey Farley, and her writing is worth checking out. She also has a book coming out in the spring of 2021. …
For several months, I’ve been working on a manuscript for my memoir: “Growing Up With Dyspraxia”. As the title illustrates, it’s a true story of growing up with a neurological disability with a very serious underdiagnosis problem.
Although it’s not exactly rare. My friends at Dyspraxic Circle, for example, described it as a condition that affects two children in every classroom. In a nutshell, it affects my sense of space and time, along with fine and gross motor skills tasks; e.g: arts and crafts and catching a ball. I can’t read maps. …
In my first year of university, Facebook and Twitter were new and exciting things. I was living in a college dormitory at the time and I was hooked.
Meanwhile, my blog was brand new, and I was writing posts about whatever I felt like under the pen name “Rosebud”. The name Rosebud happened because it’s one of a few nicknames I’ve had since I was a kid. Since my parents are the only ones who call me Rosebud, I figured it was a good way for them to know it was me and no one else.
I instantly loved these platforms, because the journalism and arts community was this “cool” club that I did not yet have access to. Part of me wanted to be part of this club, but the other part of me found the idea of anyone having a voice and a platform a lot more exciting. So I stayed anonymous until people started to listen, share, and pay attention to my opinions. …
After months of hard work, along with the mentorship and support of Colborne Communications, I am only 6 chapters away from a finished draft of my book. Once this is done, I’ll be looking for a home for this book. I have a few ideas in mind for what literary agents to query, but I’m waiting until the book is done to reach out to them. Although I’m not done writing the book, I thought now was a good time to leak the first few pages. Everything you see below is the introduction to my book. …
I’m not a political scientist, epidemiologist, infectious disease specialist, or a person even remotely qualified to answer questions about COVID-19. But I’d be lying if I said that my life hasn’t been somewhat affected by this global pandemic.
On March 5th, my husband and I took a plane from Toronto to Montreal, then Montreal to Casablanca to celebrate our honeymoon. Little did we know but we were coming home to a country scrambling to respond to a global pandemic.
So we assumed we were coming home to business as usual. At first, the impact was harmless.
Every train, plane, and hotel was heavily discounted, and everything that is often swarming with tourists was a little too quiet. The only locals that seemed concerned were the merchants working at souks and people with jobs in the hospitality industry. …
I’m writing a book, and up until now, the amount of people who have read my book is limited.
I keep going on it despite all that. Because I feel like I’m on to something special. I’m nearly thirty and since I was a little girl, I wanted to write and publish a book. It just took a while for me to figure out what I wanted to write about.
When I was 15 years old, my friend Andy and I met via a writer’s group for teenagers, and we still continue our tradition of helping each other out with our writing. Now, he runs his own writer’s group. When I started writing my book, I craved the supportive, communal energy of a writer’s group. …
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