Category: Intellectual Disabilities
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Having Friends With a Disability
“Friendship means seeing the person, not the struggle.” Friendship is one of the most powerful connections we experience in life. It’s built on trust, laughter, shared moments and showing up for one another. But when disability enters the picture, friendship can sometimes feel unfamiliar to people who haven’t experienced it before. The truth is, having…
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Motivation vs Disability: It’s Not That Simple
Your worth is not measured by your productivity. Your strength is not defined by how hard you push through pain. Progress is personal and so is power. We often hear phrases like “If you really wanted it, you’d find a way” or “You just need to stay motivated.” These messages flood our social media feeds,…
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Living with Narcolepsy
There is a time for many words and there is also a time for sleep. – Homer, The Odyssey Narcolepsy is classified as a sleep disorder and is characterised by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and sudden, uncontrollable episodes of falling asleep during waking hours. These episodes can occur at any time, including during activities like eating,…
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Exploring Rett Syndrome
Her eyes have their own vocabulary. What a beautiful language to learn. Rett syndrome, Cerebroatrophic hyperammonemia, is a rare neurological disorder that primarily affects women, leading to severe cognitive and physical impairments. It is a genetic disorder that occurs due to a mutation in the MECP2 gene, which plays a key role in brain development…
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Understanding Tourette Syndrome
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. – Mahatma Gandhi Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, involuntary movements and vocalizations known as tics. While often misunderstood, Tourette Syndrome is much more than just a series of tics. It’s a condition that can affect individuals in various ways…
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A Journey Through Unique Conditions
You are not a burden; you have a burden that is too heavy to carry on your own. Rare diseases are health conditions that affect a small portion of the population, often with fewer than one in 2,000 individuals experiencing each disease. Despite their rarity, there are over 7,000 identified rare diseases and together, they…
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Intellectual Disabilities
You don’t have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you. – Dan Millman Intellectual disabilities (ID) affect millions of people worldwide. They often remain misunderstood or overshadowed by other types of disabilities. We’ll explore what intellectual disabilities are, the challenges faced by those living with them and how we…
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Williams Syndrome: A Rare Genetic Condition
There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in. ― Leonard Cohen Williams Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that affects around 1 in 10,000 people worldwide. It is caused by the deletion of a small part of chromosome 7, which can lead to a unique combination of physical, cognitive and behavioral traits.…
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Hidden Challenges
The advice I’d give to somebody that’s silently struggling is, you don’t have to live that way. You don’t have to struggle in silence. You can be un-silent. — Demi Lovato Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a genetic condition that causes a range of developmental issues, including learning disabilities and cognitive impairment. It’s the most common…
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Down Syndrome – Celebrating Abilities
I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. – Jimmy Dean Down Syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic condition that occurs when a person has an extra copy of chromosome 21. This additional genetic factors in development and causes the characteristic…