event Special No Matter What (A New Take on Derpy Day)

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

We all love our favorite grey cross-eyed Pegasus who was always in the background up until that one fateful Saturday when...

But, have you ever just stopped for one moment and thought about this: "How could one scene warm the hearts of so many people yet...offend many others?" 
 

You see, this issue transcends beyond MLP. I'd like to introduce you to the world of IDD. Now what is IDD? IDD stands for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Anyone can be born with an IDD and for them, life can be more difficult. For example, while people without an IDD can do things like ride a bike, draw a picture or enter a career field all on their own, it may take a person with an IDD longer to perform such skills successfully. 
 

Autism, Aspergers and Downs Syndrome are examples of IDDs, because they stem from when someone is born. 
 

Yes, life for a person with IDD is tough. As a person with IDD myself, I've been bullied, teased and called the r word (not gonna say it but you know what it is). It hurt and the thing is, people don't even know how much we struggle. We were born this way. There's no way around it. However, there's something so special about people with IDD. They smile much more than people without an IDD. According to this article, people with disabilities enjoy life better than those without a disability. No wonder why our favorite grey cross-eyed Pegasus was smiling all the time no matter how many times she crashed or didn't do something right. 
 

Now you're probably wondering "Where in the world are you getting at Courageous Thunder Dash?" Just be patient, it's coming. Where I'm getting at is we are all made uniquely and we are special in our own way, disability or no disability. But I'd like to know your experience, your findings... 

Do you know anyone with a disability? If so, how do they do life? Does it seem difficult for them from your view? 
 

Did you feel hurt during the whole situation surrounding Derpy and censorship? How do you feel about kids shows portraying characters with disabilities? 
 

Have you ever worked with people with a disability? How was your experience? 
 

Do you think society as a whole shows enough compassion and empathy for those with disabilities? 

[Tao 6,719]

Do you know anyone with a disability? If so, how do they do life? Does it seem difficult for them from your view? 

Many of my friends have a form of autism.  My sister has a master's in criminology and has done a lot to overcome her social stress given she also teaches so she lives well.    I think it can be hard for ppl who don't try to understand or reflect on how they might see and feel the world.
 
Did you feel hurt during the whole situation surrounding Derpy and censorship? How do you feel about kids shows portraying characters with disabilities? 

Hell no!

I think we need to show more, those kids and other souls need and have a right to have a character to relate to.  Also, it exposes more souls well,  more openly to a wide range of ppl living in our world! 
 
Have you ever worked with people with a disability? How was your experience? 

Yes, and I also was in "special" ed growing up in my school life.   Positive for the most part and some of them became my best friends. 
 
Do you think society as a whole shows enough compassion and empathy for those with disabilities? 

I think the world has grown a lot more in the last 20 years than it use to be.  Yet there is still a lot of work to be done and always will be.  Sadly you will have ppl who are just jerks and refuse to open their minds. 

 

 

(Also Derpy is best pony, fight me on it!)

[Brony Number 42 9,926]

I don't know anyone with a disability, but I don't know many people.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

4 hours ago, Tao said:

I think it can be hard for ppl who don't try to understand or reflect on how they might see and feel the world.

I think that this is by far one of the most insightful points. I give you a massive round of applause for stating this. 
 

As a person who was indeed picked on and misunderstood due to my own disabilities, I can easily empathize with anyone going through the journey of trying to get through school. Yes in this day and age of schools fighting against bullying, people still need to learn and be informed. That's what's so important. 

4 hours ago, Tao said:

I think we need to show more, those kids and other souls need and have a right to have a character to relate to.  Also, it exposes more souls well,  more openly to a wide range of ppl living in our world! 

I can't agree more with this. People can and will be offended but that shows where their hearts are truly at. We don't live in a "normal" society. It's really sad. Faust originally made FIM to include everyone from every walk of life. 

[Props Valroa 26,034]

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Do you know anyone with a disability? If so, how do they do life? Does it seem difficult for them from your view?

One of my best friends has High Functioning Autism, if I remember correctly. He is extremely intelligent and one of the smartest people I've ever met. He has intense and vivid dreams that far eclipse my own. Some of my other friends have various mental conditions, none of it has ever affected my friendships with them. It is important to judge people for the content of their character and not their mental condition or disability. We are all individuals and all of us have unique gifts.  

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Did you feel hurt during the whole situation surrounding Derpy and censorship? How do you feel about kids shows portraying characters with disabilities? 

None of it should be censored, and kids shows portraying characters with disabilities is fine if it is done well.

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Have you ever worked with people with a disability? How was your experience? 

When I was in school I was in Speech Therapy. I had a very bad speech impediment / Stuttering when I was a child. Over time, I grew out of it. Some of my IRL school friends had the same experience that I did, with speech impediments. 

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Do you think society as a whole shows enough compassion and empathy for those with disabilities? 

Society should show more compassion and support for those with disabilities - instead of using them for political or social agendas. 

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

18 minutes ago, Props ValRoa said:

We are all individuals and all of us have unique gifts. 

Nailed it! Because what some people fail to recognize, from the disability, amazing gifts can stem. I have a great friend of mine who has a disability but from there, he's literally a walking calendar. He can tell you what the exact day of the week was if you give him a random date in time! 

[Props Valroa 26,034]

1 minute ago, Courageous Thunder Dash said:

Nailed it! Because what some people fail to recognize, from the disability, amazing gifts can stem. I have a great friend of mine who has a disability but from there, he's literally a walking calendar. He can tell you what the exact day of the week was if you give him a random date in time! 

I've had friends with various mental conditions all throughout my life, in all stages of life. I myself was suspected to be on the Spectrum when I was real young, but whenever I was tested for it, it turned out not to be the case. And yeah, your friend there, I've seen / heard of people with similar conditions. 

[Deae Rising Shine~ 52,400]

In the workplace I work at are a couple of companys working with each other. One part is a company specialized to give work too people with IDD and currently they had too move right next to my work area. We are not directly working with each other but have too order stuff for them and watch out. there several with different IDD's. It's sad some people have to live like this and not fair, but the "More happier" certainly fits. There almost always in a good mood, laughing, playing around, talking with us. Makes you sometimes smile too for a moment, no matter how stressful it is.

 

And insulting them, even if some, unintentionally, can be sometimes annoying, is a no go. I'm just glad I'm noone that makes fun of others.

 

Also in the past worked in nother location for a few weeks as part of school with other ones in a diffferent location. I also was part of some sort of pre-work school for 3 years, with people having problems too together. How I ended up is a complicated story. I don't know if I have any IDD myself, maybe. Only thing I could think off is problem with learning, usually need more time then others too understand stuff.

[Venomous 18,813]

One of my cousins has Down Syndrome. I rarely see her, as Christmas is really the only day of the year which I do. Even then, it isn't promised. She oftentimes sends me nice messages via Facebook.

[TBD 17,228]

   I used to work at a nursing home before I moved to an hospital as a CNA. The first patient that I met was this very old lady with a dementia. She was very kind but yet sad. She would tell me about her family and her husband who she loved very much. I remember the first day when she talked to me about her husband and tells me how he always comes to see her. Then she told me as if our conversation has been shifted that her husband didn’t get a chance to visit her today. I asked maybe he’s busy?

    She then said that it has been awhile since she saw him. And missed him. The way she worded was sounded a bit off or doesn’t quite made sense to me.  I told her when is the last time did he came to visit you?

     she told me that he visited just yesterday and say what if he forgets about her. I told her that not to worry and that he hasn’t forgotten about you and will visit soon. 

     Then she said that it’s has been too long and wants to see him. I begin to have this strange gut feeling although I don’t how I even got that feeling it just came to me. 

   I asked her where is your husband? She then broke down crying and say that her husband is gone 15 years ago. 

   Despite of that, she still say that she was waiting for her husband because she saw him yesterday. As if she got confused between the day her husband passed and the day he last visited her and waiting. That got me to think how sad she has forgotten about her husband passing and still waits for his visit. 

      I tried not to be the one to remind her that her husband die. Even through we were supposed to address and help our patients with dementia to remember their current timeline. But instead I asked her to share her stories with the time she and her husband has spend and that usually makes her feel better just sharing about it. Rather than meaninglessly reminding her that her husband passed away. 

     I had worked with difficult patients from nursing to hospital. But I believed the system itself is what made me lose faith on the medical field. Working with patients is what gives me some sort atonement. However that was like 3 years ago when I gave it all up, probably because I couldn’t do enough or can’t control what cannot be controlled. Or maybe that’s just an excuse that I chose to run away from the responsibility. Do i regret it? Too soon to say.