Miss Independent?

They don't get it.
I have these conversations with my parents about
independence all the time.
The ideal for me at this point would be to move
in with two other friends who both have disabilities.
We'd be a different kind of family, but we're a family nonetheless.
People are this stage now where they know I want independence.
Yet, they keep telling me how much "physical support"I am going to need,
and how my friends can't do that.
I keep telling them I'll make it work.
I'm tired of the fight.
I want independence, but I'm at the point
where I am just giving up on it.
This topic is so close to me...so much what I want, and yet,
I'm willing to just give up the fight right now.

I'm sorry this blog has gotten to be so depressing...
thinking of discontinuing it.

Confirmation

So, I've been hearing for so long that I can't be a self advocate and a professional.
I never know what to say to that...

Then, today, I confirmed that I'll be on a committee of self advocates for Partnership for People with Disabilities.

It makes me really nervous to put myself out there,
but as someone told me this afternoon,
it might just be the universe telling me that
something else is possible.

Off to bed, or at least to lay there (nocturnal as I am)


<3

Dear Insurance Company:

Dear Insurance Company:

If you keep denying my medication and refuse to let the pharmacy
refill it, I guarantee you a hospital stay is going to be more expensive.
I don't pay out of pocket EVERY month in order for you to deny necessary medicine.

Public Comment regarding DOJ agreement

This was the public comment given two weeks ago regarding the Department of Justice Agreement to close 4 of 5 institutions in Virginia. There were two DOJ representatives there, and I was shocked that one of them recognized me from a previous conference in August.

Good Evening,

My name is Rachel Loria.

I am from the City of Richmond.                      

My Delegate is Jennifer McClellan, and my Senator is Donald McEachin.

I come to you tonight as a Self Advocate.

While it seems relatively easy to say most days, I guarantee you the journey has been far from easy.

My parents fought for 10 years to try to get an appropriate diagnosis… a correct diagnosis. After 10 years, Doctors continued stating characteristics that I portrayed that reminded them of traits associated with multiple different disabilities.  With no diagnosis in sight, my parents and therapists taught me to compensate for the weaknesses I have and to work to overcome them.  I still work on this every day.

Each milestone that professionals questioned if I would make, I did.

In high school, I was rejected from one private school due to disability and graduated from a different one with honors. While several teachers told me to go to a community college because they thought a four year degree would be too difficult, I graduated in four years  while working and continued towards my Masters in Education (also while working), which I walked with last May. I was told to go to DARS because I would only find supported employment. Today, I am working part time and doing a job I love.

I’m not here tonight to tell you what I have accomplished.

I’m here tonight to say that if I hadn’t been given the chances that people gave me,  I would not have gotten here. This is more a testament to them than to myself.

With that said, people who have disabilities need to be given equal chances towards all of their goals, specifically tonight, independent living.

I say equal chances because if you ask an individual who does not have a disability if they want to live as independently as possible or in an institution, they will, more chances than not, choose independent living.

Independent living is something I am still working towards, and I know I will need support.  

I am not just here for myself tonight though. I work with self advocates and parents on a daily basis, and I am fighting for others who also want to live independently and may or may not need support.                     I come to you tonight to encourage you to follow through with the DOJ agreement and give individuals with disabilities a chance to live as independently as possible. DO NOT let their diagnosis or labels or traits define their futures.

I thank you for your time and for giving me the opportunity to speak with you tonight.

Tale as old as time...

Time and time again,
I have had people close to me say
"you can't be a self advocate and a professional in the disability field."
 I get that message so often.
It's frustrating because I don't even know the truth anymore.
I'm getting into this field slowly, and I never know
which hat to wear when I'm in the field.
I guess this blog is my journey.
It's my attempt at being honest,
cause I don't know if it's possible to be a
Professional in the disability community and be a self advocate at the same time...