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Julia

@juliaunmasking

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🦓 Accessibility and Innovation Strategist
💭 Random life story teller
👶🏽 Disabled Mom life

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Challenge your idea of what disability looks like by getting Smarter in Seconds about non-apparent or “invisible” disabilities with @juliaunmasking, @tiffanyalana, and @blindishlatina with a cameo from @adisabledicon!

Written by @juliaunmasking

You may be used to saying invisible disabilities but that can unintentionally erase or stigmatize people’s disabilities and identities. So we say “non-apparent disabilities” instead which simply describes the fact they may not be obvious. But remember to use whatever term people prefer because self-definition matters most!

If someone tells you their access needs, whether it’s a seat, a break, or accommodations, please take them at their word. Believing people when they tell you what they need is one way to start being more inclusive.

Transcript and image description are located in the comments 🩷 by @juliaunmasking

I have so many new followers thank to @blairimani Smarter in Seconds episode on Non-apparent disabilities! Hi! Welcome! I’m so glad you’re here! Here’s a re-introduction on who I am and a little glimpse into my life! Please let me know who you are!

Alt text:
Slide 1: Julia stands in a field in a red dress holding her daughter as an infant. The baby’s face is blurred. Text around her says, Hey! i’m Julia disability rights and Justice advocate toddler, Mom, disabled creative. This is a little bit about me.
Slide 2: Julia is shown presenting in front of a room. Text around her says, i’ve spent my entire career working in the field of human rights, specifically disability rights. I’ve traveled the world doing work in international development, emergency management, communications, assistive technology and policy and programming creation. I’ve hosted events at the EU Parliament, the UN and created accessibility guidance for embassies governments and companies.
Slide 3: video or Julia holding her child on her lap and scooting down the stairs. Text around her says, i’m navigating life as a disabled parent my body and symptoms completely changed after giving birth and I’m learning new ways to adapt one day. I hope to share my experience, but it was traumatic, and I’m still dealing with the aftermath of it. by @juliaunmasking

I did something on my own that I haven’t done in months. And it’s not as big as you’ll probably think it is but when times are hard, and man they’re really fucking hard right now, little things are big wins. 💪🏽 oh and yea I was in the midst of cooking when I decided to share, hence the cooking apron.

#disability #mentalhealth #accomplishment

Transcript: For the first time in months, I went down to our buildings lobby by myself and picked up a food delivery. I know that sounds like for me. It sounds kind of stupid like what do you mean you went down by yourself for the first time in months like why can’t you do that on your own Julia and that’s a great question because I’ve developed this like panic disorder and can’t control how it manifest in my body physically it’s been incredibly hard for me to go places by myself like even in our own home in building and typically, I ask my husband to accompany me to the lobby or at least wait at the top if he can. so the fact that I went by myself and he wasn’t home by myself. I’m really proud of myself and I know like inside. It really does feel stupid like truly. It just feels so silly like I was someone who literally traveled for work all the time and I also lived abroad a couple of times, so it does feel really silly and stupid to say something like oh I went to the lobby of my own building by myself to pick up a food delivery but here we are and I did it slow steps are still steps and progress is being made so yay. I will take that as a huge win and if you’re also in the midst of it just like me just know that in order to see a rainbow and experience a rainbow you must have rain and you must so that’s how I try to approach my days, especially when it becomes depressing and frustrating and feel silly and stupid. Just remind myself that to see the sun to have a sunny day to have rainbows to have a good things we do have to get through hard thing. by @juliaunmasking

Mental health, chronic illness, socializing… sometimes it’s all too much but I keep fighting another day because I really want to experience and live this life not just survive it. But, it’s fucking hard.

#mentalhealth #chronicillnessawareness #disability #social by @juliaunmasking

Not all days are good days. And to have a rainbow we must have rain. But the bad days still come by surprise and still feel really bad and highly disappointing and scary. I felt incredibly guilty and sad for having to leave class halfway through and taking my family away from it just because of my symptoms. If you’re going through it too right now, know that you’re not alone.

#pots #dysautonomia #mcasawareness #potssyndrome #heds by @juliaunmasking

Summer was rough. It was mostly medical appointments and health focused. And it shook me. However, the little moments. The glimpses of light got me through. 👋 see ya summer, hello fall! 🍎

Alt Text: Slide 1, Summer Recap. Hard Days, But still sweet memories. Just Keep Swimming. This summer tested me. It was one of the hardest times in my life and boi I’ve had some hard times. But there were beautiful moments and I’m holding onto those. Photos of Julia and her husband at the pool. Photo of a Lake.
Slide 2, Way too many tests. The medical trauma is so real. I had more tests than I can count with follow-ups, hour long calls, and massive amounts of blood tests. So, developing medical anxiety was just going to happen. Sigh! Three different photos of Julia in a medical office wearing different colored medical gowns.
Slide 3, Doing cool shit. Writing a script and taking photos. I was fortunate to write a script for Blair Imani’s Smarter in Seconds on Non-Apparent Disabilities and appear in it and I also took professional photos for EmpowHer. Photo of Julia smiling from her video for Smarter in Seconds. Two photos of Julia smiling from the location of the photoshoot.
Slide 4, Time with Family and Friends, I got to spend time with family and friends I haven’t seen in years; Go swimming, play, see animals, be in nature, and meet my new nephew! Collage of photos include Julia smiling while holding a newborn whose face is covered by a photo of a flower. Two children running toward a barn and two children playing with trucks No faces shown. Julia and her friend smile in the kitchen.
Slide 5, Summer sucked and that’s ok. Cheers to fall. If your summer kind of sucked too, you’re not alone. But life is about the little moments that make it worth it.....The tiny sparks, the feeling of water against your skin, the warmth of the sun, giggles, and fresh air. Three varying photos include a family photo with a flower over the child’s face. A photo of a lake, and a photo Julia on a hospital bed with gown and cap on. by @juliaunmasking

Cancer sucks and it’s especially scary to deal with when you’re already dealing with other serious health conditions.

While I know people meant well by saying these things to me and other statements, these statements and responses completely dismiss the lived and traumatic experience that someone diagnosed with cancer experiences. It can also feel incredibly invalidating to hear even though the intent may have been meant to be helpful.

Instead try validating what the person diagnosed is feeling, asking them what they need, acknowledging that this experience is hard and they aren’t alone. And continue to check in, if that’s what they want. I don’t speak for everyone but from my own experience. We are all uniquely different.

*to note: this was filmed prior to my surgery. I’ve finished my surgery. It didn’t go as originally planned. So there’s more treatment to be had. I’m currently recovering from surgery. Also. I am very very lucky and fortunate that my insurance resumed before the surgery happened. 😓

#cancer #cancersucks🎗 #kickcancersbutt by @juliaunmasking

When someone asks me to go out, more than anything I want to say yes. But I can’t.

Alt text: Photo 1: Julia and her husband smile at the camera outside in a garden at a restaurant. Texts says, Here’s what you see: Us enjoying a meal at a restaurants but what you don’t see is how we got here and how I got through it.
Photo two: avocado toast on a white plate. Text says, I haven’t been to a restaurant in over for 4 months. I used to go all the time. No thought to it. But the last time I went, I almost passed out.
Photo three: Julia’s husband smiles at the camera. Texts says, The anxiety that overcomes me having to think about whether or not I can manage to sit and wait to have my order taken, wait for the food, and then eat without passing out, struggle to swallow, breathe, think, not get overheated, not get dizzy - it isn’t worth it. And be present in conversation with the person I’m with? Impossible.
Photo four: Julia and her husband smile at the camera at a restaurant table outside. Text says, What you see in this photo is prep. Self talk, a cooler day, an outdoor area with not many people, wearing my ice packs, knowing it’ll be a quick turn around for food, just me and my husband. less interaction = less overwhelm and stimulation.
Photo five: Julia and her husband are smiling and walking. Text says, And even then I still hold an immense amount of anxiety knowing that my body can react adversely at any moment. I didn’t get to enjoy this meal or be truly present in our conversation. My thought was always how much time do I have before a symptom happens?
Photo six: Julia stands smiling in a mirror. Text says, And this photo? I wondered how long I could stand before passing out, while waiting for my husband. I didn’t even get to reflect on whether or not I looked cute.
Photo seven: Julia and her husband smile at the camera at a table outside. Text says, next time you ask a friend to go out and they say they can’t or they aren’t comfortable. Maybe they experience what I do. Give them some slack. I feel guilty enough not being able to enjoy such a simple thing that I used to never even think twice about. by @juliaunmasking

Interviews are hard but they don’t have to be. Providing accommodations in advance can actually help an interviewee better prepare and share in better detail their expertise that aligns with the role. Here’s some of my recommended tips both for an interviewer and an interviewee!

#interview #accommodation #tips

Alt text 1/2: Julia sits talking to the camera. Her tinted red glasses sit atop her long wavy curly hair. She says, If you’re a person who’s ever been involved with an interview panel, or are a recruiter, or are a person who’s on an interview, I have several tips to make the interview process much more accessible for everyone. When you invite someone to do an interview, one of the questions you should always be asking is if they need any type of reasonable accommodations. That might mean captions, interpreters. It might mean providing questions in advance. Let’s get into it. If someone asks you for interview questions in advance. That’s not giving them an advantage. It’s actually making the process more accessible. And here’s why: many people who have disabilities, including auditory processing, central processing, who may be deaf or hard of hearing, or someone might need this because they experience severe anxiety, or just need questions in advance to better understand and create an informed response allows them to have better participation and equal access to the interview process. For example, I have an auditory processing disability. It makes it much easier when I get questions in advance, so I can both read them, understand them, and create clear, concise, and informative responses that give the interviewer a better understanding of myself and my background. If I’m unable to get questions in advance of an interview, I often will ask if it’s possible to get the questions put and share it on the screen. by @juliaunmasking

Even after all these years, both personally using accommodations at work and working in the field, I still have anxiety and apprehension when I have to explain what I need to new people. But internalized ableism is there because of previous discriminatory experiences and societal beliefs. Sharing my thoughts and recent experience.

#ableism #accommodations #disability by @juliaunmasking

Accessing healthcare for many is a burden and very inaccessible. I wish corporations that have the money and the tech could put better practices in place like notifying patients of a closure before we have to take the time and energy and prep it takes, before we arrive. Or at least help us to reschedule, etc etc etc. 😓🙃🤪😭

#healthcare #labcorp #bloodtest

Alt text 1/2: Sign on screen Says LabCorp temporarily closed due to water damage. We apologize for the inconvenience. Julia appears wearing red tinted glasses, an ice pack around her neck. Her curly hair is frizzy and pulled back. She says, Well today has started off really well. And that’s sarcasm because it has not. I had to take a steroid medication last night that I had to take for a blood test that I had to get done today. And I showed up early, and on the door it said they were temporarily closed and to go somewhere else. I don’t understand why a large corporation like Labcorp, and many other places that do lab testing doesn’t have like an automated system to notify its patients. because it takes time to get ready. I’m fasting. I had to take a medication that I no longer have any of. Of course it cost me side effects and to show up, take time out of my day. I already have a lot of health anxiety because of everything I’m going through. To Literally just see a sign on the door. There were people inside that work there, and we knocked in hopes that they could help us reschedule. Just like this reminder that medical care and health and it’s just always falling on the patient and it’s so burdensome. And of course, yes, it’s our health, it’s our body. But simple things: why isn’t there a failsafe? Why weren’t we notified? If anything, like why isn’t there an easier way, or to get help with rescheduling? Of course, I looked at the Labcorp in our vicinity that were like 15 minutes away, because I also had to get this test done by nine, given the levels and bloods and what am I saying? the things that they had to test. And so I only really had like 15, 20 minutes, and everything, of course, says walk-in available, but the next appointments wasn’t until 10:30. by @juliaunmasking

5 items that I use in my home that I consider accommodations. Hoping to share more in case these items help anyone else. Also, you don’t need to be disabled to use a shower chair or any of these products! If they help you in anyway and or you just like it, use it!

Transparency: I’ve linked the items under my bio. None of them are sponsored. I genuinely like and use these products. If you choose to purchase through my links, some of them are affiliated which means I may make a small commission. Like 1-10%. I’ve never used it before so I’m not sure it will even work but appreciate if you do choose to purchase using my links.

#Accessibility #DisabilityPride #AssistiveTech #Accommodations #Home by @juliaunmasking