Navigating Life After Diagnosis

Arturo Contreras

 

Hey folks! I’m Arturo Contreras, a 25-year-old Latinx guy on a journey of understanding and advocating for disability justice. Like many of us, I’ve recently been diagnosed with ADHD. That moment was both a relief and a revelation—a chance to finally put a name to all those quirks that made me feel out of place. But let me tell you, disability justice goes far beyond just an individual diagnosis. It’s about building a world where everyone, regardless of their abilities, feels seen, valued, and supported.

Today, I want to dig a little deeper into some of the key areas that have helped me make sense of this new chapter, and how they relate to broader disability justice. Let’s jump in with a positive, solutions-focused mindset.

1) Holistic Wellness: Caring for Both Body and Mind

Taking care of your body isn’t just good advice—it’s essential for navigating life with ADHD, ASD, or any other condition. I’ve found that regular exercise and a balanced diet can really make a difference. But beyond individual wellness, we have to look at the bigger picture. The disability justice movement teaches us that accessibility in health and wellness is crucial.

In an ideal world, everyone should have access to affordable, inclusive health care, nutrition education, and adaptive exercise programs. Whether it’s creating sensory-friendly gym spaces or offering affordable, healthy food options in low-income communities, there are ways we can make wellness more accessible. These steps help dismantle ableism, the systemic discrimination against disabled people, by making it easier for everyone to thrive.

 2) Building Community: The Power of Interdependence

 The principle of interdependence, from the Disability Justice framework, reminds us that we don’t have to face our challenges alone. Community is a powerful thing, and it’s not just about socializing; it’s about mutual support. When I was first diagnosed, I felt isolated. But connecting with others who shared similar experiences was transformative. It’s in these communities that we can share strategies, vent frustrations, and most importantly, feel understood.

Disability justice pushes us to expand our definition of community. We need to make sure that digital spaces are as inclusive and safe as physical ones, so that everyone can find their “neurokindred,” no matter where they are. We also have to remember that community spaces must be accessible in terms of transportation, language, and sensory accommodations.

3) Medication: Your Body, Your Choice

Medication can be a complex decision. While it’s an incredibly personal choice, it’s also something that disability justice emphasizes should be accessible and informed. We need to advocate for greater transparency and accessibility in healthcare systems, so that everyone can make informed decisions about their bodies. This also means pushing for healthcare that is culturally competent and sensitive to the unique needs of disabled folks from marginalized backgrounds.

We must also support those who choose not to take medication. The disability justice framework reminds us that disability is not inherently negative. Society often tells us that the goal should be to “cure” or “fix” our conditions, but it’s about embracing our unique perspectives and ways of being.

Looking Forward: A Call to Action

Disability justice is not just about acknowledging that disability exists. It’s about addressing the societal barriers that make disability harder to live with. We must commit to making systemic changes that prioritize accessibility, inclusivity, and the voices of disabled folks. Together, we can create a world that values diversity of all kinds—one that moves beyond mere tolerance toward genuine celebration and support.

So, whether you’re newly diagnosed, or you’re a long-time disability justice advocate, remember this: You’re not alone, and you have a community that has your back. And as we continue to learn, share, and fight for justice, let’s hold on to hope and solidarity. Together, we’re unstoppable.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Arturo Contreras

Arturo Contreras Mejia is a 25-year-old Mexican Man. He is currently a student at IUPUI studying digital marketing. Arturo is also a part of IDJ as a social media captain (intern). In his free time, Arturo enjoys spending time with his loved ones.

Image Description: Arturo is standing on the left of the picture, in front of a telephone pole with his arms crossed. He is wearing a pink hoodie, jeans, and sunglasses. He has a serious bearded face. To the right, is a plentiful cactus plant. Behind a gas station that reads “kinda tropical”

Image Description: Arturo is standing on the left of the picture, in front of a telephone pole with his arms crossed. He is wearing a pink hoodie, jeans, and sunglasses. He has a serious bearded face. To the right, is. a plentiful cactus plant. Behind a gas station that reads “kinda tropical”

Employment Tips

By Dena Polston

 

 

 

Growing up as a person with a disability, I always sought to achieve, having the same dreams, goals and aspirations as my sister and other non-disabled individuals. Included amongst those aspirations was the desire to obtain competitive employment.

            Unfortunately, the opportunities were somewhat limited when it came to acquiring the skills and experience needed to promote my success later in life. Thus, I had to get creative.  To that end, I took advantage of every volunteer opportunity I could find as a teenager.

While attending the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI), I volunteered as a tutor for elementary school aged children and a childcare provider for preschoolers while their parents attended meetings and other activities. I worked on the ISBVI switchboard during the evenings as well.

While in high school. A friend from ISBVI and I volunteered at Methodist Hospital on Saturdays and were tasked with a variety of assignments. We both put in over 200 hours there. While these volunteer opportunities didn’t necessarily lead to other employment after high school, those jobs gave me opportunities to meet new people and learn about workplace skills.

I was fortunate to find summer jobs in my home community through the Program for Economically Disadvantaged Youth,

and also worked with the Youth Employment Training Program as a receptionist/typist. These opportunities provided a feeling of accomplishment, allowing me to keep pace with other teenagers.

While attending college at Ball State University (BSU), I took advantage of volunteer opportunities both on campus and throughout the community. Some were for college credit and others for the purpose of giving back. I have continued to volunteer throughout my working life as well, holding leadership roles in various organizations. Volunteering may not give you the job of your dreams, however, it provides a means of networking with other people, learning skills related to employment, and adds experiential credit to be included on a resume.

Vocational Rehabilitation agencies help people with disabilities,  who are eligible,  find and retain employment.  (To find out if you are eligible, contact the vocational Rehabilitation agency for your area.)  

Below are some additional suggestions that I, as a former Vocational Rehabilitation Services consumer and counselor would offer:

  1. Take An active Role. When attending a meeting with your Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC), to discuss your 504 and/or Individualized education Plan (IEP) be forthcoming and specific in defining your goals so that you can establish a rapport with your counsello
  2. Avail yourself of experiential learning and other opportunities that will assist you in ascertaining your future goals.
  3. Consider becoming involved in a blindness or disability-related consumer organization such as the American council for the blind (ACB), National Federation of the blind (NFB), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) or the Autism Society of Indiana to name just a few. These groups have mentors, special-interest affiliates for high school and college students and conventions where you can learn a mind-blowing amount of information. There is a plethora of exhibitors who display Adaptive Technology and other items along with many resources.
  4. Get involved with your Disabled Student Services (DSS) support office if you plan to attend college in order to familiarize yourself with services offered on your campus as well as obtaining the necessary accommodations. The accommodations you were offered in high school will not carry over to higher education without determining your specific needs. This is another way in which your VRC can assist you. As one of my former supervisors used to say: “You are the one driving the bus” once you are out of high school. In other words, you have to assert yourself and ask for what you need.
  5. Be honest with your VRC about your doubts and fears; see what accommodations the VRC would recommend and/or take another person with you who has been involved in the VR process to better assist in articulating your needs, hopes and dreams. Please know that VR will do all they can to assist you with necessary training, obtaining and retaining employment; however, you have to participate fully in the process and meet with your VRC as often as needed and required. Remember that your goal(s) may change, or VR may not be able to support your original goal. But keep communicating with your VRC in order for you to understand the reason that your goal may not be supported.
  6. Lastly, if a job coach/employment specialist  is needed to assist you in determining your vocational goal, assist you in finding places where you and your coach can evaluate your skills and interests and/or assist you in learning tasks for the job you want, work closely with your job coach just as you would your VRC. Don’t assume that your job coach knows your needs. You are the expert on you. If the job coach is not a good fit for you, talk with your VRC to see if another company and/or coach would be a better fit.

 

The object is to find a job that you will enjoy and want to keep.

Whether you want to work for the purpose of socialization, just to have a little bit of money in your pocket, for a long-term career, or to make a living wage, involvement in your plan is the key.

Remember, your VRC won’t know what you need unless you participate fully and communicate as needed and required. I wish you much success in your training and/or future employment.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dena Polston

I am Dena Polston who is a 2012 graduate in the Adult & Community Education Master’s program from Ball State University. I worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for 6.5 years both in the Muncie and Marion regions.

I am from a small town here in Indiana which is Shirley. But I went to the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually-impaired in Indianapolis where I graduated from high school in 1981.

I enjoy singing, loving my pet Golden Retriever, collecting recipes and reading books. I also enjoy volunteering in my community and sharing resources that may assist people in their daily lives.

This is a picture of Dena Polston and her former service dog Vern. Dena is a white woman with short brown hair, wearing a pastel floral blouse. She smiles broadly as she hugs Vern. Vern is a black lab, wearing a red harness. Their faces are pressed against each other's.

 This is a picture of Dena Polston and her former service dog Vern. Dena is a white woman with short brown hair, wearing a pastel floral blouse. She smiles broadly as she hugs Vern. Vern is a black lab, wearing a red harness. Their faces are pressed against each other’s.

Hard Work Support

 

My name is Arturo Contreras, I am a newly disabled person. Well actually, I have always had a disability, I just never knew. I have recently been diagnosed with ADHD… at 25…

 

When I was growing up I was always a “smart” kid. I always got good scores on my tests and good grades in class. From kindergarten until I graduated high school I passed all my classes and was a good student. That is if you ignore that D- I got in 4th grade because I did not like my teacher, the constant late assignments throughout my schooling, and the lack of studying outside of class. Nevertheless, I was a great student!

 

The lessons that my amazing work ethic taught me in my primary schooling helped me flourish in college! During my first semester, those lessons helped me fail my classes. It turns out that all those years as a student did nothing to prepare me to actually study. Why did this happen? Did I forget how to study? Did I stop caring about school? Did I no longer have priorities? Of course not! I was just distracted. I was going out and working a lot, and I had a girlfriend. So I did what all good students do and I removed all distractions from my life, I stopped going out. And right as rain, my semester GPA goes from a 2.1 to a 2.4.

 

The next semester I tried harder, I had to. How could I be proud of that 0.3 increase? I worked and worked, and I worked so hard that I realized I was working harder but my circumstances were not improving. It’s at this point where we have to ask ourselves as readers “Is this person serious,” or “If I were them I would’ve done this, this, and that,” or my favorite “I feel like this person is just complaining too much and just needs to do the work.” That last statement is what helped me get out of a major depressive episode that had set in and rendered me immobile for a week straight! I was good as new!

 

Just kidding.

 

What helped me was a part of my safety net. A close friend, Angel. He had helped me before as a teammate, pushing me to give my workouts my all when I was ready to give up. Now was no different, he was pushing me to get help when I felt my weakest. He helped me go to an emergency therapy session, on campus. He was the one who helped me feel sane at a time when all I felt was pain, confusion, and sadness. This action was what propelled me to take care of my mental health.

 

Fast forward 6 years, 3 wrong diagnoses, 2 therapists, to finally being diagnosed and recently medicated for ADHD.

 

Writing this makes me realize that I have been working for 6 years to get “stable” enough to finally be able to “work hard” enough. The “Gifted kid to ADHD overwhelmed Adult” pipeline that has been able to flourish, needs to be studied. For years I did what was expected of me; now, all of a sudden, that wasn’t enough to succeed. I feel like the goalpost has been moved. I didn’t realize that I was working hard so that I could “work hard”.

And it is true, to some degree or another, that I could’ve been in a better state if I had just “worked harder” from the beginning. Working harder in this context usually just meant applying whatever silly little neurotypical strategy that was in fashion. When I reached high school, having SMART goals and a growth mindset was all you needed to succeed in school. Before that, I needed a planner, in college, I was told I needed to find a system that worked for me. At no point did anyone suggest that maybe I had a disability. At no point did anyone tell me that “working harder” could also mean going to therapy, getting evaluated, and understanding your disability. A lot of the better part of these past few years has been exploring how my symptoms affect me and those around me.

 

 

As my journey with ADHD unfolds, I’m realizing that the initial steps can be daunting, yet with the right support system, they become more manageable. Cultivating the support of those around me has been crucial in my quest to move forward in life. My family and friends have played a huge role in encouraging me to seek answers and progress. The support that they have shown has been fundamental in how I continue to go forward. My family has taught me that hard work is the basis for anything good in life. It is because of them that I know now that hard work can be reflective. My friends push me to make decisions that challenge me to grow.

 

I don’t know if I will ever fully understand my disability, much less the failings that allowed me to go undiagnosed for the past 25 years. But I do know that I will always have my support system to back me up. Because of them, I know I am not alone and I have the confidence to keep going forward.

 

Image Description: Arturo is standing on the left of the picture, in front of a telephone pole with his arms crossed. He is wearing a pink hoodie, jeans, and sunglasses. He has a serious bearded face. To the right, is a plentiful cactus plant. Behind a gas station that reads “kinda tropical”.

ABOUT THE ARTHOR: Arturo Contreras Mejia

Arturo Contreras Mejia is a 25-year-old Mexican Man. He is currently a student at IUPUI studying digital marketing. Arturo is also a part of IDJ as a social media captain (intern). In his free time, Arturo enjoys spending time with his loved ones.

 

Image Description: Arturo is standing on the left of the picture, in front of a telephone pole with his arms crossed. He is wearing a pink hoodie, jeans, and sunglasses. He has a serious bearded face. To the right, is a plentiful cactus plant. Behind a gas station that reads “kinda tropical”

 

Disability Without Limits

By Johnson Simons

This painting depicts someone with a disability, jumping from brick to brick defying their physical limitations, and overcoming the odds that life throws at them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Johnson Simon

I have always been interested in body movement and when an opportunity was presented to me to attend a dance recital exhibition nine years ago on the Western Michigan University campus, I was excited to attend.  Viewing the dancers and their freedom of movement inspired me to display movement in my painting.  I was stimulated to create my first dance focused expressionistic painting.  Dancing is to me, the art of moving lightly and quickly with the skill of communicating my emotion.  As someone with a disability, movement impacts me on a daily basis.   In order to help gain more knowledge of motion and movement, I used several sources of movement for research and to enhance ideas. I watch several videos of dancing to help in determining the type of movement I wanted to present in my painting.  I studied the movement of people: walking, running, swimming, and sky diving.  I then had my own walking and stepping up and down stairways videotaped. I discovered that my walking has a rhythm to it.  To further enhance my study of movement I attended several dancing classes to sketch the dancer’s movements for effect.  My painting is a representation of me dancing.  I am able to make broad and sweeping motions with my paint brush and transfer that motion and feeling of movement onto the canvas to express myself.  In my artistic work, I am able to move freely about without limitations.  I use bright colors to represent the body movement throughout the surface.  

My artwork is a way for me to express or transfer how I would move freely and uninterrupted. I can run, walk, jump, and I can dance without being bound to limitations when I paint. Zm and draw. I believe the paint brush is an extension of me and represents my idea of movement on canvas.

www.artbyjohnsonsimon.com

A man with medium brown skin, with short black hair, wearing glasses, and smiling broadly in front of a white background.

A man with medium brown skin, with short black hair, wearing glasses, and smiling broadly in front of a white background.