In my post, Comparing Apples to Oranges, I wrote about the seemingly widespread tendency to lump the Elderly and Disability communities together, and pointed out that this basic misconception could be counterproductive, or even destructive, to society.

But just as probably, it is not a societal misconception that the needs of the Elderly and Disability communities are the same, but rather an oversight of the fact that people with disabilities are different from seniors. in other words, a lack of public awareness about people with disabilities may lead organizations to believe they’re including people with disabilities, when they’re not always doing so. What about young and middle-aged people with disabilities?

I tried living in an Assisted Living facility for seniors ten years ago, when I was 42, so that I wouldn’t be so isolated in my condo and get 24-hour availability of help. There’s no law that says I can’t live with seniors. And I did stay there for four months to give it an ample chance to improve my life, but I shouldn’t have had to choose between assistance with daily living and socialization with my peers. In other words, I was included, and that was just supposed to be enough.  To tell the truth, I guess it was ‘enough’ for four months. But please see my post Assisted Living for Us in the ‘Wheelie Politics’ category.