Got some good tips today on who I could talk to and what I can shape my practicums to look like so I can keep dreaming about my violin/OT provincially funded (aka free for disabled kids) studio!

Following the Vancouver Symphony story… amazing that management would rather lose the TWOSET concert than negotiate with musicians on being paid a livable wage!

“What made you want to study OT?” Possible answers: -a failed fertility journey -being autistic -working with kids -working with violinists -having a career as dynamic as I am -a higher income than ECE and orchestra wages I don’t often go with the first one, even though it’s the truest 💜

If I could get non-autistic people to understand one thing, it wouldn't be that I have support needs. It would be that YOU have support needs.

there's also a labeler on bluesky that will put a little crown on your profile if you consistently use alt text bsky.app/profile/did:...

School: “We absolutely don’t swear in sessions with our clients.” My group therapist: “So something that could be helpful as an alternative to SH is getting a giant pillow and f*cking whack the sh*t out of it against a wall.” Which lesson do you think was more useful today? 😂

I couldn’t afford to go to a piano concert so I emailed and asked if I could volunteer. The director got back to me and said she had premium tickets for a family member who suddenly passed away and wanted to gift them to me 🥺 Oh Leah, you needed your mama to hear the Brahms, didn’t you?

If you’re autistic and especially if you’re also multiply marginalized, this is your permission to think unethical thoughts and laugh at how stupid some people are right now. We’ve GOT to laugh and make fun. It’s survival. Let someone else do the politically correct thing right now and just laugh.

She was pup-set in there so I’m sitting close by and we’re learning about arthritis together.

I have taken the Tylenol that was in the medicine cabinet and which they think probably is the reason you like trains forgive me but that’s bullshit you got autism from your dad

Today I baked an apple crisp, fed the compost worms, took the garbage out, went to the hospital and chatted happily with some older patients, went to class, had a good conversation with a prof, and am now cooking soup and roasting fall veggies 🍂 So I’ll say: go ahead and take that Tylenol.

Everything I post from this account:

Also made 100 anatomy flash cards. I might be the stupidest person, but no one can say I’m not working hard!

This weekend I went swimming, took a (gentle) yoga class, and went to the gym. Who even am I? (Someone who doesn’t want to see student fees going to waste, apparently. Don’t worry, I still hate exercise with a burning passion.)

When you’ve shared something hard, what is something you wish your healthcare practitioner would have said? Asking for a future me (also collecting answers because mine is “stay silent” and that doesn’t work for everyone!)

Cancelled mine awhile ago when the last horrible thing happened (can’t remember what it was, there’ve been so many), but if you’re Canadian I suggest CBC Gem! $5 gets you ad-free streaming. Fav shows so far: North of North, Son of a Critch, Schitt’s Creek, Paddington Bear, Chateau DIY

This is a lesson in humility: I might be stupid and poor, but at least I’m kind and have cool socks.

Omg listen I learnt a new skill!!!! I think it’s called a down bow staccato-glissando but I call it the “finger jumpy slidey thing”

Every day I’m battling with the thought that I’m too stupid, I don’t belong here. And also knowing that I’m not going to quit just because I feel a certain way! I know there are resources to help but it’s so embarrassing to access them.

One thing that makes me hopeful for the future of healthcare is that as my classmates and I were discussing a made-up client case, we got deep into wanting to understanding the client. We wanted to know what might be oppressive barriers. We wanted to hear their stories and know the person.

We all need this... hard as it is.

An example of how slow my brain is is that we've been talking about a concept in class for 2 weeks and I JUST clued in now that the acronyms STAND FOR SOMETHING and that the content actually makes sense when you know the acronym!! I feel so stupid hahaha (but also relieved)

My weekend goal is to practice sitting on my hands, taking off my Leah necklace, and figuring out how to concentrate without playing with it. Sounds a lot like what I used to do in ABA. I know I should be against this but for once in my life I just want to be normal.

Normally I don’t like sharing videos of minors, but what do you do when the world’s best violinist is a 13yo? Like it’s not even close 😅 youtu.be/it1vCXCE0O4?...

Really shaken up by people in my life who are justifying racism. Like really going out of their way to justify racism so the image of their god (apparently their god all the vile humans) stands.

I wanted to love school so badly but it’s only week 3 and I’m already in trouble 😢 Thankfully I didn’t let my guard down!

I promise, I will break the rules whenever it means giving people access. I feel like I have to jump through so many more hoops because I’m first gen and I have no one else fighting for me. What’s my dad gonna do, cook them a burger? 🍔

Classmates running an interview: “Can you tell me what a good day looks like for you?” Me running an interview: “You have a cat! What’s your cat’s name? Aww it sounds like they are so special to you. Okay, tell me more about driving the zamboni!”

Forget being known for being kind. I want to be known as the lady who only wears cat socks.

“Don’t compare yourself!” they say, but you’re still reading the instructions and somehow the rest of the class has gotten to page 41 😭 I’m going to do several mock exams with my professors, and reassess how I feel about accommodations after those. If I have to study until bedtime everyday, I will.

Last night my roommate’s eyes lit up and he said, “I’m gonna make cookies!!” And his wife wanted banana bread, so they made both. So right now in the house there is cake, banana bread, AND cookies! Nobody is complaining.

I just found a Leah fluffy where I shouldn’t have been able to find a Leah fluffy!! Also, she and the cake have the same energy 😂

“What makes you different from other students?” -I’m at least 10 years older -I have no health science background -I’m the only immigrant -I’m the only first-gen student -I’m disabled -Everyone else chose a sport as their first project and I’m here analyzing a Viennese waltz

I mean, regardless whether one believes in the spirit world or not, the fact is that I now have a rainbow cake to enjoy 💜 Although it would be kind of cool to find some paw prints on it!

Roommates: what are your plans for the day? Me: I’m going to make a rainbow crepe cake for my dead cat’s birthday tomorrow 🎉 I do enjoy small talk and pointless banter sometimes, but I also love being blunt in my weirdness!

this is, hands down, the best video I've seen on men's influencer content and it's not close either

Watched a movie about Alzheimer’s with my roommates and then ended up talking for an hour about death and disability and dead people. Follow me for more roommates tips 🤣

The cake shop I was going to go to was closed, so I ended up at a bookstore with a cafe and LO AND BEHOLD there’s a piano so what are we gonna do? WE’RE GOING TO PLAY SOME BRAHMS FOR LEAH FOR HER BIRTHDAY.

Assignment: write a reflection (could be a song, poem, photo) about a significant learning moment. All my classmates: (large wordy blurbs) medical model this, framework that Me: here’s a poem about Parkinson’s?

Really proud of myself for not drinking last night even though yesterday felt like a disaster. It’s just hard advocating for yourself over and over and over and over, thinking you’ve found a safe space, then realizing it’s just like all the others after all.

Anyway, I’ve decided it’s a “cry over sushi” kind of night 🍣

Me: asks for accommodations Disability services: Yes! You got it! Prof: actually we can’t give you this because it wouldn’t give you an advantage anyway Me: talks to another prof of the same class because they are literally all OTs I think I stirred a pot.

At what point of stupidity do I move my bloodline back to Asia? I heard the detained South Koreans got a luxury jet back to their country after trying to help impoverished Georgia 🤣

I think we deserve a roommate prize because 4 of us just cooked 3 suppers in one kitchen and it wasn’t stressful at all (except for the dude cooking the sausages, there’s always something going on with the sausages).

Wow, what a horrible way for someone to wake up from a nap!! “Grandpa wakes up from nap, finds he has been accused of being a shooter in a different country” shouldn’t be main news but… we live in the stupidest timeline. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

We made this in class today! The instructions were to combine two meaningful occupations. There was a piano in the art gallery and I played her some Brahms. On her birthday weekend. She’s definitely still with me ♥️

Christian: If you think people deserve to die for being different you are evil!!!! Me: I said no one deserves to die for their beliefs - how did you hear the opposite? Also, it’s clear we think differently, but only one of us called the other evil. Anyway, I do believe you reap what you sow ✌🏼

Anyway, if you wanted to celebrate anything for any reason, it’s Leah’s birthday weekend and we’re going to LIVE IT UP in both this world and the spirit world! I hear she’s got quite the party planned over there ♥️

On suicide prevention day, I actually did something that HELPS suicide prevention! I love my noncarceral support group and the space we hold for each other to be real ♥️ If you’re a mental health practitioner, please consider noncarceral suicide safety plans for clients!

Signed up to be a note taker, which I believe is an important role. And one that I understand for certain disabilities. But it’s paying $300 over 2 semesters, and I’m expected to provide a full transcript for each class AND the movies we watch outside of class. I feel like that’s exploitation.