Thoughts on an Appointment at the University on Wednesday

Called university on Monday and now I’m feeling so strange: I got an appointment with a student counsellor for next Wednesday at 2:00 PM and I have not prepared much. I did that list of needed accommodations, of course, but it’s very vague and I guess the student counsellor will say that it’s something for [...]

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Thoughts on the Execution of a Disabled Man in California

What I’ve been noticing lately, is that people with disabilities who get punished by the justice system, are used as the “poster children” for those advocating against these judicial actions. An example is the execution of a blind, wheelchair-using senior in California. I don’t care whether the man is blind or uses a wheelchair [...]

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First Few Days at Training Home

I started at the training home on Wednesday. My first few days weren’t all that good, but I realize that the same was happening at rehab: I had to be introduced to the setting extensively, wouldn’t do much for myself yet – even things I could normally do, cause the setting was so different -, [...]

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Update on Yesterday’s Writings

Both Mum and Dad think it’s okay to take the washcloth etc. from them till I can buy it for myself. I commented to Mum that I would ask Dad cause Dad’s more strict on this. Mentioned the train ticket thing. Dad had just come in and made some comment about not going to extremes. [...]

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Confused Musings on Social Conventions, My Financial Situation , and the Training Home

I’m at Grandma Janneke’s in Zeist. Arrived at Amersfoort station yesterday afternoon at around 2:00 PM. Went to have lunch in a nice coffee house near the station with Grandma. After that, we had to wait for quite a while for the bus to come.
Grandma lives in a senior group home, so this morning we [...]

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Confused Rants about a Discussion on Money and My Behaviour

I feel confused once again. Any discussion on money or financial situations these days turns into an “Astrid is rich only she’s too egoistic to admit” statement by my parents and Sigrid. That is not the worst – I know I have quite much money cause of being on disability and I don’t feel it’s [...]

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Ramblings about Behaviour Problems and a Discussion with Mum

I had a very confusing discussion with Mum yesterday. I can’t remember how it all went. It started out about college, the training home, rehab and such and went all pretty well. For some reason, then, we got to speak of special education and what they’d done wrong. Stuff about not keeping their promises. I [...]

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Thoughts on NICU Outcomes and the Extent of My Special Needs

I was just reading the Proactive Parents website, the homepage of two couples who both gave birth to a premature baby who now has considerable special needs. I was at first sort of angered by the undertone in the articles: even though the parents are aiming at getting services for their children which the NZ [...]

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Former Preemies on Parent Support Lists

After having had my second request for membership – my first was in early 2004 and it was ignored – to the PREEMIE-CHILD list approved and receiving an E-mail from the moderator of a Dutch preemie list questioning my interest in it, I wonder why I actually want to join these lists and why some [...]

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Thoughts on Preemie Ethics and What My Own Ootcome Would Be Considered

I’ve done a lot of reading on NICU ethics lately. As you might know, in the Netherlands preemies born before 25 weeks gestation are generally not resuscitated, cause neonatologists think that the risk of death or survival with severe handicaps is too great. The Rotterdam neonatologist in the article I mentioned on October 2, 2004 [...]

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