Dilbert's one of us
If you're anything like Crippled Monkey, you'll have spent the occasional afternoon when you should be working (sorry, boss) giggling in recognition at the cartoon adventures of office worker . But did you know that his creator is one of them disablified types?
Scott Adams, the man behind Dilbert, has been writing in one of the most recent entries on his about spasmodic dysphonia, the voice condition he has:
"I couldn't speak for about 18 months unless I was on stage doing my public speaking, or alone, or singing. The rest of the time my vocal cords would clench and I could barely get out a word ... We can also often speak perfectly in funny British accents but not in our own voices. We can speak after we have laughed or yawned. Sometimes it helps to pinch our noses or cover our ears. I found I can talk okay if I stretch my head back and look at the ceiling or close my eyes. And we can all sing and hum just fine."
Scott talks about treatments for spasmodic dysphonia, and also reports that he's spending a week with a doctor who claims "to be able to cure this condition completely". Worth keeping an eye on his blog for updates.
Comments
so this is only a disability that affects hearing people, then? in his blog, scott adams says that background noise interferes with his brain's speech centers and makes it much harder for him to talk. and that it helps if he covers his ears.
power to the deafies! not only do most of them have other/visual ways of communicating (sign language, cued speech, written conversations, silent lipreading), the auditory feedback bit isn't a problem. yay!
makes you wonder how many deaf people get spasmodic dysphonia and never know (or care!).