Can you tell if a disabled person is 'faking'? (yes, Jameela Jamil) [CC] 

Im autistic and people often say “you dont look autistic”, how TF am i supposed to look autistic?😂

Honestly how privileged do you have to be to start claiming that someone has “too many” illnesses and therefore must be faking??

“Being mean to ‘fake’ disabled people doesn’t make you an ally or hero to ‘real’ disabled people,” no, I think that it generally makes those “real” disabled people afraid that you’ll decide that they’re faking next

The "standing up from a wheelchair" fear is something my mom actually deals with. She recently had to ask for a wheelchair in the SLC airport because it's so big, and she was scared people would notice that she could walk after the wheelchair or that she was walking before getting on the plane. What people can't see is that her walking gets progressively more painful. So walking a mile just to get to the baggage claim wasn't an option. Plus flying makes her feet worse and our flight landed at almost midnight (after a full day of walking). Sorry, that rant is mostly for my sake. Its frustrating to see someone i care about be afraid on top of real pain that she can only do so much about

“Being mean to ‘fake disabled’ doesn’t make you an ally to ‘real ones’.” 🙌❤️yes thank you!!

When a professor accused me of making up a pain condition: “I’m so glad my semester of acting has paid off so I can act like you aren’t a moron.” Yes, I eventually brought in a note from my doctor. And an attorney.

The standing up while in a wheelchair thing is so real, I'm not personally a wheelchair user but sometimes I would go out with my grandmother and she would use the electric wheelchairs in the supermarket, and I always felt people were judging her for using them because she would stand up and walk around to grab things... I dont think it's that hard to understand that it isn't the same to stand/walk nonstop for an hour than to stand up for 15 seconds at a time...

the title: "How to tell if a disabled person is faking" me: oh no... Jessica: You can't! me: oh phew

Jameela's tweet about being gaslit about your pain reminds me of how my dad, a doctor, kept telling me everything I experienced was psychosomatic and I was doing it to myself. It's really harmed the way I think of myself now, even after finally getting diagnosis for most of my comorbidities and illnesses. I dread someone accusing me of faking when I use my disability parking permit, which seems imminent considering all my disabilities are invisible.

My mother once had chronic back pain and had to use a wheelchair for a year because it was too painful to walk. Once, when she was out with friends, a man was staring at her while she used the wheelchair. She moved her leg slightly and the man exclaimed that he knew she was faking it... My mother never claimed to be paralyzed or anything. Frankly, people need to stop. I was going to add more to that sentence but... People need to stop. Just because someone doesn't fit your description of a disabled person doesn't mean they aren't disabled.

I am allergic to walnuts, some days I have a bad reaction to it, and some days I have no reaction whatsoever. Does not take away the fact that I am still allergic.

"it's just too many things to happen to one person" able-bodied people and neurotypicals crack me up sometimes. i mean, in an enraging way, but it's just........the pure unawareness of privilege. must be bliss

I also find this personally offensive because people think disabled people should have to explain ourselves all the time and then they call us liars just because they don't understand it. I have a long list of diagnosis too (EDS, POTS, MCAD, cervical instability, trigiminal neuralgia) but I look perfectly normal. That makes people think I should prove my disability.

“It’s common for people to have more than one thing wrong with them.” OMG anything neuro or mental! All of those are like, born with one, develop five on top of it.

Thank you so much, as someone considered “good looking” like yourself and has an invisible chronic disability, I’m constantly struggling with people thinking I’m faking. I often hear people say to me you make yourself a victim. I understand why the news hurt you, it hurt me too.

The first time I met my boyfriends father told me: “You’re only as disabled as people treat you!” And “if your social support money stopped I’m sure you’d find the energy to work” first time he met me- he had no idea what I go through, I have chronic migraines, fibromyalgia, pcos, colitis and the good old fashioned depression that comes from constant pain and being house/bed bound. But yknow- some old white guy I didn’t know obviously knows my body and abilities from looking at me, than myself who started getting my diagnosis’ at age two (again, obviously old enough to start faking illness to the level of getting treated by professionals)

The allergy issue specifically drives me up the wall! One of my kiddos was born having extreme reactions to breast milk that contained traces of cow's milk and was so sensitive that even being touched by hands that had traces of milk on them would send her into a reaction. She outgrew that by a year. In another vein, I personally have eaten mushrooms my whole life yet last year I suddenly and abruptly became allergic to mushrooms. You can become allergic to anything at any time. Allergies aren't fixed!

One las thing. Heard someone accuse my brother, who was in an electric wheelchair, with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Could not walk, could only move his mouth, a couple fingers, had a bypap (sp?) Machine and a nurse with him. And this person yelled at us for using a handicap space they wanted because (and my bro was driving down the ramp) "you don't need it! Tell the man to stop faking and get up and walk like a normal person!" After we learned the whole situation with the atore security, I learned that apparently being 3 months pregnant meant she needed the wheelchair accessible space more than my brother. Who BTW she kept saying was faking it while security was getting her to leave.

Something that is annoying to me, is when people respond with: “ you are too young to be having those problems lol” like yeah thanks.

-"You don't look disabled!" -"Thanks, you don't look ignorant!"

Absolutely correct. Not really the same, but people with ADHD are sooo often misdiagnosed and/or not taken seriously, because they don't "look disabled"

Jessica: “am I looking my best right now? No.” Me: is sitting in my dirty pyjamas eating cereal knowing I will never look as good as her

Jessica: We're adults, we can discuss things Me, a 12 year old girl: You are absolutely right

"Am i deeply offended by something I saw on twitter? Always" girl same.

" First of all, no. There are not a set amount of disabled people allowed in the world. " YES

My big sister has multiple diseases, she has had them since birth, one them is a form of rheumatism. I still remember how the teachers at her school refused to believe a small child could have a disease associated with old people, even though they were presented with multiple doctors notes. We are Nordic, and cold long winters have never been easy for her. Since she was little during those colder months she couldn't open doors, bottles and had difficulty grabbing things. By the age of ten she had the joints of a 70 year old, and before turning 30 she had to have a hip replacement. At school the teachers refused to believe my sister couldn't run and that during winter she couldn't participate at all in PE even though they were shown notes from the doctors. They forced her to participate, resulting in her joint getting inflamed, her then having to then spend weeks in hospital and being given intravenous medication (because they were too strong for her digestive track to handle). Then the school wanted to make her repeat a year because she had been absent so many times. My sister having multiple diseases just made it more difficult for the school to believe she was actually sick, even though things like loosing hair in blotches (alopecia) and her knuckles being so swollen she couldn't bend her fingers, were obvious. My sister was severely bullied and the school did not intervene. They said that children are children, and they are just curious because she looks different.

Ever since I was diagnosed with autism, I've constantly thought that I wasn't "disabled" enough because for a large portion of the time, I can't tell if I'm exhibiting the same characteristics that make up a bog standard autistic person (if that makes sense). Like... maybe I'm just internally faking for the attention because I can manage pretty well? Even though multiple autistic people have said to me "no you are definitely on the spectrum" and I was like "how can you be sure?". I'm worried that one day, a person might turn up to me and say "yeah you were misdiagnosed. You actually don't have autism." It's irrational, but I can't help but feel like I was misdiagnosed sometimes. Maybe I did those things in the interview because I wanted to be diagnosed with autism so that I could have something to blame?? But yeah.... that's my internal crisis that I go through 80% of my time. Also, thank you for bringing up the wheelchair thing. I'll admit, before seeing this video, if I had seen someone drive a car into the disabled spot, only to get into a wheelchair, I may have given a skeptical look but moved on with my life. I admit that I was ignorant on the scales of how much people would need a wheelchair at any given moment, since films only really depict wheelchair users as being wheelchair bound. I'll do my best to be more understanding and I will try and catch myself if I think otherwise. Hopefully, I won't get attacked for this?

The sheer amount of times I’ve been told by friends, family and strangers that “Fibromyalgia isn’t real” is staggering and terrifying. I had to fight so hard to be even acknowledged by doctors let alone get tested for anything. when people say you’re faking a disability or that it’s not real it hurts, it really hurts. If you’re in pain every single day, and pushing yourself past your limits to pass as abled, people will use your desperate attempt to fit in and participate in abled society as “you’re faking” and “you’re taking up resources”. What resources? Who do I hurt by existing in my truth? Thank you for this video.

I've been diagnosed with fibromyalgia after a long time of suffering symptoms and working with a doctor. There are no tests for FMS. There's nothing that anyone can *see* to "prove" the way I'm feeling. It took a very patient doctor consistently working with me to treat my symptoms and get a diagnosis that made sense. I spend about 50% of the time worrying that I'm just a hypochondriac and the other 50% worrying that *others* see me as a hypochondriac. I'm very tired.

Nobody: Captions (auto generated) : moth husband syndrome

I was rewatching your videos today, and it reminded me of something my stepmother told me. That “all the kids need therapy these days” and that “my generation (Z) is going to have a lot of problems”. I have C-PTSD. I am diagnosed. I am being treated. She is aware of this. I don’t consider it a problem that my generation isn’t so scared of disorders and mental health, it is one of my strengths. Invisible illnesses get so much shit because, even if you have proof, it just seems dramatic to neurotypical and healthy people. It’s crazy to me that she can so easily disregard my childhood trauma because not being neurotypical (or pretending to be) is so foreign to her generation.

“Omg you don’t look like you have epilepsy!” Me realizing the education system has failed us. And also explaining how there’s multiple types and no everyone has convulsions.

Thank you so very much. As someone who has multiple autoimmune disorders, I stopped counting how many times people called me a hypochondriac/faker bcuz I “look fine.” Your honesty and biting humor are so refreshing. I wish you well. 💕

“People with EDS are more likely to get cancer” My anxiety is never gonna let me forget that

A few weeks ago I was grocery shopping and I went to the cashier to skip the queue, showing her my disability card but the people in the queue didn't see it. So she waves to me to go to the front, and a 20-something man actively pretended not to have heard me ask the cashier or seen me skip the rest of the queue. So I tap him on the shoulder and politely ask him to move so I can get to the front. He stares at me from head to toe before saying "urh fiiiiine, you could have waited, i only had my beer" and lets me through. I don't reply anything because even eight years into my disability, I've only had my card for two and i'm just 22 yo, i don't have social confidence. I still have a deep-rooted shame of myself and terror that people will be mean to me (for good reasons, as it'll turn out). So I put the four or five things I had on the tray and the lady starts ringing my purchases. And, behind me, I hear the two women that were after the guy having a conversation with him. First, one lady says "Reeeeally, this is unnecessary, you only had one item." with the man agreeing, then she turns to the cashier and says with a smile and a joking tone "I mean, we're all a little disabled at the end of the day, right? I have back pain but you don't see me skipping the queue." At this point I was mortified, my face burning up and I could feel tears threatening to appear. I kept looking down while putting my purchases away. The cashier, bless her heart, looked incredibly uncomfortable and said to the woman "ma'am, this is the priority line, they had every right to skip the queue and by choosing to queue in this line, you accept that anyone can skip to the front if they need to." she went back to ringing my items and the lady snorted, looking offended, so she turned back to the guy and said "it's not like you can tell by looking at them, they're young and healthy and they're standing up. it's easy to fake this things nowadays." i could feel my heart breaking in my chest, i wanted to die on the spot. the cashier saw how bad i was so she hurried up and i paid, but before leaving i knew i had to do something so i could respect myself later. so i turned to the woman and i told her "you know ma'am, when you don't know what you're talking about, you should shut up" and i left without leaving her time to answer because at this point, i was on the verge of a panic attack. i got to my car (at the freaking disabled spot that i suddenly felt unworthy of occupying) and as soon as the door was closed i broke down crying. i had a full blown panic attack right there in my seat, so bad that i couldn't breathe, i was sobbing uncontrollably and i think, because my reaction was so severe, i was panicking even more because i didn't understand what was happening to me. for all that people have been shitty to me, it's never been this profoundly mean and vicious and i don't know why but it struck me deep and hard. i had to get home and this was a big mistake on my part but i wanted to be safe and back home so i started driving even when my panic attack was still going on. i live two minutes away from the store but those two minutes turned into five because i was shaking so bad i didn't dare reach the speed average and i was still sobbing so i didn't see the road very well through the tears. i got home and my step-father's mom was there, an old lady who's lovely but doesn't take anyone's shit and she comforted me with some choice words for those people. but you know what, it's been next to a month and i'm still petrified at the idea of skipping the queue, even if it means excruciating pain while standing for too long, unless there's someone with me to support me when i ask the cashier to go first. this is traumatizing, and it's only a dumb young man and a mean woman, so you know. so if you're ever wondered if anyone was faking, let this be your cautionary tale. don't freaking ruin someone's day or terrify them to a point they'd rather put themselves in terrible pain than risk being treated like shit.

“You’re too young to use a wheelchair though!” Excuse me, what?!

Me: *struggles every day, lays on the ground trying to calm down, is crying because the pain is too much* *reading about Munchausen Syndrome* Me: "I must be faking"

Oh my lord how hard is it to print “Jessica does not drink due to her medical conditions”????

I don’t see how the legitimacy of someone else’s disability is any of my business. I don’t see how that impacts me in the slightest. To me, my single responsibility as a human being is to be as compassionate as possible.

If anyone is faking anything it’s usually that you’re feeling well when in reality you feel like a dumpster fire 🔥 This is how many of my days are spent.

This whole situation has given me anxiety because my dad recently got diagnosed with a connective tissue disorder and it's been on my list of 'this could explain my pain and get me treatment' for a long time so I was greatly relieved when he told me his diagnosis since it means I have data that I can take to my own doctor but because I already have an epilepsy diagnosis and nonsense like this happens my new big fear is "you've got too many things wrong to actually be disabled you have to be faking" Can people just let disabled folks live? Thanks

This infuriates me. My son is Autistic. I hate when people say “Oh I would have never guessed. He doesn’t act Autistic.” What the hell does that even mean? Because my 5 year old doesn’t fit your distorted idea of what Autism is, you’ve decided he can’t possibly have a disability. People need to mind their own business. I will never understand why people care so much. Does someone else’s disability really have that much of an affect on you? If so, how and why? I hope that these people accusing others of faking never have some sort of terrible accident or find out they have any kind of disability because they most definitely will not be able to handle someone accusing them of faking.

I felt the being afraid to stand up when I'm using my wheelchair part, so hard. I have a very painful and very annoying physical condition. Some days I need a wheelchair to get around, some days it's just a walking stick... some days I don't need an aid at all. Especially in cases where my first meeting with a person was with the use of an aid, I am deathly afraid of ever showing up without that same aid. I am absolutely terrified. The world at large is absolutely way too focused on making people jump through hoops to prove their illness, and not focused enough on actually providing assistance.

May I just say that color of lipstick is perfect for emphasizing things for lipreading, it is also a delight to have an actually close-captioned video instead of one with the google autofill.

as someone who developed symptoms of my autoimmune/connective tissue disease at an extremely young age, I’ve found that people in positions of authority (teachers, employers, DWP) have the worst reactions to invisible disabilities. I have so many separate symptoms that are different every day which makes the believability of it somewhat questionable, I know but our lives are inherently hard. You’d think people would at least try to understand how people who fake illnesses make our lives harder.

Jessica: “I hope I said that right.” Me, watching this with subtitles on and no sound because of noise sensitivity: “You wrote it right so.”

As someone with who struggled to get a diagnosis of OCD, I just want to thank you. I still find myself doubting my own diagnosis when I have a good day. Sometimes on a bad day when I'm counting everything in sight (or other, worse things) I still say "oh no this is just fake" because I got told I was wrong for so long. You're a real hero.

One of the biggest misconceptions about disability that I had before completing occupational therapy assistant training was that people need their mobility aids 100% of the time. That person with a walker probably can stand just fine without it, and maybe even get dressed or go to the bathroom without it...for short periods of time (like anywhere from 10secs-10min)...or on a high energy day...or if the floor isn’t fricken slippery.

Even if someone were faking it, they must have some other deep-seeded mental issue, so either way, TREAT WITH CAUTION

The validation of sanity after being dismissed by a physician is much needed at this moment. A year later. I thank you.

I saw the title and got scared you were gonna be hating on Jameela, then heard you talking and agreed with pretty much everything you said. Just thank you so much for making this video

"You look great!" My schizofrenic brain: Here we go again...

I see: Front View Jessica=nice and polite Jessica Side view Jessica= sassy Jessica

not to mention memories are also malleable and shift everytime theyre recalled, its 100% normal. you only notice nowadays because the internet holds information that you can compare with new retellings, not because people are lying or exaggerating now.

I love that you're defending Jameela, who stands up for the rights of others so often! 💪 On the note of 'too many illnesses,' my sister has a rare genetic condition known as Stiff Person Syndrome, and was accused of faking for a *decade* before being seen by a John's Hopkins specialist who finally diagnosed her. She's also been hit by a car as a pedestrian. Twice. I've been told my chronic illness isn't real for the past year, but I see a new doctor this month, and I'm hopeful. Thank you for this video! Sorry you went through such an ordeal last week!! 💕🌈

I was so nervous that this would be a video against her but i don’t know why i would even be afraid of that with you! You handled this with such compassion, empathy, and grace as always🥰💕❤️

This video made me cry because you perfectly explained so many of the difficulties of having invisible disabilities. I debated for years whether or not I “deserved” to have a service dog because, “what if I’m not disabled enough?” Nevermind my reactive hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism, allergic asthma, asthmatic bronchitis, OCD, anxiety, panic attacks, scoliosis, disc degeneration, hyper mobility... I mean it’s not like I’m REALLY disabled right? Do you know what finally made me feel comfortable pursuing getting a service dog? Getting diagnosed with the reactive hypoglycemia (which I’ve had for my entire life). Because now I can finally put ‘medical alert dog’ on my dog’s vest and feel that no one can argue my right to feel safe. I don’t have a dog yet, but how ridiculous is it that I went through these mental gymnastics because of my own fear of other’s ignorance? I’m brave for everyone else in my life and I realize I need to be brave for myself. I doubt anyone will read this but I just needed to put it out into the universe. Thank you Jessica for sticking up for every one of us who struggles with an invisible disability. I for one feel much less alone because of your channel 💗

Me: is autistic, has Schizoaffective disorder, general anxiety disorder, severe depression, adhd, complex ptsd, and PCOS, and possibly a bad sleep disorder of some kind. People: you can’t have ALL of that! You must be faking. Me: just because your life is boring that doesn’t mean everyone’s is.

other people: have you tried cigarettes? me: deeply inhaling smoke could give me an asthmatic reaction and potentially kill me other people: but you stand near smokers all the time me: what part about deeply inhaling is confusing? *You do you, buddy.* This gets ridiculous sometimes.

"Oh, but you look so good!" " Exercises A B C D E ..... are good for that" "Oh haha yeah, I drop things too, and forget things too, ya know we're getting older hahaha." And so many more passively cruel comments. At first I thought that these were just the well meaning placations of people who were just trying to find common ground. Now, I think that they are just ignorant, not interested in becoming non-ignorant, and think that whatever I'm experiencing must be all in my head, or an exaggeration. I shouldn't have to carry my MRI scans around with me, or talk about my humiliating days, the ones they don't see because I try so damn hard to appear well in public. Acquaintances, family, friends all do it. Not to mention the eye rolls and "dear god she's talking about it again" sighs that they think are subtle. As if I want to talk about it! Would they like to be pestered, in public ,about a private medical issue, say a gynecological exam? I often risk my safety by not using a cane, because of the nonstop "suggestions" on how to "get better", and tacky questioning of details of which they have no right to know. It's enough to make a person fantasize about doing things with said cane, to said people. Except the cane is more useful than they are and one must appreciate the support in ones life.

Oh gods, I'm constantly scared that I'm faking! Cue to me never disclosing my diagnosis to anyone, never "using it" to get out of anything, going to the doctor maaaybe once a year if I really feel like I'm dying. What even. 😅😅😅

I’ve spent 5 mins as an EDS ginger watching this and while this may be coward I have to admit, I adore you! I’m so glad you made this. I’ve sent this to entire group of twitch followers to help them understand why and how I can be sick at a moment’s notice. And how pressured I feel to justify being ill. And as an added bonus, because I’m female, and thanks to the wonders of make up, I can look completely fucking fine on camera while still being half alive. Thank you for this dear!

Perfectly said Jessica! Thank you for helping to educate & raise awareness about these things which are still so taboo & misunderstood by the general public 🙌🏽

i’m really glad u are spreading migraine awareness. i’ve had chronic migraines since i was in 5th grade. puking, splitting head pain, unable to go to school or stay at school longer than a couple hours. u name a med- i’ve tried it. i recently had my 4th round of botox and each round i’ve cut my migraines by 50%. i was having 25 a month and now i’m having 6.

"But at least you're this much less of an arsehole now." I need to figure out how to make gifs. This is excellent

THANKYOU. I have anxiety, fibromyalgia, endometriosis and Crohns Disease. I'm currently battling with work colleagues who don't understand these conditions need to be dealt with flexibly and there are days where I CAN'T get to work at 9am. Many, many days.

Omg I saw you title pop up in the notifications and immediately thought “what? There’s no way to tell if someone is faking! Oh no what is social media saying today that Jessica gotta make this video?”

If this is you not looking your best I’m gonna be blown away by you looking your best you’re so pretty. Also, love the video very detailed and considerate. How you’re feeling better

the whole standing up from a wheelchair thing is relatable to me, occasionally I'll use a white cane and people expect me to be completely blind, and accuse me of faking my sight, it's such BS.

Yeah, the fact that I can speak means everyone disregards that I'm hard of hearing. Like okay, I'm not clinically deaf. I can hear you, but it is so much effort to focus on paring down the din I normally hear into compressivible speech. So could you do me the courtesy of getting my attention before you start a conversation, not shouting at me from across the room, and face me when you speak. It's not that hard and it makes it so much easier for me.

Thank you for standing up for those with hidden disabilities. Sadly some people are just ignorant when it comes to disabilities, they seem to think that a disabled person should be in a wheelchair, intellectually disabled & unable to speak for themselves. I spent 25+ in the disability sector working as a Youth & Disability sw & it made me so sad at the ignorance that I came across when taking clients out & about. I now find myself as a person with a disability & people think I should be still working, they do not see the pain I am or the fatigue, I can & do hide it, at times I require a walking stick, therefore, requiring a disabled parking spot, if I am able to walk ok & not in pain I won't park in the disabled spot, but I have had people glare at me for having the audacity for parking in a disabled carpark.

Oof this hits close to home. Although not the same, I remember the time when I was at my lowest, reaching out to someone I trusted and looked up to. They told me I was a hypochondriac, and they “knew the signs” because their mother was one. I still feel like I’m faking everything I’m struggling with sometimes, before you explained that people with munchausen know they’re faking I was convinced for a second that I was just forcing myself to be ill for attention.

"you don't look disabled" Sir I can't feel anything in my feet and shins that isn't pain when I walk on them for long enough and can't deal with anything outside of my secdual with out having a melt down (especially when it comes to my food I have cried over pasta sause) and have no consept of living indapendintly because of years of abuse....also your not a docter

For me, it really presents at school. I have pretty severe POTS and I have a lot of 5th floor classes. Every elevator has the "give priority to (disabled sign)" poster but nobody can tell I have POTS until they look at me so I often have to pick between being late because it took too long to wait in line for the elevator or being late because it took me 4 years to climb the stairs

My uncle has Von wilbrens and is missing a big chunk of his calf muscle due to a soccer injury as a kid. If you see him walk and he’s wearing jeans you’d never noticed that he is legally handicapped. Since he presents as able tho, he has been harassed so much for parking in handicap sections. One lady even called the police on him. It’s to the point that a few years back he stopped using handicap parking to avoid the harassment and even felt like he didn’t deserve it anymore. It’s just very frustrating

My disabled son with a connective tissue disorder fakes it. He fakes that he's well every day because he's five and doesn't want to miss out on the world.

I have heard from multiple people, "you're too smart to have ADHD," and, "You are too good at managing a crisis to have anxiety," and, "You laugh so much. You're too happy to have depression." It's like they don't expect me to have developed coping mechanisms or taken medication so I can actually function and live my life.

“You don’t look sick.” Well, you don’t look ignorant but here we are.

Jessica: “am I looking my best right now? no” Also Jessica: *looks like the muse of a painting*

I hate that the more a disabled person tries to blend in, the more people expect of us. People expect me to be able to do everything a neurotypical could because I can talk and gesture like a neurotypical without realizing just doing that is taking all the energy I have. Then they say I’m faking :’). And that’s why masking is bullshit.

This whole "faking it" thing also creates this devil in your shoulder that makes you constantly second guess if you are "ill enough" or if the pain, discomfort, etc you are feeling is "real enough" to deserve treatment or to look for help. It is ridiculous.

"Some wheelchair users can walk" Makes sense, though I never thought of it. Some glasses users can also see without glasses. Even up to "100%" (= reading smallest letters on vision test), and enough to drive a car without. Myself for example. I've had a few people and even doctors react very confused to that. I can strain my eyes enough to se all clear. Just not for long, without being rewarded with headache and sore eyes. I suppose we can do many things for a short while, if a situation nessesitates it, that we wouldn't be able to keep up long term.

Jessica: -Eyebrows done -Eyes and Lipstick done -matching dress (?) To headband -cardigan that pairs well with headband -necklace that goes beautifully with the dress neckline Also jessica: "I'm not looking my best today" Even if you don't feel amazing, please know that the people supporting you think you look lovely today! ♡

“You’re too young to be in pain” and “You’re too young to be so tired, wait until you’re my age” is just some of the bullshit I’ve gotten, even from family. Bottom line is, you don’t know another person’s pain and you don’t know what they’re dealing with in their life. Everyone suffers in their own ways, everyone’s pain is valid.

I was getting out of a car and into my wheelchair once and this old guy said loudly "laziness isn't a disability" and i said back, maybe louder than i should have "but spina bifida is" i still remember him walking off rather fast, red faced 😅😁

Spent my whole life complaining about chest palpitations, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, short of breath at night, etc. I was told it's common because I am tall and a girl, and was just generally dismissed by all doctors.. Well, last year I fell down the stairs and needed surgery, and low and behold - I have a heart defect. I am missing a heart valve. Need to get replacement surgery. New doctor gave me crap for not getting it dealt with earlier. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I laughed at the idea that you can have “too many illnesses.” If you know anything about biology you would know that just one chronic illness constantly strings along other side illnesses and health problems.

"Am I looking my best right now? No. Am I feeling my best right now? No. Am I deeply offended by something I saw on twitter? Always" -Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, 2020 edit: hi mom, hi Jessica and thank you to everyone who liked this comment! love from Moscow xoxo

"She has too many things wrong with her so it can't be true" Me: Asthma, Severe eczema, Creeping leg syndrome, Endometriosis, OCD and to top it off, a dictionary long list of allergies.... Is my life a lie?

People don't seem to realize that disabilities and chronic illnesses never show up alone to a party. They bring an entire clown car of friends. Which means if you have one thing wrong with you, you'll soon have like 50 things disabling your life. And yes, the situations that you consistently experience as a result are unreal.

How to spot a faker.... STOP Get a real hobby! Learn to spot a Red Crested Woodpecker.

it’s such a physical relief to click onto one of jessica’s videos and switch from the stupid auto-generated captions to the proper ones. thank you for giving me a break from lip reading 💕

My mother once said in an argument, before signing off in her email, “I would wish you well, but you never are are you?” I have multiple autoimmune disorders and had a mild stroke. I also have hemiplegic migraines. She passed two years ago, and believe she passed still believing my illnesses were fake. I’m glad you are here using your platform to educate and empower, you are incredible.

Wheelchair "faking" is such a common and widespread belief, I think, because the wheelchair scam is way too common in medical dramas and the scammer is caught out when they suddenly stand up either out of anger or fear.

As a disabled person I'm gonna let all the abled people in on a secret *we're faking how well we feel and pretending our pain isn't that bad not pretending we're disabled*

"Being mean to 'fake' disabled people doesn't make you an ally or hero to 'real' disabled people." 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

Growing up with two disabled parents, one of the worst things was when people in public gave us grief for using disability services because they couldn't always "see" the disabilities. Ugh. I remember when I was 10 in a train station and my dad had been in a wheelchair. He stood up from his wheelchair to go to the bathroom and a group of teenagers started laughing while he was gone and teasing me, saying he was pretending so we could get on trains earlier. I was so embarrassed and I wanted to tell them about all the times his legs completely gave out after walking too long. But I just couldn't do it. I still feel guilty about not standing up for my dad seven years later, but I wish people would just mind their business! Anyways, I love your videos

Mom: You need to stop being so lazy, you've gained so much weight! You're exhausted all the time because you're fat! Me: *goes to the doctor, gets diagnosed with hypothyroidism, an autoimmune disorder, a reproductive problem which also causes insulin resistance, and a couple of related hormone problems that all require me to be on medication for life* Mom: Oh... well, maybe your medication will help you lose weight! Me: thanks.

Some random Karen: "Classy ladies don't curse" Jessica: **says asshole in the most classy tone of voice I've ever heard**

“You don’t look blind” “Well you don’t look like anything to me..does that prove it?” I’ve been told I don’t look legally blind so many times and I’m just wondering how one looks legally blind?