Disability Awareness Spotlight

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐳 𝐋𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧, 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 Project BEE.

𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟:

After a career in healthcare, I switched to social services and fell in love with nonprofit work. I have been with Project BEE since 2019 - and lead the organization through some of our biggest changes. For fun, I do a lot of reading, activities with my kids, and also have probably 45 different hobbies (relevant to my disability hah).

𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲:

I have ADHD, anxiety, and depression. I had struggled my entire life with these conditions - although I didn't realize it until I was in my 20s. I had an amazing provider advocate for me, and have the testing done so I have the official diagnoses to do whatever I needed. Looking back, I realize so many actions I have taken at different points in my life were directly because of the ADHD/anxiety. Although I wish I had my diagnoses before so that I could have maybe pursued some other interests, I do not regret how life has turned out. In the past, I've tried medication for all three of my disabilities (although, ADHD is the one impacting me daily the hardest), although currently I am managing and thriving via regular therapy and tools (such as project management software, routine, and my calendar).

Sometimes these "invisible" disabilities are a challenge because society doesn't see something "wrong" with you and expects you to perform to their standards.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲?

Finding an advocate for me has helped get me to the level where I am now (Independence is a great place to start if you are looking for an advocate!). Don't give up, and don't be afraid of change - my career is nowhere near where I thought I would be, but I found something I'm decent at and have been able to thrive as a result. Sometimes you won't respond to different treatments, but there's always another option or another provider you might connect to well. Don't be afraid to ask for accomodations - I personally use a project management software at work which has been an amazing tool to help me thrive.