In this installment from our series Just Ask: Talking About Disability, we explore the topic of caregiving. Many people with disabilities in the Miami Valley rely on aides, who help with day-to-day tasks.
Here, WYSO producer April Laissle introduces us to 24-year-old Michaela Feeser from Dayton, who has cerebral palsy. She explains what it feels like to clash with an aide you depend on everyday.
Highlights from this interview include:
“I would have aides following me everywhere. Everywhere that I went aides would follow me -- everywhere. Like, even even if I was going in the hall to talk to my friends, she would be there. Every time I turned around, she would be there. It was so hard to live in a shadow.”
“I would have students, I mean, people, up against lockers talking about me like I wasn't in the room but clearly I was. I was like, 'hey, I'm right here, I can hear what you are saying' ... I can hear fine.”
Just Ask: Talking About Disability was produced by WYSO Morning Edition Host/Reporter April Laissle and Community Voices Producer Anna Lurie, with additional stories from WYSO Managing Editor Jess Mador and All Things Considered Host/Reporter Jerry Kenney. The series was edited for broadcast by Jess Mador and WYSO General Manager Neenah Ellis, and for the web by Webmaster Juliet Fromholt and Jess Mador. Series participants included Todd Corthell, Lateef Brown, Michaela Feeser, Darrell Dean, Sue Reese, Heather Reese, Robert Sabwami, Susan Koller, and Tom Webb.
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