Using my communication cards

 At the weekend a group of my friends and family from church got together for a BBQ later afternoon, with the aim of staying til late evening - board games on the patio, chatting around campfires, that kind of thing.

I was invited. No way could I go for the earlier part of the event - it was way too warm for me to be up and about. But after 8 O'clock it was much cooler. I really wanted to go because manageable opportunities to socialise during the summer are very few and far between. But I also had a heat hangover. Fatigue levels fairly high, and although I could enjoy a conversation, my talking ability was very below par. Very slow. 

It would be physically manageable from my wheels, but would I be able to have nice, relaxed social interactions that didn't demand more from me than I was capable of? 

Everyone who will be there knows me - and knows I'm disabled. But with variable symptoms none of them would know my current capacity/limitations/needs without me telling them. And no way I'll cope with that much explaining....but that's what my keyring cards are there for.

So I decided I'd take my cards and risk it. 

I used the card cover elastic to hold my pack open at my most relevant card, so it would be easy to use, and off I went. 

It worked really well. 

With each person I chatted with - whether I approached them or they approached me - I held out the card, they took a moment to read it, and sometimes I followed it up with 'I want to chat, but...I'll be slow'.

Every single time it was accepted. And acted on. I felt fully included. Nobody hurried or interrupted when I needed to pause. There were also times my grammar was totally wrong, or I said words in the wrong order, or just used key words or gestures instead of sentences. It was all accepted without comment - they understood what I meant. And because they knew I was finding speech difficult, my limitations didn't stress them or worry them. And the result: nice, relaxed social interactions.

A couple of people even comment how useful the card was, because it meant they knew what to do.

Admittedly, I do have an awesome circle of friends, but being able to really clearly communicate 'this is where I'm at and what I need' without speaking created the understanding of my 'here and now' that made it accessible. 

I had a lovely evening. I think they did too.