JocelynC--
Thank you so much for posting that article and sharing your personal story. It's very inspirational on a variety of levels.

I have seen you on greekchat forever and have always loved your posts. To find out that you have CP is an awesome testamony of who you are and what you've been able to add to the greek community. I'm sure that article will be copied and passed around to many rush chairs and advisors.

THANK YOU!!!!!!

AMEN...thats my sister!! :D

Glad I could help! :)

this topic is right up my alley. first of all, most people who are blind, deaf or have some sort of physical disabilty, should easily fit into the greek system if they so choose.

greek systems are much more likely to have members with emotional disabilities (depression, bi-polar disorder, etc.) then the cognitive/ social disabilities, such as autism. generally speaking, males are more likely to be affected with autism then women. the majority of people with autism also have another diagnosis which impairs them in other ways. for the people with high functioning autism, formally known as asperger's (and again there is a spectrum of the impairment), most would probably not choose to rush. why? the social nature of these groups would be difficult to navigate successfully for a person with a social disability.

Random thing......there's this woman at my work who has diabetes (but still enjoys the occasional sweet treat that people bring into the office), and since we started at the same time, we kind of hit it off. She's really nice, and she's really cheerful and upbeat as well. Anyway, the other day, I mentioned to her that another one of our co-workers had brought in donuts for everyone, and I'd put them on top of the fridge, she replied in a sort of matter-of-fact way, "You know, I really shouldn't be eating that stuff," and I told her, "You know, you're so happy and cheerful all the time, I forget there's anything wrong with you." I know it sounds silly, but I'm really going to miss her when I go back to school in the fall.

Someone PM'ed me part of a recent Dear Abby article about a college-aged daughter who suddenly found herself with a mental illness. I'm not very knowledgeable about this particular area of special needs, but the letter seemed to indicate that it came on overnight with major issues to a woman who had no prior difficulties. The message went on to say that sometimes mental illness is completely resolved (no symptoms) with medication, but the topic is considered taboo in most college circles. Do any of you have any experience with this?

I also wondered how many greek houses existed that could house a wheelchair-bound student as a resident. Let me know if your house can or can't.

ARG! That's another thing involving rush. Please, for the love of god, consider that some rushees may be diabetic! (this one is!). And it's really hard to refuse someone's hospitality, especially in a rush situation..."no, sorry I don't want your food because I just ate and took a shot." eehh. So I guess what I'm saying is have low sugar stuff, and take it easy on the candy.

I mentally cut all the sororities that didn't even have diet pop at their novelty..shallow I know, but having to walk half way around the world for a glass of water and not being able to eat a single thing all day really sucked.

and things like, "eww! I could never give myself shots!" and "You must be a really bad diabetic" (after seeing my insulin pump) are not exactly tactful or nice.

I have suffered from depression and anxiety for many years now, but I am still a ZTA. It was never brought up during CROWN. I did however offer to tell my story for our quarterly magazine Themis when they wrote about depression. As much as I want to say that it is no longer "taboo" to talk about it. That stigma is unfortunately still there. Luckily, I have had some WONDERFUL support from my sisters.

I'm glad you brought this up. Refreshments during FR, when I was an active, tended to be on the sugary side: lemonade, sparkling cider, cookies, candy, etc. If you had diabetes, your choices were water or water.

During my junior year, I spoke with a PNM during first round, who told me outright that she would only take water because she was diabetic. (She's the outspoken type.) At later parties, I made sure there was diet soda and something sugar-free available to eat (for everyone), even though it hadn't originally been in our plan. It must have worked: Not only did she go AEPhi, she was my little. :)

illness
 

I have a lung disease, and tire/ become winded easily. What am I supposed to do if I am talking with someone and become out of breath? I know this sounds silly lol. It happens, though. I haven't really been in situations since I've been diagnosed where I must explain my disease. How could I do this in a classy way without someone thinking that I am weird for telling them all about my pulmonary defect?

i think that you are stressing over something that will not matter to the majority of people. if you feel that you need to sit down or that you cannot continue a conversation, tell them. briefly explain your condition. they will probably be interested to learn about it and a good rusher will continue the conversation, even if she carries the brunt of it for a while, while you rest.

if you are a pnm, please share your medical history with the panhellenic office and expecially your recruitment counselor-in case you have a flair up and need immediate medicine or medical attention. if you are on a large campus, walking from house to house may leave you winded. with forewarning, some other arrangements may be made for you to get from one end of campus to the other.

Good idea, that seems like the best way to go.

That's the same thing with one of my campers in camp. She has had diabetessince she was four, I think, and unless you see her pump you totally forget about it. I usually have to remind myself on the hotter days to make sure she gets out of the sun more then the other camps and to check on her.

I don't find that shallow at all, I would probalby do the same thing.

I suffer from depression because I have what's called Pre-Menstrual Dysfuction Disorder (PMDD). It causes severe depression, migraines, and cramps, major swelling of my breasts, messy and off-schedule periods. It also causes major fluctuations in my mood. I could be happy one minute and the next I would want to rip someone's head off.

I went one time for 6 months without having a period and I KNEW I wasn't pregnant. I have my regular B-cup bras and my period C-cup bras. I seriously go up a whole cup size when I have my period. Not only does my chest swell, but they hurt and it looks like I am "cold" all of the time. The cramps will seriously knock you down off your feet. Sometimes they'll come and be so bad I feel like I have to pass out. The migraines have to be one of the worst symptoms because they'll knock me off my feet for hours and hours. A day will be shot and forget it if I have plans . . . I can't go anywhere. The other worst thing about it is the messy periods. Clothes and sheets have been ruined but not because I wasn't wearing anything to protect my clothes or sheets.

If I ever get married, I really feel bad for that man. :p

We had a girl rush who had epilepsy, and we were at a social function where she drank some punch and got really sick because of a reaction with her medication...

There were a lot of girls that didn't know how to deal with her when she had an attack or an issue, and it usually ended up being her big or myself that helped her. Empathy and understanding is something that greeks need to work on-in my chapter we have a lot of Nursing majors, and these girls didn;t know how to emotionally deal with this NM; they kinda kept their distance and didn't talk to her much.

Maybe I'm wrong about the way the sisters interacted with this NM, but I've always been upset at the way "Special Needs" greeks or potential greeks are treated in the sorority circles; most fraternities at my school wouldn't treat them differently at all, and would certainly not treat them like less of a brother or soon-to-be brother because of it.
I know this has been asked before, but why are the sororities constantly more cutthroat then their fraternal counterparts?

ARGIRL -

If you become short of breath, pat your chest, say or mouth "asthma," and roll your eyes as if to say "can you believe this stupid asthma, why is this happening now?" Then be cheerful, and soldier on as best you can.

People are not sophisticated about various lung diseases, but EVERYONE has a friend or family member with asthma, and even the most clueless folks knows it makes you short of breath. Most also understand that stress or running around make it worse, so they should understand without being told why rush might bring on problems.

Will work as a nice shorthand.