Living Poor With Style.pdf
Irmgard Verzi
While I continued to search for a full-time job, I took freelance work wherever I could find it. I liked working from home in comfortable clothes and eating a freshly prepared lunch while watching a DVD from the library, not sucking down a frozen meal at my desk while working through lunch. I missed having co-workers, but the work-life balance was great. I felt my next job was right around the corner, but as each month passed without one, I was more and more confused.
3. Readjust your focus. This was a big, tough lesson. After I hit the one-year unemployed mark and realized I might never again work full-time in an office, I expanded my work. In addition to freelancing, I did easy, low-paying work to keep the lights on. From counting boxes of 3D glasses at a movie theater to secret shopping for free food at chain restaurants to writing photo captions for a national hotel chain, I found I could do small things to earn small amounts of money, in high volume.
This shift in my life also caused me to majorly redefine my relationship with money. When you have no money, you can come to see any money as a gift. You can become grateful for the ability to pay even one bill. You can become a skilled negotiator and problem-solver at finding ways to lower expenses and cut spending. I developed a resilience that increased my confidence, which in turn has helped me seek and land more freelance work. I embraced the uncertainty of freelancing, and my status as an experienced, innovative worker.
Nina McCollum is a writer living in Cleveland. Her work has appeared online at sites including Good Housekeeping, Scary Mommy, The Financial Diet, BELT Magazine and Caf Mom, and she has self-published two Kindle stories. You can read her blog about life as a Midwest mom at rockandrollmama.wordpress.com and view work samples on her website, ninawritenow.com.
Special thanks to Rebecca Monteleone, University of Toledo; Jon Henner, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Sherri Collins, Arizona Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; journalist Sara Luterman; Cronkite student Haley Tenore; the NCDJ advisory board and graduate assistants; and all the style guide readers who offered suggestions for this guide.
Background: These terms carry the assumption that a person with a disability is suffering or has a reduced quality of life. Not every person with a disability suffers, is a victim or is stricken.
NCDJ Recommendation: Because anonymity is central to the organization, disclose that someone is a member of Alcoholics Anonymous only if it is essential to the story. When covering AA, consider referring to members by their first name only unless official references or context requires otherwise. These same considerations apply when covering other 12-step programs, such as Narcotics Anonymous or Gamblers Anonymous.
Background: The Americans with Disabilities Act is federal civil rights legislation that was signed into law in 1990 to address discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, public accommodations, transportation and telecommunications as well as state and local government services.
Background: ADHD, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is a relatively common neurodevelopmental diagnosis. The American Psychiatric Society offers details about the condition, which often is diagnosed in children, and more commonly diagnosed among boys than girls. Adults are also diagnosed with ADHD. Symptoms include restlessness, difficulty in focusing or staying organized and impulsivity. Those with an ADHD diagnosis may also exhibit difficulty sitting still or engaging in quiet activities.
Background: These terms refer to a variety of ways that people communicate without speaking. While these often are technological in nature, such as speech-generating devices, interactive touch screens or amplifiers to boost volume, they also may include drawing, gesturing, signing, finger spelling or picture books, among others. They are frequently used by nonspeaking individuals and those with limited vocabulary to aid or replace oral speech. Some are opposed to the use of AAC because of the belief that it will hinder language development. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the opposite is true.
Background: Autism spectrum disorder is a group of complex conditions related to brain development, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Common symptoms of autism include difficulties in communication, impaired social interaction and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests or activities, according to the Institute. However, symptoms vary across the spectrum. Many experts classify autism as a developmental disability.
Background: Catatonia is a state in which a person does not move and does not respond to others. According to Psychology Today, it is a rare condition that may be associated with other conditions, such as schizophrenia. It is often used informally to describe someone who is in a stupor-like condition.
Background: Cerebral palsy refers to a number of neurological conditions that appear in infancy or early childhood and permanently affect body movement and muscle coordination, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. It is not caused by problems in the muscles or nerves but by differences in parts of the brain that control muscle movement. People with cerebral palsy can exhibit a variety of symptoms. Spastic cerebral palsy is a common type of cerebral palsy in which the movements of people with the condition appear stiff and jerky.
Background: A chronic illness is defined by the National Health Council as a health condition lasting three months or longer and includes conditions such as cancer or heart disease. Many illnesses, such as diabetes or multiple sclerosis, are life-long conditions.
Background: A cochlear implant is an electronic device that can improve understanding of speech for some people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The device does not fully restore hearing, but it gives a representation of sounds to help a person understand speech. It has been criticized by some in the Deaf community who are concerned that the device could threaten Deaf culture. However, advocates support the device for suitable candidates. (There are physical considerations that rule out cochlear implants for some.)
NCDJ Recommendation: When referring to a cochlear implant, avoid describing it as a corrective device or one that would restore a deaf person to mainstream society. Instead, define it as an electronic device that can assist a person who is deaf or hard of hearing in understanding speech.
Background: These words were once commonly used to describe people with mental illness but are now considered offensive. They are still used in a variety of contexts but should be avoided.
When possible, ask if a person or group uses identity-first language (deaf students) or person-first language (students who are deaf). However, The National Association of the Deaf supports the identity-first approach.
Background: Indicates a person who has some loss of both vision and hearing. This also is referred to as deaf-blindness or deafblindness. Until recently, the term deaf-blind was widely accepted, and it is still in use today. For example, the National Center on Deaf-Blindness retains the hyphen. But according to deafblind.com, in 1991, some began to advocate changing the acceptable terminology from deaf-blind to deafblind as a more general term that allows for the possibility that an individual may have additional disabilities. Today, many government and private organizations in the U.S. and elsewhere use deafblind instead of deaf-blind.
NCDJ Recommendation: Avoid these terms as they often are used inaccurately and can be offensive. It is acceptable to refer to someone as deaf or hard of hearing. If possible, ask the person which is preferable. Mute and dumb imply that communication is not possible. Instead, be as specific as possible. If someone uses American Sign Language, lip-reads or uses other means to communicate, state that.
By definition, developmental disabilities manifest before age 22. Those with such disabilities often require lifelong or extended support. Examples of developmental disabilities include autism spectrum disorder, spina bifida, cerebral palsy and intellectual disabilities. Legal definitions vary from state to state. A developmental disability can include a long-term physical or cognitive/intellectual disability or both.
Background: Dyslexia is a learning disability characterized by challenges identifying speech sounds and learning how to connect them to letters and words, according to the Mayo Clinic. Its chief symptoms include difficulties with spelling, reading, pronunciation of words and processing auditory information. It is a common learning disability among children, although adolescents and adults with dyslexia often exhibit symptoms as well.
Epilepsy manifests differently in individuals: The severity of epileptic seizures, their occurrence rates and the emergence of other health problems differ from person to person. Epilepsy is most commonly treated with medication but treatment also can include use of medical devices, surgery, diet and emerging therapy methods.
Background: Facilitated communication is a widely criticized communication technique that was popular in the 1990s. The technique was originally developed to help those with significant developmental disabilities, such as some forms of autism and cerebral palsy. A nonverbal person would theoretically communicate with the help of a facilitator by typing on a keyboard, pointing to an image, or pointing to letters on an alphabet board. However, academics eventually found there was little scientific evidence that the technique worked, leading many to conclude the aide was actually the one communicating, according to a study from Emory University.
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