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A More Intelligent Life Form of Human - Layons

I required my tea cooked for me and assisted since I had Cerebral Palsy, so I asked Thomas my care robot to come from the other room. We could relate well, partly because we layons have chips in our brains which let us change the TV channel telepathically, and partly because he’s been programmed by the best company, moreover, by my friend who I’d studied AI with. He gave him my personality traits and mannerisms, so his everyday fashion even cheered me up sometimes. I have taken to him like a car takes to petrol. 

A service required
Care quality demanded
All programmable

He hesitates sometimes to see if I want a conversation, but that’s only when I’m seeing a psychologist for my weight. He’ll do anything for me, and never asks me why I want something which allows me my own relationships with professionals like telephone engineers, doctors and sports advisers. I asked my friend to include in his memory information about these things, only for the odd occasion when I may feel disabled and so would want him to tell me such things as he is carer, but I never use him for information normally because I wish to be fully functional and fully included in my society. I want to be happy in my home and that means local relationships rather than being domestically, in an intellectual way, dependent on one person or carer, or in this case, upon my own care robot. My bones and muscles pertain to my doctor, and my exercise routine pertains to my personal trainer and sports advisors.

In it, not outside
Humanity resides here
I command my carer

I’m disabled, but I still own my body. In my school history class I learnt that care for the disabled was very much a negotiation in the past between the disabled person and their carers because the emergency carers, who came when the person’s carers cancelled or were sick, had voice in the disabled person’s care every day. Latterly, they were not supposed to but had it very informally by social liaisons between them and the carers. I extremely appreciate Thomas, my care robot, and I can’t say that enough. I need a polity service for care and not a negotiation with a personality fight because it’s not my fault that I’m physically disabled, and neither is it a bad thing that I can organise someone else to meet those needs. That I can be didactic is my pride because it is necessarily my prerogative, and no apology should be made for my vocality in my care. 

In the rough with care 
They disrespect my orders
Forgiving my shouts
15/3/

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Dominique Webb Date: 10/26/2016 10:06:00 AM ...a future in the department, without boasting too much, because I wanted to change the law so that you had to obey instructions as a carer cheerfully by legislating a training manual for carers. Anyway, it's nice to know you Darren. Login to Reply Darren White Date: 10/26/2016 10:37:00 AM Nice to know you too :) And yes. I've read what you'very been writing, I agree!

Dominique Webb Date: 10/26/2016 10:05:00 AM ...My food, my house, my life, so my times. But this carer said to me “You certainly won’t be telling me how long to put it on for!” I felt small at her statement and I find this dominating spirit wrong, disgusting and sad, because disabled people always should be the boss in their personal care life, not the carer. No domineering carers here, please! I wish I’d stuck in more at Social Policy at Uni because my tutor hinted to me quite early on in the course that I may have... Login to Reply

Dominique Webb Date: 10/26/2016 10:04:00 AM ...so many carers and people. I've had a care robot in my mind from when I was a child, and wish more people understood this analogy. Just the other week I bought a new microwave and I found that my carer objects to me telling her how long I wish my food cooked for because she wanted to feel important by setting the timer herself. My old microwave didn’t have a digital timer, but this one does which lets me, obviously and in my mind, specify to my carers the cooking times... Login to Reply

Dominique Webb Date: 10/26/2016 10:03:00 AM ...I fight my care manager often when I criminalise my carers for talking back to me for assertiveness and dictation whilst she fights back at me by attempting to criminalise and dehumanise me. Assertiveness towards carers, when your dependent on them, is healthy for us and a good thing which should not be noted but which nowadays should be assumed and expected. I don't glee in telling my carers what to do, it just feels right, so I don't see why my didactic style is objected to so often by... Login to Reply

Darren White Date: 10/26/2016 8:42:00 AM "That I can be didactic is my pride because it is necessarily my prerogative, and no apology should be made for my vocality in my care. " That! Yes! Wonderful and powerful haibun indeed. I am paraplegic and also have some more physical stuff that makes it hard to be vocal, but vocal I am :) Login to Reply Dominique Webb Date: 10/26/2016 9:58:00 AM We need to take pride in being vocal and fight for all carers, particularly care agency carers, to be trained more and educated far more in protocol and expectation. When you know what you want and can say it you have an absolute entitlement to make any request without backlash or rebuff because a carer's job is describable just like any other job. Some people call it too simple to specify, others say it's too multi-faceted because there's so many different disabilities, but I believe the role and job are specifiable more easily than you think. I don't see why assertiveness should be the sole problem of disability groups and centres because social workers should also understand that a disabled person with didactic care requests is healthy and happy since we are in no way criminals. Dominique Webb Date: 10/26/2016 9:48:00 AM We need to take pride in being vocal and fight for all carers, particularly care agency carers, to be trained more and educated far more in protocol and expectation. When you know what you want and can say it you have an absolute entitlement to make any request without backlash or rebuff because a carer's job is describable just like any other job. Some people call it too simple to specify, others say it's too multi-faceted because there's so many different disabilities, but I believe the role and job are specifiable more easily than you think. I don't see why assertiveness should be the sole problem of disability groups and centres because social workers should also understand that a disabled person with didactic care requests is healthy and happy since we are in no way criminals. I fight my care manager often when I criminalise my carers for talking back to me for assertiveness and dictation whilst she fights back at me by attempting...

Poet Destroyer A Date: 3/16/2016 7:01:00 AM Great style and format. Rhoda, enjoyed your poem. Linda Login to Reply Dominique Webb Date: 3/16/2016 7:09:00 AM I have had a care robot in my mind for as long as I can remember and my imagination was always validated by Horizon, a science TV inquiry program. I used to watch it behind my parents backs from when I was really young, sometimes with James, sometimes without, because he wanted to become a born again Christian like our parents and so wished to keep within their spheres.