Age-based gatekeeping ruins lives and is as bad as any other kind. Leah is in a social and academic limbo because she's physically a teenager but mentally/emotionally a smaller child, and I don't qualify for a lot of needed help because people in my age range are expected to be financially stable. If I were young or old we'd have access to so many programs. As it is I have a leg full of screws and a body full of old injuries and I rarely even get a seat on the bus. I'm so tired.
I would homeschool my kid if it weren't for the fact that my roommate would be furious if she were here 24/7. If I had a job that provided insurance it would be illegal for them not to cover trans care, and if I were a minor it would be illegal for Medicaid to not provide my trans care, but because I am both poor and old I'm apparently worthless and expected to stay out of sight. There don't seem to be a lot of specific rules for people between 24 and 65 in my state.
Because she has more violent tendencies than autistic deficits, my daughter is denied services that other kids like her are able to get, and so she has basically a 4th grade education and every time she gets screamy in public I have to worry about her ending up in juvy jail.
I love my daughter so much but if I didn't have her I could go work day labor or something and pay for my own surgery. I feel like she's being punished for behaviors and handicaps she can't control and I'm being punished for taking care of her.
We all mature and hit milestones and accomplish things at different rates, and gating things by age (rather than ability/need/merit/whatever) is arbitrary and cruel.
Ah I didn't realize I was going to spew all that. Thanks for the space to rant.
