- Man you are built!
That's what I think, when I first see you.
Is it that you have a very large organ on your body?
- My brain.
Yes, I appreciate you for noticing.
(uplifting classical music)
I am Amin Lakhani.
I am a dating coach.
- [Interviewer] Do you have a disability?
- (laughs)
I mean I was like,
did I hide it?
No.
- [Interviewer] Do you have any guess of what
you're gonna be guessing about these people today?
- Guessing what kind of disability they have?
- [Interviewer] Yep.
- Okay.
- [Interviewer] Alright, let's bring out our first person.
- Alright.
Hi.
- Hi.
So I'm here to guess your disability.
- Yep.
- I'm here to profile you.
Label you.
- Mmm-hmm. (laughs)
- You.
Can I talk openly?
- Yeah, of course.
- Okay.
Obviously, you've got a cane.
- Yep.
- That's the first thing I notice.
First thought that comes to mind is something like Polio.
But I heard that was like, eradicated.
So I'm not gonna go with that guess.
When did you find out you have a disability?
- Well, it was a birth defect.
- Ah, when you said birth defect,
something came like,
Spina Bifida or Cerebral Palsy.
I'm gonna go with Spina Bifida because
I know a lot of people with Cerebral Palsy
and I wanna say Spina Bifida.
Did I get you right or wrong?
- Wrong.
- Ugh.
- Cerebral Palsy.
(laughs)
- Ugh, I knew it.
- Door number two!
- I was close.
If there was any disability I've been jealous of,
it's Cerebral Palsy.
- (laughs)
- Because they're like,
they're doing awesome stuff!
Like, I know that guy who sings and does public speaking
and he has Cerebral Palsy.
And I'm like, man
I wish there were people like that in my community.
- I don't know.
I've never had anybody say that they're like,
jealous of my disability unless they're like,
an able-bodied person that's like,
"yeah, I just don't want to have to go to work everyday."
I'm like, that's not really what this is.
- Nice to meet you.
- Thank you.
- Hi!
- Hi.
- Nice to meet you.
My first impression was that you don't have a disability.
- I think most people maybe would
think that as a compliment,
but for me it just makes my challenges
even that much harder.
My problem is that no one thinks I have one,
so they don't understand why I can't do certain things.
- So, what can't you do?
- (sighs)
- Is that a frustrating question?
- It is.
Because it's a long list.
- Okay.
- And it didn't used to be.
I used to do archery and--
- Have you done archery since?
- No.
I can't do that right now.
- You don't think you could?
- Right now, I have difficulty
carrying my groceries into the house.
- Hmm.
- And then standing.
Well, you can do archery
obviously, sitting down.
- Yeah, I do archery occasionally.
- I've never done it before.
That might be something to look into.
But standing for long periods of time is really difficult.
- Why do you feel you want to or need to people?
- Because I feel really pressured by the fact
that they think I can't do things because I'm lazy.
Or that I'm a hypochondriac.
That I'm making things up.
- It's Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
- What makes you say that?
- I guess I'm like,
really bad at knowing people's disabilities.
- (laughs)
I have Endometriosis.
- Well how am I supposed to guess that?
- (laughs)
- That words is like,
I don't even know that word.
- Have you heard of Endometriosis?
- No!
I have not heard of it.
- Oh, big surprise.
So, Endometriosis affects one in 10 women.
So the cells that shed during your menstrual cycle,
those same cells start growing other places in the body.
And attaching themselves to your internal organs.
- You're your having a period, like,
in your entire body?
- Yes!
And it creates adhesions and it bleeds,
but there's nowhere for the blood to go,
so it creates cysts.
And it can actually create scar tissue
which can tie different organs together
that are supposed to move independently of each other.
So it's really painful.
- Yeah.
Thank you for sharing.
- My pleasure.
- Nice to meet you.
Hi.
My name's Amin.
- Janelle.
- Janelle, nice to meet you.
- You too.
- Does it affect you day to day?
- Yes.
- Is it noticeable?
- What you hear is related to my disability, yes.
- I don't know what to call it.
Obviously, I can see the symptoms manifest themselves.
- And I'm holding them back.
- Okay, you are?
- Which is kind of painful.
And when I leave here, it's gonna be explosive.
- Does it cause you to--
- (sniffles)
- I'm sorry if this is offensive.
- It's okay, no.
- This is the first,
you're the first person who I've felt like I might offend.
- Oh.
- But is it gonna cause you to sneeze?
- No.
- To me, if I had to guess,
I would say some sort of sinus condition.
So, that's gonna be my final answer.
- Okay.
You were wrong!
- Obviously.
- I have Tourette Syndrome.
- Tourette's?
Okay.
- What do you think of,
when you think of Tourette's?
- I think of cursing.
- Exactly.
- Is that a symptom you have?
- So, I don't have that.
Most people with Tourette's do not have that.
- [Amin] Okay.
- It has been so misrepresented
that when I say, "oh, I have Tourette Syndrome"
in a job interview,
people automatically think,
oh my God, she's gonna cuss.
Or she's gonna yell our inappropriate things.
- So what are your symptoms?
- What you see.
But they can be way more severe.
It's almost like
fighting against your own body sometimes.
It can get so bad that it's hard to chew.
It's hard to breathe.
It's hard to swallow.
It's hard to sleep.
Just this past week, I didn't sleep for 40 hours.
Because I couldn't stop the tics.
- Have you ever used it to make people get away from you?
- Oh yeah.
If I want the middle row in the movie theater,
I'm gonna get the middle row in the theater.
- What do you do?
- I just let 'em rip.
- So there are advantages.
- Exactly.
- Do you ever feel like you wish you could go unnoticed?
- Yes.
All the time.
- Well, thanks for sharing and answering my questions.
- No problem.
- Nice to meet you.
- You too.
- Hey.
- Hi.
So you've got a disability too?
- Yes.
- Yeah.
- I actually have a few.
- So you have multiple?
- Yeah.
- Does it make it hard for you to stand?
- Yes.
- Are you able to exercise?
- No.
Not anymore.
- Is it a psychological disability?
- No.
- Okay, nothing like that.
I'm so puzzled.
Like, Chronic Fatigue seems like the answer, but--
- [Interviewer] Is that your final?
- Sure.
So was I right?
- You were right for one of them, actually.
- Oh really?
- High five!
- Yay!
- I think that's the first one.
- Yeah.
Other ones are Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome,
most people call it POTS.
- POTS.
Oh yeah, I have heard of POTS.
- (laughs)
And my last one is Narcolepsy.
- Okay.
People have told me they think I'm narcoleptic.
Because I've fallen asleep mid-conversation,
but I just get bored of the conversation.
- (laughs)
So you know,
having CFS and Narcolepsy,
people are always like,
"oh, I'm tired too."
But it's like,
for me even getting out of bed,
I can't do that sometimes.
That's how bad me without my Narcolepsy medication is.
And that's how bad my fatigue can get.
- Yeah.
Well, thanks for sharing.
That's fascinating.
- You got one correct.
- Yeah, I did.
- Thank you.
- One out of what, like seven?
- (laughs)
- How you doing?
- Man, you are built!
That's what I think, when I first see you.
- That's my disability.
- That's your disability.
(laughs)
Were you born with it?
- No.
- Is it physical?
- No.
- Is it psychological?
- Yes.
- Is this because of some trauma?
- Yes.
- It's PTSD!
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- It stemmed from a deployment back in 2006.
- In the armed forces?
- In the Air Force.
What's been your lowest point?
- My lowest point would be trying to explain
to my son why I was in a psych ward for attempting suicide.
- Ah man.
Can I ask how you tried?
- I tried shooting myself and my weapon misfired.
The hammer dropped, the bullet didn't.
1200 on a Kimber.
Never misfired before.
- Holy shit.
- I'm not a religious person,
but damn.
The click was more like a light switch going off.
- Thank you for sharing and for serving our country.
- Absolutely.
Thanks for your support.
- Hi.
- Hi!
So, you have a disability too?
- Yeah.
Okay.
Do you have to take any regular medication for it?
- Yes, I do.
- So what happens if you don't?
- I guess the easiest way to put it
is I might not be here.
- Sounds like you could die.
- Yeah.
It would be because the medication
I need is to live, technically.
It's more of I will kill myself.
- Okay.
So I'm gonna guess depression.
Did I guess correctly?
- Kind of.
- Ooh.
- Kind of, yeah.
I have B.P.D.
It's Borderline Personality Disorder.
- How does that get diagnosed?
- I go to therapy a lot.
- Okay.
Do you think it'll go away,
or do you think it's just
something that'll be part of your life?
- I just kind of accepted it as
a part of my personality at this point.
- Nice to meet you, Lynn.
- Nice to meet you.
- Take care.
- Thanks.
- So, you're in a wheelchair.
Obviously.
So, how long have you been in a wheelchair?
- I started using a chair from about the age of five.
- Okay.
Can I catch it if I touch you?
- No.
- I'm just teasing.
I want to say Muscular Dystrophy.
That's the only thing that comes to mind.
- Wrong!
- Damn it.
- I was born with Spina Bifida.
- Gah!
Ugh.
- (laughs)
- Do you know other people it?
- Yeah.
- Are you like, best buds with those people?
- In general, I have always really kind of
gravitated away from people with disabilities.
- Why?
- Two people in chairs,
there's a lot of people say,
"oh my god, how cute!"
- I feel like,
oh they're gonna see me more that way,
if I'm around people like that, so.
- Exactly.
- In 2014, I did this pageant called
Miss Wheelchair Washington and I
was crowned Miss Wheelchair Washington.
- You were crowned Miss Wheelchair Washington?
Wow!
So I'm in the presence of royalty?
- (laughs)
Right.
- Do they have a Mr. Wheelchair Washington?
- No, but we have actually discussed having men and women.
I thought that was pretty awesome.
- What you do think my chances are?
- Pretty good.
- Yeah, pretty good?
Alright, cool.
Do you think I'm cute?
- (laughs)
I think you're attractive.
- Okay.
I'll take that.
(laughs)
Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- [Interviewer] How was this experience for you?
- It was surprising.
And it was enlightening.
I could see similarities in myself
with people of varying conditions.
Similar emotions, thoughts that have come up.
I think it brings up my own insecurities.
Like, I have a disability,
but I haven't been super involved
in the disability community.
Honestly, I think because I've
struggled to accept my own disability.
Because I look at them and I have my
preconceived notions and judgements about them
and I worry that people will look at me as I look at them.
But this was really great for helping me realize that
and continue to work on that.
So thank you guys.
Thank you guys.
(applause)