For those who don’t know, I’m getting ready to go to WisCon 37 later this month. WisCon is a great convention not just because most of my friends are there but because the programming is always fascinating, as are the talks around the dinner table/in the hallway/ambling around in Madison. As I did last year, …
Category Archives: disability
Disability: Stop Asking ‘Why,’ Start Asking ‘How Can I Help?’
Every year, hundreds of studies involving disabilities take place in the US, like wide-sweeping lookbacks into cases of autism and research into multiple sclerosis. The majority of these studies, though, focus on viewing disability from a medical perspective, which is not surprising, since they are run by doctors and they occur in a nation which …
Blogging Against Disablism Day 2013: Accessible Labour Rights
Blogging Against Disablism Day always represents a fantastic opportunity to express solidarity across two important causes: disability rights and labour rights. The two have more in common than many people seem to think, and this marks a perfect opportunity to talk about their intersections. The labour rights movement includes disabled people, and the disability rights …
Anxiety Disorders Are Real, and They Are Serious
Content note: This post graphically discusses panic attacks. Mental health conditions in general seem to be something that many people have difficulty understanding. For people who don’t experience mental illness, wrapping your head around something that is not obviously physical is challenging, even when presented with evidence that mental health conditions can have associated physiological …
Yes, Disabled People Play Sports, and Yes, We Have a Right to Equal Access
Huge news earlier this year as the Department of Education finally ruled that disabled students have an equal right to access sports facilities and be involved in athletics. Specifically, schools are “required to provide a qualified student with a disability an opportunity to benefit from the school district’s program[s] equal to that of students without …
Accessibility Shouldn’t Be An Afterthought
All too often, it seems a project is released without any thoughts to accessibility, whether it’s a new website, a utility students are being asked to use in the classroom, plans for a building, or some similar public tool or development. It’s clear from the plans and the presentation that no one stopped to think …
Why Are Young Adults Dying In Nursing Homes?
They cross my feed every now and then, and every time, I feel a sharp twinge. The stories all read more or less the same; a young person, someone sometimes very close to my age, died in a nursing home far from home. Often the person’s parents weren’t even there, sometimes the person died alone …
Inspirational Boy Doesn’t Let His Lack of Impairment Stop Him
I was really struck by a story I heard on the radio the other day about a nondisabled boy who dreams of being a dancer. I think it’s really touching that he’s not letting his lack of impairment stop him from pursuing something he’s always wanted to do, and that his parents and family are …
Disability Tragedy Porn, Defined
It occurred to me the other day that I frequently reference the concept of disability tragedy porn (which I often shorten to just tragedy porn or disability porn), but I haven’t actually taken the time to sit down and define it, to discuss what, precisely, it is, and why it’s a problem. I sort of …
Resources on Mental Health and Violence
I’m asked for resources on mental health and violence distressingly frequently, so I’ve decided to compile a starting point of information here for people to use; this is by no means a complete list, and I’ll try to remember to update it over time. This list also includes links to my own work, since people …
