Almost all of us have had a parent or guardian utter the words, “Just wait until you get older; you will understand.” As a teenager with Cerebral Palsy in a single parent household, I thought I would never understand why my mother made me do things that, as she would say, “will increase your independence … Continue reading Finding Your Own Way: Dignity of Risk
Significantly Able to Work: Employment for the Significantly Disabled
As an individual with a significant physical disability—requiring the use of a ventilator, power wheelchair, and 24-hour care—it was difficult to identify a career where I could maintain my physical health while being employed full time. In relatively recent history, individuals with more significant physical disabilities are surviving and thriving. Although many of us will … Continue reading Significantly Able to Work: Employment for the Significantly Disabled
Managing Independence
Growing up with a disability meant a different kind of parent-child relationship than a lot of my friends. My parents were my parents, but until I left for college, they were also my sole caregivers. In some ways, it was great – there’s always someone around when you need help, and I never felt awkward … Continue reading Managing Independence
Love Because, Never Despite, Disability
There are few stories told in TV shows and movies about people like me in romantic relationships, and those stories that are told rarely paint being with someone like me as desirable. Me Before You is perhaps the most extreme depiction of this type, painting disability as a fate worse than death for a relationship. … Continue reading Love Because, Never Despite, Disability
Disability and Intersectionality: Not the “Default Disabled Person”
by Cori Frazer When I was initially asked to write about intersectionality in the context of disability, I was excited. Intersectional disability justice is incredibly important to me. But the more I thought about it, I wondered where I could add to the fantastic work of the queer black and brown disabled organizers who developed … Continue reading Disability and Intersectionality: Not the “Default Disabled Person”
Contrasting Crowns: Redefining Beauty and Disability
When I was little, I did not know of anyone who was like me to which I could aspire. I do not want that to be the case for others; I desire to be that role model for girls growing up today. I have grown up with multiple disabilities. Disability is a part of who … Continue reading Contrasting Crowns: Redefining Beauty and Disability
Medical Science vs. Identity
— A guest blog by Anomie Fatale — The only thing scarier than having a medical condition is having one that most doctors don’t know anything about. We try to assure ourselves that modern medicine has advanced to where all conditions are known and treatments have been safely tested. We don’t want to think about how … Continue reading Medical Science vs. Identity
