The Freedom to Belong
CW: Institutional Bias The Department of Justice’s decision to stop enforcing its long-standing ADA guidance, at least while it re-examines those documents, might sound dry and technical, but it’s already causing worry among disabled people. The ADA hasn’t changed. The Olmstead decision is still in place. Yet, guidance has always bridged the gap between what…
An Empty Plate, an Unequal Burden
CW: Poverty & Food Food insecurity is a matter of life and death. For millions of disabled Americans, it’s a reality of daily life, especially for those living with serious mental illness. There are too many people choosing between food, healthcare, and housing. Stories like this are all around us. Somewhere there is a man…
Every Curb Cut, Every Door, Every Day: What Disabled Students Carry
CW: Discrimination Colleges and universities often refer to themselves as places where opportunities are created. Nonetheless, disabled students and employees still encounter barriers on campus.According to Matthew Mattingly, retired multimedia director at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, these issues not only make things more difficult but also indicate how the whole system is failing by…
Growing Up Feeling Like “Too Much”
While talking to my uncle yesterday morning, I was trying to find the right words to describe why living in my own apartment is so important to me. When you have a disability you often already feel limited in many ways and like you are a burden. What I didn’t say to him was how…
Curing What, Exactly?
Whenever I see people insist that a disabled person just needs to be “cured,” I feel a pang of frustration. It happened again recently on social media when someone commented on a mother’s Instagram post that independence “begins with getting him cured.” Amanda Griffith‑Atkins responded with a question: “And how does one cure a genetic…
The Lives We Overlook
CW: Ableism & Eugenics When Fatima Muhammad is out with her son Alameen, who has Down syndrome, she has to endure stares, whispers, and rude comments. She says Alameen’s biggest challenge is not his Down syndrome − it is the way society interacts with him. Disability is not viewed with compassion and acceptance, and Fatima…
What It Takes to Fly
Flying is meant to be a normal aspect of life in the modern world. Millions of people take flights every single day. For me and many others who have a disability, flying is not an easy experience. It is something that causes a great amount of stress and anxiety. My last flight was in 2016.…
Accessibility Meets Reality
CW: Discrimination The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), is a significant civil rights law passed in 1990, helps ensure equal access to public businesses for disabled people. Most business owners are supportive when it comes to accessibility. Nevertheless, an increasing number of small business owners are expressing concerns that the increase in ADA lawsuits presents…
Growing Older Even When the Odds Say You Won’t
CW: Death Getting older was never something that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities could take for granted. Instead, their lives were often cut short by the fact that the world around them didn’t really work for them, either because it didn’t understand them, or because it simply didn’t provide the most basic kinds of…
Why Medicaid Is Personal
People tend to associate Medicaid with doctor visits, prescriptions, and hospitalizations. Those services are certainly important, but for millions of disabled Americans, Medicaid represents something much greater: the ability to live independently. I recently read the story of Chicago attorney Rebecca Anger, who has built a successful career, happy marriage, and a life she loves.…
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