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Activism and Advocacy

Educating the world about disability is how we make progress toward change. Take some time to learn about the advocacy issues that matter most to the disability community, the different approaches to activism, and what issues drive activists to continue fighting.

Photo of Tiffany, an Asian woman with dark hair below her shoulders, leaning against a tree. She is wearing a hat and a red top. Her arms are crossed, and she is wearing a splint.

The Cultural Dynamics of Being Asian and Disabled

This year will mark 24 years of my life since becoming disabled. Through my work, my disability origin story is quite public. At the age of 9, I became disabled as a result of a car accident that also took …
A question mark made out of stacks of U.S. dollar bills.

Are Celebrity-Studded “Autism-Fundraisers” Actually Supporting Autistic People?

Back in 2015, about four months prior to my own diagnosis, a video went viral of an autistic singer named Jodi Dipiazza singing the Weird Al Yankovic song “Yoda” alongside the singer himself and a chorus of seven other autistic…
Text against a dark olive green background reads "Mel Baggs Will Never Leave Us"

Mel Baggs Will Never Leave Us

Content note: includes discussion of eugenic ableism, medical abuse, institutionalization, white supremacist murder Memory is important. But your own personal memory is not necessary. The best of human memory is fallible, changing, and fickle. And memory can fail. In so…
An image of a silver spoon against a zebra print background

Please Don’t Define Me as a “Hippie,” “Spoonie,” or “Zebra”

Early last year, I went to an online networking event for writers. The organiser, who I had only spoken to online, started by introducing everyone. There were journalists, fiction writers, scriptwriters, and then she introduced me as a “Zebra.” I…
Several ampoules with the COVID-19 vaccine.

As COVID-19 Vaccinations Continue, Disabled People are Once Again at the Back of the Line

My husband Leor and I have been in lockdown for a year now. Neither of us can risk getting COVID-19. I’m at high risk for being infected. I also could have serious complications or death from it due to underlying…
Hand holding a megaphone. The megaphone is white and red, and the red part fades off into multicolored paint splatters

I’m a Disability Activist Because I Have to Be, But Not Always Because I Want to Be

“Congratulations,” “this is amazing Shona,” “well done!” All of these are well meaning and probably deserved comments that I often receive in response to results from my activism work, but more recently they’ve felt less like positive encouragement and more…
Shards of broken glass scattered on a gray floor.

Picking Up the Pieces of Broken Glass: A Lesson in Speaking Up For Myself

From the corner of my eye I saw our patio umbrella catch the wind and pirouette off the deck. No big deal. It was March 2020, and this had happened before. Later that day, however, my husband J.P. and I…
The full English alphabet in three rows. Each letter is embroidered in a different color against a white background.

I’m Tech-Savvy, But I Choose to Use a Low-Tech Form of Assisted Communication. Here’s Why.

I have been using technology since I was two years old. I have cerebral palsy, and my preschool for disabled kids put us on computers as early as age two. In fact, for my third birthday, when my dad asked…
A series of three gradually fading images of the International Symbol of Access (wheelchair symbol). They are blue on a white background. The first is drawn with a solid line, the second with a dotted line, and the third with an even fainter dotted line.

The Hardest Part of Being Disabled is Being Ignored

Content note: includes discussion of COVID-19 and racism World, I have so much to tell you. The question is, are you ready to listen? Because people with muscular dystrophy tend to die of respiratory failure, I’ve long expected to choke…