Community Living
We envision a world in which everyone who has a disability is afforded opportunities to live in their own homes, work in non-segregated places of employment, and make their own choices. This is true community living, and this is the focus of these pieces.
Home Health Aides Help Me Live My Life. We Need to Pay Them Better.
When I decided to begin living on my own after my mother’s stroke, I knew I would receive an increase in the number of weekly attendant hours assigned to me. Since I required assistance with several activities of daily living,…
Here’s How You Can Show Solidarity to Disabled Classmates
Back-to-school season can be a stressful time for members of the disability community, especially those who are entering new schools and new phases of their educations. Inaccessibility is a constant problem on campuses, and that doesn’t just include physical access…
Sex Education is for Everyone. Even Disabled Kids.
We live in a society that desexualizes disabled bodies. This allows the topics of sex and sexuality to be left out of the educations of many young disabled people. As disabled students head back into the classroom this year, this…
We Need to Think About the Future Beyond “Miracle Drugs”
On December 23, 2016, the FDA approved a drug treatment for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Two days before Christmas. I wished the timing was different, a month earlier or later would have been better. So close to Christmas, the approval…
Navigating the Twists and Turns of Healthcare as a Trans Disabled Person
Statistics on the transgender community are hard to come by — we can’t even agree on how many people in the United States are trans. We do know, however, that trans people experience significant health care disparities, particularly in…
Picture This: a Disability Community That’s Truly Inclusive of All
Close your eyes and picture a disabled person. At work, one of my jobs is finding images to pair with our weekly newsletter articles. Since we are a non-profit that advocates for people with disabilities, I often find myself combing…
Shock Therapy is Still Legal. It’s Time to #StopTheShock.
The Judge Rotenberg Center, an educational and residential facility in Canton, Massachusetts, says it has a “near zero rejection policy,” accepting autistic people and those with developmental disabilities and mental health conditions whose families say they have nowhere…
It’s Time for LGBQTIA+ Communities to Celebrate Disabled People
LGBQTIA+ spaces are supposed to be environments where we can be our true, authentic selves without stress. Where we can revel in being surrounded by our people, feeling safe and at home; places of queer joy, shared rage and frustration,…