Rooted in Rights Blog

We’re here to challenge the status quo, pushing readers and writers alike to think beyond the tired tropes of disability. The Rooted in Rights Blog publishes pieces that share perspectives on disability, amplify key issues and ideas, and make it known loud and clear that disability rights are human rights.

Close up of a clear, plastic pill organizer with pills of various colors inside.

Chronically Ignored: How Western Medical Practices Harm Chronically Ill People

At 7:47 pm, I had so many wires attached to me. Though I craved my typical end of the day shower, I had to find another way to self-soothe. I did some yoga, avoiding the Superman and cobra poses; they …

A comfortable-looking black office chair pulled up to a white desk with a black phone, black desktop keyboard, and a pair of glasses on it. A note attached to the chair has black text on white background that reads "out of office."

Navigating The Workforce as a Chronically Ill Person

CONTENT NOTE: brief mention of medicalized diet culture, brief mention of menstruation, ableist workplace discrimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I was diagnosed with hypertensive heart disease the year …

Close up of a ripe, juicy mango that is peeled and sliced to the seed but still attached.

Slippery Mango, Tart Tangerine: Compassion for Gastrointestinal Disabilities

CONTENT NOTE: brief mention of unintentional weight loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . You are at a holiday party and the crowd is tossing back eggnog…

An assortment of medical instruments and personal effects, including pill bottles, needles, and socks, surround an empty white stool on a white background.

What’s In A Pair of Socks?

CONTENT NOTE: blood work, medical trauma, emetophobia, medical ableism I sat on the hard metal gurney, watching my legs shake underneath the torn forest green scrubs. I tried to count my breaths, my ears throbbing from the cacophony of emergency …

Rooted in Rights 2023 and Beyond

Hello Rooted in Rights followers, contributors, and supporters! This is Allexa, the Director of Rooted in Rights (RiR), reaching out to you all to let you know of some changes to expect from RiR and some exciting things happening now!…

A dark-haired person stands at or near the top of a mountain range. Facing with their back to the camera, they're wearing a tan backpack as they hold up a very large map toward the sky to examine the map. They're surrounded by greenery and a cloudy sky.

A Newbie’s Guide to Traveling While Autistic

Like many late-diagnosed adults, finding out that I’m autistic was a relief. Suddenly, somehow, everything in my life made sense. Overnight, I had a name for that out-of-place feeling I’d had since I was a child. Finally, I belonged somewhere.…

Against a bright yellow background, a small pile of earbud headphones, in different colors, is tangled up together.

Tangled: Exploring the Overlapping Symptoms of ADHD and Trauma

CONTENT NOTE: discussion of domestic/child abuse . . . . . . . . . Hypervigilance, trouble focusing, dissociating, trouble maintaining relationships. These are only some of the common symptoms that overlap between ADHD and the effects of trauma. …

Close up of three hands. An elder's hand lays between the hands of a younger person's two hands. All three fair-skinned hands rest on the younger adult's lap.

A Life Worth Living: An Elegy For My Mother

CONTENT NOTE: discussion of systemic ableism, death, end-of-life care, and euthanasia My mother and I were always a team. When my Girl Scout troop had a roller skating party, my mom strapped skates to my feet, took hold of …

The “Imperative of Efficiency” and The Importance of Interdependence

“The experience of illness is one of dependency, and the social mores of our day regard dependency as weakness.” — New York Times review of Megan O’Rourke’s The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness The Starbucks iced green tea and …