Our Stories

Rooted in Rights tells authentic, accessible stories to challenge stigma and redefine narratives around disability, mental health and chronic illness.

How I Got Over My Fears and Started Using a Cane

The same nightmare kept replaying in my mind, in slow motion. At the height of morning rush hour, I am scurrying to my office. Head down, I’m making a mental checklist of the day’s priorities. The first intersection quickly approaches…

A red telephone receiver with a long red wire

Four Ways to Improve Crisis Intervention Services for the Disability Community

Content note: includes discussion of mental health crises and police brutality In 2012, my own fear of the police due to previous trauma impacted my ability to call the crisis response team for a friend who was having a mental…

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 menstrual pad, two tampons, and a menstrual cup against a bright blue background.

Is There Space for Disabled People in the Period Positive Movement?

Content note: menstruation As a disabled lesbian cisgender woman, taking birth control to prevent menstruation has made my life so much easier. When I first got my period as a teenager, my health was fairly stable and managing my period…

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…

A white wall is completely covered in 8” x 10” abstract charcoal drawings. Some of the imagery includes a microscopic view of COVID-19, a pile of hoarded toilet paper, a doctor, a person using forearm crutches, two people hugging, along with various handwritten notes.

The Dearest Friends Project: A Global Art Collaboration Centering Disability During COVID-19

The following post is part of our series on perspectives from disabled and chronically ill people regarding COVID-19. My Dearest Friends, We mustn’t let this be forgotten- the time the world gained Perspective on a small portion of our struggles.…

An illustration of a person wearing a headset and typing on a laptop. The person is transparent and has blue connecting lines and dots inside them, indicating being online.

Navigating Virtual Employment Services During the Pandemic

Navigating the dynamics of difference within the world of employment as a person with multiple disabilities has been a struggle since the moment I prepared to enter it at the age of 16 in 2001. I didn’t become aware of…

Homemade protective masks in floral patterns and pieces of cloth on a gray background.

What Do You Do When You Can’t Wear A Mask?

The following post is part of our series on perspectives from disabled and chronically ill people regarding COVID-19. This post is not intended as medical advice. While much of the rest of the world is making its way back outside,…

Lyla stands with her cane in front of a giraffe in the giraffe barn

Giraffes Say, “Habitats for All!”

Lyla introduces her friend Dave the Giraffe from Woodland Park Zoo, and shares how people and animals of all abilities and disabilities need different types of habitats.