Our Stories
Rooted in Rights tells authentic, accessible stories to challenge stigma and redefine narratives around disability, mental health and chronic illness.
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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…
As an Autistic Dad, Autism “Awareness” Month Brings Up Mixed Feelings for Me
Autism “Awareness” Month brings up mixed feelings for me. In one sense, I have excitement because I am a proud autistic dad of an amazing almost 1-year-old and it has been such joy. But I also have frustration because of…
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…
As a British Sudanese Autistic Person, I’ve Learned that Cultures Shape How We Perceive Disability
I am mixed British/Sudanese and autistic. That first fact, along with a childhood spent split between the two countries, meant it was only last year I sought an official autism diagnosis. My multicultural background celebrated traits and interests I now…
On Zoom, No One Can See My Disability. It’s Changed How People Perceive Me.
Zoom turned out to be an equalizer of sorts. Everyone is enclosed in the same, small, pixelated box which only fits their head and maybe some shoulder. On Zoom, no one sees me in full. No one looks down at…
I’m a Disabled Uruguayan Person Who’s Been Accepted to Harvard…but the World’s Education Systems Still Leave People with Disabilities Behind.
Two months ago, I received news that changed my life completely. I learned that I had been accepted to study at Harvard University on a full scholarship. As this news went viral, many seemed to believe my story is…
Safeguarding My Mental Health While Fighting Queerphobia in Zimbabwe
When you live in a country where laws are upheld that marginalize people who look like you, openly existing is a radical act of defiance. You know the risks of openly defying such laws. People vilify your existence, harming or…
Hungry for Change: On Inaccessible, Exclusionary, and Discriminatory Care for Autistic People with Eating Disorders
Trigger warnings: eating disorders, racism/racist health disparities, mental health disparities; ableism, misogyny, gaslighting of Black women and Latinas with eating disorders, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, and oppressive barriers to care The link between autism and anorexia is an international conversation,…