A sort of silhouetted, blurry, hands and body of a horror film-like human figure. They're behind matte glass. The photo is black and white.

Very Unfair: The Nightmare of Institutionalization

Like so much in this dystopia, care is about money. And disability is most certainly expensive. The durable medical equipment, medication, personal care, transportation, home modifications—the shopping list goes on. And everything tagged “accessible” is marked way up. Until I
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.
Bright red text that says #StopTheShock.

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…
A dark navy blue watercolor painting of a person lying on the floor in the fetal position. Small yellow dots surround the person, giving the picture a space-like quality.

We Need to Break Through the Silence on Abuses of Institutionalized Children

Content note: this post discusses psychiatric hospitalization and sexual abuse. When I was thirteen years old, I was sexually abused by a staff member in a psychiatric hospital. The first time she abused me, she took me into the examination…
A pile of clothes - underwear, jeans, and a belt - on the floor.

Is Strip-Searching a Form of Sexual Abuse?

This blog post is part of a series in partnership with the Disability Visibility Project® to bring attention to the omission of disability from larger conversations taking place within the #MeToo Movement. Trigger warning: this post discusses institutionalization and sexual…
A silhouette of a person holding his fingers to his lips to shush a silhouette of a person looking up at them.

We Cannot Ignore the Connection Between Disability and Intimate Partner Abuse

This blog post is part of a series in partnership with the Disability Visibility Project® to bring attention to the omission of disability from larger conversations taking place within the #MeToo Movement. Trigger warning: this post discusses abuse, violence, and…
A single glass of whiskey sitting on a wood table.

Why We Need More Research on How Substance Abuse Impacts the Autistic Community

I will always remember the first few times I tried an alcoholic beverage. I was around the age of eighteen, and at first found the feeling very uncomfortable. Even a slight buzz—just a partial alcoholic beverage—changes my perception and how