Apr 26, 2018 | communicating respect, Disabilitiy, disability etiquette, disability humor, Disabled Sports, empowering language, how to help, inclusion |
As most people know, I was born with cerebral palsy, which means that I have never known any different than living my life accompanied by disability. There were many surgeries when I was young. I was in plaster body casts for months at a time. Not fun during...
Apr 16, 2018 | caregivers, communication, Disabilitiy, Dogs, service dogs |
I first heard of the concept from my mom, who was raised in Ireland as a young girl. She told me that when people there were hiring a new housekeeper to clean their home, one of the things they would do was put a broom in the doorway. It was kind of a test. If a...
Mar 14, 2018 | Ableism, cerebral palsy, Christopher Reeve, communication, Disabilitiy, disability etiquette, empowering language |
I first heard about person first language when I was in graduate school. The concept was familiar to me long before that. The idea that it was much more respectful to refer to “the woman who was blind” rather than “the blind woman” just...
Mar 8, 2018 | Attitudes, compassion, Disabilitiy, inclusion, negative perceptions, overcoming challenges |
When I was about three years old, my family moved into a new house. One summer day a few months after we settled in, my brother and sister were playing at the end of the driveway. I wanted to see what they were doing, and so with shorts on and no socks or shoes, I...
Mar 1, 2018 | Ableism, boundaries, caregivers, Disabilitiy |
The weird thing was it wasn’t throughout my whole house. On a Saturday morning a few months ago, I noticed something strange soon after I woke up. There was no electricity in my bedroom or my office, but the rest of the house was fine. At first, I thought it...
Feb 19, 2018 | America, cerebral palsy, Disabilitiy, Mental Illness, negative perceptions |
I have made a point not to write much about gun violence on this blog so far. There has been plenty of opportunities. After Sandy Hook. After Las Vegas. After three people died of gun violence in the early hours of the morning in downtown Lawrence a few months ago,...
