I had no idea Disability Pride Month existed until a few years ago. Yes, me — a full-time wheelchair user living with cerebral palsy and significant learning disabilities — had no idea. So if you didn’t know either, don’t feel bad. Disability Pride Month was first recognized in 1990, the same year the Americans with… Continue reading Yes, Disability Pride Month is a thing. And I had no idea.
Raise your hand if you’ve heard of the Principles of Universal DesignAccessibility isn’t just a checklist—it’s a mindset. This mindset begins with universal design. First introduced by a pioneering group of architects, product designers, engineers, and researchers at North Carolina State University, the Principles of Universal Design offer a powerful framework to ensure environments and… Continue reading Accessibility and Universal Design: You can’t Have One Without the Other
August thirty-first is always a bit of a weird day for me. I was ten years old when Princess Diana died. Hers is a death that everyone remembers –they remember where they were and how they felt the instant they heard the news. Her loss is universally tragic. For me, it’s personal. In 1991 I… Continue reading A Princess Gone: A Life Forever Changed
I first saw William Fitzsimmons in concert two years ago. When I met him after the show we talked about many things. I mentioned how grateful I was to be there –his concert the previous year took place at an inaccessible venue, so I couldn’t attend. He seemed a little shocked; he asked me what venue… Continue reading William Fitzsimmons: A Musician Who Really Cares
On the evening of June 11th, 2016 I had a quiet night at home and watched two films about slain gay rights activist and San Francisco politician Harvey Milk. When I woke up on June 12th, I read about a mass shooting in Orlando at a gay club, killing fifty people and injuring at least… Continue reading Imagine All The People, Living Life In Peace
Having a disability and being in a wheelchair presents a unique set of daily challenges that are hard enough on their own. Sometimes, able-bodied people add to the frustration. Here’s a short list of things that the able-bodied world does – mostly unintentionally – that makes having a disability harder than it needs to be.… Continue reading Five Things That Make Having a Disability Harder Than it Needs to Be
One of my first blogs was about inspiration porn. That blog hinges around one of my favourite stories to tell; it illustrates the absurd things people say and shows how normal human behaviour (like dancing at a wedding reception) is blown out of proportion. But there is such a thing as being truly inspired by… Continue reading Genuine Inspiration is a Real Thing
As another school year is about to end, I feel the need to comment on education as it affects students with disabilities. I have a lot of mixed feelings about Special Education, both as a student who went through the system and now as a certified teacher. People are often surprised to hear that I… Continue reading Potential Should Never Be Stifled
Sometime about five or six years ago, I started hearing things about a Toronto-based clothing designer who was leaving couture runways behind to design adaptive clothing for people in wheelchairs. I chuckled a little bit, because I’d seen “adaptive clothing” before and there was never anything anyone under the age of seventy would want to… Continue reading Appearance Matters
To all of the millions of people who think Me Before You is a touching love story, those who applaud Will Traynor’s ‘bold’ choice to take his life –and death- into his own hands… you need to have your heads examined. To be sure, ardent fans of this story cannot comprehend the dangerous and disturbing… Continue reading Me Before You: Offensive to Everyone & Everything it’s Meant to Represent
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