The “wedding season” of my life is in full bloom. Everywhere I turn, my friends are getting engaged and married. I myself am nowhere close, but that’s another story. For the first time, I get to be more than a guest. One of my best friends got engaged in May of 2015 and asked me… Continue reading No Good Ever Comes From Misrepresentation
I don’t know when exactly it started happening, but people have been fixated on healing or curing me since I was a very young child. In a previous piece about Eddie Redmayne, I referenced a blog that accused Hollywood of perpetuating the idea that disability was something to be conquered rather than lived with. While… Continue reading I’m Not Broken
This is the tale of living life within the confines of Ontario Disability Support Pension (ODSP)… the social assistance that giveth and taketh away. I want to be clear that I am not pointing fingers; ODSP is a flawed system, doing the best it can –a system that is underfunded and understaffed. As flawed as… Continue reading The Roller Coaster That Is Ontario Disability Support Pension
Before Eddie Redmayne played Stephen Hawking, there was only one film portraying disability that garnered my utmost respect. James McAvoy has starred in such films as “The Last King of Scotland” and “Atonement” alongside the likes of Forest Whitaker, Cate Blanchett and Kiera Knightly. Currently, he plays a young Charles Xavier in the film reboot… Continue reading Rory O’Shea Was Here
I had several topics in mind for this blog. When I couldn’t decide, I shared my list with a friend and asked him to pick one. Instantly he said “Inspiration porn.” I have mentioned the term “inspiration porn” to several people. Most of my friends understand what this means –it is an odd but inevitable… Continue reading Disability as Inspiration Porn
Honestly, I’ve never actually thought about a list of things I would specifically do if I wasn’t in a wheelchair. Having a disability is the only reality I have ever known, and I am fortunate to have grown up surrounded by family and friends who’ve encouraged and allowed me the opportunity to experience great adventures.… Continue reading Disability Free To-Do List!
When Eddie Redmayne won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, I cheered out loud. His acceptance speech brought tears to my eyes. Within days I saw a blog blasting Redmayne’s wins leading up to the Academy Awards saying that he didn’t deserve them because he was… Continue reading Eddie Redmayne & “Ableist” Hollywood Oscar Backlash
Hello people of the interwebs! My name is Layla. I have cerebral palsy and I have many philosophies on life, but chief among them is that if you cannot laugh at yourself, you’re doing something wrong. I will be writing blogs about living with a disability in a world that was not made for me… Continue reading Confessions of an Often Disgruntled, Always Witty Disabled Woman
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