Review: Grey's Anatomy 14x07 "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story"

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13 minute read

Tara and I watched this episode last night, and Tara commented how she missed reviewing things together.  So, we thought we'd comment on the disability representation here together - because what better way to celebrate four years of Tonia Says:

Happy Bloggerversary - 4 Years at Tonia Says (Part 3)

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3 minute read

Finally, it's here, friends!

Tonia Says was created on July 29th, 2014 - and little did I know what great things would come from it.  Friendships, connections to the disability community, the opportunity to share my experience and have it mean something.  Have it help others.

Without further ado, here are the Top 3 posts on Tonia Says.  Thanks so much for being here.

[Image is: a cake with four candles being lit.]

3. Let's Talk About the Gap Between Disabled Adults and Parents of Kids with Disabilities - Another good one from 2016, tackling a difficult topic.  There's no denying that there's a gap between most nondisabled parents and disabled adults.  But today, I'm proud to say, one of my closest friends is a parent of a child with CP.  It is possible to bridge the gap, and I am so glad for that!

2.  An Open Letter to Whitney Ellenby - The only post from 2018 on the list, but I am glad it's this one.  The abuse of disabled children often goes unacknowledged, unreported, and excused.  There's never an 'understandable' reason to harm a disabled child.  

1. Parenting Kids with Disabilities: What You Can't See (Invisible Aspects of CP)  - So, I'm not gonna lie, I'm super happy that this post is the top one.  When brainstorming for the parenting series back in 2017, this post almost wasn't part of the series.  But my sis (who always has the most brilliant ideas) said: "What about a post describing all the things about CP parents can't see?" and bam.  When I sat down to write this, words just poured out.  I went back to it several times, to add more content that I had overlooked.  And it makes me so happy to know that people in the CP community as well as the nondisabled community who have a child with CP in their family have been so receptive to this post.

Click here for Part 1 and Part 2

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Happy Bloggerversary - 4 Years at Tonia Says (Part 2)

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2 minute read

Tomorrow's my bloggerversary, and I thought, to celebrate, I'd continue counting down the Top 10 posts I've written here (by views) since I first started blogging.  (Part 1 is here if you missed it.)  

[Image is: a cake with four candles being lit.]

The countdown keeps going today with the sixth, fifth and fourth most viewed post on Tonia Says:

6.  Dear Parents Whose Baby Has Just Been Diagnosed with CP - Going back to 2016 for this one.  (Actually reads like an earlier version of what ended up being my summer series in 2017.)  As always, wanted to get the message out that a CP diagnosis is not the end.  It's part of what makes your baby / child who they are.  


5.  Let's Talk About the Effects of Consistent Patronization - Another 2016 post here, about yet another topic I had never seen discussed.  There was not even a term for this, though I looked high and low for one before I wrote this post.  I'm really glad this one is widely read because I think it's important, as it speaks to an issue that really does not get talked about.

4.  What You Need to Know About Blogging About Your Disabled Kids - This one goes back even further, to 2015, and talks about a super important topic.  In an age where almost everything is fair game as far as blogging goes, I felt it was important to try and come up with some basic guidelines that protected the disabled kids / community from exploitative blogging that is so pervasive.

Tune in tomorrow (the official bloggerversary) for the Top 3 posts from Tonia Says!

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Happy Bloggerversary - 4 Years at Tonia Says (Part 1)

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2 minute read

Friends, on July 29th it will be 4 years I've been blogging at Tonia Says!  Can you believe it?

[Image is: a birthday cake with four candles: two candles lit, one being lit, and one yet to be lit.

Over the years, I have written many posts.  I want to share with you the Top Ten posts since I started blogging here.  Keep reading for 10-7:

10.  Parenting Kids With Disabilities: Autonomy and Consent - This was the final post in my parenting series last summer, and an issue I am super passionate about.  Too often, people with disabilities are treated as though or "no" does not matter, and that often starts in childhood.

9.  Parenting Kids With Disabilities: Helping Your Kids Accept Their Diagnosis - Another post from the summer series of 2017.  I'd read a lot of these types of posts by parents of kids with disabilities but nothing seemed to exist written by someone in the disability community.  So, this post was born.

8.  What You Need to Know About Pushing Someone's Wheelchair Without Permission - For this one, we're going all the way back to 2015!  Such a common issue in the disability community and again I'd yet to read a cohesive piece offering any insight or advice on the matter.  So, I wrote this, and it caught on.  I'm really glad it did.

7.  Book Review:  Me Before You by Jojo Moyes - Every once in a while, I read something, or watch something on TV and I post a review sharing my thoughts.  Long before this became a movie (November of 2015) I read this book and had to write up my thoughts.

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Interview with Alice Kina Diehl

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7 minute read

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Alice Kina Diehl.  You may remember back in February, I caught sight of her character, emergency medical dispatcher, Stephanie Gaskins, on an episode of the FOX show 9-1-1.  I blogged about the rare moment of positive representatation in this scene.

TONIA SAYS:  Authentic media representation for people with disabilities is sparse.  How did you first become interested in acting?  Was it something you always dreamed of doing, or something you grew interested in as you got older? 

ALICE KINA DIEHL:  I started acting when I was five years old. I had family members that were involved in the business way back when, and luckily they shared their gifts with me. But, it really started because I love movies so much, and I wanted to be a part of them.