Saturday, July 31, 2021

Disability Pride Month Q & A

1,478 words
11 minute read

I came across this set of questions on Twitter, created by @camille_grace1 and I love being able to find and read answers in one place, I moved the questions here:

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1. When did you first hear of Disability Pride Month?

Last year, honestly.  I posted about it here: Forging Disability Pride in a World of Ableism.

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2.  When did you realize you were disabled?

I've known all my life about my CP.  Realizations about C-PTSD and being neurodivergent came in my late 30s.

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3.  What do you want abled people to know about disability?

So much.  It's why I started this blog in the first place.  If you're nondisabled, hang around, click on some posts, learn.

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4.  How can online spaces be more accessible to you?

Dark mode / Night mode available.  No massive blocks of text (paragraph frequently.)

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5.  How can physical spaces be more accessible to you?

Smooth surfaces.  Gentle inclines on ramps.  Ramps available at the front of buildings.  Accessible door buttons that work.  Accessible bathrooms (not used for storage, big enough for wheelchairs.)  Know, "We only have one step!" is inaccessible to a chair user.  Curb cuts and entrances clearly labeled (maybe a bright color?)  Sidewalks maintained (so massive cracks don't mean tipping / dropping things.)



If you must have steps / have not updated your space to be accessible:  Shovel your snow in the winter (do not pile it in front of ramps.)  Railings on steps securely attached, and carpet squares attached to stairs for traction.


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6. Do you use any mobility aids?  Show them off, if so!


This is Greenie.  We posed together for International Wheelchair Day earlier this year!

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7.  What are your thoughts on the social model of disability?

It changed my view on disability and really made it possible for me to begin accepting myself.  Realizing a lot of my barriers were not due to my disability itself but society really changed things for me.

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8.  Do you use the Spoon Theory?  Unified Cutlery Theory?

I don't.  I have spoken here (with my sis) about Capacity Shift though...


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9.  Show me some of your assistive gadgets?



This shower chair, though.  It's pretty amazing.

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10.  What helps when you're having a bad day?

Routine.  Routine equals safety to me, so even if nothing feels particularly safe, routine helps me keep what little equilibrium I have.  I lean heavily into well-loved Netflix or Hulu shows, Play-Doh, good candle smells, etc.

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11.  Do you have accommodations for school or work that make your life easier?

I admit, the wording of this one kind of gets to me.

To me, accommodations don't just make things easier, they make things safe.  Or possible.  Or both safe and possible.  The accommodations I did have at school -- shortened assignment lengths sometimes or adaptive gym, didn't make those things easier for me.  It leveled the playing field, so to speak.

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12.  How do you feel about the word crip -- especially in a reclaimed sense?

On a personal level, I could never reclaim it for myself, without remembering the terror it caused when the word was being screamed at me as a child.

I fully support others' decision to reclaim.

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13.  How do you find disabled community?

First, through summer camp as a teenager.  And as an adult, through Tumblr.  That led me to creating my own blog here, and that led me to my current disabled friendships.


14.  If you have an acquired disability, how have you adjusted to it?  What helped with the adjustment period?

If you were born disabled, have your thoughts about your disability shifted over time?

Definitely!  I grew up feeling very lonely, very different and very wrong for being disabled with a lot of internalized ableism -- thanks to being surrounded by ableism and abuse.

Now that I'm an adult, and I know that being disabled informs every part of my life and is a big part of my identity, being able to embrace that has been huge.  Realizing we have a culture and all of these shared experiences and ways of doing things -- super validating.

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15.  Favorite disabled artists?  


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16.  Drop disabled shop owners' links below (yours or someone else's)


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17.  What makes you proud of being disabled?

I sound like a broken record but the amazing community of people I get to be a part of is something to be proud of.  Our specific abilities to adapt and find new ways to do things and approach situations is pretty unparalleled.

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18.  Do you find it difficult to be proud of being disabled?

I did, like, last year when I first discovered Disability Pride Month was a thing!  It felt a bit like being proud for surviving -- which is a feat these days!

19.  What are some of your other identity categories?  How do they intersect / interact with your disabled identity?

I'm white.  I'm a woman.  I'm asexual.  To name a few.  To be white means I do have a certain amount of privilege in situations even as being disabled and a woman mean a lack of privilege and being asexual is almost viewed as "Well, of course, you're disabled."  But it has more to do with my childhood than it does with being disabled.

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20.  Are you multiply disabled?  Do you find some of your disabilities more difficult to deal with than others?

Yes and yes.  C-PTSD is much more difficult for me to deal with than CP.  And while being neurodivergent isn't new, my awareness of it is.  So it means I am super aware when I make a social mistake.

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21.  How do you feel about "disability warrior mom" types?

I wonder if they know that by fighting their child's disability (assuming it is not life-threatening) they are also fighting their own child's identity.

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22.  How can abled people be better allies to you / our community?

Listen to disabled people. Believe disabled people. Don't put your head in the sand.  Realize your own privilege, share our words, and back us up when we speak up about an issue that concerns us.

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23.  Do you support self-diagnosis?  Why or why not?

Yes, absolutely.  While getting diagnosed is helpful for garnering services, it also involves a lot of work and a lot of hoops to jump through.  Including, but not limited to: safe transportation and contact with an ableist medical system to name a couple major ones.

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24.  Thoughts on capitalism?

After looking up the simplest definition possible on how capitalism relates to disability, I think it's rude and contributes to ableism.

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25.  Do you have any tips on unlearning internalized ableism?

Individuating from toxic people and connecting to the disability community really helped me with this.  But I know it's not possible for everyone.  Even if you can only do the second part and connect with disabled people, it will help you realize you are not the problem -- and that you are not alone.

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26.  Disabled POC: anything you want white disabled folks to know?

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27.  What do you wish parents of disabled children knew?

28.  If you use mobility aids and / or other assistive devices, how do you feel about them?

I think I covered this above, but I love Greenie.  The prevailing narrative is that a wheelchair user is "wheelchair-bound" but I am not trapped here, I am free here.

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29.  Favorite disabled authors / scholars?


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30.  Do you feel represented by the wheelchair as the symbol for disability?  If not, do you have any ideas for a more inclusive symbol?

I'm a wheelchair-user myself and I think the wheelchair is objectifying and limiting.  Maybe the pride flag as a more widely accepted symbol?

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31.  What are your thoughts on person-first vs. identity-first language?


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