One of the main aspects of being disabled is learning to adapt your physical environment to meet your personal needs and wants. I'm talking about more than just accessibility here. I also include comfort, aesthetics, and affordability. Whatever circumstance brought disability into your life, learning how to make your environment FIT you is probably something you learned to prioritize quickly.
Read MoreLet's face it: meal planning and preparation when you have a disability can be challenging. There are legitimate logistical problems in the entire process that most non-disabled people take for granted. From the task of actually grocery shopping to putting groceries away, the meal prep itself, and oh, let's not forget the clean-up! Both what I eat and how I prepare it have evolved over the years as my physical limitations have changed.
Read MoreFour years before the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act, a report called Toward Independence was issued by the National Council on Disability (NCD), based in Washington D.C. The Council comprises roughly a dozen council members and is led and supported by an executive director, legislative and administrative support staff.
Read MoreIt's hard to underscore the importance of the personal testimonies of the Discrimination Diaries that lead to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Just hearing statistics and third-person references about being disabled isn't the same thing as hearing what living with a disability is like, directly from someone living it.
Read MoreOne of the tools that my husband and I use the most around our house is our grabbers. I have to admit that I never owned one before living with him, but since he introduced me to them, I use them all the time. When you are shopping for a grabber, I recommend you consider the following features. You want a grabber with a robust aluminum frame construction.
Read MoreI don't remember everything about being five years old, but I do remember kindergarten. I remember story-time and recess. I remember how much I loved to do coloring and read my first books. I also remember my mom and I going to special meetings with the principal and my teacher. Even though I didn't understand everything they were talking about, I understood enough to know these were meetings that other kids didn't have.
Read MoreAsk someone who ADAPT (American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today) is, and odds are, they won't know. This lack of awareness is quite a shame. ADAPT is one of the most vital activist organizations that exist today. ADAPT is a grassroots disability rights organization with chapters in 30 states. It uses nonviolent direct action to bring attention and awareness to the lack of civil rights the disability community has.
Read MoreConsidering the contribution he made to the disability rights movement, it often surprises me how many people in the disabled community have never heard of Justin Dart. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that it wasn’t until I was in my mid-30s and working at a disability advocacy organization that I came to learn about who Dart’s life and leadership.
Read MoreOn the 28th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it seems appropriate to look back to some of the critical disability rights cases that the Supreme Court has ruled on since the ADA became law. If anyone tries to say that the rights for access and equality for disabled people over the last 50-60 years are permanent, immune to legal challenges or regulatory rollbacks, don't believe them because it is just not true.
Read MoreYou have probably noticed in posts throughout my Love Disabled Life blog that I often write "disabled people" rather than "people with disabilities." This is known as "identity-first" language and not "person-first" language. Identity-first language embraces disability as the identity of who a person is. The same as a person would do if they were referring to themselves racially or ethnically.
Read MoreFor all of the times I get approached in public, the one time that I mind the least is when people inquire (politely) about my mobility scooter. It happened again yesterday. I was out grocery shopping, and a woman using the motorized store cart approached me and asked where I got my scooter. "I think I could really use one of those," she said. "Yes, I love mine," I replied.
Read MoreOne of the most coveted but also controversial aspects of being disabled is the ability to park in disabled (or, as the larger public refers to them, "handicapped") parking spots. Here in my home state of California we have two factors impacting the availability for disabled people to park in disabled parking spots: increased population, and specifically an aging baby-boomer generation.
Read MoreBurping, spitting, passing gas, nose-picking, gum slapping: most of these come to mind as topping the list of public etiquette taboos. However, one that often doesn’t come to mind—not because it isn’t a common practice—is staring. Believe me, I should know. I have found myself the object of many unwanted stares.
Read MoreA significant part of my identity is that I am disabled. This is not a newsflash to those of you who know me. In fact, you may be thinking, "This is the big revelation? Who cares." That's kind of true. One look at me, and you can easily see that I am disabled. Unfortunately, disability is a term that often becomes a label that concludes a inaccurate or negative value judgment or assessment of ability.
Read MoreThis is the question I'm asking myself: do you have a pride movement without a society asserting (in overt and subtle ways) that you have nothing to be proud of? Did the disability pride movement evolve out of a genuine place of self-love and self-acceptance? Or rather, out of protests by disabled people to prove they have worth in a world that can't begin to understand what that worth could be?
Read MoreIt was sometime in 2008, and I was in the full throws of domestic nesting, having just gotten married the year before when Andrew and I agreed that maybe it was time to see about getting me some additional help around the house. Just a few hours per month to help with some of those "extra" projects. As most people do, I went to Google to see if there were any local resources.
Read MoreThanks to legislation passed in California mandating that students learn about disability history in school, future generations will know who Ed Roberts was and the significant contribution he made to the disability rights movement. Of course, we in the disability community are very familiar with Roberts and how he made history.
Read MoreThe Americans with Disabilities Act is turning 25, and it's time to celebrate! A quarter-century of civil rights legislation has allowed people with disabilities all over the country the opportunity to go to school, build careers, start families, and travel the world. Young people in the disability community today, benefiting from the hard-fought victories of the generation before them, are armored with a sense of pride and self-confidence that says,
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