Implied Consent Have you ever been tagged in a completely unflattering photo on Facebook? I mean the kind when you look at it, you groan and debate in your head if the person will notice if you untag yourself? It’s awful, right? Social media and smartphones have brought us a whole new set of societal…
Ableist Movie Tropes and Characters I think most of us would agree that if a movie calls for a Black character, then a Black actor/actress should fill that role. Right? It would be incredibly offensive to have a white person dress up as Black and play the role. However, this happens to disabled people all…
Ableist Microaggressions Microaggressions have been getting a lot more attention recently, and with good cause. It’s very easy to spot someone who is openly hateful, racist or ableist. I mean, I think we can all agree that if you call someone the R word, that’s ableist. But ableism takes many different forms and shapes. And,…
8 Ways the Special Education System Really is Stacked Against Parents. The special education system is stacked against parents. It’s not your imagination. It is not an even playing field. Lately, I’ve been feeling very deflated. I have written to several people I know in this field to reach out for help, reach out for…
Special Needs vs. Disability And it’s not even a new term. Hence the air quotes. Several months ago, I did a blog post about People First Language, and why it shouldn’t be mandated. Certainly not by non-disabled people. At the end of that post, I said this: Up next: I’ll be tackling “special needs.” Because that…
When “Awareness” is Ableist. Last week, I did a post about a video that was going viral. I said then, and still think, that it’s ableist. Not to pat myself on the back (ok, maybe a little), the well-known activist Alice Wong agreed with me and shared my post. Her group even included trigger warnings…
OCR OPEN Center I received this press release and felt it was worth sharing. I’ve often said that one of my main frustrations about disability civil rights law is that they are all complaint-based. That is, they are not proactive. Compliance is dependent upon someone filing a complaint. The OPEN center says it will change…
Special Education Funding I honestly cannot believe that this blog is almost 10 years old, and it just occurred to me this week to write about Special Education Funding. I was participating in a webinar and it just hit me. So often, parents ask me, “Why? Why does it have to be like this? Why…
I know they mean well. People. They ask. But the holiday season just ended and I.am.exhausted. Mentally, not physically. Emotionally. My son has significant health issues. He’s medically complex. I talk about his issues often on the blog and in life. I posted our GoFundMe that we needed help with prior to his brain surgery….