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Disability Matters with Joyce Bender (Radio) 

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Disability Matters with Joyce Bender (Radio) 

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Since it was the 30th anniversary celebration of the signing of ADA, former congressman Tony Coelho was on the show. He reflects on the signing of ADA into legislation, and speaks about the history that led up to the signing. He also spoke about his own experience with a head injury and how his doctors and family viewed disabilities, especially his epilepsy diagnosis as punishments from the devil; He even lost out on job opportunities because of his epilepsy diagnosis. Tony knew that this type of treatment against those with disabilities was wrong, and as he grew up became an advocate for people with disabilities while working for congress. This podcast made the point that people with disablilities are entitled to basic civil rights and should not be discriminated against based on their disabilities.

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Celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the ADA!

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Joyce welcomes The Honorable, Tony Coelho to the show. The former congressman from CA is an author of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). | Celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the ADA! Tuesday, July 28, 2020 on Disability Matters | VoiceAmerica - The Leader in Internet Media

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Disability Basics: What are the Intersections of Race and Disability? (Podcast)

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Disability Basics: What are the Intersections of Race and Disability? (Podcast)

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Co-hosts Nicole Kelly and Sarah Tuberty focus on the idea that disability rights are civil rights, and explain how race and disability intersect. Additionally, guest host Candace Coleman (a black disabled woman from Chicago) talks us through the intersection of race and disability and acknowledges that people are complex, so one action that may work for one person, may not work for another. Ultimately, they make the point that America needs to acknowledge intersectionality because there is a lack of support in mainly colored communities. Therefore, minorities and those with disabilities have limited resources available to them such as adequate education or employment. This podcast almost makes it seem like individuals with disabilities are victims of society.

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A podcast centered around connecting disability experts to disability advocates. Disarming Disability aims to help you develop your disability pride and get active in your civil rights. This podcast is hosted by Nicole Kelly and Sarah Tuberty.

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The World of Disability - Series 1 Ep 3 disability & relationships (Podcast)

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The World of Disability - Series 1 Ep 3 disability & relationships (Podcast)

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This podcast asks the question, Can disabled people have a relationship? The answer is yes, they can because If someone is capable of loving then they are capable of being in a relationship just like anyone else. It may not be a sexual relationship, but it will be the same as any other relationship. Overall, this podcast makes it clear that people with disabilities are not any different than anyone else and can form relationships with others to show how they feel towards another person. Overall, relationships are about trust, love and friendship and those with disabilities need to form these type of connections too.

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The World Of Disability Podcast - The World of Disability - Series 1 Ep 3 disability & relationships

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Sex, Drugs and Disability by Julie Negrin: Will COVID kill me? (Podcast)

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Sex, Drugs and Disability by Julie Negrin: Will COVID kill me? (Podcast)

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Julie is a cancer survivor and is newly disabled. She talks about the COVID-19 pandemic and reflects on the the question, will COVID kill me? For an individual with disabilities, it is scary to think about being so vulnerable and catching COVID because that could ultimately lead to death. The community needs to be empathetic, understanding and sensitive to the idea that there are people out there who are more vulnerable than others. Therefore, we all need to do our part to keep each other safe during these trying times. It could be as simple as wearing a mask, but this simple act of selflessness shows that you care about the disabled community and that you don't want to endanger other people's lives.

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Sex, Drugs and Disability covers taboo topics that we often deal with or are curious about but rarely discuss. Julie Negrin is a 4x cancer survivor and unafraid to share her own deeply personal experiences. Through humor, storytelling and interviews with friends, Julie tries to make sense of the world as a newly disabled woman who may not have long to live.

Sex, Drugs and Disability covers taboo topics that we often deal with or are curious about but rarely discuss. Julie Negrin is a 4x cancer survivor and unafraid to share her own deeply personal experiences. Through humor, storytelling and interviews with friends, Julie tries to make sense of the world as a newly disabled woman who may not have long to live.

Julie gets it!

Julie talks about a lot of things most people won't, and I love that!! There needs to be more people like her willing to talk about taboo topics like sex, drugs, and disability so that we can normalize what should already be. Check out her podcast!

Worth the listen!

Amazing podcast! Julie has a unique view on life and does a great job sharing her stories with the public! She touches on many topics that are important in everyone's lives! Everyone and anyone should take the time and listen to Julie's incredible podcast! Especially during quarantine, great source of entertainment :) keep it up!

Bold honesty in this podcast!

Julie tackles subjects many people would shy away from with honesty, empathy and emotion. Her awareness of differences and ability to always think of others despite the significant hurdles she faces in her life, will inspire you to be a better person.

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‎Sex, Drugs & Disability on Apple Podcasts

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‎Sex, Drugs and Disability covers taboo topics that we often deal with or are curious about but rarely discuss. Julie Negrin is a 4x cancer survivor and unafraid to share her own deeply personal experiences. Through humor, storytelling and interviews with friends, Julie tries to make sense of the wor...

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NPR: Building Solidarity Using Support Groups (Podcast)

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NPR: Building Solidarity Using Support Groups (Podcast)

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This podcast highlights the lack of resources that are available to bridge the gap between older and younger generations living in nursing homes in Arizona. What happens when adequate housing is not available to those with disabilities? Most are thrown into nursing homes or institutions that lead them to feel isolated and lost in a world that does not care about their well being. Individuals with disabilities want to be independent and live on their own but are not able to solely live off of the social security benefits that they receive. Ultimately, there needs to be more resources developed to help those with disabilities attain affordable and adaptive housing.

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The disability community is a community that everyone is only one illness or injury away from joining. According to the US Census Bureau, one in every eight Americans has some type of disability, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts that number at one in four U.S. adults.

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This series on Netflix is about a boy named Sam who is navigating adolescence while also living with Autism. In the episode I watched, Sam is struggling with his mother for more independence, but due to his disability she has a hard time letting him figure out adolescence on his own. On the other hand, something I noticed about this series is that there is a lack of "people-first language" being used throughout the series. Also, Sam the main character is very high functioning and has qualities that do not accurately represent the entire autism spectrum. For example, not all individuals with autism are as high functioning as Sam is portrayed to be or even as socially accepted as he is in the series.

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Atypical | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

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Disability Movies Aren’t What They Used To Be. That’s Good! By Andrew Pulrang (Article)

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Disability Movies Aren’t What They Used To Be. That’s Good! By Andrew Pulrang (Article)

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This article highlights the cliche between wanting to see more individuals with disabilities in film, while also perpetuating stereotypes in the process. This article acknowledges that there has been progress made in the film industry but that most if not all of the progress gets cancelled out when individuals with disabilities are portrayed as ableist in films. I thought it was interesting that the author pointed out ways that we can fix these cliches in film by striving for authenticity. This means that Instead of hiring name brand actors to play people with disabilities, Hollywood can start hiring more actors with disabilities to play the roles in A-list movies. This in turn will hopefully help create a more accurate representation for those with disabilities in the film industry.

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Getty

One of the highlights of the 2020 Academy Awards was when Zack Gottsagen, star of one of the year's most talked about films, The Peanut Butter Falcon, and his co-star Shia LeBeouf, jointly served as one of the event's award announcers. The film tells the story of a man with Down Syndrome pursuing his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. The character was played by Gottsagen, who has Down Syndrome ... a rare instance of a critically acclaimed film in which a disabled character is portrayed by a disabled actor.

Although The Peanut Butter Falcon wasn't an Oscar nominee, it has been widely praised and received many awards and nominations from prominent film festivals and film critic associations. And in contrast with many disability films of the recent past, viewers with disabilities are unambiguous in their praise, much of their appreciation stemming from the film's authentic casting. Are we finally entering a new era in disability on film, in which authenticity is more important than big emotions, big messages, and splashy acting?

Children Of A Lesser God, , , Born On The Fourth Of July , , , The Theory Of Everything , . What do these movies have in common? They are just a few of the most prominent examples of popular, critically acclaimed films, released from the late 1980s through the mid-2000s, with major disabled characters and powerful disability themes. It almost qualifies as a sub-genre, or an era. During this time, writing or playing a disabled character was one of the surest paths to both popular and critical regard, as well as Oscars and other film awards. A Washington Post article in 2015 noted that a third of the Best Actor Oscars since 1988 were went to actors playing characters with disabilities. And in 2017, IndieWire listed no less than 59 actors nominated for playing disabled characters .

It is enough of a recognized pattern to become a pop culture joke, satirized in the comedy Tropic Thunder, (while also attracting a storm of criticism from the disability community for using a highly offensive term for intellectual disability), and a scene from the British TV show , in which Kate Winslet, playing a comically cynical version of herself, says, "You are guaranteed an Oscar if you play a mental."

Several factors contributed to the popularity of disability movies in this boom period, including:

Novelty - Audiences, including viewers with disabilities, were amazed to see disabled characters appearing in major movies in any way at all, much less in lead roles.

Big emotions - In the popular imagination, disability is viewed as a hardship, and often as tragic, while any sort of success with disability is seen as an heroic triumph. So, films about sympathetic disabled characters overcoming physical and mental hardships come with emotional catharsis built in.

Social enlightenment - Watching and appreciating these classic disability films gave viewers a sense of having learned something, of becoming more aware of an unfamiliar experience. And for a time, disability advocates mostly regarded these movies as important tools in "raising disability awareness."

At the same time, disability films of this era offered less admirable attractions.

In a 2018 NOS Magazine article, Sarah Pripas Kapit reinterprets the idea of "awareness," suggesting that fundamentally, audiences and critics were attracted to the of disability. "The Academy gives actors props for portraying experiences that are perceived as being very far outside the norm of humanity." And, writing in Slate about the Oscar-winning film The Theory of Everything , Scott Jordan Harris asserts that:
"The ultimate ambition of Eddie Redmayne's performance as Stephen Hawking is to contort his body convincingly enough to make other able-bodied people think 'Wow! By the end I really believed he was a cripple!'"
What to some viewers seemed to be deeply empathetic and almost athletic feats of acting, to others ... in particular many actual disabled people ... seem more like showboating and mockery. And while most of these popular disability films surely did introduce many non-disabled people to new ideas about disability, and provided at least some much-needed representation for disabled viewers, they also perpetuated and even deepened ableist stereotypes and cliches. For example:

The angry, bitter wheelchair user, who can't get over their lost abilities and lashes out at non-disabled people who are just trying to help.

The mystical blind person who "sees" more than sighted people.

The child-like and virtuous intellectually disabled character, who's innocence and simplicity confers goodness on others around them.

Disabled people as either selfish, demanding to be catered to without considering other people's needs, or else self-denying, insisting that friends, family, and lovers "go live their own lives."

Better off dead ... one of the most harmful and at the same time most popular disability themes, in which a disabled person fights for the right to kill themselves, while the film encourages audiences to see this wish as rational or even selfless. This theme was most recently on display in Me Before You, a film with possibly the widest gulf between two vastly different interpretations ... a love story, and an encouragemnt to suicide.

The familiarity of these themes helped make disability films popular. But from today's perspective, the stereotypical and ableist nature of these formulas tends to cancel out whatever may have been gained simply from seeing disabled characters on film. Reliance on these cliches also imposed an expiration date on these movies. While many of these films are still beloved, their disability depictions haven't held up well.

Forrest Gump's story is not as empowering as it sometimes seemed when audiences first saw it. And it's now much clearer that even the most well-meaning disability portrayals can spark real-life prejudice.

Consider two other examples of changing perspectives on popular and influential disability films:

Watching Daniel Day-Lewis play disabled Irish poet Christy Brown in My Left Foot, audiences saw a rare portrayal on film of the complicated intellectual life and unruly passions of an actual disabled artist. Some disabled viewers also appreciated how the film depicted the complicated relationships between disabled people and their families and caregivers, as well as aspects of physically disabled people's sexuality.

31 years later, the very fact that a non-disabled actor is deliberately acting out a significantly disabled man's physical and vocal mannerisms can feel like a kind of mockery. A schoolyard bully mimicking a disabled classmate's speech or awkward gait has an entirely different intent than an actor portraying a disabled character's movements and voice. But it's the same basic skill. Today, these scenes are more cringe-worthy than enlightening, especially for viewers who have disabilities themselves and may take the portrayal more personally.

introduced millions of moviegoers, most for the first time, to a picture of autism that was more fascinating than horrifying. Although Raymond was shown to be a difficult person to deal with, he was also charming and in some ways morally superior to his "normal" brother. The fact that Raymond also had some remarkable abilities alongside his disabilities was something of a revelation to audiences in 1988.

32 years later, now that more people have a grounded idea of what autism is, it's clear that Rain Man showed only a narrow slice of a very broad spectrum. And while the portrayal was nominally positive, "funny" doesn't now appear to be much of an improvement over "tragic." In fact, "Rain Man" is now available as a nickname for anyone displaying stereotypical autistic qualities. And Dustin Hoffman's performance is now viewed as silly more often than revealing.

After noticing all the ableist cliches, stereotypical stories, and cringe-worthy performances in even the "best" disability films, it's tempting to try micromanaging cinematic depictions of disability. We want depictions of disability to say the right things. But these outdated classics are themselves mostly products of earnest attempts to convey "positive message" about disability. So what can we do?

One promising alternative is to strive instead for authenticity. And one of the best ways to get there is to stop viewing disability on film as a means to show off a famous actor's artistic seriousness and acting chops, and instead cast actors with disabilities to play disabled characters. This provides much-needed and long-denied opportunities for disabled actors, but authentic casting has artistic merits too. Yet, authentic disability casting has been rare in Hollywood. Variety notes that only two disabled actors have won Oscars for portraying disabled characters, Harold Russell for The Best Years Of Our Lives in 1946, and Marlee Matlin for Children Of A Lesser God in 1988.

Fortunately, this may be changing ... slowly. The Ruderman Foundation recently reported that the percentage of disabled characters on TV who are played by disabled actors went from 5% in 2016 to 22% for network and 20% for streaming in 2020. With the relative success of "The Peanut Butter Falcon," there may be hope for this trend to take hold in movies, too.

But how much does disability casting really matter?

Maysoon Zayid is a disabled comedian, actress, and activist, best known for her 2013 TED Talk on the ableism, racism, and sexism she has experienced as a Palestinian Muslim woman with Cerebral Palsy, and more recently for her recurring role on General Hospital. She says:
"In my opinion, in order to be an incredible or even credible cast, any visibly disabled roles must be played by actors who actually have that disability. It is offensive, inauthentic, and cartoonish to have non-disabled actors play disabled on screen."
Dominick Evans agrees. He is a disabled filmmaker, streamer, and activist specializing in the representation of disability in media. Dominick is also the founder of #FilmDis, an ongoing Twitter-based discussion of disability in media, started in 2014. Evans notes, "We're looking at representation [in films] as low as 1% for a population that is around 20% of the world."

Authenticity in casting is a start - arguably an essential component in any film depicting disability. Authenticity in plot and characterization are important too. Maybe instead of trying so hard to say the right things about disability, it's better just to show disabled characters and disability-related situations realistically. Evans calls for disabled characters that are "... well-rounded and while they are disabled and that's not ignored in ways that make sense to the story, it's also not a focal point of their existence." He adds, "I hate the idea of 'disability movie' because that often involves the plot revolving specifically around disability ... We want to acknowledge that the disability is there, but we don't want to make that a part of the plot or the primary focus of the story."

But what if the reality of disability is dark or disturbing? Stick with realism and authenticity. Zayid says, "I will not watch a movie that is inaccurate because the actor playing the disabled role is non-disabled. But I have no problem watching a dark heart-wrenching movie as long as it is accurately portrayed." And Evans believes that the best way to improve the social status of disabled people is through realism, not carefully crafted message films:
"Accurately depicting disabled people is the only way that we will see improvements to the treatment of disabled people. Our lives are not all positivity and sunshine. We need to see the good and the bad, because people have this unrealistic view of what being disabled is like."
That said, there are certain disability narratives that ring alarm bells, and perhaps should simply be avoided. The most notable examples of harmful disability themes may be those that revolve around disabled people considering suicide because of their disabilities. "Considering how much violence disabled people already encounter from their caretakers, family, or law enforcement, the 'better off dead' trope can be used to justify our actual murders," says Zayid. "It can also trigger suicidal inclinations in disabled viewers by sending a message that the world and our loved ones will be happier if we are gone." At the very least, writers and actors should be very careful not to romanticize suicide, especially in plots and situations where disability is implied to be, literally, worse than death.

Evans also warns against the habit of allowing only one disabled character in a film, and of reflexively making them white and male. He asks, "Why can't there be multiple disabled characters who are different races / ethnicities, genders / gender identities, and sexual orientations?" Authenticity and intersectional diversity can and should go together, and they mark out the path to higher quality and more genuinely progressive disability films.

It's probably a good sign that the era of blockbuster disability films seems to be mostly over. Now is a great time to settle into some ordinary, realistic, authentic disabled characters on film, played by actors for whom the disability part comes naturally, so they can concentrate on character and storytelling. It's time for moviegoers to take in subtler depictions of disability, and embrace disability as just another aspect of life to be shown on film.

In the case of disability at the movies, quality may truly turn out to be more important than quantity.

... Read More

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Disability Movies Aren't What They Used To Be. That's Good!

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One of the highlights of the 2020 Academy Awards was when Zack Gottsagen, star of one of the year's most talked about films, The Peanut Butter Falcon , and his co-star Shia LeBeouf, jointly served as one of the event's award announcers.

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Diary of a Disabled Person: WORKPLACE WHEELS (SHORT STORY) 

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Diary of a Disabled Person: WORKPLACE WHEELS (SHORT STORY) 

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This story details a normal day at work for Zoe, and depicts what she has to deal with on a daily basis. I think Zoe is a representation of all the individuals with disabilities who are actively working to maintain a life for themselves. In the story, Zoe is faced with customers who don't think she is an employee and who doubt her intelligence and question her abilities. I think the main point of this short story is to show that individuals with disabilities are not helpless. They are capable of maintaining a job and ultimately, people without disabilities need to realize that individuals with disabilities are just like them and should be treated equally in the workforce.

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Audio: https://diaryofadisabledperson.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/workplace-wheels..m4a

"Do you work here?"

Zoe was sat in her wheelchair looking up at the shopper, trying not to let her exasperation show through her forced smile. Surely her polo shirt displaying the company logo, and the matching lanyard and I.D badge, were evidence enough of her work status.

"Yes, I do," she replied in a falsely chirpy tone.

"Oh good, I wasn't sure you see..." Zoe hated it when customers rambled. She had plenty of tasks requiring her attention before the shop closed for the day and simply wished that the customer would hurry up so that she could continue with them. She didn't fancy another over-run shift.

"I was wondering if you could tell me where the sportswear is," the customer finally got to the point.

"It's on the back wall, sir, women's on the left and men's on the right," somehow Zoe refrained from adding "underneath the huge sign saying SPORTSWEAR".

"Ah, thank you," the customer trotted off and Zoe turned back to the task at hand, refolding the pile of jumpers on sale for the third time that day, knowing that before long someone would destroy it again.

Once the jumpers had been folded, Zoe glanced at her watch and was relieved to find it was time for her break. She rolled past the tills and let Sara, her colleague, know that she would be in the staff room. Sara nodded her acknowledgement while continuing to explain to an increasingly angry customer that the voucher they were holding had expired some months ago and therefore wasn't valid. Zoe didn't envy her.

Zoe went to the back of the shop and turned left to a white door with the words "STAFF ONLY" printed in bold, black letters across it.

"You can't go in there, love!" a customer piped up, "it's for staff only."

"I can read, thank you," Zoe's patience was wearing thin and she only just managed to remain civil.

"Well, why are you trying to go in?" the customer continued, the obvious conclusion eluding him entirely.

"Because I am staff, sir," Zoe entered the four digit code into the pad by the door, waited for a click, and then pushed the door open. She rolled through into the small, dingy room that somehow equated to a staff room and let the door swing shut behind her, dulling the incessant sound of the music on the shop floor. Considering the vast size of the shop floor, she wondered why the staff couldn't have been allocated just a little more room.

She went to the small fridge balanced on the rickety table beside a toaster and a microwave, and pulled out a water bottle which she drained in record time. The she was heading back out into the shop to find the disabled toilet, as the staff toilets lacked wheelchair facilities.

Zoe was well practised at avoiding customers with a series of complex manoeuvres while she was on her breaks, and had no trouble avoiding any responsibilities as she moved across the shop floor. The route was somewhat indirect, but it would take far longer to use a direct route flooded with customers.

When she got to the disabled toilet she was hardly surprised to find the door locked, with a red icon showing beneath the handle. She stopped, put her brakes on and waited patiently, aware of her break wasting away. Several minutes later a woman strode out of the disabled cubicle dragging a basket of shopping behind her. Although Zoe suspected that the woman was in no way disabled, she remained quiet. She had once landed herself in hot water by challenging someone who, as it transpired, had a hidden disability that was unfortunately indistinguishable from lazy able-bodied people who just wanted to take a dump in peace.

Once Zoe had been to the toilet it was time for her to get back to work. Her first task was to attend to the stack of jumpers which had just been knocked over by a curious toddler.

"Excuse me, love, do you work here?" as Zoe finished restacking the jumpers a customer tapped her on the shoulder.

"Yes, I do," Zoe could feel her cheeks aching from the constant smiling as she also tried not to roll her eyes.

"Could you direct me to the home décor section please?"

"Err...sorry?" Zoe was perplexed.

"The home décor section. You know, cushions, candles, that sort of thing," the customer seemed to think that she was stupid.

"We don't sell those things sir, this is a clothes shop," Zoe kept a calm, reassuring tone.

"What do you mean you don't sell those things? I bought a cushion cover in here just last year," the customer was beginning to sound frustrated.

"Perhaps you're confusing us with one of our branches in the department store down the road?" Zoe suggested.

"No I'm not confusing you with a department store. What do you take me for, an imbecile?"

Zoe maintained a diplomatic silence on this point.

"I'm sorry sir, we've never sold those things in here. Perhaps it would be best to visit our other branch anyway?" Zoe tried to placate the increasingly angry customer as other customers were now beginning to take interest.

"This is ridiculous. I come in here with perfectly good money to spend and this is how I'm treated. Perhaps your manager might know the layout of the shop," the man stormed off towards the tills, pushing past the queueing customers getting ready to pay and bellowing in Sara's face.

"I want to speak the manager, now," he interrupted Sara as she was handing change over to her customer.

"I'll call him onto the shop floor," Sara pressed a button on a bleeper hooked onto her belt, "next please."

A few minutes later Amjad appeared on the shop floor, and made a beeline for the man stood in the corner, scowling and muttering to himself. Zoe positioned herself by the adjacent clothes rack in order to eaves drop.

"Are you the manager?" the man barked. Amjad nodded.

"Where is your home décor section?"

"I'm sorry sir, but we don't have one. Perhaps you ought to try our branch in the nearby department store?" Amjad replied in an even, emotionless tone.

"Is this supposed to be a joke?" the man practically exploded, "that lass in the wheelchair said exactly the same thing."

"Probably because that's the truth," Amjad had to sympathise with Zoe, everyone seemed to assume that they were both stupid. Meanwhile, Zoe was having a hard time wiping the self-satsified smirk off of her face.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Amjad asked politely.

"Pfft, I hardly think so, given that your stock is so poor. I won't be coming back here again, that's for sure," and with that the man stomped off, almost pulling the shop door off of it's hinges as he left. He didn't hear the manager mutter "good riddance" under his breath.

"Well, if you don't need anything else, I'm going to go back upstairs to carry on with the endless paperwork," Amjad smiled at Zoe and Sara, "Call me down if you need me again."

"Will do," Sara chirruped from behind the till where she was still serving a string of customers.

Zoe turned her attention to some price tags that needed amending for a sale that would start the next day, but almost as soon as she had picked up the roll of stickers she needed, a customer tapped her on the shoulder before querying whether she was a member of staff.

"I was hoping you would be able to reach something down from the top shelf for me," the elderly woman asking the question was practically bent double over her walking stick.

"Oh OK, you might want to speak with Sara for that one, I doubt I could reach from down here either," Zoe replied, waving to attract Sara's attention.

"Can't you just stand up and get it?" the old woman queried impatiently.

"I'm not exactly tall even if I do manage to stand up," Zoe smiled back, trying to turn the situation into a joke.

"Oh," the women seemed somewhat surprised as Sara crossed the shop floor having dealt with the last customer in the queue.

"What do you want reaching down?" Sara chipped in, disrupting the awkward silence. Together with the elderly woman she walked to the shelf in question, and stretched up to reach the pile of jumpers on the top. She lifted them down and allowed the elderly woman to peruse them until she decided that they were no longer of interest to her, and she wandered off to look at something else. Sara tried not to appear too exasperated as she battled to return the stack of jumpers to their place.

As the end of the working day drew nearer the shop grew busier again, particularly with teenagers who had nothing to do and nowhere else to go after school. Sara was kept behind the till for almost the whole afternoon while Zoe made sure the shop floor was as it should be, and Amjad occasionally made a brief appearance in between filing paperwork. By the time 6 pm came around Zoe was exhausted, and was looking forward to a meal and a hot shower.

Zoe was turning the sign in the door from "open" to "closed" when the door was pushed open by a customer.

"I'm not too late, am I?" he said eagerly, not waiting for a response before pushing into the shop.

Zoe rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the new customer.

"I just need something for the wife, it's our anniversary and I totally forgot," he made a beeline for the scarves, selecting one from the middle of the rack and sending several scarves to the ground in the process.

"Oops," he said before hurrying over to the till.

Once the man had bought the scarf he left the shop, and Zoe closed the door firmly behind him, making sure the sign stated that the shop was closed. Amjad trotted downstairs to let them know that he was leaving, offering no help at all with the closing time chores. After waving their polite goodbyes to Amjad, they set to cleaning the store, Sara running the hoover over the horrible, nylon carpet tiles, and Zoe placing stock back on the shelves. Scarves were hung neatly on hooks and the stack of jumpers was straightened out once again. Labels for the sales were stuck on the last few items. Finally, they pulled the shutter down together and locked the door, turning the lights out as they headed out of the back door by the staff room.

"See you tomorrow then," Sara said as she buttoned up her coat against the chilly breeze.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Zoe replied, before parking herself beneath the bus shelter outside the shop. She was stressed and tired as she waited for the bus, and could think of nothing besides a warm shower to soothe her aching muscles.

As always the bus was late and was crammed with passengers. The bus-driver, who Zoe could only assume had had a long and stressful day much like herself, barely covered his frustration at having to leave his comfortable booth to put the ramp out for her, but he did so without complaint as she showed him her bus pass. She barely had time to squeeze between passengers into the wheelchair space before the bus set off, from which she gazed out of the window at the world passing by outside.

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Workplace Wheels: Yet Another Short Story.

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Audio: "Do you work here?" Zoe was sat in her wheelchair looking up at the shopper, trying not to let her exasperation show through her forced smile. Surely her polo shirt displaying the company logo, and the matching lanyard and I.D badge, were evidence enough of her work status.

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Disability short story series: Happy Birth-day

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Disability short story series: Happy Birth-day

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This short story was written as if an unnamed woman is in a "pre-birth" consultation with a doctor and is told that she is going to be born with a disability. The woman is shocked to hear this information and of course has some major concerns. She asks why her and the doctor replies, why not you? Overall, I really enjoyed reading this story because it highlights that people who are born with disabilities do not have a choice, they are just handed this gift at birth. Individuals are born with disabilities and forced to deal with a life that they didn't ask for in the first place; However, little do they know just how much of a blessing they really are because Individuals with disabilities are so much stronger than people think they are.

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We don't think that there are enough books with disabled characters as the hero or heroine. So, we've decided to create some of our own. Disabled writer Hayleigh Barclay and disabled illustrator Philip Hoare have come together for Disability Horizons to create a series of drawings and short stories where a disabled person is the lead. The first, Happy Birth-day...
The beige walls, flickering neon lights and Aztec rug resting under five oversized pink armchairs did nothing to reassure the woman that impending doom wasn't hiding around the corner. A man stood up from his chair and paced the room. Another woman drummed her fingers across her knees. Nobody spoke, let alone made eye contact.

The woman stared up at a poster of a white carnation with the word REIN written in giant gold letters above it. She wondered, what snot-nosed admin exec decided it would be a good idea to place that garish picture on the wall? People aren't stupid, they knew this was the reincarnation department.

The door opened and a fresh-faced young man, all smiles and gelled hair, stepped into the room. He held out his arm and motioned for the group to follow him. As the woman walked towards him, he stopped her, pointing to a purple door on the opposite side of the room.

"Me?" the woman asked, surprised.

The young man nodded and smiled before turning to leave. The woman, looking towards the door, glanced behind her only to realise she was alone.

The purple door creaked open and a flash of blue light swept over her. As she moved to run away in the opposite direction, the woman found herself falling into a black abyss, and then landing in a heap in the middle of yet another oversized armchair - a yellow one with orange stripes.

"Good afternoon!" said a red-haired woman wearing a pinstripe black suit.

The woman grappled with the overstuffed cushions, adjusted her hair and skirt, before sitting back down to face the red-head in front of her.

"My name is Dr LuLu. Welcome to your pre-birth consultation."

The woman fidgeted, played with her hair and made a non-committal grunt. This was her fifth attempt at the reincarnation program. After her fourth death, a man wearing white gloves had wiped her memory, again. She couldn't remember the reason, but according to a woman who claimed to be Cleopatra, that was normal.

The doctor, keeping her eyes glued to the clipboard on her desk, shuffled through the pages and gasped in glee. "Yes, yes, yes. Here it all is. Your life plan, names of your prospective parents, appearance, gender, overall destiny... and expected date of death."

The woman shuffled in the armchair and gave a nervous smile.

"But we will get to all of that later," the doctor continued, waving a pen in the air. "You have been called in here to be assigned a very specific mission."

The doctor leaned forward as if expecting a dramatic moment. She remained silent. The woman didn't react. Epic failure on the doctor's part. She sniffed as though disappointed and indignant, and collapsed back into her chair. "You are going to be born disabled. Or as a disabled person. Or a person with a disability. However you want to put it. The humans are very PC these days."

"WHAT?" the woman screamed. She had heard rumours of these disabled people, but had assumed that they were myths designed to keep children away from fires and to keep pre-birth souls in check. "Why me?"

The doctor glared at the woman over her thick round glasses. "Why not you?"

The woman banged her fists on the desk and, with a furrowed brow, sobbed. "Am I being punished?" She asked. "Perhaps for something I did in a previous life? I've heard of that sort of thing!"

The doctor scrambled around her desk searching for a tissue. None. Why wasn't she ever prepared for these unnecessary displays of emotion? As an alternative, she handed the woman a post-it note. Whilst the woman blew her nose into the tiny square of yellow paper, the doctor picked up a mobile phone, swivelled her chair to face the wall and made a call.

Despite the doctor attempting a surreptitious whisper, the woman heard every word. "Penelope. This one isn't too bright. Are you sure we have the right person? She's coming out with words like 'punished'... I haven't a clue... Is someone down in the Religion Department throwing around that rumour?"

Feeling embarrassed, the woman sank back into the armchair. After a couple of minutes, the doctor spun back around, slid her glasses up her nose, and launched a blank stare at the woman.

"I do apologise," the doctor lied, placing the phone in a drawer. "Now, where were we?"

"You were telling me about my... disability."

"Hmmm..."

"Do I get to choose which one?"

"No," the doctor replied.

"So, not only do I have no say about being born with a disability, I also don't get to decide which one?" the woman yelled.

The doctor sighed, "I think you're being very difficult about this. You haven't even asked anything else about your future life! Don't you want to know who your parents will be? Or what you will accomplish?"

The woman leapt to her feet; "I'm a little distracted right now!"

"You are choosing to let your disability define you," exclaimed the doctor.

"As will other people," the woman said, gritting her teeth.

" Some people, yes. They're assholes," laughed the doctor. "They'll ask you really personal questions - you know, about your sex life, how it happened to you, can they pray for you - inappropriate enquiries, if I'm honest. Did you get our pamphlet, The Soup Can Culture? It's about society and their obsession with labels?"

"No!"

"Oh! I'm sorry. We're switching to digital at the moment, so our system is a mess at present," said the doctor, "You did get a cupcake in the waiting room though?"

The woman ignored the doctor. "I remember what humans are like." Her face fell. She felt frightened and alone.

"Not everyone is like that of course. Some people have brains and see past all the labelling crap. Oooh, she has a disability! Oooh, she is a lesbian. Oooh, she has green hair. It's all just... " the doctor continued, raising her middle finger.

The woman collapsed onto the armchair, trying to take everything in. Her head was full of questions.

"Is there a manual?" she asked.

"No," the doctor replied.

Of course there wasn't.

"Why do you get to choose that I will have a disability?" the woman pouted.

The doctor held up her clipboard, pointed towards the paperwork and shrugged her shoulders.

The woman kept her eyes fixed on the floor. "Can you at least make it one of the better disabilities?" she asked.

The doctor frowned in astonishment, "Better ones? No disability is better or worse than another! They are different, that is all. And that is not for you - or anyone else - to judge!"

The woman paused for a moment before sighing. "You mentioned it being a mission."

The doctor pursed her lips and fidgeted with her fingernails. "I may have been trying to oversell it. Create dramatic tension."

The woman took a deep breath and attempted to remain calm.

"It's more of a free will thing. Although fate does play its part," the doctor said. "Kind of. It's a bit complicated."

The woman lifted her head to look at the doctor. She wondered if she was strong enough for this incarnation, whether she could handle whatever life threw at her and what she would do if she failed. Before she had the chance to speak, a knock came at the door.

The doctor smiled and stood up from her desk. She motioned for the woman to follow her towards the door. The door handle turned and in stepped the young man from before.

"I'm here to collect case number one nine-nine five," he said, without acknowledging the woman.

"She's ready," the doctor replied, patting the woman on the shoulder.

"Wait! What about my parents? Who will they be? Am I adopted? What will I look like? How will I die?" the woman rambled.

"You had your chance to ask," the Doctor replied whilst ushering the woman to leave.

The woman stood up and spun around to face the doctor, "What if - "

"Deal with it!" the doctor interrupted. "Oh, and Happy Birth-day" she said, shoving the woman out the door.
Story by Hayleigh Barclay and illustration by Philip Hoare You can follow Hayleigh on Twitter @HayleighBarclay and Disability Horizons @DHorizons. More from Disability Horizons...

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Disability short stories by disabled writers and illustrators

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We don't think that there are enough books with disabled characters as the hero or heroine. So, we've decided to create some of our own. Disabled writer Hayleigh Barclay and disabled illustrator Philip Hoare have come together for Disability Horizons to create a series of drawings and short stories where a disabled person is the lead.

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Being Heumann By Judith Heumann and Kristen Joiner (Book)

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Being Heumann By Judith Heumann and Kristen Joiner (Book)

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After hearing Judith Heumann speak at the Crip Camp webinar, I was so intrigued by her that I purchased her autobiography. This book is so inspiring because it gives the reader insight on what it is like being a disabled woman fighting for equality in a world that is historically known to discriminate against individuals with disabilities. The main take away is that individuals with disabilities are entitled to equal opportunities when it comes to education, jobs and life in general. Therefore, I recommend this read because it is a powerful story about a woman who stopped at nothing until she helped improve life for herself and others.

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One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of fighting for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human.
A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn't built for all of us and of one woman's activism--from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington-- Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann's lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society.

Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy's struggle for equality began early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a "fire hazard" to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher's license because of her paralysis, Judy's actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people.

As a young woman, Judy rolled her wheelchair through the doors of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in San Francisco as a leader of the Section 504 Sit-In, the longest takeover of a governmental building in US history. Working with a community of over 150 disabled activists and allies, Judy successfully pressured the Carter administration to implement protections for disabled peoples' rights, sparking a national movement and leading to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Candid, intimate, and irreverent, Judy Heumann's memoir about resistance to exclusion invites readers to imagine and make real a world in which we all belong.

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One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of fighting for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human.

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This film takes a look at the discrimination that individuals with disabilities face in Hollywood. Additionally, The way that individuals with disabilities have been portrayed in the movie industry is very discriminatory and shows the lack of diversity in Hollywood. This documentary does a great job of highlighting the limited opportunities available to individuals with disabilities by including first account experiences of people who work in the industry. I also felt that this film was a call to action and aimed at building a more inclusive environment in the film and television industry.

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CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion (2018) [OFFICIAL TRAILER]

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The New York Times: "Disabled People Love Clothes Too" (Article)

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The New York Times: "Disabled People Love Clothes Too" (Article)

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It was so nice to read an article that focused attention on the lack of inclusivity and accessibility in the fashion world. I liked how the writer Keah Brown, included perspectives of individuals with disabilities that actually work in the industry. These people get to observe the strides that are being made to adapt fashion so that it is accessible to all. This article also makes the point that individuals with disabilities need to continue to be included in the clothing design process from the beginning to end. The reason for this is to make sure that there continues to be equality within the fashion industry as it relates to individuals with disabilities.

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But #disabledandcute influencers say the fashion industry has been slow to embrace them.

Jourdie Godley, a fashion consultant, models products from FFORA including the Essentials bag in Tangerine. Credit... FFORA

I have always believed that fashion is the window to the soul. As a Black disabled woman with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects movement on the right side of my body, I have gone through what I call the stages of fashion grief.

First, there was denial, which led to pretending fashion did not matter to me. Anger, depression, bargaining and acceptance came when I realized that I was no longer going to deny myself the things that allowed me the opportunity to share myself with the world. Especially when I realized just how much fashion was a part of my story. In "The Pretty One," my collection of essays published last year, I talk about my journey to see my self-worth and how it led to my Twitter hashtag #disabledandcute, used by like-minded people to share pictures of ourselves and to declare that we are just as cute and worthy as anyone else.

I am not alone in my love for fashion. Disabled people, including the fashion plates among us, have always had to make wardrobe hacks to navigate features like zippers, buttons, shoes and irritable fabric tags. Stylish clothing for disabled people goes by many names: Accessible fashion, functional fashion, universal and inclusive fashion. I use accessible and inclusive fashion interchangeably and sometimes together because they best fit what I believe fashion should be after, not just function but style, too.

We have always known that clothes must function for our bodies. Increasingly, the fashion world is seeing this too. But it's only a start.

Three decades after the passage of the landmark Americans With Disabilities Act, disabled people want to be able to have freedom of self-expression through fashion rather than accepting scraps from an industry that has been very slow to embrace us and our needs.

The clothing brand Levi Strauss & Co. was one of the first major brands to design clothing for disabled people in the mid-1950s with the work of one of its designers, Helen Cookman. She created a pair of jeans with "stretch denim and full-length zippers in the side seams that opened from the top or bottom. Another useful design feature was a special inside half belt buttoning on either side to hold the jeans in place when the seat dropped," according to the company's archives.

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Christina Mallon-Michalove wearing a jacket that you can put on without the use of your arms. The design was created from a co-collaboration between Ms. Mallon-Michalove and Open Style Lab fellows Claudia Poh, Estee Bruno and Julia Liao. Credit... Estee Bruno

Christina Mallon-Michalove, who is head of inclusive design at the advertising agency, Wunderman Thompson, and chief brand officer at Open Style Lab, a design incubator for functional fashion, is a disabled woman herself, with a rare form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or A.L.S., that left her arms paralyzed. She sees accessible fashion for what it is: a requirement that will make the fashion industry even better.

"I know Levi's was the first to create the product and think about it, but when I think about the first that is creating end to end inclusive experiences, that was Tommy Adaptive" said Ms. Mallon-Michalove, referring to the preppy line by the designer Tommy Hilfiger. "When we talk about clothing and style, physically being able to buy the product is just one part of the style experience. We need functional clothing that is also fashionable."

A recent campaign from Tommy Adaptive featured Jillian Mercado, far right.

I agree. For years, I have been wondering why there seems to be more enthusiasm for clothing lines for dogs than for disabled people.

Left with few clothing options, we have been altering our own clothes all of our lives. Jillian Mercado, an actress and model with spastic muscular dystrophy, has appeared in campaigns for Diesel and Nordstrom, among others. When she was a child, she said her mother and siblings helped her adapt outfits. As she grew older, she got creative in altering clothes on her own. She says that though there have been strides in accessible fashion, they don't go far enough in imaginatively addressing issues like style.

"For the longest time I've had to make time, maybe an hour, to complete an outfit by myself and with accessible clothing it's maybe 15 minutes," Ms. Mercado says. "With that said, something that I do not like about functional and accessible fashion has to be that the clothing that is available for people like myself, isn't really my style of clothing."

Ms. Mercado at a Badgley Mischka event during New York fashion week in February 2019. Credit... Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images

Ms. Mercado attends an event during Paris Fashion Week in September 2019. Credit... Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

The key to satisfying disabled consumers is options, because fewer options mean more barriers.

As a disabled person, I long for the independence and the ability to choose how I express myself; the fashion industry should be a place where that is made possible. Insteadonly a handful of companies are willing to see us as desirable consumers.

One is headed by Lucy Jones, chief executive of FFORA, (a derivative of fora the plural for the word forum) who founded the company in 2017. The brand designs fashionable and accessible bags and purses, cup holders and tumblers, attachments and accessories. The products are designed to work in tandem with an attachment that FFORA designed for wheelchair users. However, the bags also come with a cross-body strap so that all body types are able to use them. In designing products, Ms. Jones says, it is essential to give accurate portrayals of lifestyles in the disability community.

"Missteps are as important as strides because it creates dialogue and criticism; therefore, we can move forward with better outcomes," she said. "But harmful missteps are when people with disabilities are not consulted or involved in decisions that directly affect them. So many opportunities can be lost by only skimming the surface and not actively engaging with disability culture."

An accessible party dress donated by Jay Calderin to the Fashion and Textiles Collection of the Peabody Essex Museum. Credit... Jay Calderin

In May, Jay Calderin, a designer and author based in Boston, donated an accessible party dress to the Fashion and Textiles Collection of the Peabody Essex Museum. The dress is gorgeous, fun and sexy and accessible for someone in a wheelchair. The dress is designed in two pieces so it's easier to put on unassisted. Though it was Mr. Calderin's first foray into accessible fashion design, he already saw what should be avoided.

"There are leaders in the industry that have acknowledged and responded to the need for accessibility and inclusivity," Mr. Calderin says. "Design that considers different bodies and different abilities from the very beginning of the design process shouldn't be the exception, it should be the rule."

Fellows and co-collaborators at the Open Style Lab. OSL teams designers, engineers and occupational therapists to conceive and build accessible wearables that address the needs with and for people with disabilities. Credit... Open Style Lab

Ms. Mallon-Michalove believes inclusive design is designing for disability, race, religion, gender and sexuality. The question is who will follow the example of the handful of designers now creating accessible fashion so that years from now they won't be the only brands doing this work?

"It's super important that someone is setting the example when it comes to things like equality," Ms. Mallon-Michalove said. "Given COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter, I think it's going to have brands and companies, specifically fashion, rethink about how they're designing. Or ask the question are our designs leaving people out? And, who is it excluding?"

Keah Brown is a journalist, author and screenwriter. Follow her work at keahbrown.com and on Twitter @Keah_Maria.

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But #disabledandcute influencers say the fashion industry has been slow to embrace them. I have always believed that fashion is the window to the soul. As a Black disabled woman with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects movement on the right side of my body, I have gone through what I call the stages of fashion grief.

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Disability Representation in the Media and Popular Culture (Video)

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Disability Representation in the Media and Popular Culture (Video)

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This video does not victimized those with disabilities, and instead creates conversations around the lack of representation, diversity and accessibility in the media and pop culture. Each speaker addresses the lack of diversity that they see in their various fields of work and point out how they don't see people like them in film which is extremely frustrating. Social media has made it easier to draw attention to this issue, but a lot more work still needs to be done. The reason for this is to make sure that more authentic representation of people with disabilities is made in the film and pop culture industry.

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Disability Representation in the Media and Popular Culture

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This video was another first hand account of individuals with disabilities speaking about the way others see them, and most importantly how they see themselves. This video shows how they embrace themselves and their disabilities by not letting it hold them back. Society doesn't know how to react to people with disabilities because society ultimately teaches people to be afraid of them. However, the people in this video are portrayed as strong and confident, so I can honestly say that they inspired me to be confident in who I am because everyone is beautiful in their own way.

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Raising Dion is about a widowed mother and her young Son Dion who is learning to manage his newly discovered superpowers. Although Dion is amazing, the series introduces a classmate of Dion's named Esperanza (who is wheelchair bound) and ends up becoming his close friend. Ultimately, the friendship between Dion and Esperanza embodies the type of bond that everyone should create with those who have a disability. Despite her disablility, Dion doesn't treat Esperanza like anything other than the human being that she is. I feel like this series teaches people not to treat people with disabilities as outcasts, and instead shows people how to build relationships with them, just as Dion did with Esperanza.

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Raising Dion | Official Trailer | Netflix

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COVID-19 Has Leveled the Playing Field for People With Disabilities (Article)

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COVID-19 Has Leveled the Playing Field for People With Disabilities (Article)

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This article suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic is worsening the mental health of those with disabilities. The reason for this is because social distancing can leave them feeling isolated, the supplies that they may once have relied on are becoming harder to find, and discriminatory practices against those with disabilities is at an all time high. This article makes it seem like people with disabilities are at higher risk for getting the virus. It also highlights that they need to become well informed on medical practices and policies so that they do not fall victim to discrimination.

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Research shows people with disabilities are at risk for mental health problems.

Cite this

American Psychological Association. (2020, May 6). How COVID-19 impacts people with disabilities. http://www.apa.org/topics/covid-19/research-disabilities

Emerging research on COVID-19 shows that the coronavirus pandemic has increased psychological distress both in the general population and among high-risk groups. Behaviors such as physical distancing, as well as their social and economic impacts, are worsening mental health consequences. Research on the psychological impact of mass trauma (e.g., natural disasters, flu outbreaks) suggests that the pandemic might particularly harm the mental health of marginalized populations who have less access to socioeconomic resources and supportive social networks (e.g., Goldmann & Galea, 2014).

There are unique stressors and challenges that could worsen mental health for people with disabilities during the COVID-19 crisis. Research on past pandemics shows that disabled people find it harder to access critical medical supplies which can become even more challenging as resources become scarce (Campbell, Gilyard, Sinclair, Sternberg, & Kailes, 2009). Some people with disabilities report higher levels of social isolation than their nondisabled counterparts (O'Sullivan & Bourgin, 2010). They may experience intensified feelings of loneliness in response to physical distancing measures. Social isolation and loneliness have been associated with increases in heart disease, dementia and other health problems according to the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Furthermore, policies around rationing of medical care can intensify discriminatory attitudes towards disabled individuals during times of crisis (Priestley & Hemingway, 2006). This can understandably worsen your anxiety about getting sick and needing to seek medical care.

As the virus continues to spread, data is critical to informing the public health response. While adequate research on the specific impact of COVID-19 on the disability community is not yet available, several studies are underway or in planning phase. Data is needed on rates of infections, hospitalizations, outcomes and deaths disaggregated by disability, age, race and income, among other factors, so we can understand the impact of COVID-19 on multiple vulnerable groups.

Federal and local agencies will need to coordinate and use that data to better serve the disability community.

Who is at risk?

It is important not to conflate health status with disability. Many people with disabilities are healthy. However, some have underlying or secondary aspects of their disability, like suppressed immune systems or respiratory concerns, that COVID-19 could worsen. Some have underlying acute health conditions, such as skin breakdown or urinary tract infection, which increase risk of severe symptoms associated with COVID-19. Being classified as "high risk" in the current pandemic can cause additional stress and fears.

The social gradient of risk may influence policies and decision-making related to access to care or treatments. Medical discrimination is always a dangerous reality for many people with disabilities in need of healthcare. Many disabled adults (60% report being "very concerned" in a recent survey - National Disability Institute, 2020 ) and disability rights organizations are anxious about how these policies may prevent them from getting equitable and fair treatment. Make sure you and your family know your rights. You should also know your risks and take appropriate precautions if you have an underlying condition. If in doubt, consult your treating physician.

This resource was developed in collaboration with APA's Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology and the Division of Rehabilitation Psychology's Disability Identity Committee. Thanks go to Kara Ayers, PhD, Anjali Fober-Pratt, PhD, Poorna Kushalnagar, PhD, and Carrie Pilarski, PhD, for their contributions to this resource.

The authors have intentionally chosen to use identity-first language of "disabled people" interchangeably with person-first language of "individuals with disabilities". This reflects shifts in language use, led by the members of the disability community who prefer to refer to themselves as disabled. Section 5.4 of the American Psychological Association Publication Manual (2019) states that identity-first language can be used interchangeably with person-first language.

References

Brooks, J. M., Iwanaga, K., Chan, F., Lee, B., Chen, X., Wu, J.-R., Walker, R., & Fortuna, K. L. (2020). Psychometric validation of the Job Satisfaction of Persons with Disabilities Scale in a sample of peer support specialists. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/prj0000411

Campbell, V. A., Gilyard, J. A., Sinclair, L., Sternberg, T., & Kailes, J. I. (2009). Preparing for and responding to pandemic influenza: Implications for people with disabilities. American Journal of Public Health, 99, S294-S300, https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.162677

Galea, S., Merchant, R. M., Lurie N. (2020). The mental health consequences of COVID-19 and physical distancing: The need for prevention and early intervention. JAMA Intern Med. Published online April 10, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.1562

Goldmann, E., & Galea, S. (2014). Mental health consequences of disasters, Annual Review of Public Health, 35, 169-183 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182435

Lai, J., Ma, S., Wang, Y, et al. (2020). Factors associated with mental health outcomes among health care workers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019. JAMA Network Open. 3(3):e203976. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.3976 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2763229

National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. (2020). Social isolation and loneliness in older adults: Opportunities for the health care system. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25663

O'Sullivan, T., & Bourgoin, M. (2010). Vulnerability in an influenza pandemic: Looking beyond medical risk. White Paper funded by Public Health Agency of Canada https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3fea/b020bbd580beee0ae83a05f2945286f61e2e.pdf?_ga=2.32448446.1610832451.1588091465-2065395916.1588091465

Priestley, M., & Hemingway, L. (2007) Disability and disaster recovery, Journal of Social Work in Disability & Rehabilitation, 5:3-4, 23-42, DOI: 10.1300/J198v05n03_02

Qi, F., Qian, S., Zhang, S., & Zhang, Z. (2020) Single cell RNA sequencing of 13 human tissues identify cell types and receptors of human coronaviruses. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. DOI: 10.1101/2020.02.16.951913 [published ahead of print]

Wang W, Xu Y, Gao R, et al. (2020). Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in different types of clinical specimens. JAMA. Published online March 11, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.3786

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How COVID-19 impacts people with disabilities

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Research shows people with disabilities are at risk for mental health problems. Cite this American Psychological Association. (2020, May 6). How COVID-19 impacts people with disabilities. http://www.apa.org/topics/covid-19/research-disabilities Emerging research on COVID-19 shows that the coronavirus pandemic has increased psychological distress both in the general population and among high-risk groups.

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Disability and Visibility: Black Disabled Women in the Media (Podcast)

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Disability and Visibility: Black Disabled Women in the Media (Podcast)

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The host Alice Wong and co-hots Kym Oliver and Jay Abdullahi of The Triple Cripples; discuss how black disabled women are portrayed in the media. One concept that they touch on is the idea that disabled people aren't human. They call for more representation of individuals with disabilities in the media in order to show people that they are human and have thoughts and feelings just like everyone else. They also discuss how there is an added barrier when being black and disabled because not only do individuals have to deal with discrimination based on their race, but they also have to deal with being discriminated against based on their disability as well. Overall, this podcast urges those with disabilities to become informed and continue to fight to end discrimination and racism to help build a world that is inclusive for all.

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Today's episode is about Black disabled women in media. I'm in conversation with the goddesses behind Triple Cripples: Kym Oliver and Jay Abdullahi. Triple Cripples is a project created to highlight the narratives of Black & non-Black Women, Femmes & Non-Binary People of Colour, living with disabilities whose stories would otherwise remain hidden from view. You'll hear Kym and Jay talk about the origins of Triple Cripples, the lack of representation of Black disabled women in media, the racism they face as Black disabled women in the UK, their vision for culture change, and the future of their platform.

Transcript

Related Links
Triple Cripples on YouTube
About

Featured on the BBC, AJ+, METRO, Black Ballad, iNews and more, TRIPLE CRIPPLES was created by Kym Oliver & Jay Abdullahi. It is a ground-breaking platform, created to increase visibility & highlight the narratives of Black & non-Black Women, Femmes & Non-Binary People of Colour, living with disabilities - whose stories would otherwise remain hidden from view.

The project came out of their frustration with the lack of representation of Black Disabled women, like them and it's social, cultural, economic & medical implications. You can find them spitting hard facts and cackling inappropriately about various topics on their YouTube Channel. Their podcast is more of the same, featuring in-depth interviews with special guests sharing insight into their lived experiences.

These women are doing the work! You can also find them around the world giving lectures, offering training, guesting on panels and side-eying colonisers.

Kym & Jay are extremely passionate about eradicating the cultural taboos surrounding illness and disability within the Black community, not just in the UK, but in the global diaspora. The intersections of Race, Gender & Disability are key factors in determining how people experience the world around them.

Yet so often, these axes of oppression are overlooked in Disability activism, Feminist agendas & Black liberation movements. The TRIPLE CRIPPLES are here to change the culture. They refuse to be ignored any longer and are dedicating their lives to being SEEN & screaming "WE ARE HERE!"
Triple Cripples YouTube channel
Twitter: @TripleCripples
Support Disability Media and Culture DONATE to the Disability Visibility Project®
Credits

Cheryl Green, Audio Producer & Text Transcript

Alice Wong, Writer, Audio Producer, Host

Lateef McLeod, Introduction

Mike Mort, Artwork

Theme Music (used with permission of artist)

Song: "Hard Out Here for A Gimp"

Album: NO BIG DEAL

Artist: Wheelchair Sports Camp

Music

" Blossoming ," " Kitty in the Window ," and " Relinquish " by Podington Bear. (Source: freemusicarchive.org. Licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License .)

Sounds

"VOCODER countdown" by Jack_Master. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

" 8 Bit Beeping Computer Sounds" by sheepfilms. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

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Today's episode is about Black disabled women in media. I'm in conversation with the goddesses behind Triple Cripples: Kym Oliver and Jay Abdullahi. Triple Cripples is a project created to highlight the narratives of Black & non-Black Women, Femmes & Non-Binary People of Colour, living with disabilities whose stories would otherwise remain hidden from...