It finally really, truly feels like Spring where I am. The hardships of Northern Hemisphere Winter, amplified by disability and spotty snow and ice removal, are gone — at least for the next several months.
Here are three disability-related links for Monday, May 6, 2024.
1. Alice Wong’s 'Disability Intimacy' Is a Deep Dive into Relationships and Community
Caroline Smith, KQED - May 3, 2024
“The anthology’s first-person essays and poems reflect on friendships, parent-child bonds, romantic and sexual relationships and disability communities. They cherish the love and care their authors give to others and themselves. They consider the sensation of touch from loved ones and health care workers alike. They bask in what it means to feel truly seen and celebrate the personal and collective change that intimacy creates.”
I have ordered my copy of “Disability Intimacy” and can’t wait to read it. It’s a topic I really need to read more about, from a variety of perspectives. So an anthology of pieces written by disabled people is perfect for me. And I trust Alice more than just about anyone else to curate and conceptualize the topic of disability intimacy the way it should be.
2. Study Reveals Unexpected Literacy in Autistic People Who Cannot Speak
University of Virginia - May 6, 2024
“About one-third of autistic people are unable to communicate using speech, and most are never provided an effective alternative. However, a new study from scientists at the University of Virginia suggests that many of these individuals are literate, raising the possibility that they could learn to express themselves through writing.”
A lot of autistic people and at least some of their allies have to be saying, “No s*it Sherlock!” to this study’s rather obvious conclusion. But apparently we need to keep restating the obvious on a great many basic disability concepts. Autistic people who can’t speak can communicate. Paraplegics and quadriplegics can have sex. Blind people can find their way around environments safely. People who can’t do much physical labor can work hard and be productive. It’s all true, but almost pathetically basic. But it’s still worth saying because for too many people, ideas like this are still startling news.
3. After my stroke, I didn’t know how to identify as someone with a disability
Katherine Wolf, Today - May 3, 2024
“As a girl, my favorite pastime was giving inspirational speeches about hope and justice to a captive audience of dolls in my closet. I quoted Martin Luther King Jr. and Holocaust activist Corrie ten Boom until my mom called me to dinner. Even at a young age, I knew I wanted to help people. But in the early days of my new normal, I found myself distraught at the notion I would now be the miracle girl in the wheelchair. I could not wrap my mind around identifying as a bonafide member of a disenfranchised population, rather than just an outside ally and encourager.”
I’m not a fan of the “We are ALL disabled” approach to connecting with non-disabled people and “raising disability awareness.” I still think it too often has the side effect of leading people to minimize disability itself. I also believe that it’s important to keep at least some spaces open for disabled people to work together without non-disabled people. Partnerships are essential. And in everyday life, integration should be the goal, not segregation. But non-disabled allies do tend to end up dominating disability-focused efforts, even when they don’t intend to or want to. So I’m a little skeptical of the model Wolf describes here. On the other hand I fully relate to Wolf’s own struggle to embrace the fact that she, herself, is a disabled person — and to understand what it means to fight for a marginalized community from the inside.
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