runningsteps

Part of a series exploring disability, dignity, and the stories society tells about disabled lives Many people want to support disabled people, but worry about doing the wrong thing. The truth is that some of the most common forms of ableism come from people who genuinely mean well. Ableism isn’t always obvious. Sometimes it is — mocking a disabled person, using a slur, or hearing someone say they’d rather die than have to use a wheelchair. But more often it’s subtle. It can come from people...

Part of a series exploring disability, dignity, and the stories society tells about disabled lives Disabled people don’t need to be treated like children—we need to be treated like adults. Support for disabled individuals has greatly improved during my lifetime, and it’s been inspiring to see. In Canada and the United States, many intellectually disabled people were once placed in institutions from a young age. These places were often little more than warehouses, where abuse and neglect went...

Part of a series exploring disability, dignity, and the stories society tells about disabled lives The story we’ve been told about disability is wrong. From childhood stories to nonprofit campaigns, disability is often framed as tragedy — something to overcome, something to fix, something that limits what a life can be. The more I've paid attention, the more I've seen how this story quietly influences expectations not only about what disabled people can do, but about what kind of lives we are...