Divergent: A Poem
Divergent Counting sheep to fall asleep, In dismay, unable to slip away. Thoughts upon gestures of The sheep keep clambering At slumbers bay. The bleating echo’s lay Ephemeral, yet they stay. Dreamless sleep in waking day. The inner voice ‘Not I!’, I pray.
I Am Tired of Carrying These Cups: Social Model Theory of Disability
Let’s start with a hypothetical scenario: You live in a world where for one reason or another you can only drink from red cups. Maybe this rule is from birth or maybe you have acquired it recently, but it is now permanent. Now in your house, this isn’t too bad, you just buy red cups. […]
To One on His Back in the Dark: An Examination of the Process of Disability
Image Description: Person lying on their back in a room full of darkness, and unable to see anything forward. Kashif and I met in Glasgow, Scotland through skateboarding. The day I met Kash we went back to my flat and watched skate videos all night with Paul VX and a couple of my friends from […]
Comic Books and PTSD: a Quest for Representation
A few weeks ago, I had my day made by a comic book. I had been browsing my local comic shop when I came across a superhero comic in the teen section. I don’t read many superhero stories, and I had never read a DC young adult book before, but I decided to give it […]
Silence is Complicity: Defending the Life of Dylan Freeman
Content Warning: Death, Filicide Dylan Freeman was a 10-year-old autistic boy, described by his father as “a beautiful, bright, inquisitive, and artistic child.” A young boy who had his entire life ahead of him, he made the news after being found dead in his home in west London, allegedly murdered at the hands of […]
15 Cripped-Up Characters That Deserved Better Representation
Inspired by our recent roast of the newest adaptation of “Come As You Are,” here are 15 Disabled Characters That Should Have Been Played by Disabled Actors. Warning – this article comments on plots containing suicide, abuse, and disabled slurs. #15: Sean Penn as Sam Dawson in I Am Sam To start us off, we […]
YouTube Plans to Discontinue Viewer-Submitted Captions
In the latest news of accessibility removal, YouTube announced that they will be removing community captions on September 28, 2020. A screenshot of YouTube’s announcement to discontinue community contributions. Image description: An announcement from Youtube stating: Community contributions will be discontinued across all channels after September 28, 2020. Community contributions allowed viewers to add closed […]
How Film Became a Refuge for Me in a Neurotypical World
When I was younger, everyone looked at my peculiarity as some sort of gift to the world. I was special; smart; gifted; charming. I loved animals. stuffed animals, and even inanimate objects that looked like animals. I could communicate with people older than me fluently – and enjoyed having elderly friends. I felt they understood […]
It’s Okay to Grieve the Life You’ve Missed Out On
Because of my mental health, I have missed out on more things in life than I ever would have expected. Granted, I am also much more mentally ill then I would have expected: over the past six years a number of mental illnesses have worked their way into my brain, taking up much of my […]
“Come As You Are” – But Only If You’re Cripping Up
A quadriplegic, a wheelchair user, and a blind man are walking down the road when a cop pulls up next to them. Finding them alone on a busy highway, the cop calls it in: “Yeah, I’ve got two handicapped guys – “ “Actually,” the quadriplegic corrects, “it’s ‘person with disabilities.’” The cop gives the ragtag […]