Category: #DisabilityRepresentation
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Cerebral Palsy From the Inside-part 9
What Independence Looks Like With Cerebral Palsy Independence is important to many people in the disability community. For me, as a woman with cerebral palsy, independence has been one of the most important goals of my life. But I’ve also learned that independence doesn’t always look the way people think it does. My Mind and…
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Cerebral Palsy From the Inside-Part 7
My Beautiful, Capable Body A few weeks ago, I was doing a morning meditation when I heard a simple phrase: “My beautiful, capable body.” I don’t know why those words hit me the way they did. I’ve spent 48 years living in this body. I know its challenges. I know its stiffness. I know its…
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Cerebral Palsy From the Inside-Part 6
Learning to Believe in My Body Again One of the biggest challenges I faced was breaking my leg. There was a time when I honestly didn’t know if I would ever walk again. Living with cerebral palsy already made walking challenging, and suddenly I was faced with something that made it even harder. But I…
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Cerebral Palsy From the Inside-Part 4
What Is Spastic Diplegia? Let Me Tell You From the Inside If you look up spastic diplegia, you will probably find a medical explanation telling you that it is a form of cerebral palsy that primarily affects the legs. That definition is important. But it doesn’t tell you what it feels like. I can. I…
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Cerebral Palsy From the Inside- Part 3
World Cerebral Palsy Day: More Than a Diagnosis Welcome to October 6 — World Cerebral Palsy Day. 💚 Today means a lot to me and to the cerebral palsy community because it gives us a day to show the world that we are more than just a disability. We are people like anyone else. I…
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Cerebral Palsy From the Inside-Part 2
Cerebral Palsy From the Inside — Part 2 Before It Was Called Cerebral Palsy: The Story of Little’s Disease For my entire life, I have known my disability by two words: cerebral palsy. But while researching the history of CP for this October series, I discovered something I had never known before. Before cerebral palsy…
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Meeting Disability at Different Doors
Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie Disability Pride series One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned is that not everyone meets disability at the same door. Some of us are born with a disability. Some acquire one through an illness, an accident, or simply through the aging process. No matter how we arrive, we all become…
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The ADA Changed the Law-Not Every Mind
Disability Pride Month series Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie When the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990, it changed history for millions of people with disabilities. It opened doors that had never been open before, creating a whole new world for people with disabilities. It brought greater access to schools, businesses, transportation,…
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Accessibility Is Not One Size Fit All
Disability Pride Series Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned about disability is that accessibility is not one size fits all. For years, people with disabilities have fought for equal access. The ADA changed our country in incredible ways, making schools, businesses, transportation, and housing more accessible than ever before.…
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The Ugly Laws: The History Many People Never Learned
Disability Pride Month Series Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie One of the reasons I wanted to create a Disability Pride Month series was because I realized that many people—even people within the disability community—don’t know some of the history that shaped our lives today. I know I didn’t. Not long ago, I learned about something…
