White woman with shoulder-length curly brown hair walks confidently through a building with large glass windows overlooking trees. Her right leg is prosthetic.
|

Returning to work after getting on disability: protecting your health

For many of us who become disabled, the recognition and acceptance process isn’t easy, and all too often, employment and disability are inextricably linked. For many of us, part of becoming disabled is losing our employment. The grief and loss of becoming disabled is often entangled deeply with the loss of income, and often the…

Alison in Bi mask at Poor People's Campaign rally 8/2
|

Poor and disabled: Participating in the Poor People’s Campaign’s Activism with a Disability

I’ve been active during the time I’ve taken off from posting. One of my biggest efforts was a multi-day trip to Washington, DC to join the Poor People’s Campaign in a push for congressional reforms through civil disobedience. We had a simple set of demands for the Senate, which has, of yet, been unfulfilled. Our…

Four disabled people of color gather around a table during a meeting. A Black woman sitting on a couch gestures and speaks while the three others (a South Asian person sitting in a wheelchair, a Black non-binary person sitting in a chair, and a Black non-binary person standing with a clipboard and cane) face her and listen.
|

Safe at Work: Disclosure and Protection

This is Michele’s second guest post on my blog – the first also focusing on the disclosure process. She is also part of the Spoonie Entrepreneur School, and is closing out the virtual summit with her talk “Making work work for you” at 12 PM EST today! “Well, I hope you can do the job,”…

man with white hair sits in wheelchair in front of a red car. Another man, with "volunteer" written on his T-shirt is pushing the chair.
|

Traveling with a disability: car travel

While some health conditions prevent disabled people from driving, many others don’t. What disabilities prevent driving and which don’t can be surprising. There are many accessibility features available today to allow wheelchair users and people with other mobility limits to drive despite their presumed inability to do so. There also are many advances in automated…

view through the window of a plane. The wing is central to the image, and colored pink, reflecting the early-morning light
|

Flying with a disability

You absolutely can fly while managing your condition! While there aren’t generally travel discounts (airlines are private companies), there are rules to help you travel safely, referred to as the Air Carrier Access Act. Your carrier’s services should provide you with supports for your trip, but it is your responsibility to let them know that…

wheelchair user at a subway station with their back to the photographer.
|

Traveling with a disability: Save yourself spoons and money!

Traveling in any way can be a relatively large expense, and for those of us with disabilities, it can also take up a disproportionate amount of energy. There are some things you can do now to help you have an easier time when you travel later, whether you’re traveling across town or across the country….

Woman in Black Spaghetti Strap Top Covering Her Eyes with Hands
|

The Seven Steps of Accepting Your Diagnosis

As I have mentioned in previous posts, accepting your diagnosis isn’t as easy as it may first sound. For most people, there’s a fair amount of time between when symptoms first occur and when they know what is actually happening inside their bodies. There also is definitely a sense of loss involved in really recognizing…