I am a mad queer autistic disabled woman (I came to the realization about my queerness relatively late in life so ignore posts where I say I’m straight I was confused). I am doing my PhD in Critical Disability Studies and my research focus is the historical and contemporary ways mad and disabled women have been treated both physically and culturally.
Comment Policy
I have little energy for moderation and policing right now so all comments are going through moderation and I’ll get to it when I get to it.
I just kind of stumbled across your blog but find it interesting and refreshing! I plan to read through your articles over the next week. Former paramedic/ICU nurse with spinal cord injury after a virus and subsequent autoimmune disease (yeah, I’m still scratching my head on that). Learning how to adapt home life activities and keep my brain busy! Love the articles I’ve read so far! 🙂
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Welcome!
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How can I subscribe to your blog? Thanks!
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If you have a wordpress account, you can follow that way or if you have something like Feedly which allows you to keep up with all the online content you want in one place. I don’t have the set up for a mailing list I’m afraid.
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Hello! Writing from the Coyote Review, a journal based in New York City (www.thecoyotereview.com). We were interested in speaking with you further about some of your blog posts…if you are interested, we would love to have you contact us directly: submissions@coyotereview.com or let us know how we can DM you. Thank You!
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Hello! I gave you the wrong email address. Email us at submissions@thecoyotereview.com Thanks! And hope to hear from you soon
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I have e-mailed but I’ve also followed you on Twitter so you can DM me now if the e-mail doesn’t get through
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Hi! Question: a) Are you okay with people citing your blog, such as in academic papers? And b) if you are okay with that, how do you want people to cite you? (e.g. by name, by blogger handle, etc…)
I’m super grateful that your blog exists. Always gives me lots to think about, and also has proven to be a valuable source of moral support. I’m a Mad person in academia, which often makes me feel like I’m losing my mind even when I’m not– your blog often feels like a sanity check, like, Yep, there is something wrong with these systems.
Thanks. ^_^
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Hi. I’m honoured you would consider my blog citation worthy. Please feel free. If you are using my blog cite using my blog handle.
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Okay, thank you very much! It’s appreciated.
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I found your blog from a share on FB. I enjoy it. I have MS and recently had both hips replaced. Now I’m a little less disabled than before. I have “but you look so good” disability. I occasionally look drunk because I can’t feel pressure on my feet or ass. There are other numerous invisible issues. I could always be more disabled tomorrow. I was wondering if you know of any blogs that might be more to my types of issues. An example is I’ve had airport personnel tell me to use the escalator when I need an elevator or a ramp. I had to argue with them as they stared at my apparently perfect legs. Things like that aren’t often addressed in disability blogs. Thanks for blogging about these issues.
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HI I just found your blog but I am having difficulty reading the light print in dark background. Is there any way for me to reformat it on my iPad. The content is great.
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Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to add accessibility controls to the blog. I have been cross posting my more recent stuff to medium which has a different contrast. You can see it here: https://medium.com/@crippledscholar
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There is the whole problem that all DSM designations that are usually thought of as “mental illness” are not evidenced based. We basically don’t know enough to distinguish whether autism, “mental illnesses” and dementia should all be considered neuroligical problems or not.
I don’t agree with diagnosing but I do think that naming the functional difficulties he has are appropriate without attaching a diagnosis.
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I think you meant for this comment to appear on a different piece
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Curious if you ask for permission from people who produce web content before you post them on your blog.
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I’m not really sure what you’re referring to as I produce all of the content on this blog with the exception of one piece that was reblogged (in accordance with WordPress sharing options). If you mean do I inform people that I quote or if I embed video content from, The answer is no, I don’t ask permission because I am generally commenting or critiquing their work. This is well within fair use of copyright. I do generally share the finished post with them but I do not ask permission to publicly comment on publicly available content.
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Hi, I am a resident physician who is training in physiatry. I am also passionate about sharing stories and experiences of disability, and adapting and becoming stronger. I’m glad I stumbled across your blog!
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Food for thought: Are you Autistic or do you have Autism?
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I’m autistic. There’s no food for thought
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Hi Kim,
I have been following your blog off and on for years. I think I even commented a couple of times. In any case I have a special request.
I am co-authoring an article for submission to the World Medical Association in support of maintaining their (negative) stance on euthanasia. (I am Canadian and Canada is lobbying for a removal of certain clauses now that euthanasia is legal in Canada. Naturally there is a strong dissident lobby too, and we also intend to be heard.)
There will be a Regional Meeting in Iceland in October, we want our article in by then.
I say the following:
“Moreover, notions of “protecting the vulnerable” usually seem to assume that this is a special small class of the potential euthanasia clientele, separate from the bulk of non-vulnerable eligible people who are not subject to undue pressure. We would argue, rather, that this entire clientele be considered vulnerable, and that the existence of legal euthanasia represents, itself, undue pressure for the non-suicidal majority. The most pervasive risk, in fact, stems simply from the association of the individual with the qualifying criteria, evoking the inevitable unstated question : If you are qualified to make the request, why do you not do so ? For in the public imagination, under the effect of official approval, the neutral permission “you may” approaches perilously near to the more sinister proposition “You should…”. Disabled intellectuals are nearly unanimous in their identification and denunciation of this ubiquitous discriminatory and lethal bias (ref) (ref) (ref)”
Might I use you as a reference to this proposition ? A link to anything you have written, or just an authorized quote ?
Please let me know ASAP. time is of the essence.
Aside from that, I see that life has been throwing you all sorts of curves since I last “visited”. Your unconditional resistance to fate is a great example to us all.
Best Regards,
Gordon Friesen, Montreal (mind at large and outspoken gimp)
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