Author: crippledscholar

I am a disability and mad studies scholar who is currently working on an autoethnographic PhD looking at the ways in which mad and disabled women are still hidden from public space in various ways. it is tentatively titled "We Still Hide Mad Women in the Attic"

Labels aren’t Just for Jars: Give Kids the Words to Understand their Lives

~ crippledscholar ~ 10 Comments

Image Description: a hand places disability label cards onto illustrations of children. Still taken from video in post. Yesterday, on Twitter someone shared this video and asked me for my thoughts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK0KG5vKCO0 Video description: A mostly unnarrated video in which a pair of hands puts labels on illustrated jars like jam, peaches, pickles etc. Then … Continue reading Labels aren’t Just for Jars: Give Kids the Words to Understand their Lives

If You Care about Autistic People Don’t Just Perform Solidarity

~ crippledscholar ~ 4 Comments

So April is upon us and along with it Autism Bewareness Month (I stand by that word choice). Tomorrow is World Autism Awareness Day and I am already feeling suffocated by all of the faux awareness. Awareness would be great if it actually meant that people were actually educating themselves about the realities of autistic people. … Continue reading If You Care about Autistic People Don’t Just Perform Solidarity

Open Letter to the Autism Society Regarding Your Decision to Honour Ben Affleck

~ crippledscholar ~ Leave a comment

Image Description: Aut Fest Logo, the words Aut Fest appear in white on a black clap board (like they use to differentiate takes on film shoots)   Dear Autism Society and Organizers of Aut Fest I am writing to you as an actually autistic person who is very concerned about the fact that you have … Continue reading Open Letter to the Autism Society Regarding Your Decision to Honour Ben Affleck

I have Cerebral Palsy and I Tried the Cerebral Palsy Foundation’s New Fitness App

~ crippledscholar ~ Leave a comment

March is as I've been repeatedly made aware Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month--please take a moment to pause and simply be aware of my existence--as a result, there have been awareness campaigns (usually in the form of patronizing memes) that pop up in my social media feeds. There has been one that I was particularly interested … Continue reading I have Cerebral Palsy and I Tried the Cerebral Palsy Foundation’s New Fitness App

Return of the Ableist Narrative: Why do We Keep Having to Demand Food Accessibility

~ crippledscholar ~ 7 Comments

A little over a year ago a tweet went viral. https://twitter.com/awlilnatty/status/705375555030556672 Image Description: tweet with a picture of peeled oranges in plastic containers on a grocery store (whole foods) shelf. Tweet reads “If only nature could find a way to cover these oranges so we didn’t need to waste so much plastic on them” This … Continue reading Return of the Ableist Narrative: Why do We Keep Having to Demand Food Accessibility

We Need Diverse Authors: A Review of Dancing With Ghosts

~ crippledscholar ~ 7 Comments

Image description: Book cover for the novel Dancing with Ghosts by Emily Gillespie. The bottom two-thirds of the cover is black with the title and author's name in white text. The top features a galaxy background with pinks, purples and blue speckled with stars. On the left side, three ballet dancers are captured in silhouette. … Continue reading We Need Diverse Authors: A Review of Dancing With Ghosts

If You’re Disabled in an M. Night Shyamalan Film, You are either a Villain or a Supercrip (Mostly a Villain Though)

~ crippledscholar ~ 2 Comments

I long for the days when M. Night Shyamalan was still mostly associated with his flops. Only making movies because of a vain hope that he would rediscover his Sixth Sense heydey. I look back yearningly at that moment I was sitting in a movie theatre and the collective groan of disappointment that the audience … Continue reading If You’re Disabled in an M. Night Shyamalan Film, You are either a Villain or a Supercrip (Mostly a Villain Though)