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"

Katimavik Completely Changed My Life for the Better but I have Misgivings about it Coming Back

~ crippledscholar ~ 2 Comments

  When I was 18, I was diagnosed as being autistic. I finally had an explanation for all the social misunderstanding and interpersonal faux pas I’d experienced. I now knew that every time I was punished for some mysterious crime with the all too frequent admonishment ‘It’s not what you said, it’s how you said … Continue reading Katimavik Completely Changed My Life for the Better but I have Misgivings about it Coming Back

Why I Dislike the ISA and Why I Think it has Failed

~ crippledscholar ~ 8 Comments

I hate the International Symbol of Access (ISA). That symbol that is intended to indicate spaces built to accommodate disabled people. It has however fundamentally failed to promote the accessibility that it meant to signify. If anything it has fostered misunderstandings both outside of and within the disability community. The symbol is tellingly often referred to … Continue reading Why I Dislike the ISA and Why I Think it has Failed

Dear Judith Newman, I’m Writing this For You because You Didn’t Write For Me

~ crippledscholar ~ 4 Comments

    Dear Judith Newman, I have not read your book To Siri With Love and I frankly don't intend to. I know this will frustrate some people, maybe even you but I don't actually think it is relevant to the thing that I want to criticize. I have seen my fellow actually autistic people … Continue reading Dear Judith Newman, I’m Writing this For You because You Didn’t Write For Me

Tommy Adaptive and the Complicated Ethics of Having No Alternatives

~ crippledscholar ~ 6 Comments

    Tommy Hilfiger has come out with a line of adaptive clothing for disabled people and I am conflicted. There is so little truly good adaptive fashion available to disabled people and the Tommy Adaptive line is pretty and stylish. Something that is frequently decidedly lacking in adaptive clothing which often seems to presume … Continue reading Tommy Adaptive and the Complicated Ethics of Having No Alternatives

Euphemisms for Disability are Infantalizing

~ crippledscholar ~ 9 Comments

  I have written about the importance of language as it relates to disability before. To oppose the idea that clear language should be avoided in favour of what can best be described as pretending difference doesn't exist to opposing the replacement of clear language with euphemisms. Euphemisms are rampant in disability discourse. There is … Continue reading Euphemisms for Disability are Infantalizing

The Good Doctor Continues to Infantalize its Autistic Character

~ crippledscholar ~ 15 Comments

After watching the second episode of the new ABC series The Good Doctor (you can read my thoughts on the pilot here), I am left wondering if Dr Shaun Murphy could possibly have gone to medical school. He has a vast understanding of certain aspects of medicine and biology but no real comprehension of practical … Continue reading The Good Doctor Continues to Infantalize its Autistic Character

The Good Doctor Lives Up to Expectations as Stereotypical Inspiration Porn

~ crippledscholar ~ 9 Comments

Yesterday the new ABC drama The Good Doctor premiered. I have had my concerns about the show ever since I first saw the trailer in May. All of my concerns have now been validated. The show's portrayal of autism is deeply stereotypical and like so many portrayals of autism centres around an essentially magical autistic … Continue reading The Good Doctor Lives Up to Expectations as Stereotypical Inspiration Porn