Dear Anderson Cooper: I recently watched your 60 Minutes piece about so-called drive-by ADA lawsuits. As a person with a disability, I too am dismayed by law firms that choose to target businesses for minor Americans With Disabilities Act violations. But by choosing this small number of questionable lawsuits as the focus of your story,…
Two years ago today, my life changed forever. On the morning of November 28, 2014 I was attacked in my home by a masked intruder, who held me and my caregiver at gunpoint and threw me out of my wheelchair. My caregiver courageously escaped and ran to call the police, causing him to flee and…
This isn’t a political blog. But the personal is political, and that’s especially true for me and many other people with disabilities. I didn’t sleep at all the night of the election, and I’ve been struggling to think and function ever since that night. I’m more afraid for my future than I’ve ever been before….
As people with disabilities become more active in our communities, we move slowly towards equality. We are out in the world living, working, traveling, getting married, raising kids, and doing everything else non-disabled people can do. People view us differently than they once did, and so the words used to speak about us have changed. Words…
On September 16, 2016, I was honored to be invited by the Dunes Learning Center to present their annual Green Apple Award to an outstanding educator and autism advocate, Tracy Chandler. At the banquet, I spoke briefly about how important spending time in nature has been for me as a person with a disability. My…
If you haven’t seen the tragic photo in your social media feed, you will soon. An elderly couple, married for 62 years, are weeping because they’ve been forced to live in separate nursing homes. Their family’s attempts to reunite them in the same facility have been futile. All Wolfram and Anita Gottschalk want is to spend the…
I recently did my first ever Facebook Live stream. My employer, The Mighty, has been inviting staff and longtime writers to make live appearances on the company Facebook pages and answer questions about our disabilities, special areas of interest or expertise, and more. When we were invited to sign up, I instinctively jumped on it….
On July 10, 2016, I had the opportunity to attend the second annual Disability Pride Festival in New York City. It was an amazing opportunity to connect with people, and made me think about my disability and the lives of people with disabilities in ways I hadn’t before. As people with disabilities, we are…
Note: This article contains a few spoilers. I recently had a chance to watch the new Netflix original film “The Fundamentals of Caring,” based on the novel by Jonathan Evison. It’s one of those rare films that gets disability right — for the most part. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen something close to my own…
My English Setter Winston is going to his new foster home today. He has been through at least three homes in his two short years of life. I feel terrible about that; I wish I could change my situation, make things work for him here. I’ve tried for almost a year. But I can’t….
