Tag Archives: genuine support

Your Inspiration Doesn’t Pay My Bills: Stop Clapping, Start Contributing

Meeting handshake

The Feel-Good Trap There’s a particular kind of silence that only follows when a stranger calls you a hero. A silence that stretches and strains – not out of awe, but out of awkwardness. We were in a small-town shop when an older man walked up and pointed directly at the person I was with. […]

Be a Signal Fire, Not a Warning: Using Your Story Without Burning Out

There are stories that ache to be told. And then there are stories so heavy, so disbelieved, so misrepresented, that telling them might destroy the person who lived them. This is one of those stories. The Weight of Surviving I woke up thinking about the story I rarely speak aloud. A story of trauma, abuse, […]

When One Door Closes, Build Another: Emphasizing Autonomy Through Choice

Choice is a fundamental part of being human. Whether it’s deciding who to be around, where to live, what to do with your free time – choice is woven into the fabric of daily life. For many individuals (especially those with disabilities, mental health conditions, or other marginalized experiences) choice isn’t always a given. In […]

Patience in Advocacy: The Price of Admission

Let’s be honest – dealing with the people around the person with a disability is often half the battle. Some families and support teams are deeply engaged, educated, and proactive. Others are overwhelmed, struggling to even know where to start. Then there are those who, despite the best of intentions, have wildly different ideas about […]

Disrupting Complacency: The Urgent Call for Voices in Access, Rights, and Inclusion

A diverse group of individuals, including people using walkers, a wheelchair user, a person with a prosthetic leg, and others of various ages and backgrounds, stand at the base of a building's steps facing a closed door. The text above them reads: “Disrupting Complacency: The Urgent Call for Voices in Access Rights and Inclusion.”

Complacency is a dangerous thing. It sneaks in when we assume progress is permanent, when we believe rights are secure, and when we ignore the steady chipping away of hard-won equity. Make no mistake, complacency is being weaponized against disenfranchised communities right now. As the landscape shifts, the need for strong voices – voices that […]

Growing Pains: Navigating Development in Adaptive Sports

Athletes with lower limb amputations wearing orange jerseys and using forearm crutches walk off a soccer field at sunset. The text overlay reads, “GROWING PAINS: Navigating Development in Adaptive Sports” in bold yellow and white font against a purple banner.

Imagine a young athlete (perhaps a little Argentinian named Messi or a young baller named Lebron) with immense potential, but limited-to-no opportunities to develop as a player. Their family is eager to help, but unsure how to navigate the complex systems of advocacy and program development. Meanwhile, a national organization wants to grow its sports […]

The Power of Being Radically Genuine in Disability Advocacy: Navigating Honesty with Empathy

In the world of disability advocacy, trust, clarity, and authentic communication are, of course, super important. But sometimes, honesty can feel like a high-wire act – one wrong move, and you’re plummeting into the land of awkward and unintentionally offensive. It’s one thing to speak your truth and it’s another to do so in a […]