We need to talk about the online response to two new high-profile disabled parents. Within the last couple of months, two disabled digital creators, Alex Dacy (@wheelchair_rapunzel) and Chelsie Hill (@ChelsieHill), with more than 220K followers each have given birth. The reach and visibility of these women, their pregnancies, and the recent births of their […]
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On your marks: Planning for summer camps as a disabled parent starts NOW
Many of the realities of parenting have surprised me. I don’t recall anyone warning me about the need to plan our family’s summer no later than about mid-February. In the depths of winter, it’s tough to imagine hot days out of school, but I need to! In our area, the hustle starts before the holidays. […]
ChatGPT for Parents with Disabilities
Have you heard the buzz around ChatGPT? It’s an open access, or free for now, chatbot that learns by taking in information and responding in a conversational way. Some people have greeted the rise of this artificial intelligence with panic. As a professor, I’m in a number of online spaces with educators. Some reacted as […]
What No One Will Tell You About Breastfeeding
While pregnant with my first child, I wondered if my disability would interfere with my ability to breastfeed. I am an amputee with only one arm, so I wouldn’t be able to use another hand to position the breast or to help the baby latch. The first lactation consultant did not know what to do […]
The Perils of Spring Break
Happy Spring to all the disabled parents out there! First off I want to say that I recognize that for many people, traveling is not possible for several reasons including continued Covid concerns. My heart goes out, especially to those who have children under five who are unable to be vaccinated. Our family did not […]
Doing Disney as a Disabled Parent
Pre-pandemic, my family had been planning to take a a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida. Like so many families, our travel plans were put on indefinite hold as we grappled with the realities of COVID-19 — virtual schooling, masks, hand washing, constant sanitizing, and of course, quarantine. We struggled to decide whether or […]
Disabled Parenting in a Pandemic
I don’t remember the first day or moment when the reality of the pandemic finally set in. I don’t remember exactly when my kids stopped going to school. The past 15 months in many ways has been a blur, but today I’m taking time to reflect on disabled parenting during a pandemic. At first, we […]
I Fried an Egg
Last night I fried eggs and bacon for Ian and me. I have not cooked on a stovetop without anyone to assist me in about eight yrs. I have always loved cooking, well baking if you want to get specific. When I moved at the end of the summer, I was really fortunate to get […]
As the ADA Turns 30, It’s Time to Give It Wheels
This year the ADA, which was designed to give equal access to the disabled, turns 30. Yet still, we live in a segregated society. As a person with a disability, where I live is not decided by my choice as an American but instead by the state and federal government when they decide which communities […]
The ADA, Parenthood, and Empowerment
When I wrote about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) a few years ago in a piece titled, Reflections on #ADA27, here for Disabled Parenting Project (DPP), I largely focused on my daughter and inclusion. As I reflect on it today for #ADA30, not much has changed, and yet so much has changed all at […]