Living My Disabled Life: My Story Is Mine to Tell Part 3

How I Tell My Story  by Amy Sequenzia. Living my disabled life: My Story Is Mine to Tell  Part 3.  (Part 1 Autism: My Story Is Mine to Tell and  Part 2 Love, Respect and “Autism Parents” ) By living my life. Unapologetically. Fiercely. With pride. I am me. I am disabled and I am a perfect being, despite the bias and oppression imposed on me. I am a perfect being despite my human flaws. My story is mine. The life I live is the one I have. I like my life. I don’t like what non-disabled people believe my life to

  • Disabled people aren’t, and don’t want to be: charity causes, or objects of inspiration porn, or gifts , or angels. Amy Sequenzia on Ollibean

Disabled TV Character and Positive Outcomes

One Person At A Time I wrote about this before but I want to emphasize a few points. I am talking about the effect of television, or any media, on how disabilities, and disabled people, are perceived by the non-disabled world. Specifically, I want to emphasize the - hopefully - positive effects of one TV show on its fans' views on disability and disabled lives. The show is X Company and this article contains spoilers. I will talk, again, about the character "Ulli". Quick recap: Ulli was a young boy with Down Syndrome, being kept as a secret by his

  • Why do people cry when a disabled fictional character is abused yet remain silent when real life abuse is happening all the time right in front of them. Amy Sequenzia on Ollibean

Why Disabled People Write About Ableism

Are You Paying Attention When Disabled People Write about Ableism? When I, and other disabled people write about ableism, we don't do it because we like the topic. We do it because we DON’T like it but experience it every day. We do it because we are protesting the many ways we are objectified, dismissed, ignored and dehumanized. I don't speak for all disabled people but I believe most would agree with my statement above. Forms of Ableism There are very obvious forms of ableism, from inaccessibility, to inspiration porn, to denial of rights. There is also the ableism

By |May 19th, 2016|Categories: Ableism, Amy Sequenzia, Author, blog|Tags: , , , , , |3 Comments

Six Questions Before Publishing About Children

  Blogging About Children with Disabilities Protecting a child's privacy when parents write about their family's experience . How much information is too much when blogging about children with disabilities? The discussion revolving around #CrippingtheMighty, the hashtag created by Disability Visibility Project's founder, Alice Wong, is so important when considering writing or blogging about children with disabilities. It's imperative to listen to disabled people about their lived experience and the very damaging affects of content that objectifies and marginalizes disabled people like Inspiration Porn. At Ollibean, we believe in full inclusion and acceptance of all people and stories that objectify disabled people can’t exist in the same

On Not Being “Pretty”

My friend Cara wrote this awesome article about being "ugly" disabled. You should click on the link and read it. Go on, I'll wait.   Isn't it great? The article got me thinking.   Like Cara, I also have cerebral palsy. I sometimes use a transport wheelchair because I have poor balance and I can't stand for too long. When I sit down, my body "flops", or it slowly leans to my right side until I am almost lying down. When it doesn't lean to the side, it tends to relax too much, sliding down the chair. An upright position

Inspired? What Are You Going To Do Now?

You have heard it before. You may have said it.   "You are such an inspiration!" "(Person's name) is so inspiring!"   I have heard it, and I have been the one supposedly “inspiring” people.   And I very much dislike it.   Disabled people are usually the main subject of what is known as "inspiration porn".   We move a finger while disabled, we inspire. If we can't move, but we open our eyes, we inspire. We use technology to live, we inspire. We wake up and enjoy life, we inspire. We smile, we inspire. We breathe, we inspire.

  • Photograph of Stella Young on the Ted Stage. Text reads- I'm not your inspiration, thank you very much. Stella Young. Ollibean Change Leader

Why The Lie We’ve Been Sold About Disability Is The Greatest Injustice

Stella Young of Ramp Up explains the Social Model of Disability, Inspiration Porn, and the lie we've been sold about disability in this nine minute TED Talk. Stella Young Transcript I grew up in a very small country town in Victoria. I had a very normal, low key kind of upbringing. I went to school, I hung out with my friends, I fought with my younger sisters. It was all very normal. And when I was 15, a member of my local community approached my parents and wanted to nominate me for a "Community Achievement Award". And my parents

Don’t Call Me Inspirational

"Disability is not something terrible that needs to be fixed, cured, or made to go away forever. It is a natural part of reality. We ask for acceptance as equal members of society." From the PSA "Your Daily Dosage of Inspiration" by Cheryl Green and Caitlin Wood.

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