A (not-so)-Brief Defense of Just Letting Girls Exist When I was young, I was the kind of kid who tried a bit of everything. Gymnastics, ballet, soccer, tap dance, pottery, theatre, and choir were all activities I attempted between ages four and ten and somehow, I seemed to have endless energy at the time to (kind of) learn these various skills. When I played soccer in first grade, I remember asking the coaches after every game, “did we win?” I didn’t much care either way because I was having too much fun running around the field (and occasionally kicking the ball in the wrong direction) to eve ..read more

It was the second day of professional development and my new-educator anxiety had finally began to calm down. I had a great principal, great co-workers, and and a school that truly valued inclusion. I was beginning to think that maybe I was prepared for this job after all. We were gathered in the cafeteria with the entirety of the district’s staff when I heard the words that no non-driving adult wants to hear: “we’re going to transition to a new location now.” Judging from the sound of everyone around me rustling around for their car keys, I knew that we weren’t  just talking about moving ..read more

It’s only attainable for a small number of people born with specific traits, it’s often directly tied to privilege, and societal pressure to have one can give teenagers debilitating mental illnesses. Now introducing: The Good Standardized Test Score.  But what, you might ask, do unrealistic societal beauty standards (like thigh gaps) have to do with the academic ableism built into the very structures of our education systems? As someone with a learning disability who has also struggled with eating disorders, I know quite a bit about societal pressure to be thin as well as the extreme toll ..read more

When nerotypical/able-bodied people do the work of centering and supporting individuals with disabilities (which we love to see!), there are a few common approaches to this work that sometimes aren’t as effective as they could be. First, let’s discuss what disability advocacy on the part of non-disabled people looks like. This could mean: an organization or institution featuring a disabled member of their community by writing an article, making a video, or otherwise talking about that person publicly in order to farther their mission of promoting diversity or bringing awareness to the diverse ..read more

If you’ve known me for any length of time, you probably know that struggling with navigation and directions is one of the most difficult parts of my learning disability. While this used to be a huge source of embarrassment for me, I’ve learned to use my awkward getting-lost-moments as a chance to explain my situation to the people in my life. I make a lot of jokes about not knowing my way around, but the truth is, being directionally challenged is much more than a quirky personality trait. It’s embarrassing, discouraging, isolating, and sometimes it even becomes dangerous.    Just to ..read more