The American right-wing has a cultural theory, or at least a cudgel: America is being destroyed by political correctness. College professors and liberal students, especially those of color, are to blame. It’s not a new theory, but in this age of multi-million (billion, for Fox?) dollar media companies and the magnifying effect of social media,…
New from AP today on the time Texas cut 350 million from Medicaid: Some Texas children with special needs like Addison have lost critical services since the state implemented $350 million in Medicaid cuts to speech, occupational and physical therapy in December. In Texas, reimbursement offered to providers fell up to 50 percent for certain…
I have a piece today at The Washington Post about the history of Republicans trying to gut Medicaid, why they failed, and why they might win this time. As detailed in a 2013 report by the National Council on Disability (a nonpartisan, federally funded advisory council) on Medicaid block grants and their effect on Americans with…
Zuma Juice made the worst piece of disability stereotyping commercial I’ve ever seen. The disability community let them know what was going on, and I wrote it up for Pacific Standard. This ad trades on two of the most pervasive stereotypes facing disabled folks. First, that their disability is attributable to poor lifestyle choices—i.e. drinking…
I was recently on a boat with a friend who said – I never read Twitter or Facebook any more, but I do check your blog for new stuff. So when I publish new pieces, I’m posting little excerpts here. Hi Melissa! 🙂 How do you find my stories? What’s the role of the blog…
In my recent piece on criminalization of autistic children, I wrote: The prosecutor’s office told me they could not discuss the case because Ashton was a minor. The school district told me they could not discuss any individuals because of federal privacy law (namely the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA), and did…
Too many college professors treat requests for reasonable accommodations as either students trying to get away with something (extra time, for example, on assignments) or signs of poor moral character (toughen up!). I would like such statements treated with the same care as casual racism, classism, sexism, and other forms of bigotry. Which isn’t to…
I have a new interview up with Seanan McGuire, the awesome speculative fiction author. We talked about her new portal fantasy, Down Among the Sticks and Bones, her genre-queering approach to writing, and, of course, My Little Pony. ————— When you were a kid, what did you read, and what did you feel was missing…
A segregated DC school throws a segregated prom and applauds itself for its segregation. Everyone in this story has nothing but good intent. They are working hard for their students. But this is the wrong attitude. “If we had these students in a conventional school, they’d probably sit in a corner and not engage, or…
I have a longform piece for Pacific Standard today. I’ve been working on it for about 6 weeks. Please read and share throughout your networks, if you are so inclined. TWs for abuse of children by authorities. “Why would a school cop in Florida throw a slender, autistic fourth-grade student to the ground? You might assume…