I originally wrote this piece about disclosing disability in the early days of my grappling with the loss of dance as a result of my disability. Since then, my baseline ability has fluctuated many times but even five years later, this piece still resonates strongly with the complex evaluation process necessary to safely disclose a disability, and the grief that comes when the onset of disability is later in life.
Tag: ableism
Accessibility, Social Justice, and Self Growth: How to be an Accessible Person
When I joined the disability activism community, I learned a new frame of reference that changed how I engaged with the world at large: Accessibility. I had no idea that this concept would expand for me from a branch of activism to a life philosophy and identity: How to be an accessible person.
My Sometimes Invisible Disability
In addition to my disability being dynamic, it also straddles the divide between a visible and an invisible disability, to the point that I can hide it if I want to. But moving between visible and invisible means I also have to make a choice between scrutiny and erasure.
How to Celebrate Disability Pride Month
It’s July, which means it’s the month the disabled community has chosen to celebrate disability pride month! Celebrating pride is all about increasing visibility, awareness, and care for a marginalized community. If you are looking for a way to do that this July, read on!
Say Goodbye to the Version of Me You Knew: A Letter to Friends & Family of Chronically Ill People
For years I’ve heard stories from my chronically ill friends of loved ones who abandoned them or who refused to believe that their illness was real. So, I wanted to write a letter to the friends & family of chronically ill people.
10 Harmful Beliefs About Dissociative Identity Disorder
One of the reasons we wanted to start writing about Dissociative Identity Disorder after we received our diagnosis is the massive amount of misinformation out there. Having this diagnosis is highly stigmatized and many doctors and even mental health professionals still perpetuate these harmful beliefs about dissociative identity disorder.
A Guide to Social Etiquette When Interacting with My DID System
A frequent request we’ve encountered is to create a guide to interacting with DID systems. We’re offering a list of our own preferences around social interactions and a list of questions to help you get to know the specific preferences of the system(s) you know.
Why Understanding Abuse & Trauma is Necessary for Social Justice Work
The focus of Yopp has always been to discuss all things related to social justice and civil rights. But another important topic that emerged fairly early on was issues related to abuse and trauma. Without much thought, we started writing a number of articles specifically about the experience of being abused, the aftermath, what recovery looks like, etc. We never really considered that the connection between abuse and trauma, and social justice may not be obvious to everyone. It occurred to us that it might be valuable to spell out these connections in article form.
The Practice of Allyship
This blog post was originally published as a subscriber-only article entitled “Yopp’s Guide to Being an Awesome Ally,” at the beginning of January 2020. I decided to share it more widely because it was such valuable information and I also updated it as my opinions and understanding of allyship had shifted over the years.
Celebrating Disability Pride Month
Disability is a framework that teaches you to prioritize the needs of your mind and body over the expectations of society. To celebrate disability pride month, check out these articles to dive deeper into the experience of disability and chronic illness.