Ableism at the County Fair
Last week, I received an email from Amber, who has three kids, including Cal*, her son with a rare genetic difference. Amber is also my unbelievably talented and faithful social…
Are People With Disabilities “Less Than” in Leviticus?
I recently opened my Instagram inbox and found a DM from one of you. I love receiving your questions about all sorts of things—parenting, disability, faith. This is one I…
What Casual Discrimination Looks Like
Chris Hinds, a Denver city councilman who uses a wheelchair, was asked to hoist himself onto a debate stage last week because the stage was inaccessible to him. When I…
What Is a Disabled Life Worth?
What is a disabled life worth? Every so often, people accidentally say the thing out loud. In this case, it was the Democratic Committee Chair for a city in Massachusetts.…
Is John 5 Ableist?
I'm grateful for questions from readers, and here's a question asking how to teach John 5 in a way that isn't ableist: Question: Is John 5 ableist? How do I…
False Message: Disability is an inspiration.
Disability is NOT an inspiration. FALSE MESSAGE: Disability is an inspiration to make other people feel good. WHERE THIS FALSE MESSAGE SHOWS UP: Books. Magazines. TV shows. Advertisements. In the…
False Message: Disability is a joke to be laughed at.
Images, words, and attitudes all shape our implicit impressions of people with disabilities, and many of those words and images create false understandings. We’ve looked at two of these false…
False Message: Disability is a tragedy to be alleviated.
When it comes to disability, we receive many erroneous and incomplete messages from the media and popular culture. Here’s the second of four false messages we receive about disability. FALSE…
S5 E20 | Disability Belongs in Church with Dr. Amy Kenny
While Jesus welcomed the disabled, the poor, and the outcast, Christian communities are often spaces of exclusion. Dr. Amy Kenny is a disabled scholar, a Shakespeare Lecturer, and the author…
Ableism: 3 Reasons Why I Don’t Use That Term
I think it’s important to use language with intention and care. I think language reflects reality, but I also think language can shape reality. For me, the shift from calling…
