Scroll With Me (Like Roll With Me. Get It? Ha!)
A little bit of everything: a play in American Sign Language, immune support throat spray I swear by, a round-up of hard-hitting disability headlines...oh, and an airline destroyed my wheelchair.
Hey there! I hope you’re cozied up with some tea or coffee, because there’s lots to scroll. Want to jump to a certain section? Just click a link below. Let’s roll!
🎬 Representation Report: Trash (Literally!)
I debated whether it’s fair to write about a limited-run play I saw in New York City when I know that it’s not widely accessible, but I hope you’ll indulge me, because I really want to tell you about it!
Trash, a play by James Caverly (who I absolutely loved in Only Murders in the Building) and Andrew Morrill, was such a fun ride. It follows the story of two roommates who are arguing about taking out the trash and end up down the rabbit hole of going through what’s in the bin, with each piece holding significance to their fight. The trash fight serves as a plot device to engage in powerful commentary on Deaf culture and living in an ableist world. While I won’t give you a play-by-play of the play (ha!), I wanted to highlight a really powerful lesson about ableist expectations of how people should communicate.
Most notably, the entire show was in American Sign Language, and there were many moments when no one was translating that to English. The hearing members of the audience simply had to follow along and use context clues to figure out what was going on. (This was fun for me because I’ve just started learning ASL with my husband, so I tried to pick up on as many signs as I could.)
At certain points, the actors wrote on whiteboards to engage with the audience. And each audience member was given a piece of cardboard painted red on one side and yellow on the other, which we could hold up in response.
I absolutely loved everything about this. People who are hearing and who communicate verbally are so conditioned to assume that our modes of engaging are the default. Trash flipped that script entirely. Hearing audience members had to sit in those feelings of not understanding that people with hearing disabilities so often encounter. (In some ways, this makes me think of the ridiculous outrage coming from non-Spanish speakers who were mad they couldn’t understand Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance.) But the show wasn’t some kind of disability simulation activity (which I’m strongly against, but that’s a topic for another day); it was an authentic reflection on the realities of disability and a reminder that communication isn’t one size (or type) fits all.
What’s on your disability media radar lately? Gems that got it right, disasters that got it wrong? Leave your recommendations (or critiques) in the comments!
🛍️ Tried, Tested, Accessible
How’s your head these days? Mine seems to ache pretty consistently, which is why last month, I recommended my go-to solution: Origins Peace of Mind On-The-Spot Sensory Treatment. I was genuinely delighted to hear from people who tried it and loved it! My friend Lauren texted to say: “I think you’ve converted me! My headache is gone.” And Lisa, writer of one of my go-to newsletters, The Auntie Bulletin, texted: “This stuff really works! I want a vat of it. How do we get it in bulk? Can you solve all of my other life problems now too? Great thanks!!!!”
I’d love to solve all the problems, but in lieu of that, I can at least share what I’ve found that works for me in the hopes it might help you, too.
On that note, I’m giving my full-throated endorsement (pun intended) to Beekeeper’s Naturals Propolis Immune Support Throat Spray. I don’t have a particularly strong immune system, and get sick basically every time I travel by plane, even when taking precautions like masking. So, a couple months before going on my most recent trip, I searched around for a natural immunity boost. I figured at the very least, it couldn’t hurt. That’s how I came across propolis, a sticky substance produced by honeybees that’s used for various medicinal purposes.
Truth be told, evidence on the effectiveness of propolis for immune support is mixed, but there is science to back it up. Please don’t take my recommendation as medical advice though, and do your own research to decide if propolis is right and safe for you!
Anecdotally, I can tell you that I didn’t get sick on my last plane adventure, so I’ve since grown to swear by it. I take 4 spritzes each day, and because it’s honey-flavored, it’s a sweet and simple little addition to my routine. If you’re like me and enjoy finding natural supplements that aren’t too woo-woo…this throat spray is for you. And if you give it a try, I’d love to hear how it works for you.
A quick note: Living in a disabled body often means becoming a product researcher by necessity. It brings me great joy to share my findings with you. All my picks (from accessible kitchen tools to cute adaptive clothes) are gathered on my ShopMy page. Some links may earn me a small commission. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, and it helps sustain my writing and advocacy. Your trust is the most important thing to me, so if I’ve listed something, please know it’s because I’ve personally used it and would recommend it regardless.
🌐 Around the Interwebs
It feels incredibly strange to me that I haven’t yet shared a single word here about the nightmare I navigated earlier in March when my wheelchair was absolutely destroyed by an airline…especially because it went bananas-level viral on my other social media platforms. I do plan to write about it, but I’ve been working on finding the right words—sorting through the chaos, and quite honestly, the trauma of it all. In the meantime, if you haven’t heard…here’s the story as I relayed it to NJ Spotlight News.
Unrelated and way more fun: I loved being on A Kids Co.’s podcast, Raising Us, to talk about Normalizing Physical Disabilities and Differences for kids.
📰 Disability Dispatch
Something delightful to start: a turtle using a wheelchair
Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Family that Faced Disability Discrimination in the Provision of Medical Care (the legal system doing something right in the face of a major COVID-related case)
Trump Says Newsom Shouldn’t Be President Because He Is Dyslexic
NCLD Statement Responding to Administration Remarks About Learning Disabilities
As Trump administration cracks down on health care fraud, people with disabilities feel singled out
Immigrant Rights are Disability Rights: ICE & Law Enforcement Violence Must End
Disabled woman put in nursing home against her will says she feels ‘betrayed’
For Black women with Tourette syndrome, long-standing invisibility meets viral attention
Idaho considers an ‘apocalyptic’ choice for disabled people and families
An Accessible Housing Model Built to Be Scaled
Traveling With Disabilities Is Often Hard. These Tools Can Help.
For disabled fliers, hope took wing. Then Trump returned to office.
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Jealous you got to that play. Horrified by the wheelchair story. Definitely planning to get that headache spray. Thanks!!
I want to be like you when I grow up. You been living that high life.