2/4/26 - Language, etiquette, and a bit of satire

Andrew Pulrang

04 Feb 2026 — 4 min read

White wheelchair symbol on a square blue sign, on a tall wooden post

Good afternoon ...

It's a fairly random collection today ...

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DISABLED. #SayTheWord Went Viral 10 Years Ago What It Revealed, What I’ve Learned, and What Still Needs Work

Lawrence Carter-Long, AbleNews - February 3, 2026

"Here’s a test: If using the word “disabled” makes you flinch, ask who benefits from your discomfort. Then use the word twice."

It makes me nod and smile to read this look back at the hashtag campaign that made real progress in getting people to keep it simple and blunt by using the word “disabled“ rather than cutesy euphemisms like "special needs" and "differently-abled."

By the way, I just recently realized that in the movie The Big Lebowski, the title character's assistant Brandt corrects Jeff Lebowski, saying that the electric wheelchair-using Big Lebowski should be referred to as "disabled," not "crippled." He was right – although that movie's other depictions of disability are probably worth a longer discussion.

The Worst Thing to Say to Someone With ADHD

Angela Haupt, Time - October 23, 2025

"We’ll save you the trouble of wondering: Yes, people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have considered using a planner, setting an alarm clock, and creating reminders on their phone. No, those suggestions aren’t helpful."

There's not enough in this newsletter about learning disabilities. I want to correct that, and this piece from last Fall seems like a good start. It amounts to a decent run-down of some basic, common-sense disability etiquette – most of which falls under the heading of "Try not to state the obvious quite so much." That works for other disabilities too.

How Being Robbed Helped Me Stay Under $2000

Anna R., The Squeaky Wheel

"I was so worried about how I was going to stay under the $2000 SSI resource limit this month, and then all my problems were miraculously solved when I got robbed! Sometimes the solution really does come from where you least expect it."

Resource limits for financial and medical support programs is one of those issues common to many disabled people and completely unknown to most everyone else. So, there can never be too many tries at reminding people about them and explaining how frustrating and bizarre a presence they are in so many of our lives. It's a good topic for satire.

Tell Your Senators: No More Tax Dollars for ICE & CBP. ICE Out of Our Communities - with National Immigration Law Center

Urgent: We Must Act to Save the Protection and Advocacy Network - with the National Disability Rights Network\

Urgent: Students with Disabilities Face Unfair Barriers in College - with the National Disability Rights Network\

Disability Thinking Weekday is a Monday-Friday newsletter with links and commentary on disability-related articles and other content. You can help promote Disability Thinking Weekday by forwarding it by email or posting on your social media. You can also comment by sending me an email at: apulrang@icloud.com. Collected comments are shared on the first of each month. A free subscription sends a newsletter to your email each weekday. Benefits of paid subscription include:

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