7/30/26 - Dialogs, defining disability, and space
Good afternoon!
Today's links are pretty varied. There's not much of a theme between them. Somehow, that seems like kind of a relief after dealing with so many big topics spanning multiple articles.
The Disability Thinking Weekday summer paid membership sale ends Friday. Until then, you can start an annual membership at $40, a $10 discount from the regular price. As always, you can also make a one-time donation of any amount. Use the buttons below:
Parents & Autistic Self-Advocates: What We Wish Parents Knew
Autistic Self Advocacy Network - July 28, 2026
"In these webinars, we will talk about: ... Different perspectives on raising autistic kids ... What helps autistic people thrive at home, at school, and in our communities ... Lessons, advice, and experiences that can help families better support autistic people"
I like this idea of hosting dialogs between disability groups or factions that have a lot of obvious things in common, but are often at odds with each other. I hope these discussions are productive and not just provocative.
I Didn’t Become Disabled at 22
Sarah Levis, Power in Every Body - July 26, 2026
"It took me years to recognize that chronic depression, anxiety, and the intrusive thoughts caused by obsessive-compulsive disorder are real disabilities ... Because they were invisible, I somehow believed they didn’t “count” the same way my physical disability did ... I don’t believe that anymore."
This kind of post feels especially important now. We seem to be in the early stages of a backlash against the more open and accommodating attitudes about mental health that we have seen in the last few years. I find myself going back and forth myself – between seeing mental and physical disabilities as basically alike, and thinking of them as fundamentally different. Ultimately, it seems logical and obvious to me to consider mental and emotional conditions that create practical impairments as part of the same experience as paraplegia or blindness. Plus, the ableism people with mental health disabilities experience is a lot more similar to what people with physical disabilities deal with than may be apparent on the surface. And the same impatience, eye-rolling, and dismissing of mental health concerns that we see more of every day will certainly come for those of us with physical disabilities sooner or later, if we haven't experienced it already.
What if disabled astronauts are just better suited to space?
Zoe Elisabeth Swann Baillie, The Conversation - July 15, 2026
"For 70 years, spaceflight has assumed a rigid archetype: a healthy white man with a military background. The assumption was that physical uniformity minimised risk. As we prepare for Mars, the evidence increasingly suggests the opposite."
I'm not often impressed by a disability headline. I couldn't resist this one. As I hoped, the claim is well supported and not at all sensational.
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:
- A monthly recap with links to all of the previous month's shared articles, organized by topic.
- Listing as a supporter, and a link to your website if you have one.
- You can recommend one disability-related article for me to share per month in a weekday post.
I am so grateful for your help and engagement, in whichever forms you choose!
Free subscribers: 1,283
Paid subscribers: 51