9/1/26 - August Comments
August was ... something. For me it was mostly about illness, hospitalization, and more coming to terms with the lovely intersection between disability and aging. But disability life and culture kept on chugging away regardless. And I did my best to keep us in touch with all that this month. For sure the highlight for me was finally introducing the first monthly "Q & A" sessions. And for a rather slim, chaotic week at Disability Thinking Weekday, there were a lot of great comments. Have a look!
8/5/26 - Worrying
Every once in a while, I share a bad disability take – like this one on the idea that claiming disability has become some kind of cultural identity fad.
About that, Jen Rohrig says:
"I have a few unpublishable things to say about that last article........ and the one before it but for different reasons... Maybe when I'm in a better mood (it's been weird day) I'll come back and write something in response to those because the author of the last article is missing the obvious reasons why we're demanding more visibility about disability which the previous article actually showcases one of the reasons. I'll give him a little bit of grace in that he's clearly speaking as someone who became disabled later in life so different experiences with what disability means. But there's a limit to my patience and he's crossed it."
Reading the article again this morning and ... hilariously I don't think he even realizes that most of us hate the inspiration porn... like what? His article is nonsense really. I'm not even going to reply it's not worth it. He's just a jerk who thinks we're all faking it for attention while he hates being disabled. Whatever.
Casey McGill adds:
Jon Gingerich has some thoughts on faking disability that really interest me. He’s toeing this very fine line between critiquing an important trend and spewing ableist hate. I’ve seen these ideas a bit before with some big publications publishing pieces on the “epidemic” of students faking disability to get accommodations. I think it bears remembering that part of being disabled is also how we interact with our constructed world. Are these younger folks faking disability or are they being failed by the systems they have to interact with? Are they undiagnosed because they are faking or because medical care in the US is broadly too expensive and unattainable for the average person? I have more thoughts on this and I enjoyed the essay, but I do think we also need to get used to talking more broadly about what defines disability before we start calling people witches and sinking them under stones.
And Peter Torres Fremlin comments:
Interesting to see that luxury identity piece. Actually just today in UK right-leaning paper, someone made the argument that some young women using sticks “may be victims of social contagion” https://archive.is/OMv9c#selection-2073.71-2073.432
I think there might be something to this cultural contagion idea. But if there is, the significance of it is vastly inflated and almost entirely misunderstood. Experimenting with disability and disability-adjacent identities isn't a game for us. It's mostly a sincere search for meaning and more ordered approaches to whatever our "actual" conditions are. And it's much better than the chronic problem disabled people used to face – how to navigate and explain our disabilities when we actively discouraged from "labeling" ourselves at all.
8/23/26 - A Sunday evening update
There were many kind responses to reports of my stay in the hospital. I appreciate all of them, but Kelly Mack's stood out:
"Hi Andrew, so sorry to hear about your setback and hoping that you are back on a swift road to recovery. Here’s a recent re-telling of one of my hospital rehab stays: https://rollingwithit.substack.com/p/year-3-greatest-hits-3-a-story-about. Hoping you experience better treatment and more dignity than I did that time around."
I will be following up soon on the link she shared. Keep an eye out for it.
8/26/26 - August Monthly Q & A, with Julia Métraux
Kat Kirsch says:
"Julia is amazing and loved hearing her perspective. Thank you!"
I agree!
That's all for August. Whatever Autumn weather means for you, I hope you enjoy its arrival soon.
Disability Thinking Weekday is a Monday-Friday newsletter with links and commentary on disability-related articles and other content. You can help promote the newsletter 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 around 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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