9/19/25 - Friday Video Share: "Shane's Disastrous First Love"

TGIF! "Shane's Disastrous First Love" Sqirmy and Grubs | YouTube - July 9, 2025 It's not exactly a happy story, strictly speaking. But Shane's story both specific to the experience of disabled kids, and so utterly typical of all kinds of kids, disabled or

9/18/25 - Issues in the US, the UK, and The Vatican

Hi there! Kind of an odd little variety today ... Five Key Moments: Hearing on Barriers to Work for People with Disabilities Rep. Jason Smith, United States House Committee on Ways & Means - September 13, 2025 "Despite 60 percent of DI and SSI beneficiaries indicating they would like to work,

9/17/25 - Disability rights at risk, institutional “Hell,” and blind accessibility

Good afternoon ... There’s some tough reading today in the first two articles. But both are worth our time and resilience. Donald Trump’s Assault on Disability Rights E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker - September 16, 2025 "A few weeks later, Fernandez texted me a link to an Instagram

9/16/25 - Education, and more on COVID vaccines

Hello! For today's links we have two pieces on education, and some practical updates on this year's COVID vaccines ... Programs for Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Harmed by Trump’s Anti-Diversity Push Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica - September 10, 2025 "

9/15/25 - Disability hiring, Gaza, and respectful research

Good afternoon! After much frustration and thought, I have decided to shut off the comments feature for this newsletter. It's just too difficult and inconvenient for people to use. And none of the alternative comment features seem any easier to deal with. Instead, if you have comments on

9/12/25 - Friday Video Share: "How Do College Disability Services Help Students?"

So, is this the real deal, or something ... else? "How Do College Disability Services Help Students?" Accessible Learning for All | YouTube - August 25, 2025 Despite its long and carefully worded "About" section, this channel gives almost no information on who or what, exactly, produced these videos.

9/11/25 - RFK Jr's weird and poisonous project

Hello! It's time for another round of links about what's happening in the US Department of Health and Human Services and the agencies it controls – driven by Robert Kennedy Jr's odd beliefs and obsessions. In seeking something to blame for autism, RFK Jr. wrongly

9/10/25 - #DisabledRage, UK disabled employment, and AI accessibility

Good afternoon! There's a new "Take Action" item – a social media campaign that's detailed in the first of today's three links. It's a great opportunity to say in a bold, public way what's making you, and other disabled

9/9/25 - Disabled voting, and a new disability blog program

Good afternoon! I took Monday off to finish a couple of the home projects I've been working on this summer. So here are three link for Tuesday that were originally planned for Monday … Disability Voting Rights Week is Almost Here! American Association of People with Disabilities "The

9/5/25 - Friday Video Share: "Gambling on Humanity With An Invisible Disability"

I took the day off yesterday to spend time with visiting cousins. We had a great time! For the end of week video, I've chosen an older TED Talk on a fairly broad but important topic ... "Gambling on Humanity With An Invisible Disability" Lainie Ishbia | TEDxJacksonville

9/3/25 - Pre-natal testing, life expectancy, and disabled internet use

Hello! The first link today is kind of a think piece that’s indirectly about eugenics and how it relates to advances in prenatal testing and to disability. The other two articles are unrelated, except that they both report seemingly eye-popping statistics about disabled people. Each is interesting by

9/2/25 - More COVID vaccine updates

Good afternoon! Here are some more updates on COVID in the US, following on from the one link in last Thursday's edition of Disability Thinking Weekday ... These are the conditions that make you eligible for an updated Covid-19 vaccine Jacqueline Howard, CNN - August 31, 2025 "Determining

Paid-members only

Newsletter

Disability Thinking Weekday - August 2025 Recap

8/29/25 - Friday Video Share: "What It’s Like Being Away From Your Wheelchair"

What It’s Like Being Away From Your Wheelchair Empowered Para, YouTube - August 26, 2025 I really like this format of two disabled people talking and sharing stories for an extended period. It would be great to see more of this type of thing, and with different subject areas and

8/28/25 - COVID vaccines, "Baywatch," and some disability basics

Good afternoon! Another mixed bag today ... F.D.A. Approves Covid Shots With New Restrictions Christina Jewett and Jacey Fortin, New York Times - August 27, 2025 "The agency authorized the vaccines for people who are 65 and older, who are known to be more vulnerable to severe illness from

8/27/25 - A quarter, ugly laws, and electronic speech

Hello! Today we have some followup on the new US quarter honoring disabled activist Stacey Park Milbern, plus articles on one of the more "ugly" episodes in disability history, and some thoughts on the value of ultra-high-tech research meant to bridge people's disabilities. Also,

8/26/25 - Medicare, Amtrak, and electronic access

Afternoon everyone! A random assortment for today … Advocates Fear Proposed Medicare Rule Could Limit Access to Catheters and Ostomy Supplies Ian Ruder, New Mobility - August 19, 2025 "‘The real danger is in this space, where there are so many different kinds of products for so many different needs, that

8/22/25 - Friday Video Share: Life After Official Trailer

Life After Official Trailer Together Films, Vimeo - July 2, 2025 Debates over "assisted suicide" or "medical aid in dying" are mostly dominated by two factions. There are the libertarians who see it and explain it as an issue of personal choice and civil rights. And then

8/21/25 - Mail-in voting

Good afternoon! Just one topic to read and think about for today's newsletter ... Trump says he will lead 'movement' to end mail-in voting Hannah Demissie, ABC News - August 18, 2025 "President Donald Trump on Monday wrote in a post to his social media platform

8/20/25 - Disabled in Gaza, and disability on screen

And we're back! These three articles make me think about how disability issues that can seem narrow and specialized overlap with broader political and social issues. Trapped in Gaza: Palestinians with disabilities cannot reach aid United Nations - August 15, 2025 "Over 83 per cent of people with

8/14/25 - Late summer break

I'm taking an impromptu late summer vacation, today through Tuesday, August 19. So the next regular Disability Thinking Weekday newsletter will be on Wednesday, August 20. How are you resting and treating yourself this summer? See you next Wednesday! Disability Thinking Weekday is a Monday-Friday newsletter with

8/13/25 - A commemorative coin, fighting back in Congress, and thinking about "wellness"

Hello! How is your week going? Here are your three disability-related links for this Wednesday ... In Her Own Words: Remembering and Honoring Stacey Park Milbern Jess Davidson, American Association of People with Disabilities - August 8, 2025 "'A lot of times disability pride gets watered down into this

8/12/25 - A Medicaid cuts calendar, and remembering a Disability Justice trailblazer

Good afternoon ... Let's just get right to the links shall we? Medicaid, SNAP, and Education Changes The Arc of the United States Facebook page - August 4, 2025 "You might not feel the impact yet, but big cuts to Medicaid are in the new budget bill, and the

8/11/25 - Politicians, UCEDDs, and being "undesirable"

Good afternoon! The sun is out, the smoke from fires in Western Canada is thinning out, and the heat is cranking up fast here in Upstate New York. And there's a bit of a mix for this Monday's disability-related articles ... Politicians Don’t Understand Disability

8/8/25 - Friday Video Share: Relay | Official Trailer

Relay | Official Trailer Bleecker Street - July 2, 2025 Wait, what? A mystery/suspense movie where a key plot element is a TDD Relay Service? What do we think about this? * Does the film demonstrate how knowledge of at least some aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act are truly embedded,