Around 2018 I found myself living in an undergraduate household two streets down from my alma mater. I had graduated with no debt, no permanent home for the next year plus, and no real sense of fin…

Rooted in Rights Editor Denarii Grace says goodbye to the Rooted in Rights Blog.

CONTENT NOTE: mentions of suicide, eating disorder, and substance abuse. Reclamation of ableist phrase. Before I was formally diagnosed with AuDHD, a psychiatrist told me there was no way I could b…

It was the day my son was supposed to be discharged from the hospital, and the doctor stood at the foot of the bed. He was kind and thorough, and he acknowledged that my son was happy, well-nourish…

Author Note: One of my most important pieces of advice for current Special Education students is that they may encounter many situations that cause legitimate righteous indignation, but not to let …

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released changes to the Medicaid program that could significantly restrict eligibility for people receiving Medicaid through state ex…

As far back as I can remember, my life has been busy. I remember swimming and dance classes at the YWCA. Whether indoors or outdoors, I found a way to play sports all year. In middle school, I joined band, chorus, soccer, and started an informal Black books reading club. Summers were filled with volunteering, camps, travel ball, and visiting family in the South, returning to Pittsburgh just in time for the school year, southern drawl in tow.

Explore how to make Pride Month events safer and more inclusive for everyone, especially the most vulnerable in the LGBTQ+ community.

Nicole LeBlanc is one of the over 600,000 people waiting for home and community based services (HCBS). For people with disabilities who need support, home and community based services allow us to live in the community. In order to be eligible for these services, you have to apply to the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) in your state and show that you qualify for institutional care, but would like a waiver to receive services in the community instead.

Image Title: Fluctuating Belief Image Description: A mixed-media illustration of halftone figures composed of dense dot patterns evokes the pins-and-needles sensations associated with multiple sclerosis, rendering the body as a field of shifting signals and feelings. Set against a brick wall that gestures toward public space, and layered with anatomical imagery and wheelchair-like wheels, the composition reflects fluctuating mobility and the instability of visibility where disability is often misread or challenged, and access is granted after proof.

“Medication gave me my life back. It gave me balance. It made me functional in ways I hadn’t been before…Then the insurance credits disappeared.” Erika Hardison’s new piece for the Rooted in Rights blog shows the impact of policy changes on accessing care. ID: Rolled up dollar bills spiral out of open orange plastic prescription medication bottles lying on their sides. A white cap reads “hold tab down, turn."

Image Description: A group of 9 representative wooden figures cluster together on a blue background. A red x marks an empty space in the group. A single wooden figure sits to the right of the group, alone. Advocate, filmmaker, storyteller and person with a psychosocial disability Noella Luka asks “What does representation look like for people with mental health diagnoses during conferences?” She answers by sharing her experiences.

Accessibility resources free online from the international standards organization: W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).

We invite you to pitch us, because your words have power and we want to help you share them.

I didn't want to write this while angry. I thought that maybe *I* shouldn't write it. I didn't want to say the wrong thing or publish a half-baked thesis out of haste. But here we are. As Philip Seymour Hoffman once said, I am compelled. Honestly it's a rage that I didn't know I had inside of me. It's white hot and black cold all at once.

RestFest Film Festival is an artist-run virtual film and video art festival & online gathering space created by/for Disabled, Deaf, Chronically ill, Neurodivergent, and/or Mad community. The 2026 festival, happening February 1-28, features 27 film & video artworks and presents 18 virtual events all created/led by Disabled* artists. It is an international festival, with a community spanning 6 continents.The festival provides the…

About a year ago, I attended a vigil for a Queer of Color happening in Capitol Hill in Seattle. The person in question had been visiting to perform and see friends when they were caught in the crossfire of a Seattle Police Department shootout. There were no news reports on the death. No major protests. Not even any major markers to note the vigil itself besides some flowers and a couple dozen people eulogizing them.

I came to Health at Every Size (then body positivity, now fat liberation) in early 2013. I was in my first year of grad school - one of those rare creatures that lived on campus. I didn't realize it initially, but listening to the body stories of my roommate - also a Black grad student - began to radicalize me.

I came to Health at Every Size (then body positivity, now fat liberation) in early 2013. I was in my first year of grad school - one of those rare creatures that lived on campus. I didn't realize it initially, but listening to the body stories of my roommate - also a Black grad student - began to radicalize me.

AI often promises efficiency, fairness, and convenience. Yet for disabled people, interacting with these systems can show a different reality. Take hiring, for example. When you apply for a job today, there's a good chance an algorithm screens your application before any human sees it. Before we go further, it's worth clarifying what we're actually talking about when we say "AI." A lot of people don't realize that AI is essentially an umbrella term, and not all AI technology works the same way or causes the same problems.

I came to Health at Every Size (then body positivity, now fat liberation) in early 2013. I was in my first year of grad school - one of those rare creatures that lived on campus. I didn't realize it initially, but listening to the body stories of my roommate - also a Black grad student - began to radicalize me.

Roses, chocolates, galentines…there is a lot of emphasis on love for people in our personal lives this time of year. I could cry into my glass of rosé over the lack of romance in my life but …

With two near-death cardiac episodes within the year, I’ve come to understand capacity in a way I never could have imagined. After months of being bedridden and my hospitalization in January, the c…

Public libraries aspire to be places where everyone—including disabled people—belong. They don’t always meet the mark, but disability advocates and disabled people within and outside of library wor…

Security, stability, and found family are aspects of community building that have defined my experience as an autistic Afro-Caribbean woman in the rural South. During my adolescence, I witnessed an…

Searching for a job is pretty much always a bad time, but there’s no denying it’s even harder when you have a disability. Many jobs ask if you need accommodations to apply. It’s supposed to be a be…

Have you ever wondered how a (mostly) oral deaf person edits and captions their own speaking videos? After all, it sounds strange for one to do so if they can’t hear and understand themselves very …

My ADHD presents itself in a limited ability to plan (and eat) a meal. Between choosing a dish, sourcing ingredients, going to a grocery store, prepping, cooking…the thought alone overwhelms me and…

When chronic fatigue or inaccessible spaces weigh me down, I turn to my Disability Joy Jar: a small mason jar brimming with scraps of paper, each holding a spark of joy or a survival tactic born fr…

Since I was thirteen years old, I’ve used poetry as one of my outlets for depression. Whether reading poems by someone else or writing my own, poetry has helped me find meaning in my emotions and e…

EDITOR’S NOTE: The resources hyperlinked in this essay are specific to colonized Canada, but are included for readers as examples of the kinds of organizations and resources available, regard…

Sometimes (oftentimes) writing is the kind of thing we need to back ourselves into. Facing forward, diving in, especially from great proverbial heights, is simply Too Much—for those who don’t see t…

“No one is healed in isolation…we heal in community.” ― bell hooks I came to love myself as a disabled woman within the intimacy of community. When safety and belongingness seemed absent, community…

Many people who could benefit from food pantries don’t go. Whether pride holds you back or you think you don’t qualify, with grocery prices higher than ever, you should explore your local food pant…

YouTube video by Caring Across Generations

DISCLAIMER: This post is neither sponsored nor an ad. There are many reasons why some folks never went “back to normal” in the years following 2020. Some of us are immunocompromised, have Long COVI…

Consider me cursed or consider me lucky but, in just under three decades, I’m now up to surviving 13 out of the 18 natural hazards listed on the National Risk Index. After the Los Angeles wildfires…

Photo Credit: Disabled and Here At Rooted in Rights, our mission is to share disability stories by and for disabled people. We share our stories to connect with disabled people who fight with us fo…

“Yep, I’m partially blind.” “No, glasses don’t help.” “Yes, I can get around on my own, in familiar places.” I do not begrudge for a minute the quest…

EDITOR’S NOTE: This blog discusses the added cost of dietary restrictions in day-to-day life. RiR also wants to acknowledge that dietary restrictions and allergens can be a matter of life or …

EDITOR’S NOTE: We want to acknowledge that, like many societal institutions, scientific and historical research often leaves trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people out, erasing o…

We invite you to pitch us, because your words have power and we want to help you share them.