All it takes is one blink, and your life may never look the same again. My name is Tamia Brown, also known as Miamoney. I’m a 25-year-old paraplegic music artist from Richmond, Virginia. Before I became paralyzed, I walked for 19 years. I didn’t live the fanciest life or have the best upbringing, but that never stopped my smile or my motivation. At 19 years old, I was driving home from another city when I fell asleep due to exhaustion. I woke up in a panic and jerked the stee

When going to college, you embark on a journey to find yourself as a young adult. A few weeks before I was set to begin my journey as a college student at Hampton University, my identity shifted—I became a survivor of a senseless act of violence: a shooting. Instead of going to college with the rest of my peers, I was in the hospital watching college days pass me by. I was in a fugue state, unable to talk, eat, move, or even breathe without a machine. I was ready to throw the

It was December 30, 2007, when I sustained a spinal cord injury, and my world changed in the blink of an eye. The following year was a blur–my mother died unexpectedly, and I separated from my fiancé. At 23, I was living through compounding nightmares. These events would break anyone, but mine came all at once. To say I was depressed would be an understatement, though I didn’t realize it then. The world felt smaller, and rural Pennsylvania only magnified that feeling. Leaving

Traveling with a disability can be complicated. Broken mobility devices, changed routines, inaccessible lodging, and overstimulating environments can all prove challenging for disabled people. However, disability should not prevent someone from experiencing different parts of the country and world. In order to make the most of your travel experience, you may need to plan ahead. Here are some tips to minimize disability-related hiccups on your next adventure. 1. Know your mobi

When I was 17, my life was rocked to my core. My world was forever changed when I was in a car accident that left me instantly and permanently paralyzed. During that time, so many questions arose. There was so much unknown to conquer. I wondered if I’d ever fall in love, have a career, and start a family. There was no example to go off of. I didn’t know a single person, let alone wife or mother with a spinal cord injury. I had practically zero experience with disability. And

Preparing for the school year can often be nerve-wracking for any student to say the least. However, for students with disabilities, their worries about school starting are unique and can vary, since the disability experience is broad and dynamic in itself. Navigating a disability or multiple disabilities brings many personal and social challenges, including academic ones. Every student with a disability has specific support needs in and outside of the classroom that must be

Sometimes I marvel at how easy activities of daily living were before my spinal cord injury about nine years ago. Now simple tasks like exiting my bed, showering and dressing are time-consuming and require considerable assistance. Finding good caregivers can be difficult because the work isn’t easy and Medicaid-provided services don’t pay caregivers well. Keeping good caregivers is important, and taking care of them in return is essential. Avoiding caregiver “burnout” makes k

Living at home after returning from college has changed me for the better. I graduated in May, and it has been all about discovering and learning what makes me outside of school. School has been my personality since the beginning. But who is Olivia? I am learning and discovering who I am as an individual, a woman, and an individual with a disability. I am learning how to combine those three identities while learning about myself- what I like to do, what I don’t like, what my

I am a part of EmpowHer Camp, a yearlong leadership program for disabled young women and it starts with a week of camping in the...

While I have always identified as being disabled, I wasn’t always involved with the Disability Community. I’m personally proud to be a...

I had never skied before my spinal cord injury (SCI) in July 2014, but while still in inpatient rehabilitation in February 2015, the...

‘’I woke up and I couldn't feel my legs.’’ This is what I said on May 6, 2016. You see, on this day I had a massive stroke that paralyzed...

Over the summer, I ended up traveling back-to-back to Las Vegas and 48 hours later to Austin, Texas. Airfare travel takes a lot of...

In the Disability Community, we speak a lot about advocacy and its many different forms. In the last couple of months, I have been...

My name is Emily Lickman, I’m 18 years old, and as a member of the Disability Community, I am tired of TV shows that keep hiring...

“Watching you dance made me see my own disability in a different way” - a fellow artist relayed this to me last year after I was invited...

Halloween. An exciting holiday filled with candy, costumes, and the scariest thing of all: inaccessibility. With the holiday season...

I first heard the word “interdependence” when I was 18. I’d been active in disability spaces for a few years before I was introduced to...

I discovered my passion for advocacy during my high school years. I would help my friends get the necessary accommodations. I worked with...

I never imagined I would be a scuba diver. Growing up in Florida, I was always an avid swimmer and beach lover, but after my spinal cord...