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Category Archives: Perspectives
On Both Sides of the Desk
Trigger/content warning: An ableist slur (the R word) is used in a quote within this post. My name is Reyma McCoy McDeid. I’m the executive director of Central Iowa Center for Independent Living in Des Moines, Iowa. The bulk of my career and education has been in the provision...
Posted in Perspectives, Blog
Tagged blog, blog post, diversity, race, reyma mccoy mcdeid, iowa
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No Quiet Waters
Growing up with parents who were immigrants from Africa to the United States, I heard a lot of proverbs. I liked many of them, but there were some that I, an autistic child with a very literal mind, simply could not understand. One of those was a proverb that...
Posted in Autistic Community and Allies, Perspectives, Blog
Tagged autistic community, blog, board of trustees, blog post, black history month, #unapologeticallyblack, #blacklivesmatter, inclusivity, disability community
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Calling People the R word
by Alyssa Trigger Warning: R-slur as an insult, discussion of such (censored except in quotations and in a screen shot.) This is how we begin, sort of: I say sort of because this isn’t really a beginning, it’s a reflection. It’s a reflection of what we as a society...
Posted in Autistic Community and Allies, Perspectives, Self Advocacy and Representation, Blog
Tagged disability, hate speech, ann coulter, the r-word
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What I need and want
Alicia Lile says: I want to be loved and accepted. I wish others to tell me that it’s wonderful that I was born. I feel guilty of existing, tell me I am wrong....
Big Trucks and the Work that Needs Doing
An essay by Mark Stairwalt. Years ago, before the coming of the cell phone, I was the driver of a Freightliner FLD 120, an imposing, long-nosed boat of a semi tractor that crisscrossed the United States and parts of Canada with a 53-foot trailer in tow. Never mind that...
Posted in Perspectives
Tagged functioning labels, neurodiversity, work experience
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Thoughts from the Food Pantry
By mid-October, I found myself going to the local food pantry. The last time I'd been there was between the endless succession of jobs won and lost, when I couldn't pinch another penny and the food money ran low. This time I was there because I wanted to volunteer....
Posted in Perspectives
Tagged volunteering, work experience
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Normal Is Just A Setting On A Washing Machine
An essay by Kate Goldfield: At recess, I would sit outside on the cold, hard ground reading a book. When I did bravely venture out to the playground to go on my beloved swings, it was never with a friend. I felt like I existed in a different world...
Posted in Perspectives
Tagged acceptance, feelings
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