Joseph P. Shapiro

I went into this book thinking that I was exploring a new world of disability- after falling ill earlier this year. What I realized was that I had been disabled for a while, albeit in a different way. My problems with depression and anxiety had created barriers to success that I had just accepted as a natural consequence of mental illness. But this book talks about how most people who need disability rights might not even view themselves as disabled.

A cop with diabetes gets denied his pension because he takes insulin shots. A student with ADHD fails their tests, not because they don't know the information but because of the overstimulating exam room. In my case, a student with depression is expected to operate with the same style and pace as everyone else, and as a result under-performs. Then you add in my new illness, which has given me chronic muscle pain, fatigue, short term memory loss, and concentration issues.

Notice how these issues are usually not about the condition themselves, necessarily, but about a world that isn't accessible. This gets into the theory of socially constructed disability. As one activist I met on twitter put it: "We don't overcome our disability, we overcome you". The world is built under the assumption we all do the same things in the same ways, when that is far from the case.

This book is an excellent account of the history of the disability rights movement, which is a fairly new push for civil rights from a historically marginalized group. The internet has made this movement grow and strengthen exponentially, and it was the help of many excellent advocates that I even found this book. It focuses largely on the fights leading up to the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, signed by George HW Bush. These fights involved paraplegics, deaf students, the mentally ill, all sorts of groups. Combined, these people demanded to have their concerns voiced, and it was a true testament to democracy that it eventually worked.

However, it also outlines how contentious issues are within the community and how much we haven't done yet. Today, in 2019, someone on disability cannot get married. Couples have had to divorce so that somebody could receive the benefits they require to live. The ADA isn't properly enforced, as workplaces find new ways to discriminate against the disabled. Mental health stigma is not only still here, it's worsening as suicide rates increase and our president tries to track us down and label us by our diagnosis. It's perpetuated by media and culture, as people mock the president as "Psychotic" and call Republicans "insane".

There's so much work to be done, but this book is a fantastic foundation piece.… (more)