Tag: disability

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Good post about “therapy” dogs

A friend recently reshared this, and I thought it worth reposting here.

https://dirtamericana.com/2025/04/therapy-dogs-business-interior-violations/

I don’t believe there is an actual “licensure” program for service animals, so I take issue with that part of the author’s thesis. However, other than that, I generally agree.

It is fine (in my opinion) for a business to declare itself pet-friendly, subject to health department laws. However, the service animal exception (for normal businesses that don’t allow pets) should only be used for real service animals.

Unlike other examples of community self-policing overreach, like saying “but you don’t LOOK disabled” to someone parking in an accessible parking spot, I do think it’s appropriate for untrained animals to be shamed out of public spaces.

The correct usage of “emotional support animal” status is for things like housing restrictions: an apartment complex that normally disallows pets, for example, can be compelled to accept an ESA. (Which is apparently a distinct category from Therapy Animal?)

Anyway. Just being the same type of curmudgeon as the original author over there. I don’t like being jumped on or licked by dogs. (Cats are fine by me, but I’m well aware that cats cause even worse allergy issues than dogs do! Don’t bring your cat to an enclosed public place!)

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Written Reviews

Is There a Future for Written Reviews?

My response to the above post follows.

I’m a fan of written reviews personally, in part because I am hard of hearing (and don’t process audio data well), and in part because they are just easier to absorb. Like other commenters said, with a written review you can scan the page to find something you’re looking for (using visual clues to aid in your scanning). It’s impossible to do that with audio or video unless those mediums are exhaustively annotated with – you guessed it – writing.

I do enjoy video things from time to time; I love Playing Around Games on TikTok, for example. (double check that name? did i remember it right?) But even a personable and pleasant video host like that still falls prey to the fact that I can only really pay attention, and absorb the audio, if I am in the right headspace to sit down and really exercise my brain towards listening to people talk. (And even then I prefer videos with captions!)

Video, as a medium, really shines when it comes to things like tutorials for playing a game. My gaming group will often watch a how-to video together before we play, just to see all the pieces and how they move/fit together/whatever. But if I’m reading a review/hearing someone talk *about* the game? Written, with optional photos of the game board, please.

Thank you for reading this far!

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Spoon Theory

One of the things I’ve read that really changed my way of thinking about the world was the essay commonly known as Spoon Theory. I spent basically my entire youth as a completely able-bodied person, and while I had theoretical compassion for people with disabilities, I had no gut level understanding of what it was like to live with a disability. Reading this essay in college (or possibly shortly thereafter? I can’t recall exactly when it was) helped me understand why so many people couldn’t “just” do something or other.

Understanding disability is just one step along the road to understanding the whole system of intersectionality and how everybody’s lives are (or can be) different from one’s own. Not every essay will resonate with every person, and that’s okay. I hope this one helps you understand it a little bit better.

As I find them along the way, I’ll try to add links to this post to other versions of Spoon Theory that I’ve read, written by people who found the original metaphor to be limiting or inaccurate. One such alternative metaphor is a D&D one that uses “Spell Slots” as the day-limited resource that a disabled person must shepherd.

And that reminds me that some people with chronic illness refer to themselves/each other with the affectionate term “spoonie.” Now I’m wondering if a goofy bard with a chronic illness would refer to themself as a Spoony Spoonie.

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Short opinions : ADA and charter schools

I don’t think I had realized this before: private schools and charter schools are not subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Now, I haven’t fact checked that yet. However, assuming it’s true: I think that that is wrong. I don’t have foolproof ideas on how to fix it; I just think that private and charter schools *should* be required to all submit to the ADA.

I’ve met at least one family that does private schooling *because* their child is disabled and the public school can’t accommodate her as well. And I’m glad schools like that exist too.

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Mens sana in corpore.

I had a small realization just now.

I think part of the reason that I view my body as separate from me (my brain, mind, consciousness, soul, whatever you want to call it) is that my body is starting to break down, and I view that as a personal betrayal.

Just TAB things, I guess. (Temporarily Able-bodied)

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Insulin should be free

Today I saw this tweet, and I agree.