Disability simulation fails to capture the nuance and complexity of living in a disabled body. And it certainly fails to give a deep understanding of systemic discrimination and abuse faced by disabled people. – Stella Young
Physical access is one of the very first issues disability rights activists of the 1960s and ’70s fought for. – Stella Young
We think we know what it’s all about; we think that disability is a really simple thing, and we don’t expect to see disabled people in our daily lives. – Stella Young
When you hear the word ‘disabled,’ people immediately think about people who can’t walk or talk or do everything that people take for granted. Now, I take nothing for granted. But I find the real disability is people who can’t find joy in life and are bitter. – Teri Garr
Doctors are not fortune tellers, and neither am I. Having lived with disability since birth does not afford me immunity from illness. – Stella Young
Paralympic sport and other disability sport can and should be celebrated in its own right. – Stella Young
I was diagnosed with a severe temporal spatial deficit, a learning disability that means I have zero spatial relations skills. It was official: I was a genius trapped in an idiot’s body. – Sloane Crosley
I was slightly brain damaged at birth, and I want people like me to see that they shouldn’t let a disability get in the way. I want to raise awareness – I want to turn my disability into ability. – Susan Boyle
I don’t generally talk about medical terms when I discuss my position as a disabled person. I take a social rather than medical approach to disability, and so long Latin names for congenital conditions are not relevant. – Stella Young
I used to think of myself in terms of who I’d be if I didn’t have this pesky old disability. – Stella Young
Obviously, because of my disability, I need assistance. But I have always tried to overcome the limitations of my condition and lead as full a life as possible. I have traveled the world, from the Antarctic to zero gravity. – Stephen Hawking
I use the term ‘disabled people’ quite deliberately, because I subscribe to what’s called the social model of disability, which tells us that we are more disabled by the society that we live in than by our bodies and our diagnoses. – Stella Young
For me, disability is a physical experience, but it’s also a cultural experience and a social experience, and for me, the word ‘crip’ is the one that best encapsulated all of that. – Stella Young
Sometimes it takes dealing with a disability – the trauma, the relearning, the months of rehabilitation therapy – to uncover our true abilities and how we can put them to work for us in ways we may have never imagined. – Tammy Duckworth
People are uncomfortable about disability, and so interactions can become unintentionally uncomfortable. – Stella Young
‘The Simpsons’ appearances were great fun. But I don’t take them too seriously. I think ‘The Simpsons’ have treated my disability responsibly. – Stephen Hawking
Disability is often framed, in medical terms, as the ultimate disaster and certainly as a deficit. – Stella Young
The magnitude of discrimination and stigma faced by people with disability in Australia cannot be underestimated. People do not understand disability, and people fear what they don’t understand. – Stella Young
I can’t say that my disability has helped my work, but it has allowed me to concentrate on research without having to lecture or sit on boring committees. – Stephen Hawking
It’s undeniable that what we are taught as a culture to believe about disability is at odds with traditional notions of masculinity. – Stella Young
My disability exists not because I use a wheelchair, but because the broader environment isn’t accessible. – Stella Young
The thing about living with any disability is that you adapt; you do what works for you. – Stella Young
Whether it’s veterans’ disability claims, infrastructure projects, dam safety, or helping our farmers, what I am focused on is being useful for folks in the Hudson Valley. – Sean Patrick Maloney
