5SR - January 3, 2024

Today’s curator is Qudsiya Naqui. Qudsiya is the creator and host of the podcast, Down to the Struts about disability, design, and intersectionality. You can also subscribe to Qudsiya’s newsletter, Getting Down to It, for updates on the podcast and news from the disability community. When she’s not podcasting, Qudsiya loves organizing adaptive sports adventures through the Metro Washington Association of Blind Athletes. Qudsiya lives in Washington DC with her husband.

America Promises Equality for Disabled Students. It’s Failing (Mother Jones)

This powerful series on the failure of school systems to effectively integrate and serve disabled students is a must-read. It uplifts real human stories to illustrate how the laws, protections, and policies that were put into place nearly 50 years ago to ensure equality for the now one in six children with disabilities in schools are far from being fully and robustly implemented.

As a student with low vision myself, I have experienced firsthand the long-lasting harms of unchecked bullying, isolation, and the deprivation of critical learning and literacy tools like Braille. If you are a parent—whether or not your child is disabled—this is an important read because solving these problems will take a collective will to transform the systemic ableism that has robbed so many children, particularly disabled children of color, of the educational opportunities they deserve.

Teach Medical Students About Patients with Intellectual Disabilities (Stat News)

As in the education system, the promise of equal treatment for disabled people, including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) has gone unfulfilled for far too long. But I’m encouraged by the efforts at Harvard and other medical schools around the country that this first-year medical student outlines to weave training for soon-to-be physicians about how to work effectively with this population into medical school curricula at all phases.

Recent research has shown that a significant majority of physicians believe that disabled patients have a lower quality of life than non-disabled patients, and the effort to break down these negative perceptions must begin on the first day of medical school.

I’m so glad that someone like Romila Santra will be among those donning the white coat, having grown up with a twin brother with autism and witnessed his struggles to find healthcare providers that are willing to modify their services to meet his needs, but personal experience alone cannot be the basis for how physicians deliver care to their patients.

Local Black Activist Join Pro-Palestine Ceasefire Demonstrations (DCist)

Living in DC, my husband and I often get a front-row seat to some of the biggest moments of social tension and transformation of our time. The social movements surrounding the Israel-Hamas war are no exception.

This piece offers a snapshot into how this international conflict is playing out in Washington—a phenomenon that I’m sure many of you are witnessing in your own local communities. It’s nuanced in its recounting of the linkages between the struggle for black liberation and the plight of the Palestinians. I think one of the black activists quoted in the article says it best:

Why Palestinian Liberation Is Disability Justice (Disability Visibility Project)

Alice Wong’s wise words need no summary—I just encourage you to read them, but I wanted to uplift this powerful reflection from queer disabled community advocate and organizer, Allie Cannington, who’s essay for the Disability Visibility Project is forthcoming

How Do You Know If You Have a Good Cat (Vox)

Leaving you with this delightfully-written analysis of what makes a good cat from someone who is not a cat person, like myself. But after reading this piece, I can see how these sleek, aloof semi-wild fuzzy friends have stolen the hearts of so many people. For my cat-lovers—I may not fully understand you, but I see you!

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