*Inspiring* Disability News Story Template

I don't write about many, if any, "inspirational" disability stories because I think they're misleading, and frequently patronizing to the individual and people with disabilities in general. See the book No Pity : People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement for a great discussion of this topic. I've not been able to articulate my feelings quite as it as well as a writer called Frida.

She writes a blog called, what else, Frida Writes, and has a great satirical piece called "A Woman with X" It is a template for most of the inspirational stories of disability that we see in the news.

"Woman with ____x________ Has (opposite of x) (e.g., heart transplant/big heart; wheelchair/great strides; blindness/great vision)
For those who know her, Jane proves that living with _________ doesn’t have to mean giving up your dreams. While some people with ___________ might give up on life or become depressed, Jane keeps going, fueled by her passion for__________.
The ____-year old Jane, who has had __________ since she was _________, was told by doctors that she would never __________(again). She has been proving them wrong ever since...."

Read the rest at Frida Writes
Don't forget to check out the ADA Mad Libs she recommends as well.


Picture courtesy of Whistling in the Dark

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