Nielsen explains how Plains Indian Sign Language (the most well documented of Native sign languages), for instance, was used by various Plains tribes as a common language of trade—so signed language was a natural part of culture and language such that communication norms allowed more easily and naturally for deaf inclusion.

The medical model is the idea that disability is a malady, something outside the norm that needs to be addressed, cured, eliminated, or remediated through medical or therapeutic intervention.

Historically, municipal laws known as “Ugly Laws” criminalized disabled people for simply existing in public spaces—for being visibly disabled—as if our appearances were inherently uncivil.

She found that this linguistic stereotype—blindness as ignorance—is nearly universal across languages.

When nondisabled friends lament the current political condition in the United States and talk about moving somewhere with more progressive social policies, they don’t realize that this is a privilege that most disabled people can’t even dream about.

Most disabled people are not allowed to immigrate to become a citizen in other nations.

She calls herself transmobile: in her universe, there’s no one perfect technology, so she has a whole array of technologies she can use in different situations and to fit different needs.

My last leg was $13,000 (billed to insurance).

Chemobrain refers to the effects of systemic chemotherapy on the brain—sometimes short-term, sometimes permanent. It involves changes to memory, focus, information processing, and cognition.