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Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
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23 Jun, 4 tweets, 1 min read
Why does it matter if grad students are "employees" rather than students? Maybe bc we have literally no protections from the uni or the fed govt as "students." I'm moving to a postdoc and I'm ineligible for COBRA because I wasn't "employed" for the past 6 mo. 1/3
Right so I guess I just didn't do all that service for the uni? Or finish that dissertation? Or defend and receive my PhD? Or help any students? Or serve as a disabled mentor? 2/3
Now I'm going to have a gap in care when starting my new job. Because I can't buy a short term plan bc I'm disabled, and short term plans don't cover us. Which means I will also lose a month of the life saving allergy injections that cost 12K a pop. Love it. Go unionize 3/3
Also if any med professional in any allergy clinic in the NYC/NJ area wants to help me figure out how not to lose Xolair during this please hit me up.

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More from @DisabledAcadem

Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
26 Jun
I hope everyone is acknowledging how poorly universities handled, are handling, and will handle protections for disabled students throughout the pandemic. 1/6
Some things to think about when discussing uni responses:
1. Unis have never been safe spaces for disabled people, accommodations have been denied to students long before, and will be long after - how do we enact change? 2/6
2. Nowhere is safe for disabled people. Telling us to leave academia is not an option. Regardless of the sector - capitalism is built on ableism. We need solutions in every sector. 3/6
Read 6 tweets
Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
26 Jun
If you are able-bodied and working in #DisabilityStudies because you were inspired by a relationship with a disabled person, I have some tough love for you. I am all for allyship, but allies cannot weigh in on all topics. 1/5
Why does it matter?
1. Because we're not there to correct you or intervene or combat stereotypes. Roughly 1.5% of tenured faculty and 6% of grad students are disabled.
2. You don't face the ramifications of poorly framed arguments, language choices, or research outcomes 2/5
3. You can proudly state your relationship to disability (my parent/sibling/partner/child is disabled) bc at the end of the day proximity is harmless, you're still able-bodied. But if we identify we're risking our jobs to disclose. 3/5
Read 5 tweets
Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
22 Jun
Things I did today: emailed HR about accommodations, printed off and wrote out comparison charts for medical plans for new job, wrote list of questions about the plans bc so far I haven't been given detailed info. 1/7
Searched for Drs in new area based on recommendation lists from rare disease communities. Mapped each doctor, put each in a spreadsheet, listed the insurance plans each takes. Cross referenced these with the plans being offered. 2/7
Researched a new diagnosis that I was given a half assed explanation for by my neurologist yesterday. Read articles on PubMed about it. Took notes on potential therapeutics. Cross referenced these recommendations with patient community data. 3/7
Read 7 tweets
Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
13 Jun
Finding disability justice centered counselors is so hard but so important. I had the privilege in undergrad, but when I reached out for mental health support in grad school I was told that student counselors "didn't cover disability." 1/7
Disabled people deserve counselors who understand medical gaslighting, who get the risk of even going to a counselor. Many people with health issues who disclose mental health struggles to their providers will be told their physical realities are all psychosomatic. 2/7
And so it takes a lot of courage for disabled people to reach out for mental health services. And when we do so, we should receive help from a provider who understand ableism. Who gets the complex interplay of our symptoms. 3/7
Read 7 tweets
Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
12 Jun
I'm so stressed about moving bc my new position hasn't finalized health care options with me. And I have so many questions. And to continue my basic treatment, which includes monthly injections, I'll need to find a provider, establish care, get preauth through new insurance 1/4
And set up a regular injection schedule that matches my new job demands. And that is all so much work. Plus building a general new team of Drs in the area, made up of specialists, who take up to 6 mo to see, and local drs who can hopefully see me sooner. 2/4
I am not just disabled. I am disabled and chronically ill. My health fluctuates. And I've been able to stay afloat in higher ed because I am very good at navigating healthcare. But I can't magic up time out of nowhere. 3/4
Read 4 tweets
Disabled Academic Collective Profile picture
11 Jun
I'm glad that so many people agree with yesterday's thread about mentorship. But I am also skeptical that able bodied colleagues will fight for inclusion at all levels of higher ed. 1/8
Are you going to change TT review processes? Will you fight adjunctification? Will you invest in faculty accommodations? Will you acknowledge that some faculty would do better with fairly paid part time positions? Will you accept that I am less productive in terms of output? 2/8
Will you recognize mentorship as labor? Will you recognize the risks I take every day to be vocal about discrimination in higher ed? Will you acknowledge that disabled faculty can't just move every year to stay in the game? That we have access needs to meet that guide us? 3/8
Read 8 tweets

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