Sami Schalk Profile picture
Nov 30 10 tweets 3 min read
Remember when I said COVID would be a mass disabling event with the majority of Americans disabled and people were like “Stop using scare tactics! Stop exaggerating!” But here we are. I want us to prepare for disabled futures not fear them.
And when I say mass disabling event, I don’t just mean long COVID. I also mean all the people with psych disabilities, esp PTSD, from the trauma of the pandemic (like front line workers) & everyone who have had medical care denied or delayed in an over-taxes hospital system.
So to do this math for yall again. There are about 200 million adults in the US. About 60 millions already identify as disabled. Now add 24 million long COVID cases. Let’s assume some of those folks were already disabled & say we’re at 80 million disabled out of 200. In 3 years.
I don’t have numbers for increase in psych disabilities but conversations among therapists and the recent NYC institutionalization news (combined with housing crisis) makes clear those numbers are up too. Are we close enough to “majority” yet for yall to believe?
The pandemic continues on. More people WILL become disabled & we WILL need to build more accessible worlds, physically & socially in terms of our expectations & understanding of what people can be expected to do in their personal & work lives.
Want to prepare for our disabled futures? I suggest you start following, reading & listening to leaders in the #DisabilityJustice movement. Recently @thellpsx & @RoomofOnesOwn made a great reading rec chart on IG: instagram.com/p/ClCchfFPcad/…

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More from @DrSamiSchalk

Dec 2
New #ResearchStudy recruitment #thread: Attention pleasure activists & organizers! I’m beginning a new research project to study the practice of #PleasureActivism by interviewing organizers of pleasure spaces for multiply marginalized people.
For the purposes of this study, pleasure spaces are defined as social spaces intended for pleasure, joy, creativity, healing or other positive emotions. These could include but are not limited to dance parties, art shows, hobby or sports clubs, social groups, & kink/sex parties.
Multiply marginalized people are defined as those who have at least 2 marginalized identities in regard to race, class, gender, sexuality, or disability. Please note I am including kinky and/or polyamorous people as sexually marginalized people in this project.
Read 4 tweets
Dec 1
Meant to post this yesterday but in its first month on the market, #BlackDisabilityPolitics sold 1,820 copies while being #OpenAccess! For an academic book this is a huge success. Thank you all for your support & for showing that open access doesn’t mean no/low sales! Photo of multiple stacks of...
You can download and read the #OpenAccess version here:

read.dukeupress.edu/books/book/309…
If you’d like to buy a copy, you can purchase directly from @DukePress using code E22SCHLK for get 30% off the paperback. Or purchase from your favorite independent bookseller.

dukeupress.edu/black-disabili…
Read 4 tweets
Nov 27
Ummm so this year there are Reese’s trees and ornaments and bells and nutcrackers and mystery shapes and big snowmen and even bigger Santas. My “Reese’s shapes are better than the cups” people, get into it. We can compare notes.
Ok, first, nutcracker. They’re tiny. Way higher chocolate to peanut bette ratio, firm chocolate texture like the edges of a traditional cup but all over. Not for me.
The ornament was more like an Easter egg, but not flat, fully rounded. Another high chocolate to PB ratio, hard chocolate, thicker than even the edge of a cup normally. Not for me either.
Read 5 tweets
Nov 15
I just threw out an entire week of my syllabus & rearranged the rest of it for one class bc my students are so exhausted, so in need of care & rest. My undergrad mentor modeled what it meant to adapt your teaching to the circumstances you’re given & I’m forever grateful.
Students can’t learn in this state. I spent more than half of class today just holding space for them to talk about their struggles & their needs right now. Then we collectively discussed self-care plans & how to adjust the rest of the semester.
I had been feeling tension and stress in the class for a while. It’s hard to lead a discussion class when people can’t keep up with the readings or are too tired to think or talk much. It feels like we all took a breath a fresh air today.
Read 5 tweets
Sep 14
I’m 36 years old & am still very grateful that 18 year old me befriended 3 pre-med students & stuck with them through med school & residency because now I just have 3 accomplished doctors on call. Good job little English & Women’s Studies major me.
Do you know how many conversations about O-Chem, MCATS, matching interviews & board certifications I sat through not understanding half of it & able to contribute to none of it?! I deserve this free medical care. 😂
One time I found a small random rash on a Saturday morning. Sent a picture to the group chat and immediately one of them was like “That looks like shingles, go to urgent care immediately.” Thanks Doctor Friends!
Read 4 tweets
Sep 5
My university continues to have terrible bare minimum COVID policies. It’s ableist & unjust. And frankly, as a disability studies scholar who is supposed to be recruiting grad students to come here with me, it’s embarrassing. How can I tell disabled students to come here? How?!
I learned today students are no longer required to isolate if they test positive. They also don’t have notify anyone. So you could be living w/ a roommate w/ COVID & not know. COVID positive students will still be in communal bathrooms, dining halls & classrooms if they want. 😱
I give us maybe one more football game & a few more weekends of partying before the first major outbreak. If you work at or attend UW, get your new booster ASAP (available locally Wednesday) & masks as much as you can.
Read 4 tweets

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