I'm tired of disability orgs upholding the idea that every student should learn to advocate for themselves. Self advocacy is only good in TANDEM with systemic change. These orgs are setting students up for failure bc they cannot shoulder this alone. 1/5 When we tell students that they need to advocate for themselves, we're lying about the system in place. We're pretending that we have meaningful accommodations, fair systems, and legitimate grievance processes. Orgs tell students they just need to learn to navigate. 2/5

Before Twitter collapses in on itself like a dying star - please remember that the DAC exists. Our website is linked in our bio. So what do we have/do? 1/6 We're a group of disabled academics, broadly defined. We're made up of disabled undergrads, grad students, staff, faculty, and community scholars. 2/6

When students email their accommodation letters (per our school's policy) I don't just say "ok thanks." I take time to explain how their accommodations will work in practice in our classroom. 1/8 I detail what access measures are built into the course design. I mention I'm a disabled educator. I talk about our respective responsibilities to make sure the accommodation is met. And I remind them that their needs can change and that's ok, I'll work with them. 2/8

In the past year I've watched high risk students, staff, and faculty:
- fight endlessly for accommodations for remote work
- weigh the risks of losing healthcare vs being exposed
- beg their communities to keep them safe 1/7 I've watched high risk academics:
- drop out of school
- leave faculty/staff positions
- thrive with remote access and then almost immediately lose access
- beg others in the academy to learn and grow from this collective experience 2/7

Do you want your academic organization held accountable for promoting access? Do you want to protect high-risk people while we're in (multiple) pandemics? Send your academic organization an email demanding online, virtual, remote access for future conferences. 1/7 "In Defense of Remote Access" is an ongoing bibliography that defends the utility and ethics of remote access modalities. In light of rapidly worsening climate issues, war in the Ukraine, and excessive travel costs we cannot continue to have in-person conferences. 2/7

A lot of people have complained these past three years that virtual conferences don't have meaningful networking moments. Which I find ridiculous. Because I've conducted my whole social life except work from my apt these 3 years. And surprise I still have friends. 1/6 Virtual conferences can be planned to have anything we want them to have. It just takes a little tinkering with platforms, some ingenuity, and the willingness to explore what we can do. Can we have breakout rooms where everyone brings a drink and chats? Yes. 2/6

Conference organizers planning inaccessible events - really hope you know what message you send by doing this. You send the message that ableism in the academy is permissible. And you send the message that disabled ppl are not welcome and will not be in the future. 1/9 You send the message that it's easier to gaslight us than to invest labor in creating equity. You lash out at us and make us feel like we're asking for TOO MUCH when we asked for what should've already been built into everyday practices. 2/9

Event organizers keep saying that accessibility would drive costs up SO HIGH that it would just be IMPOSSIBLE to hold hybrid conferences. Like please I've been paying for everyone else to drink and have shitty appetizers for years. 1/6 Here's what I've been paying for for years at conferences:
- food options with no ingredient lists and/or allergy alerts
- walking tours I can't ever take bc I use a cane and cobblestone is a nightmare 2/6

I'm so tired of watching people plan inaccessible events. When you choose to ignore accessible event planning guidelines you basically tell me... 1/6 1. Your time is more valuable than my potential inclusion
2. You don't follow disabled people who talk about this all the time
3. You don't want to take responsibility for doing the ethical and legal thing required of you 2/6

Just me, a disabled scholar, spending another night crying after learning that there are no meaningful remote options for yet another conference I was accepted to. How can I make it in academia when you slam every single door right in my fucking face? 1/8 I am so tired. Everyone wants my intellectual labor. Med schools want me to present on anti-ableist practice, but they won't build disability into their coursework or hire disabled people to design ethical coursework. 2/8

Looking over all the access measure at #DisGaze22 and imagining what it would be like to apply for a conference and just not need to request accommodations, because meaningful access measures were already planned, by design, into the conference from it's outset. 1/3 There are many many moments where I feel like I cannot safely stay in academia. The rampant ableism makes me feel distanced in so, so many spaces. But scholars like @jaivirdi and conferences like #DisGaze22 give me hope. 2/3

All the time, whenever I ask or complain about access issues, I am framed as "angry" or "excessive" or "bitter" and very often "a bitch." And I know all these things are said behind my back, because it's not hard to find out from friends and acquaintances. 1/6 At the same time, I'm almost always told that if I want to see a change in policies, I need to give my time for free to consult on access issues. And this of course almost always comes from someone with more power, privilege, and security than I have. 2/6

If you're a non-disabled scholar in #DisabilityStudies and you're
- participation in in-person only conferencing
- teaching only in person
- going to in-person networking events 1/4 You have to think about how you're benefitting (in terms of prestige, finances, job security) from career spaces that are inaccessible to most disabled academics right now. How are we supposed to tell our own stories when we aren't even in the room? 2/4

Swallowing down angry tears after a student admitted that they're scared to come to campus. They have multiple vulnerable family members, all of whom are sheltering in place and have been this whole time. 1/4 They told me they couldn't handle it if they were the one to bring home a disease that could kill their family members. I just sat with them in defeat. My classes are hybrid and accessible, but I can't change campus policies or overarching insistence on in-person classes. 2/4

Working WITH disabled people - as an educator, a medical professional, etc. - does not mean you understand the needs of disabled people. I'm really tired of people substituting proximity for lived experience. They're not the same. 1/5 Disabled people may agree with you, may thank you, they might give you good feedback, they might say they loved working with you. And all of those comments might be false. Because there is a power dynamic here. 2/5

Disabled scholars can't consult on access and accessibility in higher ed if they're constantly being forced out of the academy. We can't do this work without employment or security. And all the employment standards are based on inaccessible metrics we can't hit. 1/6 How are we supposed to present our latest work when conferences are inaccessible? How are we supposed to find coauthors or collaborators if networking events are not planned with accessibility in mind? 2/6

Academic ableism is so wildly pervasive it is built into everything in the academy. And yet, once again, I've been asked to a meeting to describe its direct impacts and offer solutions. Ones that I know admin will not take. 1/5 Please stop asking disabled students/staff/faculty what is ableist. Everything is ableist. You could look at any uni policy and it would be correct to assume it's ableist. I shouldn't need to point them all out. That means you're not really looking. 2/5

I gave a talk at my alma mater this weekend. And it was wonderful. No one at the conference asked why I needed to eat different foods. They offered seated and standing presentation modes. Whenever I was seated everyone who wanted to speak to me shifted to the same level. 1/4 When we went to a restaurant and I declined from eating there, no one asked why. And when I casually mentioned that I'm allergic to corn to a colleague, they asked what my favorite meals to cook are and how I like to spice my foods. 2/4

Hi everyone - we have a request to reach out and ask the community "what accommodations have other individuals secured and used for ADHD and depression at the PhD level?" The individual is in evolutionary biology and they're wondering if they're missing out on useful supports As always - feel free to reply directly to the post or message us and we'll keep the content anonymous! Safety first

Performative allyship is not activism. Just a reminder for everyone "celebrating" Disability Awareness Month without looking over their campus policies regarding faculty hiring, student recruitment, and retention of faculty, staff, or students. 1/5 If you're "celebrating" our existence in #HigherEd, you should also be listening to all of the stories where we've recounted barriers, discrimination, neglect, and abuse by academic systems. See #WhyDisabledPeopleDropout 2/5

For everyone teaching this term: do you recommend students to go to the Accommodations Office at your uni? If you do, are you aware of what that process looks like? Hint - the process is not good. It is not empowering. It is costly, time consuming, and demoralizing. 1/10 Have you looked up the paperwork your students are expected to fill out? Does that paperwork center them and their needs, or does it center doctors? Does it ask students what accommodations they'd like to see? 2/10