When I was in middle school, I began to experience academic ableism in the classroom, primarily from my teachers. While I was fortunate to have many wonderful teachers who helped me to develop a love of learning and a sense of belonging in the classroom,…

Almost five years ago, I was sitting in my dorm room at George Mason University, bored out of my mind and trying to figure out what to do for the weekend. My homework for my assistive technology class was finished at this point, and I…

Over the weekend, one of my friends sent me a video recorded by an active bystander for academic ableism who was showing a situation where a student with hearing loss was being berated by the professor for their disability. I don’t want to share the…

As my eye condition and neurological condition have changed over time, I have received extended time accommodations on all my tests and exams, including standardized tests that I took in high school. When one of my friends was researching extended time accommodations of their own,…

In 2019, my time living on campus came to a very sudden and unexpected close after I was diagnosed with a medical condition that made it impossible for me to continue living on my own. While this medical condition is now much better controlled and…

My tips for being successful in college admission interviews

Recently, I had the opportunity to give a talk at the Inclusive Design 24 Conference (ID24) called “Why Everyone Should Design For Chiari Malformation,” in honor of Chiari Malformation Awareness Month. This talk was especially meaningful for me, as I ended up giving it the…

As a person living with chronic illness, I have spent a lot of time filling out medical forms with low vision and trying out various forms of assistive technology so that I can fill out forms quickly and accurately. Since it often takes me longer…

One of the most common questions I receive from others when they notice that I have low vision or use a blindness cane is “what can you see?” The answer to this question has changed many times as I have dealt with many different short-term…

Over the years, I have received a large volume of messages from people all around the world who are learning to adjust to newly acquired vision loss. Details such as their level of usable vision, the circumstances behind their sight loss, and their age can…

Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, and as someone who loves everything related to accessibility and digital inclusion, I have had an incredible time participating in different events and talking about how I use assistive technology in my day-to-day life. If you told me ten…

Every year, people from all around the world gather to celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day, and this year is no exception. I’ve noticed that many of the events are targetted at professionals who want to learn more about accessibility and people who are already involved…

Even though I took over a dozen online classes in high school (and over three dozen in college), I seemed to always find ways to practice self-advocacy in the virtual classroom. While it may have seemed frustrating at the time, my case manager and other…

As a college student with a disability and chronic illness, there have been times where I’ve been unable to attend my physical classes due to issues with my health or other factors. Luckily, my professors are awesome and allowed me to attend my physical classes…

One of the exciting parts of the new iOS 13.2 update is that there are now emoji for visual impairment and many other disabilities. Personally, I’m excited to see images of assistive technology being included in the emoji keyboard so people can add it to…