Connecting Disability

We are ending the summer in style as we welcome Steven Verdile onto the show today. Steven is a New York City-based designer and writer, but he’s probably best known as the creator of the disability satire website The Squeaky Wheel. We talk about his approach to disability satire and humour, the funniest disability moments we’ve encountered recently, the Barbie movie and more. Here are the links t...

There’s been a lot more talk lately (in Canada, at least) about the disability community as a political unit. But what happens if your disabilities aren’t considered to be disabilities? Laura Brydges has spent years learning and teaching others about the needs of those with hidden disabilities. She joins us to talk about her journey with hidden disabilities, what politics can and cannot do for peo...

There are so many things to say about this month’s guest. Jess Tuomela is a four-time Paralympian who has worked as a massage therapist and now as a dog trainer, training dogs in scent discriminate trailing. But while she’s made headlines for her athletic career and dog training, my favourite thing about Jess is the time I got to spend with her several years ago. There’s a lot of laughter in this...

What do New York Senator campaigns, sociology and the late Christopher Reeve (a.k.a. Superman) all have in common? Our guest: Brooke Ellison. Brooke is an associate professor at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York. She’s also the author of two books: Miracles Happen and her most recent, Look Both Ways. She joined the show to talk about the process of writing this book, the biggest thin...

Ben Mattlin is one of my favourite writers to read about disability, disability policy and life with disability. His latest book, Disability Pride, describes how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has changed disability advocacy in the United States and provides snapshots of what disability advocacy and culture looks like today. I was so humbled and grateful when he agreed to be on our show...

Friends, we have a treat of an episode for you this month! The sibling relationship can be the longest and most complicated relationship in someone’s life. Today, we’re chatting about how disability and chronic illness influence siblings. Our guests are sisters Holly and Amy Mathers. Holly is a registered psychotherapist and Amy is a passionate advocate of Canadian teen fiction. They joined me to...

"This month, we are celebrating love and remembering Black History Month with Clovis and Sherron Grant. Clovis and Sherron are the co-founders of Sawubona Africentric Circle of Support, an organization dedicated to helping Black families get the resources they need to support loved ones who live with a disability. Clovis and Sherron have a lot of insight about family life and responding to difficu...

Welcome to 2023! We often start a new year with lofty clichés about reaching for the moon or shooting for the stars. But what if that became a reality? Today, we are talking to Denna Lambert. Denna is the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Early Stage Innovations & Partnerships Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility lead at NASA. She works with space technology and in December, she got...

In time for the holidays, we’re discussing what it means to find a home. This November, Vicky Levack of Halifax finally left the long-term care facility where she had lived since she was 21. She joined Meagan to talk about what it’s like adjusting to life in the community after being institutionalized, why her advocacy isn’t finished, and her pet peeve with princess movies. Thank you so much to ev...

This month, we’re talking about the news; particularly what stories about disability make the news and what it can be like to report on them. We’re joined by Spencer van Vloten, from BCDisability.com, to talk about how he got involved in covering disability policy, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on awareness of disability issues and why the disability movement needs to involve people without...

Water scares many people. Our guest, Mike Shoreman, has conquered this fear. Many people know him as the Unbalanced Paddleboarder. In August, Mike became the first person with disabilities to paddle board across all of the Great Lakes. In this conversation, he talks about why he decided to do this, how crossing the Great Lakes resembles a mental health journey and the pros and cons of being called...

On this first episode of Season 2, I am thrilled to introduce you to Heather Graham. After Heather was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 46, she lost much of her mobility and active lifestyle. A few years ago, she decided to gain it back. Heather joins me from her residence in Calgary to talk about her journey with MS, what living in long-term care looks like before and during a pandemic, a...

We’re ending our FIRST YEAR of podcasting on a musical note! W. Ian Walker has spent his life in music, whether by singing with various musical groups, working in arts administration, or now as a playwright. Ian joins Meagan to talk about turning his memoir, Stirring My Soul to Sing, into a play, how music has influenced his journey with ADHD, his experiences in the church, and the value of mentor...

It’s hard to believe, but summer vacation is nearly half over. So, today we’re talking about the importance of getting outside. Leona Mattice is an avid birder from Elliot Lake, Ont., who has spent years encouraging those with disabilities to explore the natural world around them. She joins us today to talk about how birding helped her through grief, brought her love and what birds can teach us ab...

It’s graduation season, so we turn our focus to employment and job searching. Our guest is Jack McCormick, human resources manager at Microsoft. Jack chats about how his partial sight has impacted his job search and career, and why volunteering is so important. And – congrats to the Class of 2022!

People with disabilities often use the medical system, but what happens when they want to become doctors? On this episode, Quinten Clarke gives us some insight into what the medical profession looks like as a medical resident who has a disability. Quinten is the vice-president and Trainee Group Lead for the Canadian Association of Physicians with Disabilities. Through this work, he advocates for m...

It’s been nearly two months since Russia invaded Ukraine. The ongoing war has had devastating impacts on the approximately 2.7 million Ukrainians who have disabilities. Tanya Herasymova knows this well. She’s the project manager of Fight for Right, an organization that advocates for human rights for Ukrainians with disabilities. Tanya joins us to talk about how the war has impacted her life, what...

The Beijing Paralympics and Olympics have just wrapped up, and we’re taking this opportunity to reflect on disability and sport. In this case, though, we’re looking at how disability connects with professional, able-bodied sports. Chanel Keenan is the intersectionality consultant for the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, which means she’s responsible for making sure the NHL’s newest team considers the needs o...

This conversation is a vivid example of all the ways disability can bring unexpected opportunities and experiences to our lives. David Achuroa, who is from northern Ghana, contracted polio when he was two. That eventually led him to a rehabilitation centre, which then led to him beginning school. David earned a science degree in community nutrition before moving to Canada to study anthropology at...

Welcome to 2022! We’re starting this year with a story of living with hope and resilience in the face of ongoing health challenges. Clare Li has lived with various autoimmune diseases for most of her life. But it wasn’t until the Vancouver native moved to Montreal that she intently started studying her disabilities – and shortly after she made some hard decisions to increase her independence, she...

To bring some warmth to this winter season, we’re learning about how disability played a role in one couple’s romance. Michelle Hewitt is a disability advocate in British Columbia, and the national co-chair of Disability Without Poverty, an organization dedicated to lifting Canadians with disabilities out of financial poverty. Victor Enns is a poet and author, who spent most of his life living in...

Disabilities impact families in various ways. It literally expanded Katrina Gossett Kelly’s family. Four years ago, she adopted her son from Bulgaria. In this conversation, Katrina talks about how having a disability is both a benefit and a challenge when pursuing adoption, and what her journey is teaching her about what it means to build a community. Katrina Gossett Kelly is a lawyer practising i...

For many parents, their first significant experience with disability comes when they find out their child has one. Shannon Reaume’s story is different: both she and her son have the same medical condition, central congenital hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS). In this conversation, Shannon and Meagan talk about how Shannon’s disability impacted her journey to motherhood, what it’s like to share a dia...

On the first episode of “Connecting Disability,” Meagan sat down with the journalist who first showed her how experiences with disability can lead to in-depth, thoughtful journalism – and help us consider how one person’s disability can impact several people in related, different ways. In 2009, Globe and Mail feature writer Ian Brown published The Boy in the Moon, a memoir about his experiences wi...

In Connecting Disability, accessibility reporter Meagan Gillmore and her guests consider how experiences of disability help us connect with others and society.