Array
(
    [0] => Array
        (
            [id] => 3
            [date] => 2025-12-16
            [status] => Active
            [new] => 
            [title] => Stories of Disability: Enabling Us to Connect
            [author] => Jenn Chassman Browne
            [article] => 

	It’s stories that enable us to connect; stories that allow us to see and know each other without anger, fear, defensiveness and resistance. And thus, it’s stories that I’ll be telling in my upcoming book entitled, See Us, Know Us: Profiles of Disability (formerly Living Our Disabled Lives.)


	This book will profile 30 diverse individuals with disabilities. Each profile consists of a portrait, taken by Natalie Brescia, a short biography, and an original poem that speaks to each person’s unique experience with disability. 


	After working as an Educational Consultant and Disability Educator for ten years, I felt that the resistance to learning about equity and inclusion was growing. In spite of my best efforts to design experiences that focused on growth, learning, and connection, participants in the training sessions that I led felt upset, embarrassed, ashamed, and sometimes blamed for the inequities and stratification of our society and communities. 


	While it’s not necessarily bad for people to experience these feelings, I found that most want to avoid them and that this desire for avoidance was evident in growing resistance to being vulnerable and open to growth in these settings.


	There was one exception. When an individual in the session told a personal story about their experience as a member of a marginalized group, people listened more openly. Those hearing others stories were not defensive, they didn’t feel the need to push back, challenge, or discredit the speaker. Instead, they were able to listen, gaining new understandings of the lives lived by those who were different than they were. Often the people that they were listening to were friends, neighbors, and colleagues, and it was easier for them to accept and reflect on the experiences of these people because they knew and cared about them. 


	Stories allow us to understand and connect with each other. While we may see differences between ourselves and others, when we hear and tell stories, not only do we come to better comprehend each other’s lives, we also develop empathy. We can be different and still care about each other. When listening, we look for connection, and this enables us to find these similarities and connections in spite of differences.


	I thought a lot about this as I considered how to continue to advocate and educate. This power of storytelling was true for me as well. When I shared my story, others would listen and ask questions, interested to learn. I too learned so much from the stories of those in my training sessions and those with whom I collaborated. Their stories helped me to be a better person, a better member of every community of which I am a part, and a better educator and advocate.


	I believe that stories can be transformative; building deep understanding of and compassion for one another. The purpose of telling stories of people with disabilities is not to have others pity us, not to have others be inspired by us, but rather to recognize the complexities of our lives and to see similarity and difference in the lives that we all live. 


	I do also hope, in reading the stories and the poems that I’ve written, that people will gain a better understanding of why and how our world, the physical and philosophical, needs to change to be more equitable and inclusive, so as to support the participation and contributions of us all. In this way, this book and these stories are ways to continue to do disability advocacy. Please join me in telling our stories. 


	Look for, See us, Know Us: Profiles of Disability available in 2026.


	Jenn Chassman Browne

	https://newground.us/


        )

    [1] => Array
        (
            [id] => 10
            [date] => 2022-10-19
            [status] => Active
            [new] => 
            [title] => How do you bounce back?
            [author] => Paige Masson
            [article] => 
When your disability decides to transform into a tornado and tear through your safety net, how do you bounce back?



Sometimes this tornado can be physically seen by others. Other times, it manifests as verbal warfare within the mind. In my case, having Bipolar Disorder is mostly invisible. The times it shows up physically though, it's like a storm goes on non-stop for weeks. When those weeks are over, it is clean-up time but...



Where do I begin? Have I done a well enough job at putting speed bumps on my road?

Did I utilize my toolbox to the best of my ability?

 

Mental health is a tricky one. We all experience the good and the bad days. People with Bipolar Disorder experience very intense mood changes. In my case, it took over three weeks to recover from a depressive episode. My room got messy. I missed some days of work. Eating became difficult. Sleeping was the only time I felt okay. I tried to explain the chaos and the pain to the people around me but it felt like I was speaking a foreign language. Regardless of the support and the love my safety net tried to provide, I felt alone and misunderstood.

 

If this feeling feels familiar to you, let me assure you that you are not alone. Let me also assure you that there is hope. Being misunderstood can be alleviated with proper education. After making it through the most recent depressive episodes, I learned a few things about myself.



1. I am resilient beyond comprehension. Having a disability can make someone feel otherwise but the fact that we can rise above its definition and stigmas is to be admired.



2. Happiness can be conserved within my mind and heart. Holding on to the excitement, hope, and love can help carry the weight during dark times. 



3. Patience truly is a virtue. Cleaning up the tornado's mess allows your resilient spirit to shine through. The key to cleaning up the mess is patience.



If you feel alone, please remember that you are not alone. Somebody does care even if that somebody is you. Making it through each day one foot at a time can be just enough to remind yourself that brighter days are ahead, even if they are just existing in your consciousness or dreams for the time being. A doodle by Paige Masson of a woman in a blue dress with a pink belt and yellow hair with thoughts shaped like flowers flowing from the top of her head. On one side of her is "Mania," colored in yellow and reflecting sunshine tornadoes. On the other side, blue for "Depression" with black tornadoes and blue background. Always split in half by the two emotions."

        )

    [2] => Array
        (
            [id] => 21
            [date] => 2021-02-11
            [status] => Active
            [new] => 
            [title] => Consumer, Jheng-Han, talks about how working with ACC has helped him
            [author] => Anonymous
            [article] => 

        )

)
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