Disabled people have been categorized as the most unemployed group not only in Ontario, but also in Canada (statistically). Issues can range from fear of disclosing accommodations to the influence of employer and policy attitudes in the workplace. What happens when accommodations are not met? What are your rights and responsibilities as a disabled employee?

Mary Neilans, founder of AIM for Inclusion, joins me in this episode. With many years of experience as an aging consultant, Mary works closely with employers to make workplaces accessible through AODA training and consultation. We both discuss the contrasts between accommodations (individual requests), accessibility, and inclusivity. We then discuss disclosing one's accommodation to an employer, acquiring access needs, common misconceptions, and the hiring process.

Should you require a transcript version of the episode, feel free to reach out: [email protected]

How have disability art events amplified disabled, D/deaf, and neurodivergent people? In this episode, I'm joined by a kind friend of mine, Emily Maxwell (She/they). Emily is a disabled, queer, and neurodivergent artistic director for The Disability Collective - an organization that coordinates arts-based events made for and by disabled people. Sunday, Dec. 7th, was our fourth year of the Disability Holiday Festival at Wychwood Barns in Toronto. Emily and I chatted about the significance of putting community care over profit (supporting disabled artists and their work), humble beginnings and the development of TDC, experiences with financial barriers for disabled people, and the importance of emphasizing access needs. We also shared some of our favourite moments from the TDC events, the day we first met three years ago, and our shared lived experiences as disabled people.

If you would like to learn more about this organization, you can find them on social media! They post detailed information about events they host. This includes access and venue guides, visual descriptions, and "save your spoons" guide videos.

This is the last production episode for this year and will return in 2026! Thank you so much, everyone, for all your support this year. Should you request a transcript, please don't hesitate to reach out. Email me at: [email protected]

Why Mad Studies? How have mad studies periodically shaped nuanced perceptions of psychiatry and madness?

In this episode, I am joined by Max Ferguson (he/they) as we dive into a thorough understanding of the conception of mad studies, how it exposes oppressive attitudes in psychiatric institutions, and its relationality to disability studies. Although some people may disagree with the term "Mad," well-known scholars such as Geoffrey Reaume, Rachel Gorman, Danielle Landry, and Jenna Reid use it as reclaimed language to rationalize lived experience with the mental health system. This further extends to grassroots movements (mad pride, consumer/survivor/ex-patient movement) that reject societal prejudices from medical professionals and policies that dictate diagnoses or treatment. Max introduces us to the term "sanism," which is a prejudiced belief that favours able-minded, healthy brains and frowns upon psychiatric minds. Lastly, we both discussed learning to set boundaries on consuming news media in Canada and from the United States.

*Content warning: Max briefly discusses suicidal ideation from a book he read and a family experience. Because this brief piece of content is subjectively heavy, I am giving a head of caution for those who may feel sensitive to this subject*

Book recommendations:

Mad Matters: A Critical Reader in Canadian Mad Studies (2013). Brenda A. LeFrancois, Robert Menzies, and Geoffrey Reaume.

When couples enter a new phase of their relationship, parenthood becomes a new responsibility. Many of them are either caregivers to a disabled child or a disabled parent. However, this comes at a price when non-disabled caregivers and disabled parents confront benevolent and/or internalized ableism that would become detrimental. How can parents of a disabled child change the way people perceive disability and parenthood? In what ways can disability literature books and guest talks become valuable resources?

In this episode, Adelle Purdham (she/her) and I had a thoughtful conversation about her new book titled I Don't Do Disability and Other Lies I Told Myself. Adelle is a faculty member and professor at Trent University, where she teaches non-fiction creative writing. Adelle's book comprises a series of essays based on her lived experience with ableism in her early life, and how she learned to change the way she perceives disability as an adult. We also elaborated on the idea of building acceptance in our "big, beautiful life", the ability to unlearn what we think we know about disability, and to relearn our understanding with new knowledge by disabled people. Last year, Adelle gave guest talks at several book launch events to discuss what it means to care for a child with Down Syndrome. Her book can be purchased at your local bookstores, including the Another Story Bookshop in Toronto.

Fun fact about Adelle: she was one of two guest speakers in my Disability Issues course at Sheridan College back in 2017.

Should you need to request a transcript version of the episode, please don't hesitate to contact me: [email protected] or [email protected]

How have social movements and leadership shaped fresh, nuanced perceptions of disability? How can we transform ourselves into innovative leaders in our community?

Join Kristina McMullin and me as we engage in a critical yet insightful conversation about disabled people as leaders in the social justice movement. Kristina is a disabled activist who currently works as a facilitator for FUTURES. It's a program that invites disabled and neurodivergent youth to learn to become prospective leaders. Kristina and I discuss the importance of honouring the legacies of disabled leaders, learning to be self-aware about our own vulnerabilities, and identifying leadership traits that we already value. Kristina sprinkles her great words of wisdom in this exciting episode!

To learn more about FUTURES, visit Access Now's website, which provides information about the program enrollment. Website link below

Futures - The AccessStudio

If you would like to request a transcript version of the episode, please send me an email, and I will get back to you: [email protected]

There are primary and secondary factors that lead disabled people on paths to homelessness: inflation, barriers to healthcare services, addiction, substance abuse, prejudiced attitudes and stigma, and flawed housing policies. In Ontario, we have many organizations and advocacy groups that address poverty and homelessness from a disability justice and a mad studies perspective. Homelessness can happen to anyone at any point in their life; children, adolescents, families, and senior citizens.

In this episode, I am joined by Jenn Byford (She/her) as she discusses her lived experience of navigating through homelessness as a neurodivergent woman. Jenn and I discuss ways to resist stigma and negative attitudes towards homeless people, her religious beliefs, pursuing a Child and Youth program at George Brown College, and aspiring to advocate for justice and support. We also talked about how empty words from politicians can lead to false hope and the importance of following through with action. Lastly, we emphasized pivoting community connections with disabled people, allies, friends, family, and educators.

Jenn is also affiliated with the Toronto Underhoused and Homeless Union. To learn more, it has a website of its mission, values, and how it empowers and connects with homeless people across Toronto. Toronto Underhoused and Homeless Union — RP Community MinistryThe link to the transcript cannot be reached here. If you like to receive the transcript version of each episode, please send me your request via email: [email protected]

Welcome everyone to season 2 of Our Voices: Conversations of Disability! For the season premiere episode, I am joined by Megan Suggitt, business owner of Beautiful Minds. Join us as we conceptualize neurodiversity through discussions of lived experiences, social and medical model rhetoric, contrasts between autism and non-verbal learning disability, and Indigenous knowledge. We've also discussed Megan's advocacy business that helps to empower neurodivergent youth to see their potential and strengths.

Episode 1 transcript: file:///C:/Users/aletc/Downloads/Our%20Voices%20Season%202%20transcript.pdf

Season 1: All episodes are available to stream and listen

What does community care look like in the future when it comes to future epidemics and tackling ongoing ableist, eugenic, and oppressive logic? How can we, as a disability community, contribute to building an inclusive, equitable future for all?

In the season finale episode, I am joined by Jet Coghlan (They/Them) as we explore the central theme of community care within disability studies. We discuss our experiences finding community as disabled people by discussing long-term friendships, critiquing capitalist and privileged ideologies that tend to speak out on disabled BIPOC people, encouraging future generations to develop practicing disability activism, hurdling through the North American economy, and many more. We've also talked about ways of adapting to living in a new world order by focusing on things that bring us joy such as going for long walks and spending time with disabled friends.

This episode marks the conclusion of Season 1 of Our Voices: Conversations of Disability. I want to thank everyone who has supported this series for the past four years. None of this wouldn't be possible without your robust support. Season 2 will be launching this Spring, so stay tuned for future announcements! This podcast is distributed by Cafe Time Productions.

Transcript version of the podcast:

file:///C:/Users/aletc/Downloads/Untitled%20document%20(1).pdf

Disability Justice activist, Mia Mingus, argues that access goes beyond the frontline accommodations of providing wheelchair ramps and accessible doors in public. It is also a support system in which we attempt to meet the needs of disabled, deaf, and neurodivergent communities. Accepting and acknowledging access needs allows disabled people to feel safe, comfortable, and dignified in a specific place and time. This includes theatre art performances, workplaces, post-secondary institutions, and public events. How can we work together, as a unified community, to disrupt social, cultural, and environmental barriers in Ontario? What tangible goals can we achieve to meet the needs for disabled people?

In this episode, I'm joined by a wonderful guest speaker, Sydney Elaine Butler. Their pronouns are they/them. Sydney is a human resource and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) consultant and a neurodiversity employment coach. We started the conversation by sharing our critical interpretations of access needs between a disabled individual, an employer, a partner, a friend, or a caregiver. We then dive into the flaws of Ontario's accessibility progress, stories of lived experiences with accessibility, AI transcriptions and its potential future in the workplace, Toronto Disability Pride March, and many more.

Transcript version of the episode:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F-1gGy6cHfPu48cIgSyT1-5ZmkUDxl6U/view?usp=drive_link

Ideologies about autism can vary from nuanced perspectives and lived experiences by autistic people. In this episode, I am joined by a returning guest speaker, Stephanie Haft, as we engage in a critical conversation about autism from a disability studies perspective. We've discussed the expense of having psycho-educational assessments for post-secondary accommodations, autistic identities and intersectionality, the power of disability justice, childhood experiences, and cultural representation. We further discussed the new emerging field, Critical Autism Studies, and how this field opens the floodgate for scholarship and new research produced for and by autistic people. The main question for this episode was: How can autistic voices change the way neurotypical people perceive autism politically, culturally, and economically?

the transcript version of the episode

https://drive.google.com/file/d/133Qh0fbK3K65fvVRVoZFtOEhuj-X8GOQ/view?usp=drive_link