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So much of life is about gaining maturity through our experiences. Sometimes we go through events similar to ones we’ve experienced before, but we now understand them from a whole different perspective. A few months ago, I shared here that my back was to the wall. I need night…

I spent a small fortune on cute books for the kindergarteners I taught at Brockman School, then a self-contained public school in Columbia, South Carolina. The students, many with severe disabilities, delighted in hearing the animated voices of the stories I read to them. My own…

For months, I waited in anticipation of July 22. I was going to be on a promotional panel for “Not Without Us: Perspectives on Disability and Inclusion in Singapore,” a book I contributed a chapter to last year. Before I’d even signed the contract, friends and family asked…

In every popular sitcom, there’s always a central setting for the characters to congregate. For some it’s a workplace, such as the Dunder Mifflin branch in “The Office” or the government building in “Parks and Recreation.” Other shows feature a shared living space, such as the geek-decorated apartment in…

In an African American toddler, neuromuscular symptoms of a severe form of nutritional rickets — a condition characterized by weak or soft bones due to dietary deficiencies — were initially mistaken as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 3, according to a new case study. Researchers say the overlapping…

When I was a kid, I spent many mornings and afternoons sitting on a padded blue bench with a table in front of me. I spent this time playing with my action figures, drawing, and immersing myself in Saturday morning cartoons. Kids, there was a time before streaming services…

You wouldn’t know this just by looking at me or the pictures I post on Instagram, but I’m hiding something. I imagine myself and this secret I carry as though it were a light switch. When people are around or I’m out in public, I do my best…

Sunday afternoon’s dreary skies and light rain tempted me mightily to crawl onto the recliner and drift right off. I doubt I could’ve counted to 10 before unconscious bliss took over — momentarily, anyway. It was also a dreary day for our older dog, Maple, a boxer…

Late August marks the start of a new school year, which still affects me even as a 29-year-old working adult. Though I graduated from college in 2016, my niece is starting first grade, my older nephew starts preschool in a few weeks, and both of my younger nephews are…

Candis Welch. (Photos courtesy of Candis Welch) This is Candis Welch’s story: Becoming Ms. Wheelchair California 2023 has given me a newfound pride in my life as a disabled woman. However, I have lived with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) for decades, and…