Grace Dow

The Long Lives No One Planned For CW: Death Across the United States, families are navigating uncharted territory within the world of intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Adults with intellectual and developmental dis…

Today's blog post is about aging with IDD.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/03/03/t...

A Day to Remember—and Protect—Disabled Lives CW: Fillicide Yesterday was March 1. Every year on March 1, the disability community acknowledges the Disability Day of Mourning. The day acknowledges disabled people who are killed by their parent…

Today's blog post is about the Disability Day of Mourning.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/03/02/a...

When Caregivers Can’t Afford Care More than 400 disability advocates, caregivers, and service providers gathered this week in East Syracuse to share a simple but urgent message for lawmakers: invest in the people who make community…

Today's blog post is about low wages for direct care staff.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/03/01/w...

Unpredictable Movements, Unspoken Feelings CW: Pain During my physical therapy appointment on Wednesday morning, my physical therapist and I were engaging in normal conversation. We talked about the Olympics and Spring Training. It was the …

Today's blog post is about the unpredictability of cerebral palsy.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/28/u...

Lives on the Line: The Human Cost of a Medicaid Freeze The freeze of nearly $260 million in Medicaid funding may be happening in Minnesota, but the fear it creates reaches far beyond one state. When federal officials discuss tackling fraud in home-base…

Today's blog post is about Minnesota’s Medicaid freeze.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/27/l...

This Is Not Home For decades, disabled people around the world have often had their lives shaped by institutions. Large hospitals and institutions were seen as the standard residential option for disabled people. T…

Today’s blog post is about how institutional bias still keeps disabled people from living independently in the community.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/26/t...

The Harshest Birthday California’s developmental disability system is designed to provide lifelong support, but many families find it a closed door right when it is needed the most. Case management, job coaching, indepe…

Today's blog post is about age limits within disability services.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/25/t...

The Disability Crisis Inside ICE CW: ICE and Death The story of Rodney Taylor is horrifying on its own terms, but it becomes even more disturbing when placed in the broader historical context of how U.S. immigration authorities ha…

Today's blog post is about ICE’s treatment of disabled people.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/24/t...

When the Safety Net Becomes a Trap The story of Ramona Rakestraw, a Dallas woman losing her Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits during cancer treatment represents a shocking and familiar bureaucratic failure. She was born in…

Today’s blog post is about fighting both illness and bureaucracy.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/23/w...

You See My Walker, You Don’t See This Cerebral palsy is a physical disability that affects my ability to walk. I use a walker and a power wheelchair for mobility. Cerebral palsy presents many other challenges that others might not see.…

Today's blog post is about the parts of cerebral palsy people don't see.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/21/y...

The Doctor Is Not In Medicaid was created to ensure that people with low incomes could receive care without risking financial hardship. However, for many who depend on it, having coverage does not guarantee that they c…

Today’s blog post is about why many people on Medicaid still can’t find a doctor.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/20/t...

The Human Cost of “Savings” CW: Institutionalization Across Nebraska, families caring for disabled loved ones are watching the state dismantle the system that has kept their children, parents, and partners safe for decades. T…

Today’s blog post is about the risks of dismantling home and community-based services.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/19/t...

When ICE Knocks, Care Stops CW: ICE & Death Immigration enforcement rarely makes headlines for its effects on disability services, but the consequences are unfolding quietly in homes, hospitals, and day programs across th…

Today’s blog post is about how ICE is affecting the care of disabled people.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/18/w...

If You Don’t Count Us, You Don’t See Us CW: Ableism The federal government finally acknowledges what disabled people have been saying for years: you can’t improve healthcare accessibility without knowing who’s being left out. A recent Go…

Today’s blog post is about why disability data is essential to improving healthcare accessibility.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/17/i...

A Firefighter’s Fight That Should Never Have Happened CW: Death All across the United States, people who are already battling cancer are being forced to fight a second battle.  This battle is not against the cancer, but against the insurance syst…

Today's blog post is about insurance companies denying cancer treatment.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/16/a...

Trust, Care, and Consequences: The Real Impact of Fraud on Disabled Lives CW: Fraud People often talk about fraud in home‑based care programs in terms of budgets, audits, and criminal charges, but for the disabled people who depend on these services, the consequences are…

Today’s blog post is about how fraud crackdowns in home care can harm disabled people’s independence.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/15/t...

Grieving What Was Never Mine No one gets it. No one talks about the kind of grief that comes from watching everyone else live the life you never were able to. The kind of mourning that isn’t loud or recognized, but creeps in s…

I wrote this last year. For me grieving missed or lost opportunities is really difficult.

gracedowwrites.com/2025/08/17/g...

The Paperwork Architecture of Disability Services The other day I filled out my annual EVV (electronic visit verification) exemption form. In my home state of Massachusetts, MassHealth has utilized EVV for consumers of the PCA (Personal Care Assis…

Today's blog post is about the bureaucracy associated with disability

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/14/t...

When Care Depends on a Budget Vote Families across Missouri who care for loved ones with developmental disabilities are speaking out as proposed state budget cuts threaten their essential services. What started as a simple budget re…

Today's blog post is about how proposed Medicaid cuts would affect disabled people.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/13/w...

The Disability Squeeze:The High Cost of Living with a Disability CW: Poverty Living with a disability can be expensive. A study from Stony Brook University found that many disabled people spend thousands of dollars each year on their needs. In this three-year st…

Today's blog post is about the costs associated with being disabled.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/12/t...

A Lifetime of Work, A Disability Used Against Him CW: Discrimination For 35 years, Paul Rooney walked the same six blocks to Schuyler Elementary School in Kearny, New Jersey. There, he swept floors, cleaned bathrooms, picked up pizza boxes, and ke…

Today’s blog post is about how disabled employees are still too often undervalued and underpaid.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/11/a...

For Leon and Otis: A Call to Do Better CW: Fillicide & Suicide The tragic murder-suicide in Mosman Park, Perth, Australia, where two parents took the lives of their autistic sons, their pets, and then themselves, forces society to c…

Today’s blog post is about the tragic murder of Leon and Otis Clune and the systemic failures that can lead to filicide involving disabled people.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/10/f...

This Time, We Were Heard Every now and then, the news brings us something that feels like a sigh of relief instead of just another headline. That’s what happened during the latest budget negotiations. Congress rejected a s…

Today’s blog post is about a rare and meaningful win for disability rights

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/09/t...

The Super Bowl Roars, and So Does the Call for Accessible Stadiums CW: Suicide & Depression With the Super Bowl kicking off tonight and millions of fans getting ready for the biggest game of the year, it’s a good time to think about what it means to belo…

Today’s blog post is about the accessibility of NFL stadiums.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/08/t...

She taught intro to sociology and was a wonderful professor.

I didn't have a Black teacher or professor until my freshman year of college.

Please Don’t Rush My Body Too often, people assume that connection requires eye contact, immediate responses, or visible engagement. But for many people with cerebral palsy, those expectations can create the very barriers w…

Today’s blog post is about how pressure and scrutiny can disrupt motor control for people with CP.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/07/p...

What Happens When We Build for Everyone CW: Segregation Planned residential communities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are often presented as a major improvement. The brochures come in bright colors. The lang…

Today's blog post is about residential communities for people with IDD.

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/06/w...

Every Child Deserves a Classroom CW: Ableism Rep. Steve Miller’s recent comments about special education hit hard. During a conversation about linking school funding to “outcomes,” he went further and questioned whether some disab…

Today’s blog post is about comments made by Rep. Steve Miller (R-Idaho).

gracedowwrites.com/2026/02/05/e...

When Disability Meets ICE, People Pay the Price CW: Death & ICE The death of Wael Tarabishi has left a North Texas family heartbroken, not just because of the loss but also due to the circumstances surrounding it. Wael, a 30-year-old U.S. ci…

I wrote about this the other day. gracedowwrites.com/2026/01/27/w...