Latest from John Loeppky
Opinion
Let us be boring: Disabled people are more than heroes or objects of your pity
Disabled people are often shoved into one of two categories, writes John Loeppky: the superhero or the victim.
Opinion
We need to do more to ensure disabled people have secure housing
John Loeppky says he is struggling with how difficult it is for many of Canada’s disabled people to secure housing.
For disabled people, social media can be both a lifeline and a drain
While social media platforms have become a haven for disabled people looking to connect, they are also brimming with discussions of trauma. Balancing the search for support with cultivating bits of joy has become a key challenge for many disabled people.
Opinion
We need to design, fund our social systems around the idea that disabled children turn into disabled adults
Canada needs cradle-to-grave care, writes John Loeppky. It’s the concept that social systems should care for people from birth to death. Right now, many disabled people aren’t getting it.
Opinion
Digital solutions during the pandemic put disabled people on more equal ground. Don't forget us once it's over
Many of us don’t want to close Zoom and go back to your version of “normal.” Our existence wasn’t valued there. It often wasn’t even acknowledged, writes John Loeppky.
Opinion
Spoon theory: How a cutlery metaphor can help explain the energy it takes to live with disabilities
"Using spoons to visualize our energy output helps non-disabled people begin to grasp what we are going through," writes John Loeppky. "It also demonstrates that a lack of spoons is not a moral failing."
Opinion
The 'crip tax': Everything has a cost, but for people with disabilities that's quite literally the case
Canadians with disabilities live on below-average income that barely meets the poverty line and pay an automatic ‘crip tax’ according to advocate, actor and writer John Loeppky, who lives in Regina. Having a disability has built-in added costs, including higher prices for food, transportation, medical expenses and barriers to housing.
Point of View
As a disabled person, it's hard to watch accessibility only improve now that able-bodied are affected
Waking up with cerebral palsy is as unpredictable as it is unremarkable on a regular day. Add in a pandemic, a loss of income, and national reports that equate to government ministers with megaphones saying, "Disabled people, lock yourselves away," and things get a tad more complicated.