#277 Embracing Disability Identity as part of Living a Life of Integration with Anthony Tusler

Louise sits down with Anthony Tusler, a writer, photographer, advocate, and educator who has lived with a spinal cord injury for over 70 years. Anthony reflects on his journey of embracing his disability identity in the activism of the 1970s, a turning point that shaped his life’s work in education, community building, and the arts. He shares how community and advocacy are essential to belonging, how art can change the way disability is seen, and how integration and community are key to living a meaningful life. Anthony also speaks to the importance of advocacy in today’s political climate and the responsibility we all share in protecting disability rights since it was the advocacy of SCI advocates and others who made life easier for all Americans with ramps and curb cuts. His insights offer wisdom, encouragement, and a reminder that disability is part of the human experience, something every human will face, not to be feared, but embraced.

Resources
https://aboutdisability.com/

https://cripcamp.com/

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BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel. Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

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