It Happened to Me: a True Story of SSDI and Reporting Earnings - image of a pink background, a man with dark skin is holding a purple telephone and he has an expression of alarm on his face. his shirt is bright yellow

It Happened to Me: Reporting Income With SSDI!

This is about the "Four F's" of disability employment, particularly with employment of people with intellectual disabilities, and my own fears about my daughter's future. If you want to hear me reading this, just click the link below. https://media.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/p/content.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/The-Four-F_s.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download I woke up the other night at 2 in the [...]

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The Four F's of Disability Employment: image of a woman with Down syndrome, dark brown hair, and dimples, smiling as she holds her face up with her hand. The background wall is dark orange.

Navigating Beyond The Four F’s of Disability Employment

This is about the "Four F's" of disability employment, particularly with employment of people with intellectual disabilities, and my own fears about my daughter's future. If you want to hear me reading this, just click the link below. https://media.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/p/content.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/The-Four-F_s.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download I woke up the other night at 2 in the [...]

The Difference Between SSI and SSDI: [ID: background of alternating yellow and purple, text reading

The Difference Between SSI and SSDI

This is about the difference between SSI and SSDI. Disclaimer: we are not benefits planners here at Unpacking Disability. This is simply information gleaned from personal experience and research. You need and want to do your own research with the Red Book (- link in post), and consult with your own disability benefits planner if [...]

disability awareness calendar and disability awareness months 2021 - image of a pink background and a white girl with long brown hair and a big smile, holding a calendar up with both hands. Her nails are painted black and the calendar has lots of hearts drawn on it

Disability Awareness Calendar 2021

This is a Disability Awareness Calendar 2021, which includes Disability Awareness Months and Disability Awareness Days. It also has some bonus (- non-disability-related) awareness months and days! There is a downloadable pdf included. Disability Awareness Months There are a lot of disability awareness months and disability awareness days throughout the year. It can get a [...]

Harry Styles & The Gift of Millennial Neuro-Flexibility: image of a man with red shirt, white undershirt and green beret with his arms outstretched, smiling. He is on a cliff, with his back to the ocean

The Gift of Harry Styles and Millennial Neuro-Flexibility

This is an opinion post about the joy of Harry Styles, and the neuro-flexibility that the millennial generation seem to have. You can listen to me reading this post by clicking below! https://media.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/p/content.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/Harry-Styles.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download I fell in love with Harry Styles when I watched his video for "Adore You" - [...]

three children in front of the ocean, one child (in the middle) is jumping

2020: Through the Muck (Year in Review)

This is a personal post, a recap of 2020. If you'd like to listen to me read this, just click below! http://2020.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download 2020 Has Got to Be The Most Hated Year of All Time Everyone hates 2020, am I right? It's the year that made us stay at home [...]

Run Movie Review: image of a woman seated in a wheelchair looking down at a woman sitting in front of her. the woman in front of her is touching her chin. Both are white, with brown hair. It appears that they are in a drugstore.

A Movie Like Run: Riveting, Representing and Rupturing

This is a review of the movie, Run, starring Sarah Paulson and Kiera Allan, which is currently playing on Hulu. Spoilers are in this review! WHOAH! Run: A Movie with Some Pop Run is the first move in a long time to star an actual wheelchair user in a lead role, and that's pretty exciting [...]

How to Enable Free Zoom Captions with Any Zoom Account

This is a tutorial for how to set up free captions on Zoom - any account on Zoom, including your personal free account. I need closed captions. I don't really care what you call it - "open captions" or "closed captions" or "subtitles" - I am simply talking about the text transcription that is the [...]

tips for universal access at conferences: image of a conference room with light streaming in. there are many chairs surrounding very long tables and big windows

Tips for Universal Design in Academic Conferences

This is about universal design in academic conferences. It contains specific suggestions for how to improve universal access, that while specifically geared towards academic conferences, is applicable to all meetings This essay is available in distraction-free (- no ads) at the end of this post for people who benefit from access to PDF's. Disability and Universal [...]

100+ Disability Groups on Facebook That You’ve Been Looking For

This is about the best disability groups on Facebook. Disability Community on Facebook Disability community is crucial and is a powerful way for those of us with disabilities to make friendships from within our own respective disability communities and cross-disability. It's a way to find solutions to problems that are disability-specific, receive support and a [...]

meriah nichols

“What The Hell is Going on, Meriah?!”

Gandhi once said* that we need to follow our personal truth in our quest for the best possible course of action. The thing is, the best possible course of action is not always a straight path. Moment by moment, the best course of action for us may change and as we keep ourselves aligned to …

ADA30 Lead On: ADA30 - in Celebration of Disability Arts, Culture, Education and Pride

ADA Lead On: Thanks to the ADA!

This is a YouTube playlist of the celebratory videos,"ADA Lead On" produced by Lights! Camera! Action! In honor of the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disability Act. #ThanksToTheADA ADA Lead On

Nothing About Us Without Us - Disability and Global Expansion. ID: an individual sits in a wheelchair with arms upraised in victory. The person is in shadow, but overlooking the cityscape that is bathed in light

Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability and Global Expansion

This is a post about disability, the disability community (- both for people with disabilities and non-disabled parents of people with disabilities), and the opportunity that disability is. It's available in distraction-free (- no ads) PDF for my patrons, linked here. It's also at the end of this post for people who benefit from access to PDF'. [...]

unpacking disability with Meriah Nichols: image of a collage of images: top left, woman's eye, then image of a wheelchair parking sign with the shadow of a person in a wheelchair, pink hearing aids, a man holding his head, many hands outstretched over the image of a heart, and a small girl with down syndrome smiling. Text reads over white brushstrokes,

An Update on Unpacking Disability with Meriah Nichols

This is a post on site changes. It's available in ad and image-free PDF at the end of the post. If you want to hear me reading this post, just click the link below. https://media.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/p/content.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/Update-on-Unpacking-Disability-with-Meriah-Nichols.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download This blog started off as Finding Ruby's Father, a place to chronicle my dating [...]

Resources to help explain death to person with down syndrome - image of a girl with down syndrome looking at camera. text reads

Resources to Explain Death and Grief to Person with Down Syndrome or Intellectual Disability

This is a post with resources to explain grief and loss to anyone with an intellectual or developmental disability, but focuses on explaining grief to people with Down syndrome. It's available in distraction-free (- no ads) PDF for my patrons, linked here. It's also at the end of this post for people who benefit from access to [...]

Cross Disability Groups on Facebook: image of a woman with brown skin and her hair in a bun, sitting in front of a desktop computer. The woman is in a wheelchair and appears to be typing. Text reads,

The Best Disability Groups on Facebook For PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES!

This is about the best disability groups on Facebook FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. It's available in distraction-free (- no ads) PDF for my patrons, linked here. It's also at the end of this post for people who benefit from access to PDFs. Cross-Disability Community on Facebook "Cross disability" means all disability. It means inclusive of all [...]

beyond the hashtag: Image of black background with gold star exploding and a black heart at the center

Black Lives Matter: Beyond the Hashtag

This is about Black Lives Matter and uprooting racism in America. It's available in distraction-free (- no ads) PDF for my patrons, linked here. It's also at the end of this post for people who benefit from access to PDF'. If you want to hear me reading this, just click the link below. https://media.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/p/content.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/Beyond-the-Hashtag.mp3Podcast: Play in new [...]

cdc guidelines for reopening schools

Are The CDC Guidelines for Schools Reopening Too Much?

This is about the CDC guidelines for schools. It's available in distraction-free (- no ads) PDF for my patrons, linked here. It's also at the end of this post for people who benefit from access to PDF'. If you want to hear me reading this, just click the link below. https://media.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/p/content.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/CDC.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download [...]

it's like we are in time out

It’s Like We Are in Time Out

This is a personal post. It's available in distraction-free (- no ads) PDF for my patrons, linked here. It's also at the end of this post for people who benefit from access to PDF'. If you want to hear me reading this, just click the link below. https://media.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/p/content.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/We-Got-Put-In-Time-Out.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download My Facebook feed [...]

highly educational things for kids to do at home

MORE Fun & Highly Educational Stuff For Kids With Disabilities (and without!) to Do Inside

This post is a list of things of fun stuff for kids to do and that help during quarantine. It leans hard on "fun educational" and it addresses kids with disabilities. This is available in a downloadable PDF for my patrons, linked here. It's also at the end of this post for people who benefit [...]

crip camp: a disability revolution: image of a woman with dark hair and arms crossed under her chin, smiling

The Misfits Who Rock and Rolled: A Review of Crip Camp

This post is a Crip Camp Review. This review is available in a downloadable PDF for my patrons, linked here. It's also at the end of this post for people who benefit from access to PDF'. If you want to hear me reading this, just click the link below. https://media.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/p/content.blubrry.com/meriahnicholsdisability/Talking-About-Crip-Camp-the-Misfits-Who-Rock-and-Rolled.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | [...]