[vc_row][vc_column][vc_message message_box_style=”outline” style=”round” message_box_color=”turquoise”]This is a collection of some 9 powerful disability TED talks that will make you go, “ah-ha!”
They also happen to be my favorite disability TED talks.
I’m a list junkie, so it’s sort of a list for you and sort of for me, to have all the stuff I love in one place. I included what I loved about each piece, down to things like, “I like her hair.” Sometimes I’m not a very deep person.
The fact that they are all women is coincidental: I didn’t set out to make a list of “favorite disabled women on TED Talks.”
If you know of a great TED talk, would you please link it in the comments? Thanks![/vc_message][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]
My Favorite, Powerful Disability TED Talks
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Stella Young: I Am Not Your Inspiration, Thank You Very Much
Stella Young, who had Osteogenesis Imperfecta, created this classic – and coined the term, “Inspiration Porn”
Why I Like It:
- She’s hilarious
- She’s whip smart
- This was a ground-breaking talk: she coined the term, “inspiration porn” and really nailed down some basic definitions and concepts
- I like her edgy, fun fashion
- I like her huge eyes
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Wanda Diaz Merced: How a Blind Astronomer Found a Way to Hear the Stars
Wanda Diaz Merced, a blind astronomer, speaks of how she learned to hear the stars, and about disability access in science
Why I Like It:
- This speaks to some of my deepest convictions regarding disability and the interconnectedness of life
- She explores the sense of all that is powerful about disability and who we are as humans, as creatures in a vast, multi-dimensional universe
- Her accent fluid way of speaking sounds like music
- Her bone structure is lovely
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Maysoon Zayid: I’ve Got 99 Problems and Palsy is One of Them
Maysoon has Cerebral Palsy, and talks of her journey being a disabled Arab-American comic.
Why I Like It:
- She’s funny
- She has great sound bites in there about disability representation in the media
- She’s really pretty
- I love her eyebrows
- I like her voice
- She’s really funny (yes, I said that twice: that means SHE IS FUNNY!!)
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Judith Heumann: Our Fight for Disability Rights: And Why We Are Not Done Yet
My ultimate hero (remember this post I wrote on meeting her?) tells her personal story, and moves from the ADA to the Convention of the Rights of People with Disabilities
Why I Like It:
-
- She’s funny
- She is so articulate
- I like the way she talks
- I love her smile
- I am deeply inspired on every level by what she talks about in here: from the point of me as a parent to me as a disabled woman, it all comes together with a surge
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Hannah Gadsby: 3 Ideas. 3 Contradictions. Or Not.
Hannah is an Autistic Australian lesbian and talks about being the value of being Autistic, and perspectives on being a comic.
Why I like it:
- She is so clever. SO. CLEVER.
- She can make me sob from my soul before deftly turning to belly laughter
- Awesome glasses and crisp suit
- I like her smile
- Awesome points on Autism
- Everything she says is, for me, so unexpected. She keeps me on my toes and I always learn something
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Karen Gaffney: I Have One More Chromosome Than You: So What?
Swimmer Karen Gaffney – who has Down syndrome – speaks of prenatal testing and termination rates, just as the quality of life for individuals with Down syndrome is radically improving
Why I Like It:
- Every time I watch this, I cry because of the truth that she speaks
- It inspires me again, as a parent, in how important and powerful our role really is as our child’s first ally
- I wonder what all people with Down syndrome would say to those of us without, if they could, and if we could understand?
- Her skin is lovely
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Christine Sun Kim: The Enchanting Music of Sign Language
Deaf artist Christine Sun Kim talks about the actual music of sign language and about SOUND
Why I Like It:
- So many “YES!” and “a-ha!” moments in her talk for me
- She really thinks outside the box
- She’s so pretty
- I love her beautiful signing
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Sinead Burke: Why Design Should Include Everyone
Little Person Sinead Burke talks about the impact of design on access and lives
Why I Like It:
-
- I never, EVER thought of so many of the points she makes: it really made me look at design differently
- Her accent: her words sound like a bubbling brook
- Her lipstick color, sense of style
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Dame Evelyn Glennie: How to Truly Listen
Deaf drummer Evelyn Glennie talks about how to truly listen and hear.
Why I Like It:
- The entire thing is one big “a-ha”
- The pieces about the differences between listening and hearing? Gold.
- She’s such an awesome drummer
- I love her accent
- I also really like her hair
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Riva Lehrer: Valuable Bodies
Disabled painter Riva Lehrer talks about the value of the disabled body
Why I Like It:
- Riva’s paintings are one long “a-ha!”: you really understand the core of what her talk is about when you actually see what she creates
- It is all SO TRUE
- I love her style: so funky American-meets-Frida
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Disability TED Talks to Make You Think
TED Talks have a reputation for making you think – heck, they are designed to make you think!
I love that these powerful TED talks that I’ve included in this post really made me go “a-ha” and stretch my brain . They taught me something, and gave me glimpses of new ways of looking at the world.
I hope they did the same for you.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_separator color=”turquoise” style=”shadow” border_width=”6″ el_width=”60″][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
More Movie Reviews!
More movies, reviewed! All related to disability
Meriah Nichols is a counselor. Solo mom to 3 (one with Down syndrome, one on the spectrum). Deaf, and neurodiverse herself, she’s a gardening nerd who loves cats, Star Trek, and takes her coffee hot and black.
