A couple of weeks ago, the website called The Mighty,published a since-removed post called meltdown bingo. The post was a pejorative “game” aimed to make light of children and adults experiencing sensory and emotional overload resulting in a meltdown. As some of my acquaintances pointed out, having a meltdown is not enjoyable for the person having the meltdown. As a parent who has watched children go through meltdowns, it is also no fun for the family around a person having a meltdown. Heck, I’ve had meltdowns myself, and they are no fun for me either (although I have more ability to temper my behavior than my kids do).
Since that time, the disability community has issued a sharp rebuke to The Mighty, with#CrippingtheMighty. The Mighty is run by non-disabled people, is rich in inspiration porn, and contains an inordinate amount of material submitted by people who purport to speak for us. Nothing about us without us is clearly not a principle held by The Mighty. A number of blogs and posts have surfaced from disabled people issuing a rebuke to parents of disabled children for speaking for their children. A number of blogs and posts have surfaced from parents claiming they must speak for their children. Missing from these posts is the perspective of disabled parents who have disabled children.