I was doing some prep reading for an interview at my job this week (you can listen to it here or the version with transcript here) on foundational supports and it had me reflecting on my attempts (in 2024, in 2025, and the complaint and the response to the complaint) about trying to get some […]
Author: Vanessa Smith
Advocacy – quick thank you email
I’m planning to document and collate more of my advocacy on this site. Mostly so that others can use my words with a template to save them some energy (though my words are never perfect nor are they the only words you can use) and to remind myself on bad days (I’m having one right […]
Advocacy has to include loss?
Recently I saw a post on social media saying your advocacy has to cost you something. Sleep, career opportunities, relationships… whatever it may be, they claimed that if your advocacy hasn’t cost you something, then it may be performative. I have major issues with this thought process! It assumes you can lose what […]
The disability service isn’t for disabilities
Yeah that sounds like a really shitty ridiculous headline, doesn’t it? I wrote about trying to get some disability services in early 2025 and how I’d lodged a complaint. Well, here’s the follow up to that. Maybe take some blood pressure medication before reading. My complaint: To Whom It May Concern, I wish to […]
2025 Disability Supports: an attempt at QLD state government supports
I shared what trying to get supports was like in 2024. Well, in early 2025 I had to try again. Something had changed and I needed a support. From my 2024 experience I had learned more about what state based services offered and felt more confident that I would be able to get the support […]
Quiet advocacy is still advocacy
Too often I feel like disabled people are only taken seriously as advocates if they have the “big ticket” items on their advocacy resume. What does that mean? Big committees, in-person attendance at events, and anything else that aligns with corporate norms. (Side note the ever brilliant Charlie has a post that covers how some corporate […]
My new drafty thing for authors
For a few months now I’ve been mulling how to help authors with their drafts. I’ve had a lot of different ideas. Some I may be able to enact in the future with my own books. In the end, I’ve come up with a fancy pants new service called “Oh Shit, My Draft!”. […]
Pay disabled people more because disability is expensive
Like most things relating to disability, research can be few and far between. If the government funded research on these topics, they might have to do something to support our human rights, which is expensive for them. Ableism also makes supporting disabled people quite unpopular, too. March 2022 data suggests that people with a […]
Unsupportive disability supports
In 2024 I tried to get some state based (aka non NDIS) disability supports. It was a complete joke. Not only was there an extensive wait list but you also had to be rich enough to pay for them. Yes, it was subsidised, cheaper than “market rate”, but that is NOT financial accessibility given the […]
I’m planning to do the wrong thing
On threads the other day an author shared a really helpful series of posts about iterating as an author to move yourself forward in a creative and commercial way. I’m usually not a fan of generic advice, because, it’s generic, but this was thought out and clearly came from experience. It’s worth reading the posts […]