{"id":11567,"date":"2024-11-01T15:38:31","date_gmt":"2024-11-01T20:38:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=11567"},"modified":"2024-11-01T15:38:31","modified_gmt":"2024-11-01T20:38:31","slug":"go-big-read-author-reflects-on-disability-kindness-independence","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/go-big-read-author-reflects-on-disability-kindness-independence\/","title":{"rendered":"Go Big Read author reflects on disability, kindness, independence"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Photo<\/a>
Taussig answers questions from the audience during UW-Madison’s Go Big Read keynote conversation. (Photo by Althea Dotzour)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was a simple, everyday interaction, but it was significant to Rebekah Taussig.<\/p>\n

The author couldn\u2019t reach the paper towels she needed from her wheelchair, and a woman nearby spoke up: \u201cThey didn\u2019t put these paper towels where you can reach them. Want me to grab one for you?\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman\u2019s framing recognized the flaws of the system instead of the perceived flaws of Taussig.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like someone had taken a beat and assessed the situation more fully than maybe I usually experience,\u201d said Taussig.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday night, in a conversation with UW\u2013Madison Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin, Taussig discussed ways of living with disability, displaying kindness and fostering independence at the Go Big Read keynote at Union South, attended by students, staff and campus community members.<\/p>\n

Taussig\u2019s book, \u201cSitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body,\u201d was chosen by Chancellor Mnookin as the\u00a02024-2025 Go Big Read book<\/a>, for UW\u2013Madison\u2019s community reading program. A series of panels, book discussions and other events are being held to discuss the book throughout the fall semester.<\/p>\n

Paralyzed from the age of three, Taussig grew up longing for stories that allowed disability to be complex and ordinary; too often it was portrayed as monstrous or inspirational.<\/p>\n

Taussig stressed the need to listen and wait before jumping to conclusions about a person\u2019s disability.<\/p>\n

\u201cDisability is a great example or framework for moving away from this idea of assumption,\u201d Taussig said. \u201cOf what we assume that we know what somebody needs, what\u2019s helpful to someone, assuming that we know what they don\u2019t need and what they\u2019re capable of doing, and our expectations of them and what their home life is like and what their resources are.\u201d<\/p>\n

People should advocate for themselves in situations where they don\u2019t feel adequately represented, Taussig said. She recalled once when she failed to do so, but then she saw a little girl in a wheelchair in the same space.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat moment, for me, completely shifted the way that I think about self-advocacy, that self-advocacy is always advocacy for each other, that it\u2019s not just about us, it\u2019s about all of us,\u201d Taussig said. \u201cWhen we advocate for ourselves, not only are we making that space more accessible for the people coming after us, but I think that people around us feel more freed up to say, \u2018This isn\u2019t working for me,\u2019 or \u2018I had this need.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Author visited classroom<\/h2>\n

Earlier in the week, Taussig visited a class called Disability and Society, taught by Dian Mawene. Many of the students in the class are working toward a Disability Rights Certificate in the Department of\u00a0Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in the School of Education.<\/p>\n

She told the class that a goal should be to make the experience of disability human.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like so often the way that it was handled when I was younger, it made me feel more like a spectacle or more different,\u201d she told the students. \u201cAnd so that line of wanting to talk about it and wanting to address it, but without being intimidating, without creating a further distance, is tricky.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thinking about access doesn\u2019t necessarily have to be the image of the blue icon wheelchair that is on the accessible bathroom stalls, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a lot of ways, it\u2019s a conversation about how can we make the world more hospitable and easily accessible to all of the bodies that we live in,\u201d Taussig said. \u201cAnd all of the bodies we live in are constantly changing through injury, illness, pregnancy, potentially, and age.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taussig finished her time with the class saying, \u201cThis work is important. This matters a lot. I want to remind you of that in the midst of the chaos and slog of it, it\u2019s beautiful what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/p>\n

Taussig signs copies of her book for students.\u00a0Photo by:\u00a0Althea Dotzour<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"A<\/p>\n

Student Lydia Stolman smiles while Taussig signs a copy of her book.\u00a0Photo by:\u00a0Althea Dotzour<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Rebekah Taussig was on campus for a series of events this week.\u00a0Photo by:\u00a0Althea Dotzour<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"A<\/p>\n

Taussig speaks with student in RPSE 100: Disability and Society taught by Dian Mawene in the Educational Sciences Building.\u00a0Photo by:\u00a0Althea Dotzour<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"A<\/p>\n

Professor Dian Mawene introduces Taussig in her classroom.\u00a0Photo by:\u00a0Althea Dotzour<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"A<\/p>\n

Taussig addresses students in the classroom.\u00a0Photo by:\u00a0Althea Dotzour<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Written by Sophia Ross<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/news.wisc.edu\/go-big-read-author-reflects-on-disability-kindness-independence\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  It was a simple, everyday interaction, but it was significant to Rebekah Taussig. The author couldn\u2019t reach the paper towels she needed from her wheelchair, and a woman nearby spoke up: \u201cThey didn\u2019t put these paper towels where you can reach them. Want me to grab one for you?\u201d The woman\u2019s framing recognized the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":11607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[103],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-11567","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-madison"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/11567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=11567"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=11567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}