Disabled Writers & Accessibility

— Last checked July 2025 by Doris Fiedrich.

The Basics

• “4 Simple Ways That Content Writers Can Promote Accessibility.” Bureau of Internet Accessibility, Feb. 13, 2023. Read Article
• Leary, Alaina. “Publishing Has Failed Autistic & Disabled People – Here’s How To Fix It.” Bustle, Jan. 10, 2018. Read Article
• Leary, Alaina. “Why The Publishing Industry Can’t Get Disability Right.” Medium – The Establishment, Nov. 17, 2016. Discussion of why there are not enough portrayals of disability in stories published by writers and why it is important for the publishing industry to be more inclusive. Read Article. Create an account to read the full story.

A Deeper Dive

• “About Deaf Interpreting.” Canadian Hearing Services. Canadian Hearing Services offers support for people of all ages who are Deaf and hard of hearing. Visit Site
• “Canadian Association of the Deaf.” Canadian Association of the Deaf – Association des Sourds du Canada. Visit Site
• Dahle, Angela Peña. “Deaf Authors Talk about Imagination and Creativity.” School Library Journal, Mar. 24, 2022. Visit Site
• “Deaf Culture Centre.” Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf (CCSD) – Offres d’emploi à la Société culturelle canadienne des Sourds (SCCS). Offers an art gallery, a board room with video conference ability and special event facilities, as well as a giftshop featuring Deaf artists’ artwork.. Visit Site
• Eakes, Laurie Alice. “Yes, Blind People Read Books. We Write Them, Too.” HuffPost, Sep. 17, 2018. Read Article
• Griffith, Nicola. “Rewriting the Old Disability Script.” The New York Times, Nov. 14, 2018. Read Article. New York Times limits free articles; if you are unable to access this directly, check with your library to see if they offer access.
• Leduc, Amanda. “What the Literary World Gets Wrong About Accessibility.” Literary Hub, Mar. 12, 2020. Read Article
• Lu, Alex. “What Does It Mean to Be a Disabled Writer? Discussing writing, publishing, and disability with Keah Brown, Esmé Weijun Wang, and Jillian Weise.” Electric Literature, May 7, 2018. Read Article
• Nuttall, Alice. “What’s it Like to be a Disabled Writer.” Book Riot. Jul. 26, 2023. Read Article
• Reid, Wendy. “What’s Next for Digital Publishing?” Inclusive Publishing, Aug. 29, 2022. Visit Site
• Thompson, Vilissa. “The Media, Disability, and Me.” The Nation, Dec. 14, 2023. Read Article
• Wong, Alice. “Disabled Authors Deserve, and Demand, More.” Publishers Weekly, Jul. 21, 2023. Read Article

Resources

We often work with Deaf artists and they remind us often that it is always best practice to hire interpreters through Deaf-owned booking services. The fees are higher but you are supporting Deaf employees and business owners and engaging their knowledge of what will be best for your interpreting needs.

• “About Hearing Stories.” Phonak. Visit Site
• Canadian Association of Sign Language Interpreters. CASLI,a non-profit, professional association for interpreters whose working languages include a sign language. Visit Site
• “Canadian Website Accessibility Standards.” Hosting Canada. hostingcanada.org was founded in 2017. The main goal of this website is to provide step-by-step instructions for hosting any website, blog or eCommerce site. Visit Site
• CNIB Access Labs. A social enterprise supporting businesses, organizations, and educational institutions to ensure all Canadians with disabilities can benefit from barrier-free communities and workplaces. Canadian National Institute for the Blind. Visit Site
• DeafBC. Greater Vancouver Association of the Deaf (GVAD). News on current events in the BC Deaf community. Visit Site
• Deaf Spectrum. Established in 2015, is one of Canada’s largest leading Deaf Arts Businesses. Visit Site
• “Improving the Accessibility of Your Mainstream Digital Content.” Inclusive Publishing. Read Article
• “Introduction to Inclusive Publishing.” Inclusive Publishing. Read Article
• Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility. BC-based organization that offers assistance with plain-language documents. Visit Site
• “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2.” A W3C Recommendation, Dec. 12, 2024. Visit Site (Current Standards)

Guides

• “A way with words and images: guide for communicating with and about persons with disabilities.” Employment and Social Development Canada. Government of Canada, 2024-06-10. Read Article
• The DAISY Consortium: Ensures accessibility for people with print disabilities in both specialist and mainstream formats. Visit Site
• Duyvis, Corinne and Kayla Whaley. “Introduction to Disability Terminology.” Disability in Kidlit, Jul. 8, 2016. Read Article
• “FAQ for Publishers and Authors.” National Network of Equitable Library Services (NNELS). NNELS is a Canadian public library repository specializing in creating accessible content for individuals with print disability. Visit Site
• “Guidelines for Writing About People with Disabilities”. ADA National Network. Guidelines for inclusive language writing from the National Network of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Read Article
• Karapita, Mike, ed.. “Inclusive Language in Media: A Canadian Style Guide.” Humber, 2017. Canadian-style guide for inclusive language. Glossary of current terminology is included. Read Guide
• Making the Web Accessible. W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). WAI provides additional resources and guidelines for web accessibility. Visit Site
• “Resources for Creating Accessible Books.” National Network of Equitable Library Services (NNELS). Visit Site