And excellent resource for people trying to understand the disabled community. This is an introduction to disability that describes most common terms, preferred language, and so on. It's not a definitive guide, but rather a vital resource to help allies understand the disabled community and how they can be a *good* ally.

Emily Ladau, who has been well known in disability rights and studies circles for many years now for her blog, “Words I Wheel By,” and more, has brought to the world the first, that I know of, general introduction to disability issues by an advocate with a disability. Emily is clear from the outset this is not an academic book. She’s writing for a general audience, who may or may not be familiar with disability issues, history, identity or culture. As someone who has been studying and writing about disability issues for decades, I still found myself learning from Emily’s book and I’m so happy to see it becoming available to a general audience. I hope every public library will order a copy!

Ableism is still an area in which I am still pretty ignorant, so when I saw this ARC, I knew I wanted to read it. Emily Ladau provides a comprehensive overview of issues that disabled people face, and how non-disabled people can work towards becoming better allies. The tone is conversational and the information is broken down into accessible chunks. She covers topics like appropriate language, how not to commit microaggressions, different types of disability, disability history, and so much more. Beyond this information, Ladau is conscientious in addressing the privileges she does hold as a white, cisgender, disabled woman, and recognizing that her experience is not the sole one from which we should be learning. Likewise, she reminds readers often that ultimately, you must check in with the individual (with whom you have some sort of relationship) in order to know their preferred language and means of support around their disability. Since disability encompasses so many different types of experiences, we need to expand our ways of imagining the world in order to truly be inclusive.

I have been waiting for a book like this for 20 years. Emily Ladau has given me everything I hoped for and more in Demystifying Disability. In my professional life, I help teachers and child care providers include kids with disabilities in their classrooms and programs. My colleagues and I have worked with over 100,000 educators in the United States and witnessed a significant gap in the knowledge of the disability community by the general population. The lack of understanding creates social barriers. People are afraid of what they don't know. Emily's guiding philosophy for her work is, "If the disability community wants a world that's accessible to us, then we must make ideas and experiences of disability accessible to the world." Emily's philosophy is beautifully expressed in this well-written and practical handbook. It is just what is needed to create a more inclusive and accessible society.

Emily covers a lot of ground in this easy-to-absorb book. She starts with the basics, defining disability and guiding readers on the language of disability. Often a significant stumbling block to inclusion is that people don't know what terms to use when talking about disability. She spends time explaining the many ways to think about disability. She processes the pros and cons of each of the mental models and their historical context. She fills in the void of disability history that we didn't learn in school, helping the reader appreciate the richness of disability culture. Throughout the book, Emily incorporates voices from a wide range of people who are part of the disability community, showing the diversity of experiences that make up the largest minority group in the United States. I appreciated the chapter on Disability in the Media. I believe it will help people become better consumers of entertainment and information. Emily shares practical resources for people who want to support the disability community in the ongoing struggle for more accessibility and civil rights. She reminds us that an "ally" is not something we are; it is something that we DO.

Demystifying Disability is written in a warm, funny, approachable style. Emily welcomes you into her experience of life with a disability. She'll gently admonish you, if necessary, for outdated, stereotyped thinking or behavior, but in a non-preachy way. This combination of the content and the style has the power to change mindsets and thereby change actions.

I can't wait to buy many copies of this one and hand it out to everyone I know. I'll be recommending it over and over again to clients, colleagues, as well as friends and family. Demystifying Disability is a valuable read for anyone who wants to increase understanding of the human experience and a must-read for anyone who serves the public. I can see this being a powerful reading experience in a classroom setting. I'd also encourage business leaders and parents to read this book. OK, everyone needs to read this book. I can't think of a person who would not benefit from this reading experience (from teenagers up).

I must admit I had never heard of or read anything by Emily Ladau, the author of Demystifying Disability before reading this book.

Having worked a few years back in a radio station run by people with disabilities, designed for an audience with desabilities and discussing only about disability connected questions (accessibility, policies, everyday life...), I thought I was quite aware of the subject. However, reading Demystifying Disabilities , I realised I had acquired theorethical knowledge about disabilities and how to improve people's accessibility but not how to "deal with people".

Everybody should read this book, print the list of Do's and Don't and reread it from time to time. As a parent now, I already tried to shush my daughters when they started to point at someone in a wheelchair or with Tourette's syndrom. We cannot undo what has been done but we can try our best to act in a more respectful way.

The writing is clear and easy to read even for teenagers. I would highly recommend it to open a conversation in schools.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an eArc in exchange of an honest review.

This is a good book for everyone to read. A lot of people struggle with what to say so as not to offend but also not to be callous.

Have you ever wondered what to do when you see someone struggle that with an everyday task who is disabled? Disability etiquette will give you the answer and is just one of the many topics covered in this book. The author is a disabled herself, but she doesn't just rely on her own personal experience to help inform others. This book looks at different disability advocacy groups, disability history, stereotypes and ableism. There is also an extensive list of resources at the end to help continue the research if you want to learn more.

I received a free e-ARC from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Demystifying Disability is to disability activism and awareness, what So You Want to Talk About Race? is to antiracism. I found the books to be similar in the sense that they were very straightforward and easy to read.

The book covers a variety of topics, including, but not limited to, positive disability etiquette, ableism, the history of disability in the US, identity, accessibility in daily life, communicating about disability, and confronting media stereotypes about disability. I liked how the author used quotes from a variety of disabled people and activists, and provided plenty of examples.

As someone who is disabled, a lot of the content was not new to me, or just struck me as common sense and basic courtesy. That being said, even I learned a thing or two that I didn't know. I never really considered that a lot of the language we use in everyday life can be harmful, such as common phrases like 'turning a blind eye,' which negatively stereotypes people who are blind or visually impaired. A lot of this language is so ingrained in us, that we don't even consider the ramifications or the history. There are also examples where, much like LGBTQ+ people reclaimed the word 'queer', some in the disabled community have reclaimed the word 'crips' to refer to themselves as a group.

On the whole, I highly recommend this book to pretty much everybody. If you are wanting to know more about disability and how you can be an ally, then this is a fantastic primer. It is written in clear, concise language, and would be suitable for audiences from teens onwards.

I finished this book up while I couldn’t sleep the other night, and I really enjoyed it. Disability, even though technically I have one, is where my knowledge is a bit lacking. Everyone is different. Everyone has different preferences regarding their disabilities, but one thing is universal, more awareness and knowledge is needed.

This approachable guide will help you (and me) be a better ally to those with disabilities (an est. 15% of the population!).

A little od what you’ll find in here:

• How to appreciate disability history and identity
• How to recognize and avoid ableism (discrimination toward disabled people)
• How to be mindful of good disability etiquette
• How to appropriately think, talk, and ask about disability
• How to ensure accessibility becomes your standard practice, from everyday communication to planning special events
• How to identify and speak up about disability stereotypes in media.

I enjoyed it and learned some things, and I hope you will too.

Sadly, this file was incompatible with Overdrive (my library's version) and I couldn't figure out how to access a readable copy.

Emily Ladau is a widely known disability rights advocate, speaker, and writer whose book "Demystifying Disability" is, and I have to say it, an accessible guide to being a thoughtful and informed guide to people with disabilities.

Oh, and she apparently has sex.

I knew as soon as I saw a quote from good friend Lawrence Carter-Long in the book that I was going to be in good hands with Ladau's intelligent and insightful work here. For those of us living with disabilities, "Demystifying Disabilities" isn't particularly demystifying. After all, we live it. Though, as Ladau points out on multiple occasions in the book, we all live it differently and part of the beauty of "Demystifying Disability" is that Ladau leaves room at the table for nearly everyone.

Disabled people are the world's largest minority - an estimated 15% of the world's population. Yet, to this day, it seems as disability remains a mystery to many and "Demystifying Disability" gently yet intentionally breaks down the walls of mystery and builds a bridge to understanding and human connection.

Ladau's writing style is warm and friendly, however, Ladau doesn't hold back on the importance of these insights she's so eloquently sharing. Ladau explores such issues as exploring disability history and identity, ableism, positive disability etiquette, appropriately communicating about disability, planning for accessibility in daily life, and confronting media stereotypes about disability.

There's more, of course, but one of the wise things here is that Ladau actually keeps the conversation surprisingly simple and weaves in her own experiences into the wider conversations being discussed here. Ladau discusses the importance of understanding intersectionality, a term we've all likely heard these days but often don't truly understand.

"Demystifying Disability" is a tremendous place to start the disability conversation. There are a myriad of quality discussions that can be formed out of the book and Ladau writes from a peaceful, hospitable place that seems to invite genuine conversations. It is, of course, possible to go much deeper than Ladau chooses to go here. While I myself didn't particularly find "Demystifying Disability" groundbreaking information, I've had a disability my entire life and I can assure you that many will read these pages and go "I never thought of it that way."

Indeed, many of us deal with it every single day.

Beautifully written and easy to understand, "Demystifying Disability" takes away the mystery and the "inspiration" and the stereotypes and infuses disability with real life, rich humanity, and common ground.

This book contains a lot of good information and is clearly well-researched. I tried to read it as if I knew nothing about the subject, and there were times when I felt that the information could be presented differently to be more engaging for its intended audience. There was a mix of historical/factual information as well as personal stories and quotes from the author and other disabled people, but at times it read a little like a research paper instead of an approachable guide. I found myself wanting less explanation and more specific action items. I did very much appreciate that the author made it clear that "disability is not one-size-fits-all", that some people prefer PFL and others prefer IFL, etc.

As the author says, "disabled people are the world's largest minority" but one that we largely don't understand or know how to discuss, so I'm glad that this and other books exist.