Disability Doula Services
Being disabled is like learning a new way of life.
But building that new way of life on your own can be really challenging. As a disability doula, my work falls into two main categories — tactical support and building disability identity. I am able to provide tactical support both virtually on Zoom or in person within 25 miles of Edmonds, WA. This includes things like:
Gaining confidence using a new mobility aid in public.
Figuring out exactly what you can eat on a new medical diet.
Strategizing about how to meet your access needs during a regular day.
The other piece of my work as a disability doula is supporting disabled people, whether you are newly disabled or not, to more actively accept and integrate a disability identity into your life. Our culture often asks us to hide disability, but studies have found that having a positive disabled identity helps disabled people not only mentally, but also physically. In my work this often looks like:
Supporting you to be more “out” as disabled in your community.
Connecting with other disabled people.
Exploring what identifying as disabled means to you.
These lists are both just examples, if you think you would benefit from disability doula services in a way that isn’t listed here, please schedule a consult. I would love to talk to you and see if we can work together!
Image credit: Disabled and Here Project
Image description: A Black non-binary person with a filtering face mask walks down a neighborhood street with one hand in their pocket and the other hand on their cane. They have a short mohawk and are wearing a jacket, shorts, tennis shoes, and glasses.
Recognizing my positionality.
Disability Doula is a term coined by disability activist Stacey Park Milbern and represents the ways that disabled folks support the rebirth of newly disabled folks. As an article in the 19th news shares about disability doulas, “Becoming disabled can significantly change a person’s life. Many of those shifts aren’t discussed in a doctor’s office, and there’s no easy how-to guide to follow. Disability doulaing fills those gaps. It can involve practical work like sharing diagnosis journeys and personal experiences with doctors or medication. It can also look like a friend helping another apply for Medicaid or file complicated insurance claims.”
I want to recognize that the language of being a disability doula and the beginning of this radical practice came from radical, queer disabled femmes of color. As a white, queer, disabled woman this is not a practice I created. I have been called on in this role for many years and it feels true to my experience to call myself a disability doula, in full recognition of the history and power of those that came before me.
Image description: Stacey Park Milbern, a mixed race Korean and white queer person speaks into a microphone at a protest. She has big glasses and is wearing a sweatshirt and a shawl. Her trach and can be seen and she’s sitting down. There is a white person holding a microphone that she’s speaking into and a large fabric banner behind her that reads “Power to the People PG&E is Killing Us for Profit” in red text.
