TPP 439: Jessica Slice on What We Can All Learn from Disabled Parenting

Today we’re talking about the reality of parenting while disabled. My guest is Jessica Slice, the author of the new book Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges an Inaccessible World. A writer, advocate, and disabled mother who challenges the way society defines “fit” parenting, Jessica’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Disability Visibility. 

In this episode, Jessica opens up about the unique challenges disabled parents face, from the obstacles within the process of becoming parents to navigating a world that often feels inaccessible. We also talk about how disabled parents are often excluded from mainstream parenting conversations and why they face heightened scrutiny from Child Protective Services. Jessica shares her powerful perspective on creative adaptation — a mindset that empowers disabled parents to create a parenting approach that works for them, rather than trying to conform to systems that weren’t built with their needs in mind.

Whether you’re a disabled parent, raising a disabled child, or just wanting to learn how to be a more informed and supportive ally, this episode is filled with Jessica’s honest insights and practical wisdom that challenge outdated ideas of what makes a “good” parent.

About Jessica Slice

Jessica Slice is a disabled mom and author of Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges an Inaccessible World. She is also the co-author of Dateable: Swiping Right, Hooking Up, and Settling Down and This is How We Play, as well as the forthcoming This is How We Talk and We Belong, which was co-authored with the late Judy Heumann. She has been published in Modern Love, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Alice Wong’s bestselling Disability Visibility, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and more. She lives in Toronto with her family.

Things you'll learn from this episode

• Why disabled parents are not often part of the mainstream parenting conversations
• What are the challenges that disabled parents face when they're starting the process of becoming parents
• Why disabled parents face more threats from Child Protective Services, and why demanding that someone parent without help can be considered discriminatory
• How being disabled prepares potential parents for the parenting journey
• What creative adaptation is and how it can give disabled parents the freedom to build their life from scratch
• How non-disabled parents can support the disabled parents in their communities

Resources mentioned

• Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges an Inaccessible World by Jessica Slice
• Jessica Slice’s website
• Jessica Slice writes about disability, parenting, and poems
• Jessica on Instagram
• Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally by Emily Ladau
• Emily Ladau on Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally (Tilt Parenting Podcast)

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