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AAC-RERC Writers Brigade


Eva Sweeney                   

                   Eva Sweeney               

A Strong Voice and Advocate for All

On a typical Saturday, you might find me having coffee with friends, taking my Labradoodle, Bailey, to the dog park, writing, or just chilling at home. My life is pretty typical for a 28-year-old college graduate. I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Gender Studies from Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. I have a strong voice and commitment to educate my community. I am a freelance writer and currently have two blogs, Doodle at Your Service at http://thedealwithdisability.blogspot.com/ and The Joy of Aides at http://aidedoc.weebly.com/.

I also was born with cerebral palsy. I use a power chair to get around and a letter board to communicate. I require assistance for daily tasks such as eating, bathing, and getting dressed. My assistants also help me communicate with people in public. My disability has never stopped me from doing whatever I wanted to, I just had to be creative about how to do it. I have taken ceramics, photography, painting and, I even figured out how to skate board.

I am very passionate about disability rights. I have been active in advocacy for people with disabilities since childhood. I am also active in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI) community. In college I created an organization called "Queers on Wheels" to help those with disabilities within the LGBTQI community connect with one another. I chose to call it “Queers on Wheels” because the word queer encompasses all of the LGBTQI community. I traveled all across the country giving workshops and speaking at conferences. My topics ranged from how to screen/hire aides that are accepting of your sexuality, to dating and sex with people with disabilities. It was an awesome experience. In addition, I have contributed articles to New Mobility magazine, have been featured in videos on WAM (Women, Action & the Media) and, have given interviews on such stations as KPFK in Los Angeles, and the Shamans Den Series in Berkeley, California.

I am excited to add my voice to the Writers Brigade. Communication and the right to choose how you communicate is very important to me. I hope to help others understand the variety of speech technologies available so that they can find their own voice---whether it includes a high tech speech-generating device, sign language, written messages, speech approximations, gestures and/or a low tech letter board.