Key Topics
For years, the disability narrative has been controlled by the media and people who are entirely removed from the disability experience. We’ve been repeatedly reduced to our disability and made into characters for the rest of society to pity or glean inspiration from Retold aims to reverse that.
The truth is that over more than a billion of the world’s population has some sort of disability, and we are three-dimensional people each with our own variety of experiences, stories, and backgrounds. And it’s time we are included in the conversation.
The purpose of Retold is to reclaim and retell the disability narrative that has been perpetuated by society for years. These are our stories and we deserve to tell them ourselves. This platform will serve as a space to raise the voices of the disabled community through articles, stories, interviews, and much more. The disability narrative needs to be retold and raising awareness is the first step towards change.
The disability narrative needs to be retold and raising awareness is the first step towards change.
Tia Hammad
We want to convey the full scope of what it truly means to live with a disability, both the good and the bad, the successes and the pitfalls. We will retell the narrative one story, article, and voice at a time.
About the Founder
My name is Tia, I am the founder of Retold. I am a writer, musician, and a reading and musical theatre enthusiast. I’m interested in psychology, mythology, and education, and have goals to pursue my studies in psychology and inclusive education.
Why did I start Retold?
I am blind, and I’ve always noticed a lack of disabled voices in the diversity conversation. We are rarely portrayed as multi-faceted people and disability representation tends to be, more often than not, a form of inspiration for non-disabled people. The reason why I started Retold is to rewrite the disability narrative and bring disabled voices to the table.
A little more about my disability
I’ve been diagnosed with retinal detachment at the age of three, and had to undergo a series of surgeries, which resulted in me having a visual impairment.
For the next 8 years or so my impairment was mild. I couldn’t read off of the whiteboard in class regardless of where I was seated, but I had no issues with reading regular-sized print. I could see faces but not with enough detail to be able to recognize them. I could work with a computer just fine with some magnification. I could watch TV and be able to see most of what is happening.
At the age of 12, I had to undergo another surgery which unexpectedly led to major vision loss. I was no longer able to read print of any size, and could only read off of a screen with a lot of magnification. Everything became blurry and I was no longer able to pick up on most details. The TV became a blur of light and color.
Since then the blurriness has increased and I am no longer able to read off a screen, having transitioned to being solely a screen reader user. I navigate the world through tactile input, sound, and what little remains of my vision.
What disability representation is sorely lacking is a complete and real image of what it means to live with a disability. I notice it in the way I’m spoken to, in the way I’m treated. This is why I want to highlight the stories of real human experiences.
The world doesn’t need inspirational success stories. There are plenty of those out there. The world needs to see that we are not beings separate from the rest of society. Someone in that store you were In the other day could’ve been disabled. One of your dozens of coworkers could be disabled.
Yes, I want to highlight successes. But also struggles, daily life experiences, thoughts and opinions, potential solutions, and so much more. I want to showcase the full range and variety of experiences.
That is the purpose of Retold.