From performers to Paralympians, Southern California’s disabled community is diverse (2024)

After a corrective surgery for a bowed tibia gone wrong in her childhood, Claremont resident Samantha Bosco grew up with permanent nerve damage, and her right leg two-and-a-half inches shorter than her left.

From a young age, the Inland athlete did not let her disability and unbalanced leg stop her from participating in sports like basketball, track and field, gymnastics, road and mountain biking. Her drive and determination eventually brought her to the U.S. Paralympics Cycling national team, the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro — and to become a professional cyclist, two-time Paralympian bronze medalist for Team USA, and world champion.

“If I can share my story, help somebody or inspire somebody to chase a dream or to think about something that they truly love and not hold themselves back on it, I would share my story 20 times a day if I could,” Bosco, now 37, said.

Bosco — who will again be going for the gold in cycling at the Paris Paralympic Games, from late August to early September — is proud to represent and celebrate people with disabilities every day.

She joins numerous individuals and groups in Southern California advocating for the disabled community during and beyond July’s Disability Pride Month — a month dedicated to bringing awareness to physical and developmental disabilities, and combating stigmas against disabled people.

Across Southern California, the rights and representation of disabled community members have been a recent hot topic — from controversial restrictions to Disneyland’s Disability Access Service program, to a new class action lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles for, activists say, not meeting federal and state accessibility laws in some of its public parks.

Despite ongoing challenges, the disabled community and allies have been showing up proudly over the past few weeks.

Some local examples include Long Beach’s celebration in late July, bringing together leaders to recognize achievements and mark the 34th anniversary of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. Community leaders also raised a Disability Pride flag at City Hall. In Orange County, nonprofit Rising Above Disabilities held a week-long inclusive camping trip for disabled adults.

California is home to more than 7 million adults with disabilities. One in seven children are provided disability services in schools, according to state research.

A July 11 proclamation from California Gov. Gavin Newsom called Disability Pride Month an “opportunity to celebrate the many ways that people living with disabilities – whether visible or invisible, mobility or cognitive, vision or hearing, learning or sensory, developmental or acquired – add to the diversity and strength of our state.”

Bringing awareness and excitement to the diverse world of parasports is Claremont athlete Sam Bosco’s dream. When not training, Bosco is a Paralympic mentor, going to local schools to give talks and share life lessons on goal setting, athleticism and teamwork.

She emphasized the importance of staying curious and informed as a disabled person growing “through an able-body-centric world.”

Bosco said she thinks the momentum of parasports visibility is on the rise, and hopes it will continue. As she prepares for the Paris Paralympics in August, Bosco has learned to accept both the good and bad as lessons learned — taking the perspective that new opportunities can arise from every lived experience. Even great challenges, such as disabilities, can form world champions.

“I don’t think people realize how competitive we can be, how strong we are and how fun (parasport) games can be,” Bosco said. “It’s so fun to watch something different, watch how people adapt and make it work.”

Visibility and “taking up space”

Before she was a disability activist, author, TikTok creator and entrepreneur, Baldwin Hills-based Tiffany Yu was in a harrowing car crash at age nine. It broke several bones in her leg and left her with a lifelong nerve injury in her right arm.

After going to physical therapy and learning to write with her left hand, Yu attended Georgetown University and founded her club, Diversability, with the mission to “elevate disability pride through community and visibility.”

She eventually turned the club into a company of the same name in 2016 and moved to L.A. in 2022 to continue the work. Now with over 30,000 followers, the organization works toward creating online and in-person communities for people with disabilities and allies to come together and find resources.

What makes L.A. unique, Yu said, is that the region has a unique blend of disability activism and entertainment, and she began attending different events and exhibitions. She also created her TikTok account to find community. Soon, she gained thousands of followers through her viral “Anti-Ableism Series,” where she talks about being an ally to disabled people and bringing them into the mainstream conversation.

“I think people saw parts of themselves in aspects of my story, even if they didn’t have the same disability,” Yu said. “I am one of a handful of people who feel comfortable talking about their disability, because I know that we need to make the disability experience more accessible to other people if we want them to show up better for us and if we want to make the world more accessible.”

Diversability recently began collaborating with the Los Angeles Olympics committee to help ensure the games represent all of L.A.’s diverse communities when the games come to town in 2028.

Yu continues her work advocating for the disabled community in her first upcoming book, “The Anti-Ableist Manifesto,” out in October.

Also proudly representing the broader disability community is L.A. singer-songwriter James Ian, who has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The singer was invited to a Disability Pride Month celebration on July 29 at the White House, where he performed the award-winning disability pride song “Spaces” — written through a collaborative program by others with SMA.

“People with spinal muscular atrophy and other disabilities are not often seen or given a voice or treated fairly in society,” Ian shared, ahead of the performance.

“With this song,we wanted to show that we are here, living loudly and proudly. We’re taking up space in good ways. We wanted people to take stock of that and take credit for living our lives authentically. That’s the message.”

Drag for the disabled

Lalo Caldera and Jordan Paige co-founded Disabled Cable, an “accessibility-forward” drag show in Los Angeles, about two years ago. They had seen firsthand the way disabled people of color are often overlooked, and wanted to fight ableism they said they experienced within the drag community.

“The picture of what people see as a disabled person is often a white person, and it’s really important to us to make sure that we’re not just a disabled show, we are a BIPOC-led disabled show,” said Caldera. The 27-year-old is an ambulatory wheelchair user who uses the wheelchair off and on. He has autism and is immunocompromised with a “very fatiguing and energy-limiting disability,” Caldera said.

Paige, who is HIV positive, has a visual impairment that left them mostly blind in their left eye — a result of an attack.

“Many times people would either look over us for performing because they thought they needed to accommodate for us and didn’t want to take on that ‘burden’ — which is not a burden for us in our show at all,” the 24-year-old said.

Caldera and Paige shared a desire to see “disabled performers like ourselves… be fully celebrated in who we are.”

Disabled Cable has hosted three shows at Echo Park lingerie shop Cantiq L.A., featuring performers with varying disabilities. The shows incorporate inclusive accommodations — such as ASL interpreters, mask requirements for the immunocompromised, noise restrictions, mobility aids — other things non-disabled people may not think about, Caldera said. The accommodations for audience members and performers are fairly simple, making for “a more inclusive show,” Caldera said.

“We just want to show that if we as two disabled people can make this happen while we’re broke too, it’s doable for others with more resources,” Caldera said.

Disabled Cable’s next drag show is Saturday, August 3 at Cantiq L.A., 1571 W. Sunset Blvd.

Awareness and accessibility

Van Nuys resident Bill Abramson, who is autistic, was linked with a Special Needs Life Skills Program through Jewish Family Service L.A. earlier this year. He now works with a case manager to help him find accessible work.

The program helps adults with developmental disabilities find job opportunities and resources — from job training and case management, to resume workshops and interview coaching — helping to build independence and prepare them to enter the workforce, JFSLA officials said.

“Autism can affect your behavior and make you a worrier… my pride was a big thing for me to get over. When I finally said, I could use some help, the regional center gave me a lot of support,” said Abramson, who volunteers weekly at the center to pack food for the homeless. “We (disabled people) can do things.”

Abramson, considered a role model in the program, said he “exercises good work ethics.”

“I looked up to a lot of people in my childhood so I dig it as a compliment, that they look up to me and we can help each other,” he said.

Also looking to uplift others is Anaheim resident Rachael Stickles, who started the pop-up merchandise brand“The Chronically Illest” to fill a void she saw in the accessibility devices market.

“I’m someone who doesn’t really look disabled unless maybe my medical devices are showing,” Stickles, who has Type 1 diabetes, said. “Nobody sees that with Type 1 diabetes, it’s every single day you have to monitor your blood sugar, 24/7.”

Today, Stickles uses her social media and business to spread awareness and education about diabetes and other chronic illnesses.

While being active in the diabetes community over the last decade, she launched “The Chronically Illest” a year ago with her partner. The brand sells accessible products — including medical devices, accessories, insulin pump purses, decals and merchandise promoting disability awareness and pride — to markets across Southern California. Stickles hopes to expand the business in the future to carry accessibility accessories, like bedazzled canes.

In early July, the pop-uphosted aDisability Pride Month picnic in Fullerton to gather disabled people and allies for special giveaways, and to build community. Attendees benefitted from a medical supply swap and a “co-pay giveaway” drawing, where some had their insulin co-payments covered by the business.

Stickles said that having inclusive events like these, helping other disabled persons in need, gives her “hope… that’s so vital for our community to survive.”

“It’s always been kind of a dream of mine to erase the stigma between diabetes and make people aware of the struggles,” Stickles added. “Being branded as being something cool, and something to be proud of, is kind of the theme our business has… being sick is sick.”

Staff writer Allyson Vergara contributed to this report.

Originally Published: July 31, 2024 at 11:30 a.m.