URevolution Magazine contributor
Brendan McDonald
URevolution editor and co-founder
Articles by Brendan McDonald
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What I Hear in 17 Poems About Leukemia
Living with chronic myeloid leukemia shapes how I read these poems about treatment and waiting. I’ve included two of my own.
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What Does Neurospicy Mean?
What does neurospicy mean, and can you call someone else that? A guide to the slang, the disagreements and asking what someone prefers.
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Medicaid Is Where Disabled Americans Will Judge the New Congress
Democrats cannot reverse Trump’s Medicaid cuts on their own. Their new majority still gives them ways to protect care and make officials answer to the people affected.
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Disability is human diversity. What does that ask of us?
A small edit to a UN treaty moved the focus from accepting disability to accepting disabled people. Brendan McDonald traces the wording and asks what belonging means at a tram stop, at...
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Inclusion Is My Jam: The Story Behind the Saying
A cheerful slogan, an uncertain origin, and a jar that complicates the joke. The story behind “Inclusion Is My Jam” connects belonging with everyday access.
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10 Songs About Anxiety That Put the Feeling Into Words
From Doechii to Green Day, ten songs that give anxiety, panic and social unease different forms of expression, with listening links and notes to help you choose.
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Carole Pyke on recognising herself after memory loss
Carole Pyke talks to Brendan McDonald about memory loss, identity, work and the support that helps her live on her own terms after two strokes.
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What does osteoarthritis pain feel like in the hip?
Living with hip osteoarthritis means making room for good days and bad days. Brendan McDonald shares his experience alongside a guide to pain, stiffness and everyday movement.
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How to Respond to “Get Well Soon” When You Have a Chronic Illness
A kind message can still be complicated. Find replies for gratitude, frustration, uncertain recovery, and days when you don’t have the energy to explain.
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How to Ask for a Mental Health Day: What to Say
Not sure what to tell your boss? Edit and copy a message for planned time off, calling in sick, last-minute absences, or asking for ongoing support.
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10 TED Talks on Disability Worth Your Time
Ten talks by disabled speakers on rights, representation and everyday access, with verified viewing links and a guide to where to start.
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Songs about chronic illness: music for uncertainty, anger and ordinary life
Seventeen songs for the uncertainty, anger, intimacy and ordinary pleasures of life with chronic illness, with a Spotify playlist to take away.
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How to Reply to “Take Care”: 80 Replies for Different Situations
Ways to answer an ordinary goodbye, respond to concern when you’re unwell, and keep your health private when you need to.
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Rhiannon Clarke: “There isn’t one way to look disabled”
The Australian Paralympic sprinter talks to Brendan McDonald about Commonwealth gold, growing up without seeing athletes like herself, and why nobody should have to prove they belong.
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What is an ambulatory wheelchair user? Walking and using a wheelchair
Some people can walk and also need a wheelchair. Published personal accounts explain why—and how to respond without questioning someone’s needs.
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Chronic illness quotes for the days positivity does not help
Six carefully sourced quotes about chronic illness, with honest words on being believed, uncertainty, anger, friendship, rest and humor.
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Can Sex Help With Depression and Anxiety? Pleasure Without Pressure
What sex and mental-health research really shows, and how disability, chronic illness and antidepressants can change intimacy. Pleasure without pressure.
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Celebrities with rare diseases: what recognition can change
After writing about celebrities with CML, Brendan McDonald looks at ten public accounts of rare disease and what they can teach us about capacity, care and being believed.
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Metaphors for ADHD: what I can see, and what I can’t
I have family members with diagnosed ADHD. These comparisons help me think about the distance between witnessing someone’s life and knowing how it feels.
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Invisible Disability at Work: Being Believed When Your Needs Change
When a disability is unseen or your needs change, getting support should not mean repeatedly proving yourself. A guide to accommodations, privacy and workplace disbelief.
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Working with chronic illness: making a job sustainable when health fluctuates
A practical guide to assessing the whole cost of a job, planning for changing capacity, and protecting the income you need when health fluctuates.
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Workplace Ableism: What It Looks Like and What to Do About It
Workplace ableism can hide in hiring, attendance rules, performance reviews and office culture. Here’s how to recognise it and decide what to do next.
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Why do I keep asking “why me?” with chronic illness?
Why does “why me?” return with chronic illness? Brendan McDonald explores meaning, uncertainty, and support without pressure to find a life lesson.
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What counts as a chronic illness? A good day doesn’t cancel it
What counts as a chronic illness when symptoms come and go? Brendan McDonald explains the labels, good days and why ongoing treatment still matters.
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Why Lived Experience Matters in Disability: Who Gets to Decide?
Disabled people bring knowledge that can change how things work. Brendan McDonald examines the difference between sharing a story and influencing a decision.
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Rebuilding identity after chronic illness: room to change
You can miss the person you were and still have a say in the person you’re becoming. There is no deadline for working that out.
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55 Funny Responses to “How Was Your Day?”
Your day does not need a press conference. Try 55 funny replies for texts, work and evenings when you want company without giving the full report.
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Which neurodiversity hiring programs actually work in 2026?
Compare neurodiversity hiring programs, their published evidence and the support to check before applying. A practical 2026 guide for U.S. job seekers.
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AI hiring and disability discrimination: your rights at work
AI can turn an inaccessible assessment into a hiring decision. A U.S. guide to disability discrimination, reasonable accommodations and what to do when the system screens you out.
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Temporarily able-bodied: what the phrase gets right and what it misses
I live with leukemia. I also run, write, and work. Here is why “temporarily able-bodied” deserves a closer look, and how disability, employment, and benefit rules differ.
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Assistive technology examples: tools that make everyday access possible
Ten groups of assistive technology examples across everyday life, plus practical questions to help choose and try the right tool.
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24 Celebrities With CML (Chronic Myeloid Leukemia)
Roman Reigns, Edwina Bartholomew, Chris Corbin and more: 24 famous people with CML from Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland and beyond.
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History of anorexia nervosa: how the diagnosis changed
From early medical accounts to changing diagnostic criteria, this history of anorexia nervosa asks who gets recognised, who gets missed and what care should learn.
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Withholding the Truth From Dying Patients: Ethics, Autonomy and the Right Not to Know
When can a doctor withhold a terminal diagnosis or prognosis? A current guide to patient autonomy, family requests, decision-making capacity, cultural context and the right not to know.
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Love on the Spectrum Season 4: What the Show Gets Right About Autistic Love — and Where It Doesn't
Love on the Spectrum Season 4 has won more Emmys. Brendan McDonald looks at autistic love, representation, reality TV and why the series resonated with him.
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Why is dissociative identity disorder controversial?
DID is a recognised diagnosis, but its causes, memory claims, research methods and treatment evidence are still debated. Here is what current research actually says.
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Managing Chronic Illness at College: A Practical Guide for Students
Managing chronic illness at college means planning for access, healthcare, energy and flare-ups. A practical guide for disabled and chronically ill students.
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Confronted by Mortality: Death Anxiety and Chronic Illness
Chronic illness can make mortality feel less abstract. Here’s what current research says about death anxiety, fear of progression and what support can look like.
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Is Body Positivity Toxic? What the Movement Misses About Disability
Body positivity can challenge narrow beauty standards. It can also become another demand to love a body that hurts, changes or gets judged. Here’s what disability research adds to the debate, and...
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Disability Stereotypes in Movies and TV: What Keeps Going Wrong
Disability representation on screen has changed, but familiar tropes still flatten disabled characters. Current research shows what persists and what better storytelling can look like.
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What Is the Correct Term for a Disabled Person?
Both “disabled person” and “person with a disability” can be respectful. Here’s how identity-first and person-first language differ, which terms to avoid, and why personal preference matters.
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Married to a Chronically Ill Spouse? How to Cope When Illness Changes Your Relationship
Chronic illness can change a relationship’s roles, intimacy and daily load. Practical ways to handle resentment, caregiving, boundaries and support.
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Schizophrenia in the Media: What the Coverage Still Gets Wrong
Why schizophrenia is still misrepresented in news and entertainment, what current research shows, and what more accurate reporting looks like.
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Compression Socks for POTS: What to Know Before Choosing Compression
Compression socks are a common POTS search, but body coverage matters. This evidence-led guide explains knee-high, waist-high and abdominal compression, pressure levels, safety and two researched product options.
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Fidget Toys for Adults With ADHD: Quiet, Practical Options for Work and Daily Life
A practical adult guide to quiet and discreet ADHD fidgets for work, meetings, study and daily life, with research caveats and clear product trade-offs.
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Kitchen Tools for Arthritic Hands: Practical Options for Gripping, Twisting, Chopping and Lifting
A task-based guide to kitchen tools for arthritic hands, with practical options for opening jars and cans, peeling, chopping, stabilising food, and lifting or pouring.
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Autism Headphones: Noise-Cancelling and Noise-Reducing Options for Autistic Adults
A practical adult-focused guide to active noise cancellation, passive sound reduction and choosing headphones around sensory needs, fit and situational awareness.
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Earplugs for Sensory Overload: Options for Adults Who Want Less Noise, Not Necessarily Silence
Compare reusable earplugs for sensory overload, from conversation-friendly filters to adjustable and stronger sound reduction, with practical guidance for autistic, ADHD and other neurodivergent adults.
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Wearing Headphones at Work: Focus, Etiquette and Accessibility
When is wearing headphones at work reasonable, when can it create problems, and how should workplaces handle headphones used for focus, sensory access or disability accommodation?
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Jesse Ridgway, Down Syndrome and the Facts Prenatal Testing Can’t Tell You
Jesse Ridgway’s Down syndrome pregnancy story went viral. Here’s what prenatal screening, amniocentesis and medical statistics can actually tell parents — and what they can’t.
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