Oppression Aware Podcast, Fairy Tales, and Games

From tabletop role-playing games to comics to board games to twitch channels, there are lot new and exciting geeky projects being produced by creators big and small. However many of these projects aren’t fully accessible to disabled participants and audience members. Considering that one in four adults in the US has a disability, that is a lot of people who aren’t being included.

The best way to change this is to get people with disabilities involved in creating these projects. In particular, it can be valuable to hire a disability consultant whose skills match the needs of the project. Sometimes this means finding someone who’s lived experience matches those that are being represented in the project. Other times this means finding someone who knows about the diversity of disabled experiences and access needs.

This list is designed to raise awareness of the many people doing this important work, help people connect with each other, and help creators find disability consultants who are a good fit for their projects. Please be respectful when using this list. If you want someone to be a consultant on your project, they need to get paid. It is disrespectful to ask people to work without compensation.

Do be aware that everyone in this list has volunteered their information. Please use the standard safety procedures you would when connecting with anyone over the internet. For those people who do disability consulting, if you fill out this form I will gladly add you to this list.

 

Brie Beau Sheldon

• Pronouns: they/them or he/him
• Consulting Categories: Story Content, Game Design, Media Production, Event Planning
• Description: I can consult on written, written-visual (comics/art), or audio-visual (video) works related to: chronic pain, chronic illness, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, concussion/brain injury, PTSD (domestic abuse (mild physical and severe emotional, parent/child & partner/partner) & sexual trauma), bipolar disorder, memory loss, anxiety, depression, paranoia, burnout, and addiction (alcoholism: binge drinking). I do game design and editing beyond consulting, including basic video editing and graphics.
• Intersectionality: I’m queer (all-gender oriented) and genderqueer/genderfluid nonbinary masculine. I came out later in life/over lengths of time and came from a conservative environment, which can be useful if writing those perspectives. I also have experience with being quite low income/in poverty, including coming out of it and going back into it.
• Website: http://www.briecs.com/
• Twitter: @ThoughtyGames
• Dice.camp: briecs
• Pillowfort: Brie-Beau
• Pluspora: briebeau
• Contact: contactbriecs at gmail dot com Subject line: Disability Consulting

 

Aser Tolentino

• Pronouns: He/him
• Consulting Categories: Story Content, Game Design, Media Production
• Description: I am a near totally blind attorney, assistive technology instructor and accessibility professional. My interests range from writing fiction to scenario and game design, as well as audio production. I seek to create works in which people can discover and build together, as well as challenge themselves to learn and grow.
• Intersectionality: I am a Filipino-American whose immediate family was born in the Philippines. I am in an interracial marriage and my spouse has Type I Diabetes.
• Website: http://www.theredactedfiles.com/
• Twitter: @aser_tolentino
• Contact: Agtolentino(at)gmail.com

 

Syren Nagakyrie

• Pronouns: She/her or they/them
• Consulting Categories: Story content, Event planning
• Description: Provide content feedback and editing for novels, websites, and other stories. Also specialize in event planning incorporating all forms of accessibility from the ground up.
• Intersectionality: Poor/working class, rural, queer, trauma survivor
• Websites: https://disabledhikers.com/ and https://awakenedsolutions.wordpress.com/
• Social Media: @disabledhikers
• Contact: awakened.solutions at gmail

 

Meghan Dornbrock

• Pronouns: she/her
• Consulting Categories: Story Content, Game Design, Media Production, Event Planning
• Description: I specialize in accessibility for low vision / legally blind users and in consultancy for media involving characters with albinism and low vision, and blindness.
  Intersectionality: Women, grey-ace
• Website: http://www.meglish.com/
• Twitter: @meglish
• Contact: m.dornbrock@gmail.com

 

Clouds Haberberg

• Pronouns: They/them or he/him
• Consulting Categories: Story Content, Game Design, Media Production, Event Planning
• Description: Content feedback on short and long-form fiction, table-top and video games, and podcasts. Expert in fluctuating conditions, mobility impairments, autistic spectrum disorder and ADHD. I also consult on employing disabled people.
• Intersectionality: Jewish, trans, queer
• Website: https://medium.com/@cloudshaberberg
• Twitter: @theviciouspixie
• Contact: c[.]haberberg[@]gmail[.]com

 

Shay Erlich

• Pronouns: They/Them
• Consulting Categories: Story Content, Game Design, Media Production, Event Planning
• Description: I am a disability consultant with over 10 years experience of consulting with event accessibility, disability representation, and creating accessible media. I can give content feedback, provide a guiding accessibility framework for a project or event, or beta testing media content, websites games etc. I also have experience doing work with large and small scale organizations who are interested in doing more work to combat ableism within their organizations.
• Intersectionality: I am multiply disabled, queer and genderqueer. In terms of disability representation I can competently speak to all areas of disability but am more specialized in Deaf/Hard of Hearing, mobility devices, chronic illness and developmental disabilities including autism.
• Website: https://shayerlichdotcom.wordpress.com/
• Twitter: @Shay_Erlich
• Facebook: Shay Erlich Consulting
• Contact: Shay AT shayerlich DOT com

 

Robin Tynan

• Pronouns: they/them
• Consulting Categories: Game Design, Event Planning
• Description: I specialise in LARP accessibility in all areas of running an event from picking a venue through to game design questions. Through Access:LARP I offer free guides for organisers and players as well as bespoke consultations priced to suite not-for-profits and businesses. Access:Check is for all non-LARP events and ventures again offering bespoke services to improve accessibility as well as a regularly updates blog with advice and insight into accessibility.
• Intersectionality: LGBTQAI issues
• Website: https://accesslarp.com/ and https://accesscheck.net
• Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1998285426915328/
• Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/accesslarp
• Contact: accesscheck4all@gmail.com

 

M Perser

• Pronouns: They/them
• Consulting Categories: Story Content, Game Design
• Description: I am able to sensitivity read and playtest, especially digital games and how comfortable the controls are. I have complex PTSD and anxiety, along with joint issues in my hands that cause pain and limited ability. I have some previous reading and playtesting experience and would be pleased to help as much as I can 🙂
• Intersectionality: I am non-binary trans and bisexual.
• Contact: perserm@live.com

 

Sal Couch

• Pronouns: She/Her
• Consulting Categories: Story Content, Game Design, Media Production, Event Planning
• Description: My work with consulting started with Kieron Gillen and his comic DIE – where one of the characters has one hand – just like me! – so I read the proof and let him know of any changes. I also give advice on proofreading, tabletop RPG’s, video games, wesbites and podcasts, and give feedback where needed. Basically, I want to make sure that you’re showing disabled people in the right light, and I’ll help you do that in any way I can. I also work part-time for a publisher so I can proof-read anything people want me to (fiction, non-fiction usually – as long as its respectful and doesn’t discriminate).
• Intersectionality: I’m a lesbian, so I’m fairly knowledgeable about being gay
• Twitter: @letsflyfree
• Contact: salcouchconsultancy@gmail.com

 

Rhi

• Pronouns: she/her
• Consulting Categories: Game Design, Media Production
• Description: I have professional experience in digital/web accessibility. My specific focus and skillset that I can offer to the RPG community is digital document accessibility (as well as copy editing). This includes consulting on projects, as well as reviewing and revising completed game documents. Any game documents you want to publish—adventure modules, homebrew settings, entirely new game systems, etc.—I can work with you to make them accessible.
• Website: http://rpgskillcheck.net/
• Twitter: @rhiannon42
• Contact: rhi@rpgskillcheck.net

 

Fay Onyx

• Pronouns: Ze/Hir
• Consulting Categories: Story Content, Game Design, Media Production
• Description: As a game designer, I can consult on tabletop role-playing games, including ways to make games accessible to disabled participants, the representation of disability in game mechanics, and common pitfalls to avoid. As a podcaster, I know about recording with disabled participants, and making podcasts accessible to disabled audience members. I’ve also done work on the representation of disabled characters, including harmful tropes to avoid and what to do instead. For in-depth representation, I have personal experience with invisible disabilities and neurodivergence, especially chronic back conditions and anxiety.
• Intersectionality: I’m a queer, asexual, polyamorous genderqueer who experiences sexism. As a consultant I am able to bring these experiences to the representation of women, non-traditional families, gender diversity, and characters that are queer, asexual, polyamorous, or nonbinary.
• Website: https://writing-alchemy.net/
• Twitter: @writing_alchemy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WritingAlchemy/
• Contact: Use my contact form or send an email to Fay Onyx at Writing Alchemy dot net