This is an excellent short book that packs a lot in of good introductory information in, but shares it accessibly. Because of how short and concise it is, it falls into one of those books I'd recommend to everyone and wish everyone would read- especially able-bodied and neurotypical people. It's a great intro to ableism and how technology and spaces are not designed for disabled people and if they are they are designed to "fix" disabled people and make them fit in as an able bodied person would, because.... Capitalism. It's also a great explanation of how being "able bodied" is temporary. Well worth your time to pick this one up.

For me personally, as a disabled and autistic person, I would have liked it to go more in-depth, but I accept it for what it is and does (short and concise books are also important to have available!) and it is a valuable installment of books on disability and ableism. I appreciate that the book is written so that the chapters can be read in any order.

Big takeaways:
- Disability is a social construct, not an individual "lack."
- Everyone, if they lives long enough, will experience some form of disability - and humans on the whole are going to be more disabled in the future, not less.
- Technology has long been framed as "solving" disability - but that's not necessarily what disabled people want. Co-design, participatory design, and representation are critical and not happening.

Thought-provoking and well-organized. It didn't present any ideas that are new to me, but I'm very involved in this world as a human-centered designer with occasional disabilities due to chronic illness.

Overall I wanted to enjoy this book. There were some great points that bring attention to limits of our technology and world in addressing the lived experience of individuals with disabilities. I got stuck on the autism chapter, and shared my concerns with autistic friends who had similar feelings. I understand the criticism of ABA, but have seen it be a lifesaving treatment for autistic individuals at risk of physical harm from their self-stimming or soothing behaviors. I do not feel this chapter was tackled with enoguh diligence.

Round up to 3.5 /5.

Against Technoableism is a thought provoking exploration into the concept of technoableism. I’d never heard of this before and someone who embraces technology but not ableism I was intrigued. As I understand it from the book, technoableism is when technology aims to reduce or eliminate disability. On the surface this doesn’t sound “too bad” but through reading the various chapters it’s clear that there numerous examples of where things went very badly. Examples from the past, present and potential situations in the future are discussed. To be honest, the author discussed so many things that it is overwhelming at times. I think to really grasp the message of the book readers needed to read the chapters multiple times and ensure they have ample opportunities to reflect and /or discuss what they have read with others. It is clear that the author is passionate about this topic and overall does a good job of presenting the topic to the reader.

this interesting little nugget of autotheory is a must-read for any scholar of disability studies, bodyminds, or transhumanist thought. shew seamlessly blends the experiences of disabled individuals, herself included, with accessible data and qualitative information to create a text that does remarkable work delineating the current move to cyborgism in the technologizing of disabled bodies, and does so in a way that is compelling and can evoke empathy from an abled reader. reading this as a disabled person, not only did i feel incredibly seen, but i feel shew articulates her arguments in a way that even non-scholars can understand, truly showing that disability studies is for everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free digital copy for me to review!

My number one complaint about this book was that I wish it had been longer! I think even one final chapter at the end might have helped to make the whole book feel a bit more complete.

I really enjoyed Shew’s voice and writing style; it was incredibly engaging and was very readable, especially for a non-fiction! I appreciated the nuance and care she put into her work and when she couldn’t speak from personal experience, had a wealth of sources to draw from.

I would pick up another book by her in a heartbeat!

This is such a well written, well researched book which approaches the topic of disability and ableism with insightfulness. There were sections that resonated very strongly with my personal experience, while there were others that really made me think from a different perspective. I think this is a type of book on disability that would really help anyone and everyone. I highly recommend this book, and will be gifting it to people in my life who interact with myself and my child. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Against Technoableism is a brilliant resource for equality campaigners and really thought-provoking, especially for those of us who are not currently disabled.

Ashley Shew focuses on the need to ask disabled people what they actually need to make their lives better. Some technology is a useful tool but can't replace improving accessibility for all. Rather than forcing disabled people to perform non-disability and endure pain or effort to fit in to the modern capitalist world we need to prioritise meeting the needs of the individual to participate in the lives they want to lead, through technology or not.

This was particularly clear in the section for autism and I really valued autistic people's insight into charities like Autism Speaks.

A recommended read.

As an engineer I read this book to better understand the effects of technology in the lives of disabled people. I knew some of the effects and some of the issues that existed because of research I had done in the past, but I was surprised at the depth of the chasm between disabled people and those building/creating the tools for them.

This manifesto to the tech world is a good wake up call to get over ableism, and also to find solutions that actually help disabled people (and not just the super wealthy ones). With most disabilities coming later in life, these are issues that will affect most of us at some point in our lives. By going against technoablism (using technology as a “solution” to disabilities, and in so doing not making society as a whole more accessible and disability friendly) , and focusing on structural change, the benefit can be more universal. By focusing on structural changes and not on requiring individuals to get “fixed”, the changes would be helpful for those who can’t file for disability, those who can’t afford the fancy technology, and those who have mild disabilities. This book explores structural changes in workplace environments, in medical infrastructure, in mobility devices, in assistive technology, and more. It addresses multiple kinds of disabilities and changes to make our society more accessible. It is excessively fast pace and jumps from one thing to the next, so it may be best to read it in increments so you actually have time to process what you’re reading.

This manifesto was a clear call to action for those of us in the technology field, to work with disabled people to find solutions that work for everyone and that benefit us all. The answer is to improve our access and our systems, not to “fix” people who are perfectly fine the way they are.

Shew reveals all of the problems with disability technology that most able-bodied people (myself included) would never consider. She traces the ways in which ableism is perpetuated by disability technologies: the exclusion of people with disabilities in their design; the focus on achieving ‘normalcy’ at the expense of comfort or support; the pressure put on people with disabilities to appear and behave as though they have been ‘fixed’; the inaccessibility of so much technology; and the harm that is often caused in the process of inventing and experimenting.

Their central point is that technology treats disability as an individual problem which requires personal change to fit in with the rest of society, rather than a social problem that requires society to adapt and become accessible for all. Her writing is illuminating and persuasive, advocating for a society and a future in which disability and people with disabilities are central rather than marginalised, and she manages to be both serious and funny. Such a short read, but such a full reading experience.

As soon as I saw the title of AGAINST TECHNOABLEISM (releasing Sept 19) I knew I had to read it! Thank you to the publisher for an early copy!

When I first started my Bookstagram I had no idea that it would inspire me to learn more about disability justice and introduce me to an entire community. I’ve been fortunate to read some amazing books in the past few years that have truly changed my life and changed the way I view the world. AGAINST TECHNOABLEISM is one of those life-changing books!

At only about 150 pages and only 6 chapters, AGAINST TECHNOABLEISM packs a surprising punch. It’s compulsively readable and tackles SO MANY topics with laser sharp precision. Each chapter was a revelation to me. The sections include but are not limited to disability identity and disability history from a disability-led, disability forward point of view, an examination and a rebuttal on disability tropes or myths, details about the author’s experience with physical disability and cyborg-life, neurodiversity and the roots of eugenics in our current medical and charity landscape, and a look at the accessible future.

This book is at its best when the author places other disabled scholars and writers in conversation with each other, building a web of interconnectivity, shared knowledge, and community. Just when I thought I had absorbed the best of this book, I read another gem and found something else to ponder. My ARC is (no exaggeration) 90% highlights right now.

Even though I’ve been studying disability justice on my own time for multiple years now, I still had NO IDEA about so many things in this book like the connection between factory and farm life with our cultural conception of disability, the continued legacy of eugenics, and the horrific realities of so-called “therapies” for neurodivergent people.

The chapter on neurodiversity has especially stuck with me to the point where I can’t get it out of my head but every page of this book has immense value for disabled and non-disabled people alike. Even though it discusses deep subjects, it’s so well-written that it never feels like a chore to read.

I’ve already preordered a copy of this book for every medical professional or aspiring student in my life because you all NEED to read it. It is simply life-changing and the medical field in particular needs a paradigm shift ASAP to center the experiences, knowledge, and worth of disabled people. Please, please go pick up a copy of this book for yourself and start the change!

Against Technoableism is an accessible and concise nonfiction read for those looking to expand their understanding of disability justice and ableism, as well as technoableism - a type of ableism invested in the power of technology to “cure” - or eliminate - disability.

I appreciate Ashley Shew’s commitment to including a variety of disabilities, neurodivergence and chronic illness, as well as how those disabilities intersect with race, gender, sexuality, etc.

I think this is a great, informative book that offers something for everyone regardless of their familiarity with disability justice. I enjoyed reading it and felt smarter once I finished.

Thanks WW Norton & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

*4.5
Against Technoableism is a fantastic read for anyone who wants a good introduction to ableism as well as how society sees technology as a way to "fix" disabilities. I really enjoyed Ashley Shew's straightforwardness but I do wish the book had slowed down a bit with its pacing.

Against Technoableism is a concise and straightforward nonfiction book about how our society expects technology to fix and erase disability, to the detriment of the disabled community.

I really enjoyed how Ashley Shew made me step out of my comfort zone and learn about areas of ableism that aren’t commonly discussed in the mainstream media. She spends time discussing neurodivergence, prosthetics, and even how uniquely suitable disabled people are for space travel. I learned so much and challenged so many internalized ableist ideas I hadn’t explored.

This is a quick and well organized read that I highly recommend to any reader.

An absolutely phenomenal read. It is such a great peice on abelism and how it relates to the world. My favorite part was absolutely the section on the future with disability especially in space. I think this is a great resource for people to dip a toe into learning about diability justice. But even as someone disabled I think the emphasis the author puts on intersectionality and cross disability made it still very very useful not only as a resource itself but as well all of the other pieces and communities that I learned about here and can dive more into later. I also would not mind reading more from this author.

This book is an excellent introduction to disability justice as a whole with a bit of a deep dive on technoableism. It's fairly short and concise while still being full of information.

One thing that the author expressed over and over again is that tech for disabled people needs to have input from disabled people along every step of the way. The book really helps express why that needs to be and gives some very good examples of what happens when the disability community is not consulted about the things they themselves will use. It also talks about access to tech for disabled people, barriers to that (including financial barriers), and how it doesn't really matter what tech we have if we can't access it.

As someone who is disabled myself, a lot of the personal experiences conveyed in this book rang true for me. This is the kind of book I want to hand to people who know me and say, "You need to read this so you can start understanding." The book is funny and insightful while conveying information that non-disabled people might not have.

5/5 Stars

Thank you to W. W. Norton & Company and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this title.

Against Technoableism argues against the idea that disability is a problem that needs to or can be solved with technology. Going off of the social model of disability, this book shows that disability is not the problem, it's society (and its ableism) that is the problem. The author does a great job discussing a wide range of disabilities and their intersections with race, gender, sexuality, etc. as well as the history of technoableism relating to different types of disabilities. Shew discusses the need for the inclusion of disabled viewpoints when designing technology, and how people who are disabled are the experts on what technology does or does not work for them.

I work in web accessibility, so I encounter a different version of technology ableism in my day to day work, but I would've still liked to see more mention of web accessibility in the book. Overall I learned a lot from reading this book, and really enjoyed it!

I received an Advanced Readers Copy from Netgalley all opinions are my own.
I am an Autistic, Wheelchair User with multiple undiagnosed disabilities so as soon as I saw this book I knew I had to read it.

I definitely need to find more books like this!
It was really interesting but didn't cover topics in a way that was triggering for me, something that puts me off reading books that represent me especially non fiction.
It wasn't what I was expecting to read about but I loved it nonetheless. It covers a lot of topics I would never have thought about and I really found it interesting thinking about how disabled astronauts would be better prepared for space than pre-disabled people. (I have a huge interest in space and I am definitely going to research this further.)
I could relate to a lot of the struggles that were talked about and learnt a lot about other types of disabilities too.
I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about being disabled and how to be a better ally.

So, I am the exact audience for this book. Like, really, if the author was writing a book just for me as a human, it would be this book. I'm a disabled mother of two disabled kids. We all use technology in different ways for our disabilities. I'm a trained self-advocate who just finished a comprehensive disability justice advocacy training program that has changed how I think about disability and myself as a member of the disabled community. That's the background with which I came to this book.

First off, I think I highlighted more than i didn't. The central premise of the book was that the pervasive idea out in the world that technology can and should "cure" disability is ableist at its core. The goal itself of curing or ending disability by making a disabled person conform to the ableist world is not empowering to them, but erases them. The author takes a long time explaining and educating about disability justice and the experience of living as a disabled person in a world not made for you to fit in.

I have a lot of knowledge and background about disability justice and the social model of disability, and this was one of the best explainers I've read. The book is compact (150 pages) and still is able to give the reader the high level themes they need to understand the premise of the book and how their point of view may be incorrect.

As a member of the disability justice movement who has a lot of background knowledge, I also found this book really useful. I liked the parts where it described how the disability community coming together as a unite, even though we have very different support needs and ways to move through the world. It helped me conceptualize the communities I've been joining and that I want to find. I also really liked the discussions of technology and how to discuss it in a way where it shows that it's for adaptation and is a CHOICE of the disabled person rather than a way to cure or erase disability.

There was a line I underlined more than once because it has been a mantra of mine for awhile now, and I really liked seeing it in the book. It was something similar to inclusion by design not accommodation. The idea that we won't need so much technology to adapt to the world if the world is made with the understanding that we exist.

I don't want to give the entire book in this little essay, but this was well well worth the 5 stars I gave it. It's a short book that is a powerful look at disability justice, technology, and personal experiences. If you plan to work with or join a disability community, or see adaptive technology as something you're excited about, this is for you. No, really, every speech, physical, and occupational therapist NEEDS to read this (I'm going to buy copies for the ones seeing my kids, that's for sure).

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is really important. It's short and easily digestible, which I imagine would be great for someone just getting into disability justice; but its length has no bearing on its density or the wealth of information held within its pages. While far from an expert, I'm also certainly not a newcomer to a lot of the terms and concepts discussed in this book, but I still learned a lot (the chapter on autism/neurodivergence is really wide-reaching and dense, and the final chapter on disabled people in the future was fascinating) and had tons to think about. Certain parts of this book can be really hard to get through (on purpose)—disability history is fraught with abuse and trauma, and discussions of that history are fundamental to understanding disability technology as it exists today and could exist tomorrow. It's worth it, though, to gain a deeper understanding of the past, present, and future of disability tech and disability justice, and I absolutely recommend this book for anyone with even a passing interest in the subject.