Bandwidth theft
Bandwidth taxation refers to the cumulative cognitive, emotional, logistical, and relational load imposed on families—especially those of disabled or marginalised children—by systems that require constant advocacy, documentation, and procedural navigation in order to access basic rights or support.
It includes the time spent filling out forms, chasing assessments, coordinating therapies, attending meetings, responding to emails, educating professionals, and recovering from institutional harm. But more than that, it reflects the drain on psychic energy, executive function, trust, and relational presence—leaving less room for joy, rest, connection, or even simply being.
Bandwidth taxation is a structural harm. It functions as a quiet but powerful form of gatekeeping, where only those with the capacity to endlessly manage bureaucratic complexity can secure consistent care—and even then, the cost is often unbearable.
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Justice and dignity too expensive for BC NDP
In 2018, experts told BC exactly how to fix special education funding. The government has spent five years “consulting” instead. Meanwhile, your child sits in hallways. The 192% problem nobody wants to fund Between 2015 and 2024, autism designations in BC schools exploded by 192%. Total student enrolment? Up just 11.6%. The province knows this. They…
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When delay becomes policy: British Columbia’s strategic abandonment of disabled students
In 2018, an independent panel reviewed how British Columbia funds kindergarten through grade twelve education and recommended a prevalence model for special education funding, a shift that would allocate resources based on statistical prevalence of disability within the general student population rather than on individual diagnostic designation. The proposal threatened to expose what the existing system carefully…
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Coercive proceduralism, bandwidth theft, and the colonisation of neurodivergent childhood
Families of neurodivergent children are often coerced into endless therapy to access school support—yet the harm lies in the institution, not the child. This essay explores how coercive proceduralism and bandwidth theft turn care into compliance, and why rest, not more intervention, may be the most honest path to healing.
