Man in interabled couple speaks out against 'sickening' comments they receive daily

Shane and Hannah Burcaw have been together for more nine years and married for just over six, and are now expecting their first child.

Better known as Squirmy and Grubs to their fans, the content creators have 1.86 million subscribers on YouTube as they document their lives as an interabled couple.

But they have now taken to social media to address the ‘sickening’ comments they receive daily, particularly following their pregnancy announcement.

Hannah previously posted that she wasn’t ‘surprised’ by a comment that reads: “Being a single married mom is so hard. Good luck,” as she slammed the ‘ableism’ on social media.

However, she said she was surprised by the large number of likes the comment had received. And now Shane said he is ‘exhausted’ by the negativity.

They are expecting their first baby. (@SquirmyandGrubs/YouTube)

Shane’s response

“The world has only known about our pregnancy for a few weeks, and I’m already feeling a shocking and sickening exhaustion from the thousands of comments like these that we’re receiving daily,” he wrote on Instagram.

Shane, who has spinal muscular atrophy and uses a wheelchair, said the user who left the comment ‘sucks’ and he feels no desire or obligation ‘to extend her grace’.

“But I do acknowledge (and pity) that her underlying beliefs about disability and parenting probably stem from a lack of understanding and experience,” he said.

The YouTuber went on to explain that there are two key things to understand, with the first that a physical disability ‘does not preclude someone from physically engaging with their child or the world around them’.

“Of course, adaptations are needed,” he said. “Creativity is needed.”

While Shane says it may be his and Hannah’s ‘first rodeo’, they are not ‘entering unchartered territory' as ‘brilliant and practical solutions’ exist.

They have slammed 'ableist' comments. (hannahayl/Instagram)

He then made his second point: “Parenting is so much more than wiping a butt or scrubbing a bottle. This feels almost ridiculous to say, because it’s such an innate, obvious truth for most decent people, but parenting is the lifelong process of helping your children become good, well-adjusted, supported adults.

“Almost ALL of that process is based in mental and emotional nurturing—teaching them about the world and how to think critically, inspiring wonder and curiosity and kindness and humour, showing them how to love and be loved, laughing with them, challenging them, instilling them with confidence and compassion and decency.

“None of that requires working arms, and nothing excites me more than getting to take part in that journey with our child.”

Shane asked people to open their minds ‘to the truth that disable people can be fantastic and capable parents’.