Requested Information

As LuckyFatima requested, I have looked around for some good starter resources for someone who is new to disability issues. Why I Burned My Book I heard a radio program where this man spoke, it was very moving. He speaks eloquently about the catch-22 of health care and the ways in which disabled people are discouraged from earning a living. Disability Awareness This book was written by the editor and creator of The Disability Rag magazine, which was the forefront of disability advocacy. I have a lot of trust in what she says. I haven’t read this book, but I read the free preview and it is excellent. I plan to order it soon. New Mobility This is a phenomenal magazine with a variety of articles, raising the most important concerns for wheelchair users in...

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Posted by on Jan 3, 2011 in Disability Rights | 0 comments

Birth Defects

I might have to stop watching baby shows and really any movie or TV show where a child is born. Why is it that every single person in every one of them always counts the baby’s fingers and toes. “Oh, ten fingers and ten toes, he’s perfect.” Gag. Would you really love your baby less if he had eight fingers? Tell me the truth. I’ll think less of you if you would, but I’d respect the honesty. I don’t really understand this drive for perfection. Human beings are never perfect, our bodies don’t fit any norm or any ideal. I guess there is something about babies that makes people want to see them as pure and untouched by life. But some babies are not born with ten fingers and toes and some babies have other more severe...

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Posted by on Jan 1, 2011 in Disability Rights | 0 comments

Mystery Diagnosis

I was watching this show a couple months ago and there was a story that really distressed me. Here’s the scenario: A guy, middle aged father, suddenly starts having bouts of paralysis. Some days he wakes up and can’t move his legs, other days he is fine. Since this show is about mysterious illnesses, of course, doctors are having a lot of trouble figuring out what to do. The guy goes on disability leave from him work and sits around at home all day. But the money starts to run out and the guy is trying to figure out what to do. I was watching this with an able-bodied friend and I asked him, what does this guy do? Is he in construction? No, it turns out that he has a desk job that wouldn’t be effected at all by this new disability. He reluctantly...

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Posted by on Jan 1, 2011 in Disability Rights, Movies | 0 comments