Social Disabilities

When Tim Lefens walked into the Matheny School in New Jersey to show slides of his paintings, his one-hour visit became a life-changing experience. The students he met had severe physical challenges: only one of them could talk, none could walk, and all lacked the use of their hands.

Jay reads Braille. Sam uses a wheelchair. Ben has Down syndrome. In this series, young listeners can learn more about how to be a good friend to friends with different capabilities and conditions.

A brilliantly honest, funny, and insightful account of a Buddhist's life, work, and family. For Satyadasa, the Buddhist path has been fulfilling and often joyous, but also full of doubts and obstacles.

Jen Powley was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 15. By 35, she had lost the use of her arms and legs. Just Jen is a powerful memoir that tells the story of Powley’s life at the time of her diagnosis and the infinite, irrevocable ways it has changed since. Powley’s writing pulls no punches. She is lively, bold, and unapologetic, answering questions people are often afraid to ask about living with a progressive disease.

In this fascinating historical adventure, broadcaster and author Selina Mills takes us on a journey through the history of blindness in Western Culture to discover that blindness is not so dark after all. Inspired by her own experience of losing her sight as she forged a successful journalistic career, Life Unseen takes us through a personal and unsentimental historical quest through the lives, stories and achievements of blind people—as well as those sighted people who sought to patronize, demonize and fix them.

This comprehensive guide to church accessibility and inclusive ministry will help your church embrace people with disabilities, not only as recipients of God’s love, but as partners in ministry. Previously known as the Inclusion Handbook, this expanded edition features a plethora of new insights, resources, and tips for inclusive ministry. Maybe you have a disability yourself. Maybe you want to advocate on behalf of someone you know. Or maybe you’re a church leader hoping to work toward more accessible ministry.

An unflinching and luminous memoir that explores a father’s philosophical transformation when he must reconsider the questions what makes us human? and whose life is worth living? Before becoming a father, Chris Gabbard was a fast-track academic finishing his doctoral dissertation at Stanford. A disciple of Enlightenment thinkers, he was a devotee of reason, believed in the reliability of science, and lived by the dictum that an unexamined life is not worth living. That is, until his son August was born.

Anxious Ninja experiences difficult emotions that paralyze him, until his friend gives him tips on how to handle his anxiety. Find out what happens in this comedic book about anxiety.

When her daughters are born deaf, Rosner is stunned. Then she discovers a hidden history of deafness in her family, going back generations to the Jewish enclaves of Eastern Europe. Traveling back in time, she imagines her silent relatives, who showed surprising creativity in dealing with a world that preferred to ignore them. Rosner shares her journey into the modern world of deafness, and the controversial decisions she and her husband have made about hearing aids, cochlear implants, and sign language.

In the early 2010s, reports began to emerge of deaths linked to a government department. Suicide notes, coroners' reports, and research by disabled activists pointed to failings within the Department for Work and Pensions—the DWP—the government body responsible for the disability benefits system. As years passed, and austerity tightened its grip, the death toll mounted, and an even more disturbing picture emerged: bureaucracy, politicians, and the private sector had combined over thirty years to reckless, deadly effect.

Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, he was dismissed by most people - but not by his mother, who taught him to reach for his dreams. As a boy, Emmanuel hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age 13 to provide for his family, and, eventually, became a cyclist. He rode an astonishing 400 miles across Ghana in 2001, spreading his powerful message: Disability is not inability. Today, Emmanuel continues to work on behalf of the disabled.

Oliver Sacks widmet sich in seinem neuen Werk dem Zusammenhang von visueller Wahrnehmung und Bewusstsein. Es gelingt ihm wieder, komplexe Dinge verständlich zu beschreiben. Das Außergewöhnliche: Sacks schildert, wie er selbst 2005 an einem bösartigen Tumor im Auge erkrankte. Er berichtet vom Leben mit dem Krebs und dem Verlust seiner visuellen Fähigkeiten. Doch er entdeckt auch "positive" Phänomene: milde Illusion, Halluzinationen, Veränderungen in der Wahrnehmung von Farben und Umrissen.

David Paterson overcame severe disability and racial prejudice to become a state senator, lieutenant governor, and - unexpectedly - governor of New York. Paterson was the first and only blind governor - other than a man who held the title for 11 days in 1975 - and the fourth person of African descent to hold the office of governor in American history. Paterson may also be the only governor in history to have been arrested outside the governor's office prior to his service.

Deaf and homeless his entire adult life, Butch discovers a wallet in a dumpster. What he does next will lead to a chance encounter with a visitor from Texas. This is a true story of survival by eating out of dumpsters and trying to keep warm with restroom hand dryers. More, it is a story of an unlikely friendship that has lasted over twenty-five years. Share through Butch’s own letters his sustaining faith and hope to be a somebody. You will cry. You will laugh. You will learn.

They put a price on his head. They did everything they could to disrupt his mission. Finally, when an antitank mine tore off his right foot, the warriors of jihad in Iraq thought they had neutralized one of their most resourceful, determined foes.

Autism: The Fight Inside is an audiobook made to educate young men and young women of the dangers that form from gangs. It was made to help young people make better choices with their lives.

How I Became a Human Being is Mark O'Brien’s account of his struggles to lead an independent life despite a lifelong disability. In 1955 he contracted polio and became permanently paralyzed from the neck down. O'Brien describes growing up without the use of his limbs, his adolescence struggling with physical rehabilitation and suffering the bureaucracy of hospitals and institutions, and his adult life as an independent student and writer. Despite his physical limitations, O'Brien crafts a narrative that is as rich and vivid as the life he led.

Step into the captivating world of "A Lifetime in Special Education: An Educator's Journey through the Special Education World," where heartfelt stories, enlightening insights, and unwavering dedication converge to illuminate the transformative power of education. Beyond the classroom, this book delves into the intricate tapestry of policies, innovations, and advocacy that shape the evolution of special education. From historical milestones to contemporary debates, the author comprehensively explores the dynamic forces that have propelled the field forward.

In Trust the Dog, the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation introduces listeners to a group of extraordinary people who, thanks to their guide dogs, flourish in a world that assumes the ability to see. Among them are a brother and sister who lost their sight at a very young age and whose dogs essentially helped them grow up, a Serbian girl who fled civil war to find new hope in America, and a newly blind single father determined to keep his family together against all odds.

Conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker have fascinated the world since the 19th century. In her captivating book, Chang and Eng Reconnected, Cynthia Wu traces the "Original Siamese Twins" through the terrain of American culture, showing how their inseparability underscored tensions between individuality and collectivity in the American popular imagination.