Disability Memoir

AUTISM UNLEASHED, GENIUS UNLEASHED celebrates the lives and achievements of 13 autistic visionaries, illuminating the profound contributions they have made in a variety of fields. These stories are not only a testament to their genius but also a beacon of hope and inspiration for anyone touched by autism.

At the age of sixty, and having lived with Parkinson’s disease for over ten years, Guy Deacon CBE set out on one last adventure: to drive solo from his home in the UK 18,000 miles and through twenty-five countries to Cape Town on the southern tip of Africa. This incredible journey, across Europe and down the full length of Africa, took the former British Army officer over twelve months. Along the way, he broke down five times, underwent one emergency evacuation, and took 3,650 prescription pills.

Martin Hibbert was left paralysed from the waist down by the Manchester Arena bombing which killed twenty-two people on 22 May 2017. Martin’s teenage daughter Eve was one of the 940 injured, in Eve’s case, gravely. The dad from Bolton has since become a leading campaigner both for victims of the atrocity and those with spinal cord injuries. Determined to make a difference he took on the ultimate challenge, scaling Kilimanjaro in a wheelchair, becoming the second paraplegic to do so, and raising a million pounds for charity.

When Pepper Stetler was told that her daughter who has Down Syndrome would be regularly required to take IQ tests to secure support in school, she asked a simple question: why? In questioning the authority and relevance of the test, Stetler sets herself on a winding investigation into how the IQ test came to be the irrefutable standard for measuring intelligence. The unsettling history causes Stetler to wonder what influence this test will have over her daughter's future and whether Louisa should be taking it at all.

Stroke of Love is the life story of a young stroke survivor from Texas named Hether Flanigan. It is a story of resilience, determination, strength, and love. A story about the human spirit, the will to live life to the fullest, the power of the human mind, and the love that surrounds us.

Nujeen Mustafa ha sedici anni e soffre di una grave forma di paralisi cerebrale che l'ha costretta su una sedia a rotelle e le ha impedito di frequentare la scuola pubblica. Ma questo non l'ha fermata: ha imparato l'inglese guardando le soap opera americane trasmesse dalla tv del suo paese e nello stesso modo ha studiato storia, letteratura, scienze.

This is a love letter from son to father. Part Big Russ and Me, part ADHD Is Awesome, Leland’s book, Born Lucky, is set to take its place as one of the most inspirational stories and victories for someone with special needs.

People around the world have fallen in love with Penguin the Magpie, a global social media sensation, and her adventures with her human family. But there is far more to Penguin's story than meets the eye. It all begins when Sam, Cameron Bloom's wife, suffers a near fatal fall that leaves her paralyzed and deeply depressed. One of their three sons, reeling from the tragic accident, discovers an injured magpie chick abandoned after she had fallen from her nest. The boys name the bird Penguin, for her black-and-white plumage.

Theresa Marafito, daughter of Irish immigrant parents, was born in 1933 in New York City, blind in one eye with partial vision in the other. She was a precocious child who wanted to appear “normal” to her peers and family, regardless of her disability. Her game was to be independent, not dependent, and would rarely ask for help. At 19, she graduated magna cum laude with two master’s degrees. Theresa and her husband, Jerry, who was also visually impaired, would build a house on a shoestring budget and had two daughters; one who was also born visually impaired.

In 2012, combat engineer Curtis McGrath was serving in the Australian army in Afghanistan when, in the line of duty, he stepped on a mine. Seriously injured but still conscious and aware he'd bleed out and die within minutes, McGrath, as the unit's chief first-aid officer, directed his comrades to apply tourniquets and administer an IV and morphine. Then, as he was stretchered to a helicopter, fearing he would never see his family again, he joked that he planned to become a Paralympian.

Si no es cada cuatro años que se celebran los paralímpicos, si no se acerca el Día Internacional de las pcd, cuando las marcas realizan acciones; si no es que el gobierno da beneficios fiscales para impulsar la inserción laboral de este grupo, el resto del tiempo las personas con discapacidad viven entre las sombras.

Theirs was an unlikely life together. Sheila gave birth to Josephine on 11th May 1993 and for twenty-three years they co-existed in a loving mother-daughter relationship, but one with a difference. Josephine suffered catastrophic brain injury at birth, never spoke to Sheila, rarely smiled and was barely able to see the faces of the people who loved her.

The Umbrella Picker tells the true story of a woman who was lost for 45 years until she learned that she is Autistic. After a long and relentless journey of searching for answers, the hand of fate finally revealed to her what she had waited a lifetime for. Learning she was Autistic was life changing. She is no longer lost, and having found her own, unique way, Jane has written the (brutally honest!) book she wished was available to her years earlier.

Her Name Was Lola is the story of Trish Ryan’s triumphant recovery from a stroke that should have killed her. She had a successful career in the entertainment industry for over 30 years until May 5th, 2017, when she suffered a severe stroke that changed her life forever. Living a very fast-paced life had not prepared her for when it all came to a grinding halt. Lost and confused with no roadmap to follow, she relied on her faith to show her the way to embrace what happened and move forward.

This book is about one big rollercoaster. It's about a girl who has CP (cerebral palsy) and the challenges she has faced throughout her life. A girl who is lucky to be blessed with people who stood beside her all the way. A girl who tries to do it all and doesn't let her CP get in the way of life. She just goes with it!

Dharana nos cuenta en este alentador relato su inquebrantable fuerza interior frente a la experiencia de la enfermedad y cómo cultivar la energía del amor y la comprensión le han liberado del miedo. Le han hecho seguir siempre adelante siendo este su lema, por más difícil que la vida se lo haya puesto.

Darkness—that’s what Bozena Gasior remembers feeling when she first heard her two-year-old son’s autism diagnosis. What followed was a cacophony of despair and cries, not knowing what to do, say, or feel. It was the day she thought that part of her son’s life had died. But one eventful day some four years later, his fingers touched the piano keys for the first time, and she felt something—a glimmer of light shining down, illuminating her home and family.

The story of Dr Amo Raju OBE DL is truly remarkable. Today, he is a multi-award winning member of society. Yet as a disabled child to present day, many around him have attempted to determine his future according to their own limiting expectations which led him to a thirty-year secret ‘relationship’ with depression. Authors Amo and Mani have ensured the protagonist, AJ Rai, based on Dr Amo Raju OBE DL, takes you on a journey of pain, heartache, laughter and triumph whilst capturing real-life scenarios which will keep you gripped to the next chapter.

Damaged is a story of survivor's guilt coupled with resentment tempered by love. It reveals the changing dynamics of a family faced with an injury no one could heal. Nancy Klein was in the first trimester of her second pregnancy when she made headlines as "Coma Mom." This intimate memoir, written by Klein's sister, reveals all that happened to her and her family after the news cycle moved on. The family: a mother who never gave up hope, even when hope was long gone, and a father who couldn't live without his wife's love.

In this inspiring memoir, Emily Falcon chronicles her lifelong journey with a congenital cardiac condition. In 1982, at seven weeks old, she had a heart attack that destroyed 40 percent of the left side of her heart. This was her entry into a world of multiple cardiac procedures, surgeries, hospitalizations, and a later diagnosis of glaucoma. Balancing these serious conditions defined her life.