Disability Science

Luisa L’Audace wächst als einziges behindertes Kind in ihrem Heimatdorf auf. Warum sie im Sportunterricht immer als Letzte gewählt wird, in der Pause nicht mitspielen soll und ihre Freundinnen plötzlich nicht mehr neben ihr sitzen wollen, versteht sie lange Zeit nicht. Während andere Kinder Freizeitbeschäftigungen nachgehen, verbringt Luisa viel Zeit in Krankenhäusern, bei Therapien und Spezialist*innen. Als sie mit 14 einen Rollstuhl bekommt, fühlt sie sich zum ersten Mal in ihrem Leben frei. Doch mit der neu gewonnenen Mobilität nehmen auch die Anfeindungen zu.

Blinded at age three, Mike May defied expectations by breaking world records in downhill speed skiing, joining the CIA, and becoming a successful inventor, entrepreneur, and family man. He had never yearned for vision. Then, in 1999, a chance encounter brought startling news: a revolutionary stem cell transplant surgery could restore May's vision.

Things That Are continues the story of Bobby Phillips - the boy who woke up one day to find himself invisible - and his friend and confidante, a blind girl named Alicia. Bobby is returning from college visits in New York, and Alicia has decided to finally confront him about her feelings. But a mysterious character with an affliction similar to Bobby's and some surprise visits from the FBI threaten to destroy everything.

A 16 ans, Jacques Sémelin apprend qu'il va devenir aveugle. Pendant des années, il garde ce secret pour lui et affronte seul l'angoisse et la progression de la cécité.

The Awakening of HK Derryberry is the inspiring story of how one man was willing to step out of his upper-middle-class world into the life of a young, disabled boy with a dismal future but an amazing ability. Little did Jim Bradford know the transformational potential of that friendship - for HK and himself.

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.

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.

Connected at the chest by a band of flesh, Chang and Eng Bunker toured the United States and the world from the 1820s to the 1870s, placing themselves and their extraordinary bodies on exhibit as "freaks of nature". More famously known as the Siamese twins, they eventually settled in rural North Carolina, married two white sisters, became slave owners, and fathered 21 children between them. More than a biography of the twins, this is a study of 19th-century American culture and society that reveals how Americans projected onto the twins their own hopes and fears.

While "freaks" have captivated our imagination since well before the 19th century, the Victorians flocked to shows featuring dancing dwarves, bearded ladies, "missing links", and six-legged sheep. Indeed, this period has been described by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson as the epoch of "consolidation" for freakery: an era of social change, enormously popular freak shows, and taxonomic frenzy. Victorian Freaks: The Social Context of Freakery in Britain, edited by Marlene Tromp, turns to that rich nexus, examining the struggle over definitions of "freakery".

Published in 1996, Life as We Know It introduced Jamie Bérubé to the world as a sweet, bright, gregarious little boy who loves The Beatles, pizza, and making lists. At four he is like many young people his age, but his Down syndrome leads most people to see him only in terms of his disability. Twenty years later Michael Bérubé chronicles his son's growth and his growing love of the world, writing as both a disability studies scholar and as a father.

Jamey Barlowe has been crippled since childhood, the result of being born on the Moon. He lives his life in a wheelchair, only truly free when he is in the water. But then Jamey’s father sends him, along with five other kids, back to the Moon to escape a political coup d’etat that has occurred overnight in the United States. Moreover, one of the other five refugees is more than she appears. Their destination is the mining colony, Apollo. Jamey will have to learn a whole new way to live, one that entails walking for the first time in his life.

Disability is often described as a tragedy, a crisis, or an aberration, though 1 in 5 people worldwide have a disability. Why is this common human experience rendered exceptional? In All Our Families, disability studies scholar Jennifer Natalya Fink argues that this originates in our families. When we cut a disabled member out of the family story, disability remains a trauma as opposed to a shared and ordinary experience. This makes disability and its diagnosis traumatic and exceptional.

Kimberly Crowe was back for the second year in a row with a world-renowned event in honor of International Women’s Day. International Women’s Day (IWD) 2022 celebrates the tremendous efforts of women and girls around the world in shaping the future. This summit was an epic, fun, connecting, and delightful one-day virtual event in celebration of International Women’s Day, March 8, 2022. Our speakers are an amazing array of women bringing their brilliance to serve the greater good and contribute their zone of genius to the world.

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.

Raúl Krauthausen ist der bekannteste Aktivist für Inklusion und Barrierefreiheit – und die lauteste Stimme in Deutschland, wenn es um die Durchsetzung der Rechte von Menschen mit Behinderung geht. "Betrachten Sie Behinderung einfach als eine Eigenschaft wie die Haarfarbe" ist eine seiner zentralen Botschaften, und er kämpft auf allen Plattformen – analog und digital – für Sichtbarkeit und gegen Diskriminierung.

A collision with a moose on a dark highway left Susan Mockler with an incomplete spinal injury, suddenly compromising her ability to walk and to care for herself. She spent months in a rehabilitation facility learning how to adjust to her new reality, and though her body partially recovered, every aspect of her life changed.

From a young age, Stephen Hawking had a strong sense of wonder and was full of questions about the world around him and the stars above. He would spend his whole life trying to figure out how the universe worked, including discovering truths about black holes and energy. And when he was diagnosed with a rare disease called ALS that destroys the nerve cells in the body, he would find his own mental energy to carry on with his studies even after his limbs and vocal chords stopped working. He became one of history's most influential scientists.

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.

Do you know an adult with autism, Down syndrome, or another special need? One in eight people on our planet live with some form of disability. And they all deserve to live productive, engaged lives. Are we willing to help them accomplish this goal? The mother of an adult with autism, Andrea Moriarty leveraged her son’s passion, talent, and personality to help him create an out-of-the-box vocation: A podcast. After more than 80 interviews, she recognized three vital attitudes that people with disabilities teach us - risk taking, humility, and kindness.

Turning on the Light presents some of her personal stories and offers tips and tricks she has learned over years of study and learning. This narrative provides valuable information and guidance for those who are visually impaired, their caregivers, and their loved ones. It is full of ideas for adapting to diminished vision and dealing with fundamentally important day-to-day routines.