Social Disabilities

Sight Unseen reveals the cultural and biological realities of race, gender, and sexual orientation from the perspective of the blind. Through 10 case studies and dozens of interviews, Ellyn Kaschak taps directly into the phenomenology of race, gender, and sexual orientation among individuals born blind, along with the everyday epistemology of vision. Kaschak's work reveals not only how the blind create systems of meaning out of cultural norms but also how cultural norms inform our conscious and unconscious interactions with others regardless of our physical ability to see. She exposes gender, race, and sexual orientation as unconscious and pre-verbal in the sighted, an aspect of implicit bias.

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.

Preeti was barely six years old when doctors diagnosed her deteriorating vision as a condition due to optic atrophy. Those were difficult days but with the support and encouragement of her parents she learnt to get the best out of her disability. She looked for possibilities, focused on every positive she could dream of, always playing her best shot at facing challenges and failures with dignity and without shame.

The Underdogs tells the story of Karen Shirk, felled at age 24 by a neuromuscular disease and facing life as a ventilator-dependent, immobile patient, who was turned down by every service dog agency in the country because she was "too disabled". Her nurse encouraged her to tone down the suicidal thoughts, find a puppy, and raise her own service dog. Karen did this, and Ben, a German shepherd, dragged her back into life.

In his debut novel, YouTube personality and author of We Should Hang Out Sometime Josh Sundquist explores the nature of love, trust, and romantic attraction. On his first day at a new school, blind 16-year-old Will Porter accidentally groped a girl on the stairs, sat on another student in the cafeteria, and somehow drove a classmate to tears. High school can only go up from here, right?

"Daddy, why can't you stand?" When Leslie A. Johnson was asked this question by his son, he answered with honesty and transparency. This book aims to help parents and children discuss the reality of disabilities to help build understanding and empathy.

I have been a victim of anxiety all of my life. The uncomfortable feeling of my heart racing and my mind being consumed by unnecessary thoughts is not only debilitating but it has taken precious moments off my life. After formally studying this disorder as well as trying to figure out how to cure myself of this problem, I can happily say I am anxiety free, and I want to help others achieve what I thought was impossible.

Ride the wave of hope with Ricochet - the only dog in the world who surfs with wounded warriors, people with disabilities, and children with special needs as an assistive aid and SURFice dog. This tears-to-triumph story takes listeners behind the TV and video sensation and shares the true journey that went from promise to disappointment before ultimately finding life's purpose. The gorgeous golden retriever Ricochet seemed destined to be a service dog from the moment she was born.

Carrie is an eight-year-old girl who is very smart, but something's different. For some reason, she's having a really hard time with test taking. But when she takes a different type of test, they realize just how smart and special she is. I Am Special, I Am Smart is recommended for children and families interested in learning about learning disabilities and how to overcome challenges in life.

Troy is special. He's the smallest kid in school and can barely speak a word. But inside his head there is an amazing universe that helps him through his difficult world. That world is rocked when he is abducted by strangers.

Un libro autobiografico nato di getto, per metter nero su bianco le proprie sensazioni, i propri vissuti, la propria esperienza di vita quotidiana. così dice Renata Sorba "Dedico questo libro a tutte le persone che ho conosciuto nella mia vita ed in particolare a tutti quelli che in momenti diversi, mi hanno supportata e permesso di condividere tante e diverse esperienze, accompagnandomi nel percorso da vedente a non vedente senza porsi troppe domande e pregiudizi su come ho vissuto e vivo. Grazie e riporto questa citazione: Né diversi, né uguali, ma liberi."

Colin Fischer cannot stand to be touched. He does not like the color blue. He needs index cards to recognize facial expressions. But when a gun is found in the school cafeteria, interrupting a female classmate's birthday celebration, Colin is the only for the investigation. It's up to him to prove that Wayne Connelly, the school bully and Colin's frequent tormenter, didn't bring the gun to school. After all, Wayne didn't have didn't have frosting on his hands....

Winston Churchill, Andy Warhol, Tom Cruise, Agatha Christie, and Pablo Picasso were all famous and successful in their chosen professions. And they were all dyslexic. But what is dyslexia? Are there different types of dyslexia? Is there a cure? This guide answers these and other questions, providing a concise explanation of the causes and symptoms of dyslexia, a learning disorder that inhibits the reading and writing ability of millions of children and adults worldwide.

Autumn and Adonis have nothing in common and everything in common. Autumn is outgoing and has lots of friends. Adonis is shy and not so eager to connect with people. But even with their differences, the two have one thing in common - they're each dealing with a handicap. For Autumn, who has a learning disability, reading is a painful struggle that makes it hard to focus in class. But as her school’s most aggressive team wrestler, Autumn can take down any problem. Adonis is confined to a wheelchair. He has no legs. He can't walk or dance. But he’s a strong reader who loves books.

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.

Sabine Heinlein spent almost a year reporting at "The Farm", a program for mental patients at the notorious Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens. Originally designed to teach its "members" confidence and skills by caring for animals and plants, the Farm had long become a dysfunctional hoarder's den. The patients sat idly on chairs in a grimy dayroom filled with the therapist's "collectibles" and garbage.

In a series of beautifully textured stories, the author takes the listener on a fascinating journey as she travels with Teela, her lively "golden dog", through airports, city streets, and southwest desert landscapes, exploring these surroundings with changed sight. This unusual account of travel will inspire the sighted as well as the blind, offering pointed observations on processes of learning to work with a service animal and on coming to terms with a disability.

High school senior Jesse Alderman, or Sway as he's known, could sell hell to a bishop. He also specializes in getting things people want—term papers, a date with the prom queen, fake IDs. It's all business with Jesse. He has few close friends and he never lets emotions get in the way.

In The Price of Silence she takes a devastating look at how we address mental illness, especially in children, who are funneled through a system of education, mental health care, and juvenile detention that leads far too often to prison. In the end she asks one central question: if there's a poster child for cancer, why can't there be one for mental illness? The answer: the stigma.

Texas governor and rising star in the Republican Party - one of the first prominent politicians to govern from a wheelchair since Franklin D. Roosevelt - Governor Greg Abbott pens his deeply personal and inspiring life story and proposes a plan to restore America to greatness in what Newt Gingrich calls a "bold and compelling" read. Texas Governor Greg Abbott lost his ability to walk when a huge oak tree crashed down on his back, fracturing vertebrae into his spinal cord, leaving him forever paralyzed.