Showing titles in People with Disabilities

Genius or Lunatic goes deeper into the mind of a paranoid schizophrenic. There is so much confusion in there. So much contradiction. So much religiosity. And there is much desire to know, understand, and find the truth. Along the ride you will find yourself saying, "But in this poem didn't he just say this"? It will bring out emotions that you won't expect. This brings you into his pain and lets you experience it firsthand.

On July 4th, 2013, Connor Sparrowhawk, also known as Laughing Boy or LB, was found dead in a specialist NHS unit. Connor, who had autism and epilepsy, had a seizure while in the bath, and no member of staff was on hand to stop him from drowning. An entirely preventable death. Sara Ryan presents a frank, sometimes funny and touching account of her son's early life and preventable death and the unfolding #JusticeforLB campaign.

When you hear the word “disability”, what comes to mind? Cheryl Schiltz tells her story of being introduced to disability. She shares her journey from a silent world to one that encased her in constant anxiety. Her life as she knew it had disappeared. It became one of a continuous fight between psychological and physical change. Noise. From her childhood, you’ll find yourself traveling with her as she discovers the power to gain control. She shares her story openly and honestly, raw and sensitive.

Emily Owen was a highly intelligent teenager who was also athletic and a skilled musician. Tragically, in her late teens she was diagnosed as suffering from Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2). Since then, Emily has survived many complicated surgical procedures, been close to death, and seen the gradual erosion of all the abilities that defined her personality including the total loss of her hearing. Despite this, she has a remarkable sense of humor and has coped with everything she has been through due to her strong Christian faith, her supportive family, and indomitable personality.

Bill Rush lived with a significant disability of quadriplegic cerebral palsy. He did not have use of his arms, hands, or voice. Society’s prejudices proved to be a greater obstacle than his disability in attaining his first life goal of completing college. Rush chronicled his extraordinary life from childhood until graduation from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln in Journey Out of Silence, first published in 1986. This second edition brings back into print Bill's original chronicle. It also contains an introduction to Our Life Our Way, the sequel.

In "Not Now Please: Living through Racism, Ableism, and Grief," Elizabeth takes you on an intimate journey through the intersecting worlds of adversity, resilience, and transformation. This compelling narrative is a candid exploration of personal experiences that touch upon the deep-rooted issues of racism, ableism, and the complexities of grief.

Robert Mercer's life could have been very different. He was born with very low vision and as a youngster struggled in school. But through the intervention of a caring teacher and the support of his family, he found his way to the Halifax School for the Blind and into the classroom of Mrs. Beaton. It was there he discovered his voice, a voice he uses to recount his remarkable journey from a shy little boy to a community leader.

I don't know whether this is the story of Jeff the autistic individual, Jeff the man of God, or Jeff the medical enigma; but I do know it is the story of Jeff, my son. Jeff was so autistic, and yet not autistic at all if you used the textbook definition. He had huge sensory integration issues and appeared to be living inside of himself, but he cared so much for God and other people that their needs always came above his own. He had severe speech issues, only spoke one-word answers, but wrote beautiful papers and prayers when given the Canon communicator.

Schizoetry by definition means: a literary work fusing poetry with the mind of a schizophrenic. This is a genre that I created. All my work revolves around the life and times of a paranoid schizophrenic. My work is very educational and inspiring to those in the system of mental health as well as those outside of the system. It gives insight as to how we think, feel, perceive, and process information.

Robert was a young man struggling to make it on his own when in 1990, he suffered a violent and traumatic experience when someone put a bullet through his brain. Robert tells the amazing story of survival during a time when life shriveled to dark emptiness and his future seemed hopeless.

Diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Tammy wanted to share her journey with ALS with real and raw truths. Follow Tammy as she gives you a peek into her life before her diagnosis and then her journey while fighting ALS. This memoir was written with just Tammy's eyes using a electronic device called a Eye Gaze.

I am continuing with a genre of poetry that I created that I call schizoetry. It is a literary work fusing poetry with the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions of one who lives with a schizophrenic or schizoaffective disorder. I have been writing poetry since the age of 10. My poems go deep into my mind, emotions, and my spirit. They are very revealing to say the least. I wish to reach those living with this illness.

My name is Christopher Miller, the view I happen to have is a view from a wheelchair. I live with spastic cerebral palsy which affects my mobility and speech. I believe that people with disabilities need to be involved in the political process. I just happen to have A View From a Seat.

Life is never easy, but there are times when it feels like everything is against you. Tyra Hodge grew up feeling the world's weight pressing down on her. A nagging feeling awakened, whispering how she would never amount to anything the older she got. Daunted by the increasing demands of education and her private struggles, Tyra turned away.

Andrea struggles to mourn a man who is still alive as she witnesses her father decline into the depths of Alzheimer's. Denial and devastation color her life when she learns her father, Richard, a recently retired surgeon, is diagnosed with Alzheimer's at the age of 67. Her dream to grow closer to him is crushed as the reality of his disease is fully realized. Andrea, a mother of three young children, learns to balance motherhood with daughterhood as she grapples to accept her father's fate.

Rick Werry was living the good life in beautiful Monroe, Utah. He was a young, athletic man who woke up every morning doing what he loved for work, and he had been lucky enough to marry his college sweetheart. A year after their marriage, all of that suddenly halted when an onsite construction injury nearly claimed his life.

This is a story about a mother and son on a road trip along the Pacific Coast of Southern California. Asher is a 19-year-old child/teen/man who is diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy and a visual impairment rendering him nonverbal, wheelchair bound, and visually impaired. Stacey is his devoted mother and a neuropsychologist who specializes in the assessment of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Doctors used to tell him he was cured. That was a long time ago. Ever since he first left home at age nineteen, writer Jason Jobin has had cancer. Every five years, like clockwork, it relapses, and yet he always pulls through, surrounded by friends and family but isolated by illness. Chemotherapy, surgeries, radiation—these persist, but they aren't the milestones of his life. They can't be, he won't let them be. From helicoptering into the Yukon backcountry to teaching in an elite writing program, Jason strives to enter adulthood with some normalcy, but his is the life of "a special case."

Sarah Merriman is just like any other urbane young woman in her twenties... She has a job in a Central London hotel, a boyfriend, commutes to work on the Tube, eats out, goes to films and theatre... This is all the more remarkable (though not to her) because Sarah was born with Down's Syndrome. Her parents having no prior inkling, it came as a huge shock to them that they now had a daughter with a disability. In 1999 her father Andy wrote a frank and moving book, A Minor Adjustment, about the challenge of her early years. Now he continues with this inspirational story.

Isaiah was eighteen years old when he was diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum along with having OCD. It was a relief for the young man to finally have a name for what he had been feeling and experiencing for so long. For his parents, it was a different story. They had never observed any signs or symptoms that would have led them to believe their son might be autistic. At least, there were none they knew to look for. Autism in Hindsight is a conversation between mother and son about getting diagnosed, working through it the process, and learning to connect the dots. Along the way they ...