Through a series of critical essays this book concerns the relationships and possibilities in and between "prose" and "disability". It covers a diverse range from the role of the disability memoir, the effect of disablement on soldiers, phantom limb syndrome and the suspicion of 'faking it' that sometimes surrounds.

The Story of My Life (1903) is the autobiography of Helen Keller. Written while she was an undergraduate student at Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, The Story of My Life was a joint effort between Keller, her teacher Anne Sullivan, and Anne's husband John Macy. "Gradually I got used to the silence and darkness that surrounded me and forgot that it had ever been different, until she came-my teacher-who was to set my spirit free. But during the first nineteen months of my life I had caught glimpses of broad, green fields, a luminous sky, trees and flowers which the darkness that followed could not wholly blot out. If we have once seen, 'the day is ours, and what the day has shown.'" After losing her hearing and sight as an infant, Helen Keller received a life-changing education from her dedicated teacher Anne Sullivan, herself vision impaired. As she learned to communicate through signs, she found an innate determination to surpass the expectations of those around her, eventually becoming the first deafblind person to obtain her Bachelor of Arts. Her autobiography is a rich retelling of the first twenty-one years of Keller's life, a period marked by tragedy and miracle alike, shaping her into one of the twentieth century's leading civil rights activists and public speakers. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Helen Keller's The Story of My Life is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.

The Measure of Manliness examines the proliferation of crippled, maimed, and disabled men in the mid-nineteenth-century novel, showing that far from being marginalized or pathologized, disability was central to Victorian narrative form. Karen Bourrier argues that this unexpected interest in masculine weakness and disability was a response to the rise of a new Victorian culture of industry and vitality, and its corollary emphasis on a hardy, active manhood. In chapters on novels by Kingsley, Yonge, Mulock Craik, Arnold, Eliot, and Henry James, Bourrier shows how the figure of the voluble weak man was a necessary narrative complement to the silent strong man. The analysis unites historical and narrative concerns, showing how developments in nineteenth-century masculinity led to a formal innovation in literature: the focalization or narration of the novel through the perspective of a weak or disabled man. The book will appeal to those interested in disability studies, gender and masculinity studies, the theorization of sympathy and affect, the recovery of women's writing and popular fiction, the history of medicine and technology, and queer theory.

The Willowbrook Wars is a dramatic and illuminating account of the effort to close down a scandal-ridden institution and return its 5,400 handicapped residents to communities in New York. The wars began in 1972 with Geraldo Rivera's televised raid on the Willowbrook State School. They continued for three years in a federal courtroom, with civil libertarian lawyers persuading a conservative and conscience-stricken judge to expand the rights of the disabled, and they culminated in a 1975 consent decree, with the state of New York pledging to accomplish the unprecedented assignment in six years.

From 1975 to 1982, David and Sheila Rothman observed this remarkable chapter in American reform of mental disabilities care. Would the state live up to its agreement without "dumping" residents into other nightmarish institutions? Would the lawyers prove as interested in meeting client needs as in securing client rights? Could a tradition-bound bureaucracy create a new network of community services? And finally, would a governor and a legislature tolerate such outside intervention, and if so, for how long? In answering these questions,

The Willowbrook Wars takes us behind the scenes to clarify the role of the judiciary, the fate of the underprivileged, and the potential for social justice. In their new afterword, the authors bring the story up to date, describing the results of the closing of the institution in 1987 from the experiences of integrating the former residents into communities to the legal battles between the state of New York and advocates for the mentally handicapped.

The modern concept of disability did not exist in the Romantic period. This study addresses the anachronistic use of 'disability' in scholarship of the Romantic era, providing a disability studies theorized account that explores the relationship between ideas of function and aesthetics. Unpacking the politics of ability, the book reveals the centrality of capacity and weakness concepts to the egalitarian politics of the 1790s, and the importance of desert theory to debates about sentiment and the charitable relief of impaired soldiers. Clarifying the aesthetics of deformity as distinct from discussions of ability, Joshua uncovers a controversy over the use of deformity in picturesque aesthetics, offers accounts of deformity that anticipate recent disability studies theory, and discusses deformity and monstrosity as a blended category in Frankenstein. Setting aside the modern concept of disability, Joshua cogently argues for the historical and critical value of period-specific terms.

Exploring contemporary theory and practice surrounding loss and bereavement for people with intellectual disabilities (ID), this book brings together international contributors with a range of academic, professional and personal experience. This authoritative edited book looks at diverse experiences of loss across this population whether it be loss due to transition, the loss or death of others, or facing their own impending death. The book begins by offering theoretical perspectives on loss and compassion, bereavement, disenfranchised grief, spirituality, and psychological support. It then addresses contemporary practice issues in health and social care contexts and explores loss for specific communities with ID including children, individuals with autism, those in forensic environments, and those at the end of life. Identifying inherent challenges that arise when supporting individuals with ID experiencing loss, and providing evidence and case studies to support best practice approaches, this book will be valuable reading for students, academics and professionals in the fields of disability, health and social care.

The figure of the freak as perceived by the Western gaze has always been a part of the Latin American imaginary, from the letters that Columbus wrote about his encounters with dog-faced people to Shakespeare's Caliban. The freak acquires greater significance in a globalized, neoliberal world that defines the "abnormal" as one who does not conform mentally, physically, or emotionally and is unable or unwilling to follow the economic and cultural norms of the institutions in power. Freak Performances examines the continuing effects of colonialism on modern Latin American identities, with a particular focus on the way it has constructed the body of the other through performance. Theater questions the representations of these bodies, as it enables the empowerment of the silenced other; the freak as a spectacle of otherness finds in performance an opportunity for re-appropriation by artists resisting the dominant authority. Through an analysis of experimental theater, dance theater, performance art, and gallery-based installation art across eight countries, Analola Santana explores the theoretical issues shaped by the encounters and negotiations between different bodies in the current Latin American landscape.

Many critical analyses of disability address important 'macro' concerns, but are often far removed from an interactional and micro-level focus. Written by leading scholars in the field, and containing a range of theoretical and empirical contributions from around the world, this book focuses on the taken-for-granted, mundane human activities at the heart of how social life is reproduced, and how this impacts on the lives of those with a disability, family members, and other allies. It departs from earlier accounts by making sense of how disability is lived, mobilised, and enacted in everyday lives. Although broad in focus and navigating diverse social contexts, chapters are united by a concern with foregrounding micro, mundane moments for making sense of powerful discourses, practices, affects, relations, and world-making for disabled people and their allies. Using different examples - including learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, dementia, polio, and Parkinson's disease - contributions move beyond a simplified narrow classification of disability which creates rigid categories of existence and denies bodily variation. Disability, Normalcy, and the Everyday should be considered essential reading for disability studies students and academics, as well as professionals involved in health and social care. With contributions located within new and familiar debates around embodiment, stigma, gender, identity, inequality, care, ethics, choice, materiality, youth, and representation, this book will be of interest to academics from different disciplinary backgrounds including sociology, anthropology, humanities, public health, allied health professions, science and technology studies, social work, and social policy.

There is a growing concern about the social exclusion of a range of minority groups, including people with learning difficulties. Lifelong learning is seen as one of the central means of challenging the exclusion of this group, but also of enhancing their economic status. This book demonstrates that policy based on human capital premises has produced forms of lifelong learning which exacerbate the marginalisation of people with learning difficulties. The Learning Society and people with learning difficulties: reviews the range of policy fields which increasingly intervene in the lifelong learning arena; maps the agencies involved in service delivery and describes their (sometimes conflicting) ethos; provides in-depth accounts of the lived experiences of individuals with learning difficulties as they navigate lifelong learning options. Its exploration of the links between community care, education, training, employment, housing and benefits policies in the context of lifelong learning is unique. This book makes a significant contribution to debates about how people with learning difficulties may achieve social inclusion, and the part which lifelong learning may play in this. It is therefore invaluable reading for policy makers, practitioners and academics interested in these issues.

Disability studies has become a legitimate area of academic study. It is multi-disciplinary in its critique of the oppressions that have historically "dumped" disabled people on the margins of society. This fully revised and updated edition not only explains disability studies as an academic field of inquiry, it also explores many of the current issues affecting the lives and circumstances of disabled people.
The book explores and analyzes "quality of life" factors in the lives of disabled people in relation to the professional development of undergraduates and examines the emergence of "rights" for disabled people in the local area, the UK and abroad. The author indicates the strengths and weaknesses of organizations "of" and "for" disabled people, and provides examples of individual and institutional oppressions against disabled people and "success stories," exploring how these have been overcome in education and employment. The book suggests how disabled and non-disabled people can collaborate in the development of inclusive communities and neighborhoods.
The text is suitable for students taking courses in the areas of health, social care and allied services at NVQ, BTEC, Degree and PGCE level. The author encourages students to raise their own questions and develop their own forms of inquiry.

At its best Disability Studies is an arena of critical debate addressing controversial issues concerning, not just the meaning of disability, but the nature of society, dominant values, quality of life, and even the right to live. Indeed, Disability Studies is itself the subject of controversy, in terms of its theoretical basis and who controls courses and research and whether it should be shaped and controlled by disabled academics or grassroots activists. Within these debates, generated by the social model of disability, are fundamental challenges to policy, provision and professional practice that are directly relevant to all who work with disabled people, whether in the field of social work, health or education. Controversial Issues in a Disabling Society has been written specifically to raise questions and stimulate debate. It has been designed for use with students in group discussion, and to support in-depth study on a variety of professional courses. It covers a wide range of specific, substantive issues within Disability Studies in a series of succinct chapters. Each chapter sets a question for debate, places the key issues in context and presents a particular argument. This is an accessible and engaging book which challenges dominant positions and ideologies from a social model viewpoint of disability.

In this new edition, the editors and contributors update and expand on the educational framework that was introduced in the first edition for rethinking disability in public health study and practice and for attaining the competencies that should accompany this knowledge. The second edition highlights key areas of research that have emerged since the first edition was published. This edition includes new and updated chapters that have particular relevance for public health practice: Disability, Intersectionality, and Inequity: Life in the Margins Disability and Health Programs: Emerging Partners Children with Special Healthcare Needs Disasters and Disability: Rhetoric and Reality Inter-relationship of Health Insurance and Employment for People with Disabilities Public Health, Work, and Disability Actions to Prepare a Competent Workforce Public Health Perspectives on Disability: Science, Social Justice, Ethics, and Beyond, 2nd Edition, is an essential resource for public health educators and practitioners as well as students in graduate schools of public health throughout the United States.

Sensory-being: the enveloping of natural presentness and awareness in an unfolding sensory moment. Sensory Beings: people whose experience of the world, and meaning within it, is primarily sensory. Often these are people who do not have access to language. If you support someone who understands the world in a primarily sensory way, for example someone with PMLD or later stage dementia, you will recognise that they often face periods of time in which they are left without an activity they can access. This unique, practical guide helps you to plan and deliver sensory activities that lead people into a calm, focused state. You are even invited to let the person you support lead you into a state of sensory focus. Written by a leading sensory specialist this book will help you to: View the world as the person you support may view it, and identify times when a sensory-being activity may be appropriate. Understand how to select and create the most engaging, low cost, sensory foci to suit the specific needs of the individuals in your care. Effectively facilitate sensory-being sessions from start to finish so that the people you care for receive the full and many benefits of calm, focused time. Tried and tested in a diverse range of settings prior to publication, these techniques and practical tools have already helped many people provide an enriched experience of life for those in their care. Throughout the book you will find numerous case studies and insights from parents, carers, special school practitioners, therapists, research institutions and more so that you can benefit from this broad body of experience.

This "Handbook" represents the first comprehensive collection of research on communication and people with disabilities. The editors have brought together original contributions focusing on the identity, social, and relationship adjustments faced by people with disabilities and those with whom they relate. Essays report on topics across the communication spectrum--interpersonal and relationship issues, people with disabilities in organizational settings, disability and culture, media and technologies, communication issues as they impact specific types of disabilities--and establish a future agenda for communication and disability research. Each chapter provides a state-of-the-art literature review, practical applications of the material, and keywords and discussion questions to facilitate classroom use.
In providing an outlet for current research on communication and disability issues, this unique collection contributes to the lives of people with and without disabilities, helping them to improve their own communication and relationships. Intended for readers in communication, psychology, sociology, rehabilitation, social work, special education, gerontology, and related disciplines, this handbook is certain to augment further theory and research, as well as offer insights for both personal and professional relationships.

The first major anthology by parents with disabilities. 'Being a disabled parent is a rebellious act. Disabled people should have the same right to parent as anyone else, but often when we decide to start a family we are met with judgement and discrimination. We are questioned rather than supported. We have to push up against the medical system. And we have to confront society's model of parenting. Yet, despite all this, we still choose to parent. And we are damn good at it too!' When writer and musician Eliza Hull was pregnant with her first child, like most like most parents-to-be she felt a mix of nerves and excitement. But as a disabled person, she faced added complexities. She wondered: Will the pregnancy be too hard? Will people judge me? Will I cope with the demands of parenting? In We've Got This, thirty parents who identify as Deaf, disabled, neurodiverse, or chronically ill discuss the highs and lows of their parenting journeys and show that the greatest obstacles lie in other people's attitudes. The result is a moving, revelatory, and empowering anthology that celebrates the richness of disabled parenting in the twenty-first century. 'Such an important book. Joyous, eye-opening, and deeply moving, these powerful stories will challenge long-held assumptions and hopefully shift societal attitudes towards disabled parents. Everyone should read this.' Francesca Martinez, author of What the **** Is Normal?!

Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities at Beacon College is a collection of essays written by professors and learning specialists (educational support personnel) at Beacon College, an accredited four-year institution for students with learning disabilities, ADHD, and other learning differences. The purpose of this book is to help fill the massive gap in the literature on teaching students with learning disabilities at the college level. The attrition rate of students with learning disabilities at traditional colleges and universities is very high. With a 70% four-year graduation rate, Beacon College is well-positioned to be an instructional model for other institutions. The essays discuss institutional practices, alternative teaching strategies, and personal instructor experiences.

Adopting a predominantly psychological approach, this book provides carers with up-to-date information and resources to provide appropriately individualised care to people with learning disabilities who self-injure. Understanding and Working with People with Learning Disabilities who Self-Injure synthesises traditional (behavioural) and newer (psychological) approaches to understanding self-injury, drawing on psychoanalytic and social theory to provide practical guidelines for more sustained and effective support. It suggests that motivations for self-injury may be similar for people with and without learning disabilities, and draws on case work examples to suggest person-centred techniques that encourage communication - particularly important with people who do not use verbal communication - and recovery. The book covers a range of specific needs, including people with autism who self-injure, and emphasises the views of people with learning disabilities themselves and their families about what has worked best, and why. At the end of each chapter, a variety of practical implications for the provision of support are given. This book is for those supporting people with learning disabilities who self-injure and will be a useful resource for social workers, psychologists, counsellors, learning support workers, nurses and social and health care students.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities promotes ability equality, but this is not experienced in national laws. Australia, Canada, Ireland, the UK and the US all have one thing in common: regulatory frameworks which treat workers with psychosocial disabilities less favorably than workers with either physical or sensory disabilities. Ableism at Work is a comprehensive and comparative legal, practical and theoretical analysis of workplace inequalities experienced by workers with psychosocial disabilities. Whether it be denying anti-discrimination protection to people with episodic disabilities, addictions or other psychological impairments, failing to make reasonable accommodations/adjustments for workers with psychosocial disabilities, or denying them workers' compensation or occupational health and safety protections, regulatory interventions imbed inequalities. Ableism, sanism and prejudice are expressly stated in laws, reflected in judgments, and perpetuated by workplace practices and this book enables advocates, policy makers and lawmakers to understand the wider context in which systems discriminate workers with psychosocial disabilities.

A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. The Camphill movement, one of the world's largest and most enduring networks of intentional communities, deserves both recognition and study. Founded in Scotland at the beginning of the Second World War, Camphill communities still thrive today, encompassing thousands of people living in more than one hundred twenty schools, villages, and urban neighborhoods on four continents. Camphillers of all abilities share daily work, family life, and festive celebrations with one another and their neighbors. Unlike movements that reject mainstream society, Camphill expressly seeks to be "a seed of social renewal" by evolving along with society to promote the full inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities, who comprise nearly half of their residents. In this multifaceted exploration of Camphill, Dan McKanan traces the complexities of the movement's history, envisions its possible future, and invites ongoing dialogue between the fields of disability studies and communal studies.

Educator Patti Lather and psychologist Chris Smithies observed and chronicled support groups for women diagnosed with HIV. Whether black, Latina, poor, or middle class, the women in these groups share the common bond of living with HIV/AIDS, and they describe how it affects their lives in terms full of practical reality and moving poignancy, as they fight the disease, accept, reflect, live and die with and in it.

The first international, cross-disciplinary book to explore and understand the lives of parents with intellectual disabilities, their children, and the systems and services they encounter * Presents a unique, pan-disciplinary overview of this growing field of study * Offers a human rights approach to disability and family life * Informed by the newly adopted UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) * Provides comprehensive research-based knowledge from leading figures in the field of intellectual disability