Get an inside perspective on life as a disabled gay man! Queer Crips: Disabled Gay Men and Their Stories reverberates with the sound of cripgay voices rising to be heard above the din of indifference and bias, oppression and ignorance. This unique collection of compelling first-person narratives is at once assertive, bold, and groundbreaking, filled with charactersand character. Through the intimacy of one-on-one storytelling, gay men with mobility and neuromuscular disorders, spinal cord injury, deafness, blindness, and AIDS, fight isolation from societyand each otherto establish a public identity and a common culture. Queer Crips features more than 30 first-hand accounts from a variety of perspectives, illuminating the reality of the everyday struggle disabled gay men face in a culture obsessed with conformist good looks. Themes include rejection, love, sex, dating rituals, gaycrip married life, and the profound difference between growing up queer and disabled, and suffering a life-altering injury or illness in adulthood. Co-edited by Bob Guter, creator and editor of the webzine BENT: A Journal of Cripgay Voices, the book includes: two performance pieces from acclaimed author and actor Greg Walloch poetry from Chris Hewitt, Joel S. Riche, Raymond Luczak, Mark Moody, and co-editor John Killacky essays from BENT contributors Blaine Waterman, Raymond J. Aguilera, Danny Kodmur, Thomas Metz, Max Verga, and Eli Clare interviews with community activist Gordon Elkins and Alan Sable, one of the first self-identified gay psychotherapists in the United States and much more! Queer Crips is a forum for neglected cripgay voices speaking words that are candid, edgy, bold, dreamy, challenging, and sexy. The book is essential reading for academics and students working in lesbian and gay studies, and disability studies, and for anyone who's ever visited the place where queerness and disability meet.

A presentation of research on disability in 2003, this text provides extensive coverage on the development of thinking cultures of disability; development of the social model of disability; disability and the politcs of social justice; and media treatement of disability, amongst other issues.

Increase your awareness of the concerns facing the black disabled community!
Disability and the Black Community addresses physical, mental, and learning disabilities experienced across age, gender, and ethics groups by the black race in the United States. This unique book works to increase understanding and awareness of those working with the disabled by mobilizing advocates, providing alternatives for successful intervention and planning, and encouraging research in disability and rehabilitation. A distinguished panel of researchers and practitioners provide commentary on topics that include selected physical disabilities, disabled children learning and program concerns, welfare reform, public housing issues, domestic violence, and disability curriculum content--all in accordance with the broadening of the definition of disability as supported by the American Disabilities Act.
Disability and the Black Community raises the level of understanding and awareness of the complex and diverse concerns facing the disabled and their families in the community and the workplace. The book is at once motivational, influential, and empowering, examining social and political issues that compound the ordeals confronting the black disabled. Topics addressed include: learning disabilities, academic achievements, and mental health issues of children health disparities and access to care welfare reform, disability, and race practice, program, and curriculum models and much more! Disability and the Black Community is an essential resource for health professionals and advocates who work with the black disabled. The book keeps practitioners up to date on what is needed in terms of funding, facilities, and resources in order to keep the larger society and significant resource systems appraised of the needs of the disabled.

Deaf adults and children, like their hearing counterparts, experience a full range of mental health problems. They develop psychoses, sink into deep depressions, abuse alcohol and drugs, commit sexual offenses, or simply have trouble adjusting to new life situations. But when a deaf client appears on the doorstep of an ordinary hospital, residential facility, clinic, or office, panic often ensues. Mental Health Care of Deaf People: A Culturally Affirmative Approach, offers much-needed help to clinical and counseling psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, and other mental health professionals--and to their program administrators. The editors, a psychologist and a psychiatrist, and the authors, leading authorities with a variety of expertises, systematically review the special needs of deaf patients, particularly those who regard themselves as "culturally Deaf," and provide professionals with the tools they need to meet those needs. Among these tools is an extensive "library" of pictorial questionnaires and information sheets developed by one of the very few psychiatric units in the country devoted to the deaf. These handouts greatly simplify the processes involved in the diagnosis and treatment of people who in many cases are not good readers--for example, explaining medication and inquiring about side-effects. The handouts are reproduced on downloadable resources, to enable purchasers to print out and use copies in their work. This comprehensive clinical guide and its accompanying downloadable resources constitute vital resources for all those who seek to provide sensitive, effective mental health care to deaf people.

The deaf world is a complex one, divided by the allegiance of some to Deaf Culture, which emphasizes communication by sign-language, and by others to oralism, which emphasizes speech as the primary means of communication, and still others to a program called Total Communication, which stresses both signing and speaking. Today, more and more deaf people, especially children, are choosing oralism because it helps them fit into mainstream society better. This work presents interviews with fourteen extraordinary oral deaf role models from diverse backgrounds and professions. Wall Street banker Ralph Marra, paralegal Kristin Buehl, 1984 Olympic gold medalist Jeff Float, percussionist Evelyn Glennie, engineer George Oberlander, university mathematics professor Dr. David James, law professor Bonnie Poitras Tucker, executive Carolyn Ginsburg, foundation head Mildred Oberkotter, architect Tom Fields, accountant and institute executive director Ken Levinson, finance manager Michael Janger, school administrator Kathleen Suffridge Treni, and teacher Karen Kirby tell of their experiences and stories, discuss what helped and what hindered them, and offer advice to parents of deaf children. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

bThe detailed study of learning disability features rarely in university courses. To a large extent this reflects the low value attributed by our society and its human services to people with learning difficulties. This unusual book, based on one of those rare courses, includes contributions from academic specialists, students and people with learning difficulties, all of whom have participated in the course. Its 'social approach' challenges the very idea of what should be taught about the subject of learning disability and who should teach it.
Learning Disability - A Social Approach looks at how people's lives are affected by human services. It covers specific policy and service issues, different aspects of working with people and key debates. The unique insights gained from the combination of academic knowledge and real life experience make it a topical and thought-provoking text for anyone involved with learning disability - student, teacher, professional or policy maker.

bThe detailed study of learning disability features rarely in university courses. To a large extent this reflects the low value attributed by our society and its human services to people with learning difficulties. This unusual book, based on one of those rare courses, includes contributions from academic specialists, students and people with learning difficulties, all of whom have participated in the course. Its 'social approach' challenges the very idea of what should be taught about the subject of learning disability and who should teach it.
Learning Disability - A Social Approach looks at how people's lives are affected by human services. It covers specific policy and service issues, different aspects of working with people and key debates. The unique insights gained from the combination of academic knowledge and real life experience make it a topical and thought-provoking text for anyone involved with learning disability - student, teacher, professional or policy maker.

In recent decades, record numbers of Jews are taking a newfound interest in their legal heritage - the Bible and the Talmud, the law codes and the rabbinical responsa literature. In the course of this encounter, they may be interested in how these sources relate to the issue of disability, and the degree to which halakhic attitudes to disability are in harmony with contemporary sensibilities. For example, can the blind or those in wheelchairs serve as prayer leaders? Need the mentally incompetent observe any ritual law? Is institutionalization in a special-education facility where Jewish dietary laws are not observed permitted if it will enhance a child's functioning? And how are we to interpret teachings that seem inconsonant with current sensibilities?
Disability in Jewish Law answers the pressing need for insight into the position of Jewish law with respect to the rights and status of those with physical and mental impairments, and the corresponding duties of the non-disabled.

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Anti-Racist Practice (ARP), Anti-Discriminatory Practice (ADP) and Anti-Oppressive Practice (AOP) form a trinity of concepts, nested into one another, which have evolved in welfare services over the last fifteen years. They tend to have developed as forms of practice panaceas and as a result have been subject to both unrealistic expectations and, at times, to political ridicule. This book clarifies the distinctions between three key concepts - ARP, ADP and AOP. Critically and constructively analysing these three approaches to practice it reappraises their potential in the light of emerging equality issues in the health service
With contributions from leading teachers and practitioners in the field, Equalising Opportunities provides students and practitioners in health and social care with a clear overview of an area where there is much confusion and imperfect understanding.

Rather than being evidence-based, the 'everyday' practice of ADHD health care enacted daily by a multitude of professionals is the result of the interaction of historical, social, political, economic and institutional elements. By drawing on several critical theorists, this book provides an ethnographic investigation of the nexus of elements that conditioned the possibility for the everyday social practice of ADHD to be in place within an NHS region in Scotland. The book develops a critical analytical approach, using the concepts of 'problematisation' and the 'apparatus' to capture a two-stage process - the questioning of how and why certain 'things' become a problem, but also how these 'things' are shaped as the objects that they become. The object of interest for this project was young people and the fieldwork was conducted in a small geographical region in Scotland, consisting of several periods in health and education services. Ethnographic tools utilised in the book include observation of clinical appointments, document analysis, interviews and archival research. The different layers of qualitative material examined in the study - from individual clinical appointment to national policy - have allowed for a reconnection of the discursive field in which the current practice of ADHD emerged. With a detailed theorisation of the theoretical concepts, as well as a clear account of application in empirical research, this book will act as a guide for researchers aiming to apply these concepts in applied research.

Contents:
Introduction 1. Antiquity; Attitudes of the Bible; Classical Antiquity; Causes of blindness; Blindness and guilt; The blind seer; Ate 2. The Blind in the Early Christian World; The healing of the blind; Blindness and revelation; the story of Paul; A concluding observation 3. The Middle Ages; The Antichrist; Allegorical blindness; The blind beggar; The blind and his guide 4. The Renaissance and its Sequel; The blind beggar; Metaphocial blindness; The revival of the blind seer; Early secularization of the blind; The blind beggar in the seventeenth century 5. The Disenchantment of Blindness: Diderot's Lettre sur les aveugles

This volume honors the founder of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities (IARLD), William M. Cruickshank, and his many accomplishments. His influence on special education in general, and learning disabilities in specific, is evident throughout the world. Consistent with his international activities, the contributors to this book represent nine different countries. The chapters reflect a range of perspectives on "the state of the art" in learning disabilities, documenting both commonalities and differences across countries. Taken together, the chapters provide a comprehensive and informative picture of learning disabilities.

Transform Your Life and Create Harmony from Within! Imagine falling from a horse and waking up a week later...unable to speak. That's exactly what happened to Sharon Campbell-Rayment. When she finally regained her ability to talk, she spoke with an accent from a part of the world she had never even visited! This made Sharon one of only 60 documented cases of Foreign Accent Syndrome. Soon she was declared completely disabled and diagnosed with an acquired brain injury. However, Sharon was not about to accept this fate. Falling into the Rhythm of Life shares her remarkable story of healing, while revealing life-changing strategies she used to overcome despair and find a powerful new life purpose. Beginning with a moving foreword by New York Times bestselling author Peggy McColl, this life-enhancing book teaches guiding principles that empower you to... * Overcome obstacles that are eroding your self-esteem * Gain newfound inner strength, confidence and awareness * Navigate emotionally difficult situations with dignity * Recognize significance and meaning in every action you take You'll also learn Sharon's four key B.E.S.T. principles that enable you to flow through challenges each day with grace and ease. "The only thing as amazing as Sharon Campbell-Rayment's inspiring story is the incredible lessons and principles she shares in, Falling into the Rhythm of Life . If you've ever suffered a setback and have struggled to get through it and if you are finally ready to claim victory, this is the book you absolutely must read!" Steve Lowell, CSP International Professional Speaker, Mentor to Professional Speakers Worldwide Sharon Campbell-Rayment holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, a Master's degree in Divinity, and she is Founder of the Creating Harmony Within Ranch. Sharon speaks internationally and has helped hundreds of people overcome trying challenges in their lives. She is also author of the book, Creating Harmony Within, and international bestselling co-author of the book, Unwavering Strength. Visit www.creatingharmonywithin.com

A unique work that brings together a number of specialist disciplines, such as archaeology, anthropology, disability studies and psychiatry to create a new perspective on social and physical exclusion from society. A range of evidence throws light on such things as the causes and consequences of social exclusion stigma, marginality and dangerousness.
It is an important work that breaks down traditional academic disciplinary boundaries and brings a much needed comparative approach to the subject.

What happens when a group traditionally defined as lacking the necessary capacities of citizenship is targeted by government programs that have made 'citizenship inclusion' their main goal? Combining theoretical perspectives of political philosophy, social theory, and disability studies, this book untangles the current state of Western intellectual disability politics following the replacement of state institutionalisation by independent and supported living, individual rights, and self-determination. Taking its cue from Foucault's conception of 'biopolitics', denoting the government of the individuals and the totality of the population, its overarching argument is that the ambiguous positioning of people with intellectual disabilities with respect to the ideals of citizenship results in a regime of government that simultaneously includes and excludes people of this group. On the one hand, its members are projected to become ideal-citizens via the cultivation of citizenship capacities. On the other, the right to live independently and by their own choices is curtailed as soon as they are seen as failing with respect to the ideals of reason and rationality. Therefore, coercion, restraints, and paternalism, which were all supposed to end with deinstitutionalisation, are still ingrained in services targeting the group. In equal parts a theoretical work, advancing debates of critical disability theory, social theory, and post-structural philosophy, as well as an empirical engagement with the history of intellectual disability politics and the ways in which present day politics target the group, this book will be of interest to all students and scholars of disability studies, disability politics, and political theory.

Inspired by the author's personal experience of sustaining acquired brain injury (ABI), this path-breaking book explores the (re)construction of identity after ABI. It offers a way of understanding ABI through a social scientific lens, promoting an understanding that is generated through close engagement with the lives and experiences of ABI survivors. The author follows the everyday experiences of six male survivors and critically investigates their identity (re)construction after their ABI. As well as demonstrating identity (re)construction after ABI, the experiences of the participants allow the reader to investigate neurological rehabilitation from their perspective. This book suggests that rehabilitation after ABI is often a continual process that extends beyond the formal, medically prescribed period. It also shows that identity after ABI is often (re)constructed in an unpredictable way; a way that emphasises the importance of reciprocal support and the uncertainty of future life. A Sociological Approach to Acquired Brain Injury and Identity is essential reading for academics and students from a range of social scientific disciplines with an interest in biographical or ethnographic research methods. This book offers a social scientific view of rehabilitation and as such is also essential reading for academics, students and professionals with an interest in health and illness, particularly neurological rehabilitation and brain injury rehabilitation.

In 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed by the US Congress, eliciting much debate. In this work, leading philosophers, legal theorists, bioethicists and policy makers look into the philosophical and moral foundations of disability law and policy.
Americans with Disabilities is a thought-provoking analysis of one of the United States' most controversial laws.

This book gathers together recent international research in intellectual disability (ID), examining the diverse modes of existence that characterise living with intellectual disabilities in the 21st century. Ranging from people with no speech and little mobility who need 24-hour care, to people who marry or hold down jobs, this book moves beyond the typical person with ID imagined by public policy: healthy, with mild ID and a supportive family, and living in a welcoming community. The book is divided into three sections. The first, 'A richer picture of people and relationships', expands our understanding of different people and lifestyles associated with ID. The second section, 'Where current policies fall short', finds that Supported Living provides just as 'mediocre' a form of care as group homes, and concludes that services for people with challenging behaviour are unrelated to need. The contributors' research identifies no effective employment support strategies, as well as technological and legal changes that prevent organisations from employing people with ID. With nearly a quarter of this population in poor health, the contributors reflect on whether 'social model' approaches should be allowed to trump medical considerations. The third section, 'New thinking about well-being', reveals that being old, poor, and living alone increases health risk, and that medication administration is significantly more complex for people with ID. Moving beyond 20th century certainties surrounding intellectual disability, this book will be of interest to those studying contemporary issues facing those living with ID, as well as those studying public health policy more widely. The chapters in this book were originally published in issues of the Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability.

Disability and Social Representations Theory provides theoretical and methodological knowledge to uncover the public perception of disabilities. Over the last decade there has been a significant shift from body to environment, and the relation between the two, when understanding the phenomenon of disabilities. The current trend is to view disabilities as the outcome of this interaction; in short from a biopsychosocial perspective. This has called for research based on frameworks that incorporate both the body and the environment. There is a great corpus of knowledge of the functions of a body, and a growing corpus of environmental factors such as perceptions among specific groups of persons towards disabilities. However, there is a lack of knowledge of the perception of disabilities from a general population. This book offers an insight into how we can broaden our understanding of disability by using Social Representations Theory, with specific examples from studies on hearing loss. The authors highlight that attitudes and actions are outcomes of a more fundamental disposition (i.e., social representation) towards a phenomenon like disability. This book is written assuming the reader has no prior knowledge of Social Representations Theory. It will be of interest to all scholars, students and professionals working in the fields of disability studies, health and social care, and sociology.

This book, the first to specifically focus on disability hate speech, explains what disability hate speech is, why it is important, what laws regulate it (both online and in person) and how it is different from other forms of hate. Unfortunately, disability is often ignored or overlooked in academic, legal, political, and cultural analyses of the broader problem of hate speech. Its unique personal, ideological, economic, political and legal dimensions have not been recognized - until now. Disability hate speech is an everyday experience for many people, leaving terrible psycho-emotional scars. This book includes personal testimonies from victims discussing the personal impact of disability hate speech, explaining in detail how such hatred affects them. It also presents legal, historical, psychological, and cultural analyses, including the results of the first surveys and in-depth interviews ever conducted on this topic in some countries. This book makes a vital contribution to understanding disability hatred and prejudice, and will be of particular interest to those studying issues associated with hate speech, disability, psychology, law, and prejudice.

Feminist Perspectives on Disability provides a unique introduction to the key debates in relation to both feminism and disability. The author considers contemporary similarities, differences and contentious areas and how concepts drawn from postmodern feminism can be usefully applied to the disability arena. The book explores many important aspects of the field, including: biological debates; issues of power, knowledge, equality, difference, subjectivity and the body; interface of public and private/care and community; medical and social barriers; politics, citizenship and identity. Feminist Perspectives on Disability will be compulsory reading for students of all levels in Women's Studies, Gender Relations, Social Policy, Social Work/Social Care and social Science.

In The Social Nature of Mental Illness, Len Bowers offers an objective and philosophical critique of the theories of mental illness as a social construct. His purpose is to examine the rationality of these theories, what they might mean, and in which cases they are to be accepted or rejected. Previous work on this issue has concentrated upon empirical evidence. All that has been generated from this are opposing interpretations rather than solutions. This book examines the common ground between the apologists for and critics of psychiatry and discusses how debate on this issue affects research into and treatment of mental illness. Len Bowers argues that many of the assertions made about the social nature of mental illness are misguided or wrong, but he concludes that they cannot be wholly rejected.


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eBook available with sample pages: 0203361229

This book is a case study which narrates the history of the National Organization of the Spanish Blind (ONCE), established in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. Contrary to other affluent countries where most blind people live on welfare benefits, the Spanish blind enjoy full employment. Furthermore, the average income of the Spanish blind is higher than that of the sighted. Why is this so? Why the blind, and not the deaf mute, or any other group of disabled people? This book shows that ONCE answers these questions. The book explains ONCE'S origins, the shifting strategies that the organization has pursued to adapt to an ever-changing environment, its original goals and the way they have mutated and been interpreted, its conflicting relationship with an authoritarian regime, its struggle to find its place in a democratic regime, and its relations with other groups of disabled people. A historical narrative, the book lies at the intersection between disability and organization studies, history and sociology. It will be of interest to all scholars of disability studies, the sociology of work, the history of medicine and contemporary Spanish history.

This title was first published in 2003. During the last twenty years, the longer-term sustainability of social insurance systems has become a major issue in all European countries. Analysts and governments are increasingly alarmed at the growth in the number of disability benefit recipients, and the expansion of disability benefit schemes via increasing benefits, broadening coverage and easing access. While policy measures differ widely, policy goals tend to converge. This book analyses and compares the often controversial disability benefit policies in eleven European countries, examining their rationale, impact and outcome, and the direction of reform in the future. It will make fundamental reading for specialists in disability, social protection and public economics, and for Social Policy academics, researchers and students generally.

This book presents chapters by many eminent researchers and interventionists, all of whom address the development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the context of family and school. A variety of disciplines and perspectives are provided in order to capture the complexity of factors affecting development of these children in their diverse environments. Consistent with current theory and educational practice, the book focuses most strongly on the interaction of family and child strengths and needs and the role of educational and other interventionists in supporting family and child growth. This work, and the authors represented in it, have been influenced by the seminal work of Kathryn P. Meadow-Orlans, whose work continues to apply a multidisciplinary, developmental approach to understanding the development of deaf children.
The book differs from other collections in the degree to which the chapters share ecological and developmental theoretical bases. A synthesis of information is provided in section introductions and in an afterword provided by Dr. Meadow-Orlans. The book reflects emerging research practice in the field by representing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. In addition, the book is notable for the contributions of deaf as well as hearing authors and for chapters in which research participants speak for themselves--providing first-person accounts of experiences and feelings of deaf children and their parents. Some chapters in the book may surprise readers in that they present a more positive view of family and child functioning than has historically been the case in this field. This is consistent with emerging data from deaf and hard of hearing children who have benefitted from early identification and intervention. In addition, it represents an emerging recognition of strengths shown by the children and by their deaf and hearing parents.
The book moves from consideration of child and family to a focus on the role and effects of school environments on development. Issues of culture and expectations pervade the chapters in this section of the book, which includes chapters addressing effects of school placement options, positive effects of learning about deaf culture and history, effects of changing educational practice in developing nations, and the need for increased knowledge about ways to meet individual needs of the diverse group of deaf and hard of hearing students.
Thus, the book gives the reader a coherent view of current knowledge and issues in research and intervention for deaf and hard of hearing children and their families. Because the focus is on child and family instead of a specific discipline, the book can serve as a helpful supplemental text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in a variety of disciplines, including education, psychology, sociology, and language studies with an emphasis on deaf and hard of hearing children.