This is an exciting new introductory textbook for anyone studying disability. As well as providing an excellent overview of the existing literature in the area, the book also develops an understanding of disability that has implications for both sociology and society.Over the last three decades our understanding of disability has changed dramatically. Once perceived as a largely medical problem affecting only a small number of people, it is now regarded as a major social and political issue. Exploring Disability charts both the traditional and contemporary approaches to the area before focusing on the social model of disability. In a series of chapters, the authors then go on to look at the relationship between disabled people and areas such as medical sociology, disability studies, social policy, politics and culture. The book ends with an exploration of the future of theory and research on disability.Exploring Disability will be indispensable for students seeking to understand disability within sociology, disability studies, social policy, politics, cultural studies, and health-related disciplines including medicine.

Text covers topics such as body image, self-esteem, genetics, continence, abuse, legal matters, and ethics. Emphasizes physical problems and their associated psychological consequences. Provides case histories and personal insights. Increases professional awareness and provides practical advice.

DisabilityLand is the place where people with disabilities live, work, play, fret, hope and succeed. Or not. And where everyone else may or may not know--or care--who they are. This collection of observations, anecdotes and questions are drawn from Dr. Alan Brightman's singular experiences in the field of disabilities for more than 3 decades. Together, Brightman's writings provide the kind of insight into the disabled experience that only someone intimately familiar with the territory and endlessly curious about its inhabitants could provide. There is no prescribed order in the pages of DisabilityLand just as there are few predictable happenings in the real life of those who wander its terrain. Its pages consist of brief stories--some as short as 2 sentences, others as long as 3 pages--in which one life experiences another. DisabilityLand is not about the subject of disability; it's not a study. It is instead about the unvarnished everyday-ness of disability; it's a series of rich, human, ordinary, and surprising encounters.

In The Elephant in the Playroom, moms and dads from across the country write intimately and honestly about the joyful highs and disordered lows of raising children who are “not quite normal.” Laying bare the emotional, medical, and social challenges they face, their stories address issues ranging from if and when to medicate a child, to how to get a child who is overly sensitive to the texture of food to eat lunch. Eloquent and honest, the voices in this collection will provide solace and support for the millions of parents whose kids struggle with ADD, ADHD, sensory disorders, childhood depression, Asperger's syndrome, and autism -- as well as the many kids who fall between diagnoses. Offering readers comfort, community, and much-needed perspective, The Elephant in the Playroom is sure to become essential reading for parents of special needs kids.

The social and political history of disabilities reveals some of the historical roots that anchor some of our current beliefs, attitudes and perceptions of disabilities and persons who possess disabilities. An understanding of the social and political history of disabilities in the United States is important for rehabilitation professionals and other helping professionals who work with persons with disabilities not only to understand how history affects our current attitudes and behavior but also to provide a perspective on current events. This book discusses the evolution of societal attitudes toward persons with disabilities. Moreover, it addresses some of the concepts that society has and continues to have about persons with disabilities. Considerable emphasis has been placed on the role that persons with disabilities have played in changing societal attitudes as well as how they have been able to get their agenda of a need for equality before the people of the United States. This book documents some of the most relevant social and political histories of persons with disabilities in the United States. A major objective of the book is to document some of the historical events and actions that have produced the current state of affairs for persons with disabilities. One chapter-The Advocates-discusses some of the leaders, past and present, in the area of disabilities and rehabilitation and their contributions. The book is divided into three parts and contains eleven chapters. Although considerable progress has been made in the relationships of the non-disabled and persons with disabilities, there remains considerable room for improvement. Review/discussion questions are included at the end of each chapter, along with a Suggested Readings section. It will be useful as either a primary or secondary text for vocational rehabilitation training programs, social work programs, nursing programs, occupational and physical therapy programs, occupational and physical therapy assistant programs and human services programs.

This best-selling introductory book is intended for all students in parks, recreation, and leisure studies, regardless of speciality, as it provides an essential basic level of knowledge about people with disabilities. Common themes are presented by the authors in a manner that allows readers to develop their own personal view of therapeutic recreation, and keeps the focus of service on the customer.

Raising a child with special needs is a lifelong commitment that is as unique as each person who embarks on it. Written by a variety of authors who share in this distinctive relationship, Chicken Soup for the Soul Children with Special Needs offers a glimpse into the lives of others who are on a similar path. These stories provide insight, comfort, and connection with others who have walked this powerful and transformational journey. The authors of these candid stories relate their own experiences of adjusting, reaching out, and flourishing and share their universal worries, their tears, and the laughter that come with this extraordinary relationship. Most important, through these stories, you will be guided with the wisdom of fellow parents, caregivers, and those with special needs to help you be the very best parent or caregiver you can be.

James Charlton has produced a ringing indictment of disability oppression, which, he says, is rooted in degradation, dependency, and powerlessness and is experienced in some form by five hundred million persons throughout the world who have physical, sensory, cognitive, or developmental disabilities. Nothing About Us Without Us is the first book in the literature on disability to provide a theoretical overview of disability oppression that shows its similarities to, and differences from, racism, sexism, and colonialism. Charlton's analysis is illuminated by interviews he conducted over a ten-year period with disability rights activists throughout the Third World, Europe, and the United States. Charlton finds an antidote for dependency and powerlessness in the resistance to disability oppression that is emerging worldwide. His interviews contain striking stories of self-reliance and empowerment evoking the new consciousness of disability rights activists. As a latecomer among the world's liberation movements, the disability rights movement will gain visibility and momentum from Charlton's elucidation of its history and its political philosophy of self- determination, which is captured in the title of his book. Nothing About Us Without Us expresses the conviction of people with disabilities that they know what is best for them. Charlton's combination of personal involvement and theoretical awareness assures greater understanding of the disability rights movement.

Parents of children with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities are accustomed to paying close attention to their child's physical, cognitive, and emotional development. This proactive approach should also include their child's sexual development, which for many parents may not seem as obvious or urgent, especially to those with young children. Drawing on her unique background as both a sexual educator and mother of a child with Down syndrome, the author blends factual information and practical ideas for teaching children with Down syndrome about their bodies, puberty, and sexuality. This book gives parents the confidence to speak comfortably about these sometimes difficult subjects.

Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability is an essential book for anyone dealing with a long-term or permanent disability. Written both for first-time applicants and those who already receive Social Security Disability, Dr. David Morton's book demystifies the program in plain English, thoroughly explaining: *what Social Security disability is *what benefits are available to disabled children *how to prove a disability *how age, education and work experience affect benefits *whether or not one can work while receiving benefits *how to appeal a denial of benefits *how to respond to a Continuing Disability Review *and much more Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability also provides in-depth information on various health problems, including breathing disabilities, heart disease, mental disorders, speech impairments, cancer, immune system disorders -- and much more The 2nd edition, completely updated with the latest rules and medical listings, provides new information on handling appeals hearings, and shows how to participate in the Ticket to Work and Ticket to Hire programs. User-friendly appendices translate bureaucratic terms, provide medical-vocational rules, and list Social Security benefit publications.

As a field, disability studies burst onto the scene across the social sciences and humanities in the 1990s, and the first edition of the reader gathered the best work that had been written on the subject, including essays by famous authors such as Susan Sontag and Erving Goffman. The new edition is more global in its coverage and adds material on genetic testing, the human genome, queer studies, and issues in developing countries. The size of the audience has grown since the first edition's publication, and the second edition's new material will make it even more useful for courses on the subject. Courses on the subject have mushroomed in the past ten years, and can now be found across the social sciences, humanities, and behavioral sciences.

This book provides a theoretical lens through which to view Disability. Rather than taking a medical-diagnostic stance, which has been the traditional perspective, the authors explain disability as category in which membership is based on of judgments about explanations for what people do, experience and how they appear. In Part I, the authors discuss various aspects of the history and current trends, which influence how disability is defined and addressed. In Part II, Explanatory Legitimacy' (EL) theory is explained in detail and applied to an analysis of disability. In Part III, the EL theory is applied to rethinking disability now and in the future.

Every parent dreams of having a happy, healthy child. What happens when these dreams are shattered by a physical or cognitive disability? A Different Kind of Perfect offers comfort, consolation, and wisdom from parents who have been there—and are finding their way through. The writings collected here are grouped into chapters reflecting the progressive stages of many parents' emotional journeys, starting with grief, denial, and anger and moving towards acceptance, empowerment, laughter, and even joy. Each chapter opens with an introduction by Neil Nicoll, a child and family psychologist who specializes in development disorders.

By articulating their vision, Gunnar, along with his wife Rosemary, influenced the entire field for more than half a century.

Rights of Inclusion provides an innovative, accessible perspective on how civil rights legislation affects the lives of ordinary Americans. Based on eye-opening and deeply moving interviews with intended beneficiaries of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), David M. Engel and Frank W. Munger argue for a radically new understanding of rights-one that focuses on their role in everyday lives rather than in formal legal claims. Although all sixty interviewees had experienced discrimination, none had filed a formal protest or lawsuit. Nevertheless, civil rights played a crucial role in their lives. Rights improved their self-image, enhanced their career aspirations, and altered the perceptions and assumptions of their employers and coworkers-in effect producing more inclusive institutional arrangements. Focusing on these long-term life histories, Engel and Munger incisively show how rights and identity affect one another over time and how that interaction ultimately determines the success of laws such as the ADA.

In this wise, compassionate account, Helen Featherstone, educator and mother of a severely disabled child, traces the long, often heartbreaking road toward complete acceptance of disability. Drawing on interviews with parents and professionals, published accounts, and her own personal experience, she discusses how parents and siblings cope with their feelings of fear, anger, guilt, and loneliness. She also explains what kind of support and understanding can be provided by professionals - doctors, therapists, and teachers.

Based on interviews with almost a hundred activists, this book provides a detailed history of the struggle for disability rights in the United States. It is a complex story of shifts in consciousness and shifts in policy, of changing focuses on particular disabilities such as blindness, deafness, polio, quadriplegia, psychiatric and developmental disabilities, chronic conditions (for example, cancer and heart disease), AIDS, and of activism and policymaking across disabilities. Referring to the Americans with Disabilities Act as "every American's insurance policy," the authors recount the genesis of this civil rights approach to disability, from the almost forgotten disability activism of the 1930s, to the independent living movement of the 1970s, to the call for disability pride of the 1990s. Like other civil rights struggles, the disability rights movement took place in the streets and in the courts as activists fought for change in the schools, the workplace, and in the legal system. They continue to fight for effective access to the necessities of everyday life—to telephones, buses, planes, public buildings, restaurants, and toilets. The history of disability rights mirrors the history of the country. Each World War sparked changes in disability policy and changes in medical technology as veterans without limbs and with other disabilities returned home. The empowerment of people with disabilities has become another chapter in the struggles over identity politics that began in the 1960s. Today, with the expanding ability of people with disabilities to enter the workforce and a growing elderly population, issues like longterm care are becoming increasingly significant at a time when HMOs are trying to contain health care expenditures.

When Jennifer Groneberg and her husband learned they'd be having twin boys, their main concern was whether they'd need an addition on their house. Then, five days after Avery and Bennett were born, Avery was diagnosed with Down syndrome. Here, Jennifer shares the story of what followed. She dealt with doctors-some who helped, and some who were disrespectful or even dangerous. She saw some relationships in her life grow stronger, while severing ties with people who proved unsupportive. And she continues to struggle to find balance in the hardships and joys of raising a child with special needs. This book is a resource, a companion for parents, and above all, a story of the love between a mother and her son-as she learns that Avery is exactly the child she never knew she wanted.

An essential resource for parents of children who are blind, legally blind, or have low vision. Written by an expert team of professionals and parents, it is filled with jargon-free, compassionate information and advice on raising children with visual impairments from birth to age seven, making it the most comprehensive resource of its kind.

Benedicte Ingstad is Professor of Medical Anthropology, University of Oslo. Susan Reynolds Whyte is Associate Professor, Institute of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen.

Movie celebrity Clint Eastwood fights an access lawsuit. Christopher Reeve insists what's needed is cure. Those who argue for civil-rights protections for disabled people -- rights guaranteed by federal law for over a decade - are all but silent. The Americans with Disabilities Act "defies logic and common sense," The New York Times once editorialized. Salon.com dismissed it as "a surreal ideology." Why are disability rights so disliked? Why do detractors insist nobody knows about it, even as thousands of articles have been devoted to it? Why do they claim it's a bad law? In "Make Them Go Away: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Reeve & The Case Against Disability Rights," longtime disability-rights journalist Mary Johnson sheds rare light on this issue by examining the case against disability rights in depth. What are its main arguments? Where do they come from? And what is the other side? Can a valid -- strong -- case be made FOR disability rights? It can, says Johnson, who makes a compelling argument that, since the disabled minority is the one minority any of us can suddenly and unexpectedly join, the nation ignores disability rights at its peril.

With the assistance of technology, young children with disabilities can experience more success in exploring the world around them, communication their needs to others, making choices about their world, and taking more advantage of schooling and social opportunities. This first comprehensive book on the subject explores the wide range of considerations involved in evaluating childrens' needs, selecting and prescribing devices, and training children, families, and teacher to use the technology. Written for professionals (teachers and specialists), it introduces a variety of assistive devices and their capabilities, plus the issues to consider in school and family settings as the child grows up.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of vision problems in children with developmental disabilities such as AD/HD, autism spectrum disorders, and specific learning disabilities. Written in a very accessible style, it is appropriate for parents and professionals alike and offers non-technical explanations of how vision difficulties are screened for and advice on where to seek appropriate professional care. Lisa Kurtz outlines a range of activities for strengthening children's functional vision and perceptual skills using simple, homemade materials that are readily available in the home or classroom. This is an excellent practical companion for parents of children with visual perception problems and the professionals who work with them.

Claiming Disability: Knowledge and Identity by Simi Linton, the first comprehensive examination of Disability Studies as a field of inquiry, has just been published by NYU Press. In the past twenty years, Disability Studies has arisen to focus an organized critique of the conceptualizations of disability that have dominated academic inquiry. Disability Studies explains disability as a socially constructed category, rather than simply a product of birth or accident. The field offers a means to think critically about disability, a means that can serve both scholarship and social change. Claiming Disability examines the intellectual as well as the political roots of disabled people's compromised social position and challenges the academic community to reckon with its own role in perpetuating a divided society. Claiming Disability looks at the problematic history of society's response to disabled people, and captures the exciting changes taking place in the lives of disabled people. Simi Linton comments on the social and political change that is evident in reading the daily newspaper or observing newly integrated primary and secondary classrooms, and also describes the exciting change in thinking about disability, embodied in the field of disability studies. The book points optimistically toward the actions of the disability rights movement and the social change it has! brought about, and points to the innovative scholarship in disability studies, both endeavors reshaping disabled people's lives, and more broadly shaping a new, more inclusive society. The title, Claiming Disability, captures the active voice of disabled people in asserting their role in shaping both knowledge and identity. A persistent call heard from the disability community is: "Nothing about us, without us." This idea pervades Claiming Disability, which is critical of oppressive practices and proactive in its approach to disabled people's self-determination.

experience in the lives of many individuals. This book discusses in depth the psychosocial adaptation of the person to 18 commonly encountered chronic illnesses and disabilities, along with the characteristics associated with the successful and unsuccessful adaptation. The illnesses are divided into four groupings: sudden onset disabilities, disease-related health disorders, sensory impairments, and neurological and neuromuscular disabilities. The book presents a comprehensive review of 20 instruments that are used to measure psychosocial adaptation, information that is currently scattered among numerous journals and monographs and has never before been synthesized. The book also outlines some of the major counseling intervention strategies applied to persons with chronic illnesses and disabilities.

Disability has always been a preoccupation of American society and culture. From antebellum debates about qualification for citizenship to current controversies over access and reasonable accommodations, disability has been present, in penumbra if not in print, on virtually every page of American history. Yet historians have only recently begun the deep excavation necessary to retrieve lives shrouded in religious, then medical, and always deep-seated cultural, misunderstanding. This volume opens up disability's hidden history. In these pages, a North Carolina Youth finds his identity as a deaf Southerner challenged in Civil War-era New York. Deaf community leaders ardently defend sign language in early 20th century America. The mythic Helen Keller and the long-forgotten American Blind People's higher Education and General Improvement Association each struggle to shape public and private roles for blind Americans. White and black disabled World War I and II veterans contest public policies and cultural values to claim their citizenship rights. Neurasthenic Alice James and injured turn-of-the-century railroadmen grapple with the interplay of disability and gender. Progressive-era rehabilitationists fashion programs to make crippled children economically productive and socially valid, and two Depression-era fathers murder their sons as public opinion blames the boys' mothers for having cherished the lads' lives. These and many other figures lead readers through hospital-schools, courtrooms, advocacy journals, and beyond to discover disability's past. Coupling empirical evidence with the interdisciplinary tools and insights of disability studies, the book explores the complex meanings of disability as identity and cultural signifier in American history.

This wide-ranging book shows why Paul Longmore is one of the most respected figures in disability studies today. Understanding disability as a major variety of human experience, he urges us to establish it as a category of social, political, and historical analysis in much the same way that race, gender, and class already have been. The essays here search for the often hidden pattern of systemic prejudice and probe into the institutionalized discrimination that affects the one in five Americans with disabilities. Whether writing about the social critic Randolph Bourne, contemporary political activists, or media representations of people with disabilities, Longmore demonstrates that the search for heroes is a key part of the continuing struggle of disabled people to gain a voice and to shape their destinies. His essays on bioethics and public policy examine the conflict of agendas between disability rights activists and non-disabled policy makers, healthcare professionals, euthanasia advocates, and corporate medical bureaucracies. The title essay, which concludes the book, demonstrates the necessity of activism for any disabled person who wants access to the American dream.

This comprehensive text fills a huge void in the field! Romel W. Mackelprang and Richard O. Salsgiver introduce an empowerment approach to working with persons with disabilities -- a direction that lights the way for human service workers and provides clients with greater independence and resilience. The authors are ardent in their desire to empower persons with disabilities by building on their strengths. This comprehensive book features a ground-breaking, strengths-based approach that fills a void in the available material on this topic, and thoroughly prepares helpers to work successfully with persons who have disabilities.

Disability: Controversial Debates and Psychosocial Perspectives examines various theories and practices relating to disability. The focus of the work is not disabled people as "objects" of study but rather an analysis of disability as it has been historically and culturally constructed. The topics covered range from language and discourse, interpersonal relationships and "disability" professions to public policy and the politics of disability. This book is essential reading for students of Disability Studies as well as policy-makers and professionals in social policy, social work and nursing.

The Novel Approach is exactly that, a unique novel about sex and disability covering the adventures of two beguiling handicapped women. Disgruntled with society's fumbling and misconceptions, they undertake interviews among their own kind, exploring the little known world they inhabit. This is an insiders' look at sexuality outside its usual form. The book is entertaining, toucing, often funny, highly factual, tactfully presented and rich in lore of life before, during and after traumatic experiences.

Uses an innovative model for understanding disability that draws upon a concept familiar to social work students: discrimination (Chapter 5). Presents disability-related impairment as a consequence of discrimination, making the target system the social environment rather than the person with the disability; a viewpoint that shows commitment to social justice and draws upon the systems perspective used for understanding other minority groups. Provides a single source through which to explore the shifting history of scholarly thinking about disability issues by including chapters from respected disability scholars that chronicle and analyze the evolution of the conceptualization of disability

Labeled "dyslexic and profoundly learning disabled," Jonathan Mooney was a short-bus rider—a derogatory term used for kids in special education. To learn how others had moved beyond labels, he bought his own short bus and set out cross-country, looking for kids who had dreamed up magical, beautiful ways to overcome the obstacles that separated them from the so-called normal world. The Short Bus is his irreverent and poignant record of that odyssey, meeting thirteen people in thirteen states who taught Mooney that there's no such thing as normal -- and that to really live, every person must find their own special way of keeping on. The Short Bus is a unique gem, propelled by Mooney's heart, humor, and outrageous rebellions.

Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability is an essential book for anyone dealing with a long-term or permanent disability. Written both for first-time applicants and existing recipients of Social Security disability, the book demystifies the program and tells you everything you need to know about qualifying and applying for benefits, maintaining your benefits and appealing the denial of a claim. Written by a former Chief Medical Consultant for the Social Security Administration, the book includes a CD-ROM that provides-in-depth medical listings to help you determine whether your condition will qualify you to receive disability payments. It covers breathing disabilities, heart disease, mental disorders, speech impairments, cancer, immune system disorders -- and much more.

Fear, rage, courage, discrimination. These are facts of everyday life for many Americans with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has made working, traveling, and communicating easier for many individuals. But has this significant piece of civil rights legislation helped those with disabilities become fully accepted members of society? How does an individual deal with discriminatory situations that the law cannot, does not, or will not cover? What is life like in post-ADA America? The stories in this collection give readers a chance to visualize and perhaps resolve these questions for themselves. Using the techniques of both fiction and creative non-fiction, the contributors bring to life the everyday problems that people with disabilities face. Rather than analyzing the law, the writers dramatize the complex set of issues underlying the ADA as it is practiced and interpreted around the country: at a small Southern college, in the Library of Congress, on a New York City sidewalk. The stories from these local battlegrounds form a unique portrait of a continuing struggle. Ruth O'Brien's legal commentary on the Americans with Disabilities Act supplements these narratives. Organized analytically to reflect the ADA's main provisions, her commentary draws out and responds to the legal issues raised in each contributor's narrative. Discussing relevant Supreme Court and federal cases, O'Brien addresses key legal questions such as: What recourse do individuals have when enforcement of the law is ambiguous or virtually nonexistent? What is a disability? How will its changing definition affect individuals' lives-as well as their legal actions-in the future? Voices from the Edge seeks to challenge the mindset of those who would deny equal protection to the disabled, while providing informative analysis of the intent and application of the ADA for those who wish to learn more about disability rights. Giving voice to many types of discrimination the disabled face while illustrating the personal stakes underlying legal disputes over the ADA, this collection offers unparalleled insight into the lives behind the law.

Reveals a pattern of prejudice against mentally disabled individuals that keeps them from receiving equal treatment under the law. Covers sanism and pretextuality, the sanist and pretextual roots of mental disability law, and therapeutic jurisprudence. For psychologists and lawyers.

If you have ever wondered how therapists, behaviorists, case managers and other mental health professionals deliver treatment and care to children suffering from autism and other pervasive developmental disorders, this book is for you! Covering everything from how therapy is developed to the day-to-day activities, this is an excellent book for anyone that wants to build a career around working with special needs children. Filled with useful reference materials and anecdotes.

The first book to focus on the treatment issues of couples and families and the full range of chronic and life-threatening disorders that affect them.

A WARNING FROM AN UPPITY CRIP. Marta Russell exposes the neoliberal drive to shrink social services with the Reinventing Government mantra. "We are dangerously close to a Jerry Lewis democracy where middlemen beggars and corporate CEOs getting huge paychecks may replace entitlements with charity," reveals Russell in her devastating analysis of the "reform" of the social safety net.

The Special Needs Acceptance Book is an interactive, educational, and character-building book that introduces children to the challenges faced by people with special needs while also supporting their personal journey toward appreciating and respecting people's differences. This book offers educational information, conversation-starters, and engaging exercises that invite children to "walk in someone else's shoes" as they learn to treat others the same ways they would like to be treated themselves. The book covers a range of disabilities including autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, learning disabilities like dyslexia, ADHD, blindness and deafness. This book is much more than a book that teaches children about special needs. It uses informative narrative and engaging activities to help them develop understanding, compassion, and appreciation for people different from themselves. It lets them use their imagination and journal exercises to more fully comprehend some of the challenges people with special needs might face. It also empowers children by helping them understand the power of their actions and how they can be a good friend to others. Finally, it shows children that we are all different, all special, and all of us like to be accepted and understood!

People with disabilities forging the newest and last human rights movement of the century.

"Reading The Ragged Edge [anthology] is like sitting in on a vigorous, sometimes funny, and often irreverent roundtable discussion of the issues that most concern all humanity, disabled and nondisabled, whether they admit it or not. Some of the voices are reflective, some sad, some furious, but none will lull you to sleep. On the contrary, you'll feel ready to roll on out and transform the world."-- Nancy Mairs, author of Plaintext, Carnal Acts, Ordinary Time and Waist High In the World. "The Disability Rag is the voice of a mighty revolution, and this stunning collection from its first 15 years will become an invaluable primer for anyone who wants to understand the new thinking of the disability rights movement. Here are the urgent, spirited and provocative stories that have changed the way people -- disabled and nondisabled -- have come to view what it means to have a disability." -- Joseph. P. Shapiro, U.S. News & World Report, author of No Pity:: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement.

According to Edward Shorter, just forty years ago the institutions housing people with mental retardation (MR) had become a national scandal. The mentally retarded who lived at home were largely isolated and a source of family shame. Although some social stigma still attaches to the people with developmental disabilities (a range of conditions including what until recently was called mental retardation), they now actively participate in our society and are entitled by law to educational, social, and medical services. The immense improvement in their daily lives and life chances came about in no small part because affected families mobilized for change but also because the Kennedy family made mental retardation its single great cause. Long a generous benefactor of MR-related organizations, Joseph P. Kennedy made MR the special charitable interest of the family foundation he set up in the 1950s. Although he gave all of his children official roles, he involved his daughter Eunice in performing its actual work—identifying appropriate recipients of awards and organizing the foundation's activities. With unique access to family and foundation papers, Shorter brings to light the Kennedy family's strong commitment to public service, showing that Rose and Joe taught their children by precept and example that their wealth and status obligated them to perform good works. Their parents expected each of them to apply their considerable energies to making a difference. Eunice Kennedy Shriver took up that charge and focused her organizational and rhetorical talents on putting MR on the federal policy agenda. As a sister of the President of the United States, she had access to the most powerful people in the country and drew their attention to the desperate situation of families affected by mental retardation. Her efforts made an enormous difference, resulting in unprecedented public attention to MR and new approaches to coordinating medical and social services. Along with her husband, R. Sargent Shriver, she made the Special Olympics a international, annual event in order to encourage people with mental retardation to develop their skills and discover the joy of achievement. She emerges from these pages as a remarkable and dedicated advocate for people with developmental disabilities. Shorter's account of mental retardation presents an unfamiliar view of the Kennedy family and adds a significant chapter to the history of disability in this country

Looks at the disability experience from the perspective of the individual and discusses how disabilities are viewed by society. Considers the relationship between these two viewpoints. Includes discussion questions, learning activities, suggested readings and first-person accounts.

This is a comprehensive and current description of research-based methods on teaching students with severe disabilities including students with autism and functional skill needs. A great reference book. Reflects 1997 IDEA in all chapters, particularly those that deal with the topics of transition and families. Adds a chapter on peer/social relationships. Creates and maintains reader interest with effective photographs, vignettes, specific charts, and unique figures/tables. Reinforces its comprehensive research base with current studies. For educators and school administrators.

Images of disability pervade language and literature, yet disability is, as sex was in the Victorian world, the ubiquitous unspoken topic in today's culture. The twenty-five essays in Disability Studies provide perspectives on disabled people and on disability in the humanities, art, the media, medicine, psychology, the academy, and society.

This book provides a sound overview of the field of disabilities studies by integrating a review of the three major variations of disabilities: physical disabilities, cognitive disabilities and mental retardation.

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.

"Freedom and Justice for all" is a phrase that can have a hollow ring for many members of the disability community in the United States. Jacqueline Vaughn Switzer gives us a comprehensive introduction to and overview of U.S. disability policy in all facets of society, including education, the workplace, and social integration. DISABLED RIGHTS provides an interdisciplinary approach to the history and politics of the disability rights movement and assesses the creation and implementation, successes and failures of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by federal, state and local governments. DISABLED RIGHTS explains how people with disabilities have been treated from a social, legal, and political perspective in the United States. With an objective and straightforward approach, Switzer identifies the programs and laws that have been enacted in the past fifty years and how they have affected the lives of people with disabilities. She raises questions about Congressional intent in passing the ADA, the evolution and fragmentation of the disability rights movement, and the current status of disabled people in the U.S. Illustrating the shift of disability issues from a medical focus to civil rights, the author clearly defines the contemporary role of persons with disabilities in American culture, and comprehensively outlines the public and private programs designed to integrate disabled persons into society. She covers the law's provisions as they apply to private organizations and businesses and concludes with the most up-to-date coverage of recent Supreme Court decisions--especially since the 2000-2002 terms--that have profoundly influenced the implementation of the ADA and other disability policies. For activists as well as scholars, students, and practitioners in public policy and public administration, Switzer has written a compassionate, yet powerful book that demands attention from everyone interested in the battle for disability rights and equality in the United States.

Pocket Guide to the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities Revised Edition This book is intended to help users understand the facilities requirements of the ADAAG. Incorporating all of the latest guideline amendments within a compact and easy-to-use format that contains no confusing abbreviations, this Revised Edition presents the technical building requirements for accessible elements and spaces in new construction, alterations, and additions. The Guide is augmented with more than 60 illustrations from the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines, and covers special requirements for businesses, restaurants, medical care facilities, libraries, and much more.

Told in the first person, DMR tells the story of a recent college graduate's first six months in the real world, working as a direct caregiver within the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation. During the six month period, John works in two group homes, both composed of four people, or as they are referred to in the department, Individuals. John's duties include helping the individuals with bathing, dressing, medication, eating, and recreational excursions (although he devotes very little time to this last activity). Confronted with the horrific pasts and current conditions of the individuals, John is forced to learn some terrible things about the world--things he would've preferred to have never known. When John encounters an incident of sexual abuse perpetrated against an individual by one of his fellow direct caregivers, he realizes he has a choice to make--a choice of whether to respond, a choice of whether to change his own thinking and prejudices, a choice of whether what he has stumbled upon is really abuse at all.

This book considers the challenges of caring for children with physical, developmental and mental health disorders and proposes methods such as learning to see events through your child's own eyes, celebrating their strengths and achievements and recognising how others can help your child. Chapters deal with key topics such as coping with a diagnosis, discussing support needs with a child's teachers and explaining a child's differences to their peers, and the authors stress the importance of parents building support systems for themselves and their children. Real stories from parents and example scenarios illustrate the common difficulties faced by parents of children with special needs, and the authors explain how painful thoughts may be identified and reframed through techniques grounded in cognitive behaviour therapy. Crucially, Building a Joyful Life warns against parents neglecting their own needs, and a range of exercises to be completed by parents will help them to find ways of regaining balance in their lives.