Lizzy Clark, represented by Cinel Gabran Management, was the first child with Asperger's syndrome to play an Asperger's syndrome role in a major television drama.
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MAPLEWOOD, N.J. — “Circle six, parry four, parry, riposte,” Mickey Zeljkovic chanted, running Bianca Hollywood, 13, through her fencing moves.
Bianca has spina bifida and a pronounced S curve to her spine. But when she wears her mask and lamé, the underjacket that conducts electricity during fencing bouts, she can compete with fencers who can walk, as well as those who cannot.
“It’s a lot of fun, but it takes a lot of time to learn some of the moves,” she said after her session at the New Jersey Fencing Alliance.
The fencing club, in this suburban Essex County township, is developing what are believed to be the only wheelchair fencing classes for young people in the Northeast. Mr. Zeljkovic, who has coached Tariq al Qallaf, an adult world-champion wheelchair fencer, trains a handful of young people in the program, which began in May.
At the club’s headquarters, essentially a 17,500-square-foot room that holds 200 able-bodied competitors some weekends, the wheelchairs are secured to brackets that keep them from moving. Each bracket costs up to $8,000 and positions the duelers an appropriate distance from each other (determined by the fencer with the shorter reach).
The wheelchair-adapted sport traces its roots to veterans returning from World War II, and is only recently attracting followers among young people, with training programs in Atlanta, San Antonio and San Diego, among others. There are now only 27 wheelchair athletes in the United States Fencing Association, so the staff at the club believes there is ample opportunity for young people who start now to reach national-level competitions and even the Paralympic Games.
George Janto, president of the fencing club, hopes to have at least a dozen young fencers in training this year, and is looking for more participants, whose training and competition costs would be covered by the club and its fund-raising efforts. His first six fencers have conditions like spina bifida and cerebral palsy, as well as spinal cord injuries, and were … Continue reading this story on nytimes.com
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According to an article written by Heather Claybrook:
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Thanks to a tip-off from Karen Putz’s frequently-updated Twitter feed, we recently stumbled upon this fascinating article written by Lizz Carroll, (published on diversityinc.com):
If you’re someone with a non-visible disability, you are entitled to your privacy and are under no obligation to bring it up in the workplace. But are there times when you should tell your employer—particularly if you need an accommodation such as flex time or a specific work environment? DiversityInc spoke to several experts to help you weigh your options and guide you through the process of disclosing a non-visible illness in the workplace.
Quoting Michael Field, writing for stuff.co.nz:
When Michael Erasmus talks about his pies looking “pleasing to the eye” it’s surprising. The 22-year-old baker is totally blind in one eye and has only five percent vision in his other eye. His blindness was caused by a condition which affected his optic nerve from birth. Blindness, he says, would have affected him “if I acted as if it was a problem…. ”If I concentrate on that I am going to go downhill. I don’t even think about that…. ”I grew up and learnt how to do everything in this condition, so I haven’t let this be a problem.” Erasmus is an ambassador for the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind’s annual Blind Week appeal running this week. Starting a new business in a recession holds no fears for the Whangaparaoa man, as he seeks to open up a chain of pie shops called Nomads. One shop is open already, the other opens next month. ”I think that is all opportunity if it wasn’t for the recession we would not be able to pick up our equipment for half price.” He knows how hard it is for disabled people to get jobs, so is determined in Nomads to hire people in similar situations to him. ”I think something good can happen there.” He specializes in selling a pack that includes a gourmet pie, mashed potato, gravy and peas. ”These pies are a lot different; they are different to any bakery pie.”
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312 Townline Road, Ashburn, Ontario, Canada L0B 1A0
Tel: 905 655-5827
Nestled in the rolling countryside in southern Ontario, WindReach Farm is a 109-acre nature property designed to meet the needs of individuals with different abilities. Wheelchair accessible pathways, buildings and barns combine to make a wonderful experience. Offering five main programs (see below), WindReach welcomes both the special needs and able-bodied communities. Officially opened in 1989 by the founder Sandy Mitchell, who has cerebral palsy, WindReach Farm is the result of his primary life-long interest to work outside on the land. After he purchased his 109 acres, Sandy was able to integrate this desire with providing a similar opportunity to other persons with disabilities. His own past experience as a young man working on a farm in Scotland and then in a farming community for Down’s Syndrome, helped him realize that one day he wanted to help persons with disabilities lead a more productive life. Facilities are also available to rent for special events, overnight visits, meetings, conferences, etc.
There are probably not that many jobs for which disclosing a diagnosis of bipolar disorder is a qualification rather than a drawback. But Debbie Mayes, who works at Lancaster University’s Spectrum centre for mental health research, has one of them. The stigma attached to mental illness in a high-achieving university setting, where reliability, consistency and accuracy are prioritised, has often meant that academics with a mental illness choose never to disclose their diagnosis. But in what Mayes says is an emerging trend in university recruitment, she was specifically appointed to her research position because of her experiences as a user of mental-health services, as well as her academic credentials.
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After we published info on July 1st about Headlines Theatre’s fantastic AFTER HOMELESSNESS… project, we received a very gracious thank you note from Artistic/Managing Director David Diamond. A few days later, we received another email, this one from Headlines’ official publicist Gabriela De Lucca:
It isn’t often that a distinguished (and paying!) job opportunity comes along specifically targeting “people who have been touched by homelessness.”
