Looking at Disability A New

Over the past several months there have been both some professional and personal changes that have made me rethink a lot about the nature of disability and the future of my work in the field. I have been neglegent when it comes to writing on my blog. Since my last post I have been discovering a new chapter of my professional life that has been opening up for me. I was a primary consultant on a film called "ADAM" about a young man with Asperger Syndrome. Since the release of the film it has garnered a lot of press in publications like the NY Times and BBC Magazine. During this time I have been recieving a lot of phone calls and emails from both professionals and parents who have children with disabilities (in particular those of the autistic spectrum) asking me a variety of questions about there children from career development, schooling to a host of other areas. All these questions wre not clinically based but focused on lifestyle. It dawned on me pretty quickly that people are craving this information and that my work in the field could be of real value to peoples lives.

At the sametime President Obama spoke to a Joint Session of Congress discussing the need for healthcare not in terms of just dollars and sense but a basic human right and in essence a contributing factor to social justice. It has dawned on me that I need to continue to focus on disability and its impact on socio-cultural issues, lifestyle and a political framework is vital to the future of this community in the 21st Century. Disability as a concept is evolving and continues to do so. It is essential that we provide an accessible manner to do so not mired in academic loqution or political ramblings - BUT BASIC language so that it is truly accessible to all. I will continue to write focusing on these very areas.