A twin's bond sparks brilliance

By Louise Kinross Judith Scott was an acclaimed sculptor whose abstract pieces—combining fibre and found objects like an umbrella or bicycle wheel—show in galleries and museums around the world.Yet for more than 40 years, her talent lay dormant.Judith, who died 10 years ago, had Down syndrome, was deaf and lived most of her life in an institution. Ironically she was deemed too “retarded” to draw with crayons while there. Judith’s life changed...

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Understanding disability: Black, white or shades of grey?

This painting by Bryan Pearce is part of a 38-image collection called BBC's Your Paintings. By Louise Kinross I'm intrigued by how such divergent perspectives on disability can pop up on social media in the same day. Yesterday a colleague sent me a link to Tom Shakespeare's essay series on BBC Radio 3 called The Genius of Disability.  Shakespeare, a British writer and bioethicist, looks at the relationship between creativity and...

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A social media blitz isn't friendship

By Louise Kinross Yesterday my hubby sent me an e-mail with a link to this story about a 13-year-old Peterborough, Ont. boy with Asperger's. He invited 15 students to his birthday party and not one RSVP'd. "I read this and started crying," he wrote, thinking about our son. We had a similar situation a few years ago when our son invited two "friends" from school to a celebration that involved going to see The Hunger Games and they didn't...

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Letting go

By Madeleine Greey“Okay ladies, here’s your homework. Figure out what you’re willing to let go of. Make a list. Then prioritize it over the first year of your daughter's independence.”Gulp. I looked over at Margaret and her jaw hung in awe. I locked eyes with LIGHTS senior facilitator Laura Starret who had just dropped this bombshell. She returned my glare with a happy little smile that said “Good luck with this one!” It’s that happy little smile...

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Parenting my one-of-a-kind kid

By Beth Dangerfield Three days before this picture was taken we rushed my daughter Abby into the emergency room. She had a stomach bug and wouldn’t eat or drink. For most kids this is a routine problem that can easily be resolved. For Abby, this is a crisis.When she stops eating and drinking, Abby's body starts to break down quickly and critically.When the rest of us are ill and lose our appetite, our bodies use fat for energy to sustain our...

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Jean Vanier wins $2.1 million prize for 'advocacy of belonging'

Canadian humanist Jean Vanier is the 2015 winner of the Templeton Prize, a $2.1 million award for his work bringing adults with and without intellectual disabilities together to live and work as peers in 147 L'Arche communities around the world. The Templeton Prize, established by the late American financier and philanthropist John Templeton, recognizes someone who's contributed to affirming life's spiritual dimension, through insight, discovery...

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A son's injury prompts a dad to give back

By Louise Kinross In 2011 Amir Karmali’s son Kaylum was accidently kicked in the head during a soccer game. The next morning he couldn’t walk and was hospitalized. Two days later doctors said Kaylum had suffered a stroke. “They said they’d never seen that type of soccer injury before,” Amir recalls. “I spent the next eight hours on top of my son’s bed crying and watching him while he slept.”Kaylum began intensive therapy as a daypatient...

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Red, green, blue? Every store wants one

By Louise Kinross When Luke Anderson graduated as a civil engineer in 2002 he moved from Ontario to British Columbia to pursue his passion: mountain biking. “I was in Rossland, the most coveted mountain-biking area of Canada,” Luke says. “It was a dream come true to live there among like-minded people and be part of that scene.”But in the fall of that year Luke's life changed forever when he rode off a platform to jump a 25-foot gap and came...

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The tales we spin about disability

By Louise Kinross Beyond the Pale is a new memoir about raising a child with albinism. It's written by Emily Urquhart, a Canadian folklorist and writer who looks at how this genetic condition is explained through stories and science. Emily's journey begins and ends with daughter Sadie, whose newborn hair is described by nurses as “some white.” In the middle we meet academics, an author, activists, doctors and other people with albinism—including...

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BLOOM media roundup

Disabled by design Slate "We inhabit a culture that perpetuates the idea that disability‬ lies in bodies rather than in design." Fascinating. Disabled Girls Talk podcast on friendship Tumblr I am loving this dialogue between two young American women with disabilities, one visible, one invisible. This piece is about how disability affects friendships. If you haven't heard Maddy and Emily, you're missing out. StopGap: How this...

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