From the Philadelphia Inquirer, Fox News, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

A casting director for the horror film “Shelter” has been fired after West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin and other state officials objected to what they called an insensitive casting call for extras with unusual physical features.

Donna Belajac Casting of Pittsburgh had been seeking extras for a scene in a “West Virginia holler.” They had advertised for extras who are extraordinarily tall or short, those with unusual body shapes and unusual facial features, and people with physical abnormalities as long as they have normal mobility. Also sought was a white girl with “other-worldly look … could be an albino or something along those lines … ”

“It’s clear that they have no real understanding of who the people of West Virginia are,” Manchin said. “And that’s not only unfortunate, but in this case offensive.”

“For the producers of this movie to issue such a blatantly insulting and demeaning casting call is not just a slap in the face to tens of thousands of West Virginians, but to millions of Americans who may not fit the ‘norm’ of Hollywood beauty,” said Cecil E. Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers union.

(more…)

By Bill Goodykoontz in the Arizona Republic, the Associated Press, Movieweb.com and elsewhere:

Actress Christina Ricci dons a pig snout in the fantasy fable ‘Penelope.’ She plays the title character, a girl touched by a family curse that leaves her with a startling nose that won’t disappear until she can get someone to love her.

Horrified by her appearance and wary of public disapproval, Penelope’s parents isolate her in a dungeon-like setting far from prying eyes. Potential suitors flee when they see her unveiled. Eventually, she finds a way to value herself for herself.

Says Ricci:

“I don’t think I’ve ever done anything as upsetting as a facial deformity.”

Director Mark Palansky says Penelope’s parents couldn’t break the curse because they could not accept her or offer unconditional love.

From the Tampa Tribune, USA Today:

A baby girl who was born with severe deformities in Samoa and refused medical treatment in New Zealand has been brought to Florida for surgery with the help of THORN Ministries, an American faith-based group.

Miracletina Nanai, also known as ‘Baby Miracle,‘ is now six months old. (At left, with Kristin Taylor, left, and her mother, Mikaele Nanai.) Miracletina reportedly has deformities of the face, brain, spinal cord and palate, and is missing some fingers. After birth, doctors advised family and staff at the hospital not to feed her, but her parents reportedly snuck in milk and fed her with a plastic syringe when the nurses weren’t watching.

Because Samoa doesn’t have medical facilities needed to correct her disabilities, the country appealed to nearby New Zealand for help. But the New Zealand government denied the baby’s family an entry visa in December, saying there was no treatment that would benefit her quality of life.

Kristin Taylor, co-founder of THORN Ministries of Riverview, Florida, worked to get U.S. approval of visas and passports so the baby’s family could travel to Florida for up to six months. The approvals came after John Ragheb, chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Miami Children’s Hospital, and S. Anthony Wolfe, chief of the hospital’s plastic surgery division, agreed to provide medical services for the baby free of charge through the Child Foundation Inc.

(more…)

From the New York Post: Marlee Matlin, an Oscar-winning actress who is deaf, explains how she will experience the music when she appears on the popular TV show “Dancing with the Stars” next month.

“In a dance studio, I like the music to be turned up loud so I can follow along the bass line,” Matlin told The Post in an e-mail. But mostly, it’s about that rhythm I have inside me. I’ve got groove because my heart beats just like everyone else’s. The trick for me is to use what I’ve got to synch up with the music that comes through my dance partner’s moves.

“In the end, it sounds complicated, but it’s really not a big deal. Just ask the 30 million other deaf and hard of hearing Americans, and they’ll say the same thing. There’s music out there but a lot of it is about the music you have inside.” (more…)

From the BBC:

Thousands of adults with autism find themselves isolated and ignored, one of the largest studies into people with the condition has suggested.

The National Autistic Society Scotland said more than half of an estimated 50,000 autistic adults and their families do not get the support needed.

It claimed the government does not know exactly how many people have autism, making it impossible to plan services.

The I Exist report said thousands of adults with autism faced a “miserable daily reality” which left them feeling isolated and ignored, unable to access the required support, and often completely dependent on their “overburdened” families.
(more…)

From CTV, [Toronto] Globe and Mail:

Robert Latimer, the Saskatchewan farmer convicted of killing his severely disabled daughter in 1993, has been granted day parole.

Latimer has maintained his daughter’s death was a mercy killing, saying her condition had caused her constant pain and discomfort.

… The National Parole Board refused to give Latimer day parole in a hearing last December, after he again refused to admit any guilt in the killing. But that decision has been overturned by the National Parole Board Appeal Division.

… Jim Derksen, of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, warned that the decision to grant Latimer parole could give the impression that his act was sanctioned by the justice system.

Latimer’s daughter Tracy, who had cerebral palsy, was 12 years old when her father gassed her to death with carbon monoxide in his truck on the family’s farm in Saskatchewan in 1993.

Earlier posts start here.

From the PBS Newshour, a personal essay by 15-year-old Sydney Ray of Fresno, CA, about the joys and occasional frustrations of living with her brother. Seven-year-old Aaron has Down syndrome, “a genetic condition that affects how the body and brain develop.” Sydney’s article is part of Speak Out, a collection of essays by students around the world. An excerpt:

Many children with Down syndrome never get the chance to shed their light on the world. Joni Eareckson Tada, the founder and CEO of Joni and Friends International Disability Center, said, “over 90% of pregnant women who are given a Down syndrome diagnosis choose to have an abortion.”

This statistic breaks my heart. While children with Down syndrome do require extra time of the parents, the payoff is well worth it. … I am quite sure we are all better off knowing Aaron.

… Sometimes the people around me mock those with special needs. I find this hurtful, since my brother could very well be the person they make fun of one day.

… Many people would get frustrated if they had to live with Aaron everyday. However, for me, I have never known it to be anything but a blessing.

Not everyone can or should have a special needs child in their family, but everyone should be tolerant and polite to the ones they meet. These people mean the world to their family and friends.