From the New York Times:

Producers have cast a 10-year-old with a vision impairment as the understudy for the role of Helen Keller in the upcoming production of “The Miracle Worker” on Broadway. The production had drawn criticism last month for casting a non-disabled star actress, Abigail Breslin, in the role.

In response to advocates’ protests, lead producer David Richenthal launched a nationwide search to find a deaf or blind actress to work as Breslin’s understudy. With the help of the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts, he found Kyra Ynez Siegel of Eugene, Ore., who lost most of the vision in her right eye after an accident.

Mr. Richenthal has also decided to offer audio and caption devices, known as D-Scriptive and I-Caption, free to blind, low-vision, deaf or hard-of-hearing audience members. The technology, which cost the production about $30,000, is in line with an effort by some Broadway producers to start offering such help to audience members.

See also:

Eugene girl wins Broadway understudy role – AP/Oregonian

(New York Times photo)

From Associated Press/USA Today and Reuters:

The United Nations has appointed musician Stevie Wonder as a United Nations Messenger of Peace. He will will focus on helping to improve life for the estimated 650 million people with disabilities – about 10% of the world’s population.

UN representatives said the singer-songwriter, who has won 25 Grammy awards, is being recognized for his philanthropic work with the U.S. President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, the Children’s Diabetes Foundation and Junior Blind of America.

Wonder was born in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1950 and became blind shortly after birth.

(Getty Images photo from USA Today)

UPDATE from AP:

Referring to the 650 million people with disabilities, Wonder said, “It is beyond my ability to fathom that 10 percent of the people of this world don’t matter to the other 90 percent of the people in the world.”

“I would hope that every single human being, and every single world leader, will commit themselves to making this world a better place and accessible for every single human being on this planet,” he said.

See also: Wonder promotes message of peace — CNN

Earlier post: UN says huge barriers remain for people with disabilities

From the Toledo Blade:

The Toledo Ballet has launched an adaptive ballet program to help children with Down syndrome enjoy the benefits of dance.

Ann Heckler (left, with student Caitlin McFerron) started the class after visiting an adaptive dance program started by the Boston Ballet and the Department of Physical Therapy at Children’s Hospital in Boston.

The Toledo program aims for improvement in the children’s social and physical skills and emotional well-being, but parents say it gives their children something else: the opportunity to enjoy themselves.  “She really glows when I say it’s time for dance,” one mom said of her daughter. “This is just for her, just for fun.”

Related posts here.

(Toledo Blade photo)

From ABC Good Morning America: (with video)

Flame, a rock group from upstate New York, is believed to be the only touring rock group in the world that is composed solely of people with disabilities. Among the band members are people with conditions that include Down syndrome, cognitive delays, autism, cerebral palsy and blindness. Lead singer Michelle King (above) has autism. Member David LaGrange grew up in an institution.

The group was formed six years ago in Gloversville, NY, after an area talent contest turned up several accomplished musicians with intellectual disabilities. It has since blossomed, with CDs, t-shirts, a tour bus, a world tour, and a performance at Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s funeral last summer.

The musicians’ goal is have their music played on radio stations everywhere and to demonstrate what the disabled can do if they’re given the opportunity.

“Our disability will not stop us,” LaGrange said. “We keep going and the more we keep going, we want more people to see what we do.”

It’s like ‘Lord of the Flies’ on crack, says one actor

From Time Magazine:

UK television executives have developed a new show in which six strangers are marooned in a remote locale and must struggle to survive. The catch: the show is fictional, but the actors have disabilities in real life.

“Cast Offs” is described as the “twisted brainchild” of producer Joel Wilson, and was originally envisioned as “as something broadly satirical that would poke fun at the way disability is generally viewed … We wanted to show the disabled were no more and no less f___ed up than anyone else.” Writer Jack Thorne, who has a disability, created a script in which the castoffs “soon reveal their true colors by endlessly complaining, shirking responsibility and squabbling with one another.”

Among the key plot points: a sexual relationship between a woman with dwarfism and a man who uses a wheelchair. The show debuts on Britain’s Channel 4 next week.

Earlier post: Opinion: British reality show shatters stereotypes

Related posts on UK’s Missing Top Model

On ‘Glee,’ the guy in the chair doesn’t really need one

From the Associated Press:

Disability advocates in Hollywood say the hit Fox series “Glee,” represents yet another missed opportunity. The show hired Kevin McHale, an actor without a disability, to play the role of Artie, a paraplegic high school student.

“I think there’s a fear of litigation, that a person with disabilities might slow a production down, fear that viewers might be uncomfortable,” CSI’s Robert David Hall told AP. “I’ve made my living as an actor for 30 years and I walk on two artificial legs.”

Disability rights activists say television casting doesn’t accurately reflect American society. About twenty percent of Americans have a disability, but a recent study found that fewer than 2 percent of the characters on television do. More than a third of performers with disabilities reported facing discrimination in the workplace.

“Glee” regularly celebrates diversity, and Wednesday’s episode featured a feel-good scene in which all the glee club members performed a dance routine in wheelchairs to demonstrate solidarity with Artie.

Show creator Ryan Murphy told the Los Angeles Times (with video of McHale dancing) that Wednesday’s episode represented a turning point for the show. “Writing this made me feel the responsibility of showing the truth of the pain that outcasts go through,” he said. “It’s not all razzle-dazzle show business. It’s tough, and it’s painful, and it was for me growing up, and it is for most people. So I think this made me realize that amid the fun and the glamour, it’s really great now and again to show the underbelly of what people who are different feel.”

See also:

Spinning their wheels – New York Post

Marlee Matlin on ‘Family Guy’ gag: ‘Lighten up, people’-Entertainment Weekly

(Photo from the New York Post)

‘Once a learning disability meant automatic exclusion from music, clubs and clothes. Meet the people blazing a trail to change that’

From the [UK] Sunday Times (with video):

A small but growing cultural movement in the UK is pushing for people with intellectual disabilities to be embraced by the “hipper pockets of society” that revolve around music, art, and fashion. Examples include a regular club night at a London gallery sponsored by the UK disability organization Mencap; Heavy Load, a punk band featuring members with learning disabilities; and a recent fashion shoot styled by three fashion lovers with learning disabilities.

The photo shoot was organized by photographer Rankin and stylist Gary Harvey, whose brother, Ian, with Down syndrome often accompanies him on photo shoots. Harvey said the stylists with disabilities bring their own creativity and verve, promoting conversations about the inclusion of diverse people in society.

For all the fun of the shoot, this area still contains deep, depressing and multifaceted issues. But cultural shame associated with learning disabilities is less than it was, and access to a real life, not some institutional pale imitation of it, is more available. Change, after all, is infectious.

Related post: British band fights for the right to ‘Stay up Late’

See also: Stayuplate.org

(Photo from Sunday Times video)