Writing in the [London] Sunday Times, India Knight analyzes ‘When the Bough Breaks: A Mother’s Story,’ currently the fifth-highest selling biography on the UK Amazon website. The book is a memoir by opera director Julia Hollander that details her decision to put her brain-damaged baby daughter Imogen in foster care. Knight is the mother of a child with a disability. Her website is here.

An excerpt:

… in my opinion Hollander is a person in pain seeking public atonement by using “honesty” as a bogus and self-deluded way of achieving it. She is promoting her book, making money and garnering idiotically misplaced media sympathy for her “bravery” and “honesty” from people who haven’t a clue what they’re talking about and care more about the “rights” of women to feel joyous at all times than about pathetically vulnerable babies. Hollander has returned to her arty middle-class lifestyle in leafy Oxfordshire with her other “normal”, photogenic children.

That is her choice but to present it as being in any way “brave” is insane. It is selfish and self-serving and monstrous. Bravery is picking yourself up and getting on with it; bravery is the lioness instinct to defend your vulnerable child with your life – and, if needs be, your sanity. Bravery is dumping the loser husband who’s taken to eating separately because he can’t cope. Bravery isn’t pretending that the inconvenient truth never happened.

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In a letter to the editor of the Chicago Sun Times, Jim Radermacher calls for passage of the ADA Restoration Act. An excerpt:

Unfortunately, a series of Supreme Court decisions have narrowed who is covered by the [1990 ADA] so that many individuals with disabilities, including chronic illnesses like diabetes, epilepsy and cancer have found themselves no longer protected by the act because they don’t meet the very stringent definition of disability.

It is critical for Congress to pass the ADA Restoration Act, which will restore the basic rights of people with disabilities. Passage of this legislation harmonizes the ADA with other civil rights laws and enables people with disabilities to be judged just like everyone else — on their ability to do the job.

Radermacher is the Chicago Leadership Council Advocacy Chair of the American Diabetes Association.

See earlier posts here and here.

From the NBC Today Show:

Former NFL star and Today Show correspondent Tiki Barber talked about his family’s experience with epilepsy with Meredith Viera, Dr. Nancy Snyderman and Susan Axelrod, the founder of the epilepsy advocacy group CURE.

Barber and his twin brother had seizures as children; his son A.J. has had about 10 seizures. Barber’s message: more research, less stigma.

I think parents need to be aware, because any kid can have a seizure. A lot of parents will see their kid have a high temperature, and they’ll think, “Oh, it’s just a temperature.” But you never know when you’re predisposed to having this disorder, so you have to keep an eye out.

But also, there’s a stigma that comes with this word “epilepsy.” I don’t want to say that it’s normal, because it’s not normal, but it’s just like any other condition. It needs to be researched, there needs to a cure for it, there needs to be awareness about it.

See the video here.

Links from the Baltimore Sun:

• In his own words: Rolle discusses his diagnosis with the Baltimore media.
• Ravens’ Rolle relishes return to the field; Cornerback is able to overcome epilepsy

From the Baltimore Sun:

Baltimore Ravens cornerback Samari Rolle reveals that undisclosed epilepsy has kept him out of six games this season. He said he finally decided to talk about his epilepsy publicly “because it’s under control now. Right now, I’m not scared.”

Other professional athletes have played with epilepsy, including Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Alan Faneca, who was diagnosed with the disorder when he was 15. He’s been an All-Pro guard for the Steelers.

From the Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News: Origami whiz just keeps folding — even in dreams

From the UCLA Daily Bruin: Blindness not an inhibiting factor

From the Indianapolis Star: Power & prestige: Special Olympics athlete returns from China with 4 medals in powerlifting

From the Myrtle Beach, S.C., Sun News: Being blind is not so bad; attorney Parnell Diggs set to improve attitudes

From the Carleton University Charlatan: Wheelchair does not hold back Rose; born with cerebral palsy, Tim Rose says he is not to be pitied — he lives a full and successful life

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Triathlete leaves competitors, self-pity behind; Blind UW student sets Olympic record

From the Seattle Times: Deaf Bothell football player shines

From National Public Radio:

Former New York Times investigative reporter Kurt Eichenwald, who has drawn criticism for not telling his editors about payments he and his wife made to a onetime teen pornographer, tells NPR that he has “significant memory disruptions” caused by epilepsy.

He says he simply forgot to tell editors that he and his wife had paid at least $3,100 to Justin Berry and his business partners as part of an effort to extract him from the child-porn business.

Eichenwald says, “I didn’t want to be judged on my challenges. I wanted to be judged on my work.”

The story will be aired on All Things Considered later today.