From the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, New York Times, and elsewhere:

Luke Zimmerman (left) will play a recurring character in ABC’s new series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” His role is Tom Bowman, the brother of one of the lead characters.

From the reviews:

• Los Angeles Times: For anyone other than a teenager looking for yet another mirror in which to regard a glorified version of themselves, “Secret Life” has, on the early evidence, little to offer. It feels thin, mechanical and confused.
• Newsday: I would like to say how “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” is a wonderful, heartwarming and edifying tale of modern life. But that would be a fib.
• New York Times: ABC Family means well but could not have done worse. “Secret Life” doesn’t take the fun out of teenage pregnancy, it takes the fun out of television.

The show was created by Brenda Hampton, of “Seventh Heaven,” and stars Molly Ringwold. Premieres Tuesday at 8 on ABC Family.

(Photo provided by Performing Arts Studio West)

From the [Melbourne, Australia] Herald Sun, New Zealand Herald, [New South Wales] Daily Telegraph:

Australian newscaster Tracey Spicer (left) says she considered suffocating her mother in 1999 as an “act of mercy” to end her “immense pain and suffering” from pancreatic cancer. The revelation, in an opinion piece, stirred new controversy in a nation that is deeply divided over the recent convictions of two women in the death of a man with Alzheimer’s disease.

Spicer said her intention was to prompt a public discussion, not to persuade Australians either way about whether euthanasia should be legalized. In her commentary, she said, “I knew it was the right thing to do. But as I looked down at the woman who gave me life, I knew that I could not take hers.” Her mother died a few hours later.

(Herald Sun photo.)

Blogging on the New York Times site, television personality Dick Cavett describes his recent trip home to Nebraska to talk about his experiences with depression. To his surprise, he got a lot of laughs.

I was able to say to them, I know that everyone here knows that feeling when people say to you, “Hey, shape up! Stop thinking only about your troubles. What’s to be depressed about? Go swimming or play tennis and you’ll feel a lot better. Pull up your socks!” And how you, hearing this, would like nothing more than to remove one of those socks and choke them to death with it. (Laughter mixed with some minor cheering.)

… (Such inane advice of the “socks up” variety, by the way, can only be excused by the fact that if you’ve never had it you can never begin to imagine the depth of the ailment’s black despair. Another tip: Do not ask the victim what he has “to be depressed about.” The malady doesn’t care if you’re broke and alone or successful and surrounded by a loving family. It does its democratic dirty work to your brain chemistry regardless of your “position.”)

(New York Times photo)

From the [UK] Daily Mail:

Debbie Van der Putten (left) is one of eight contestants on a new BBC reality show. “Britain’s Missing Top Model” will give a woman with a disability the chance to be a mainstream model.

The aim of the series is to challenge the boundaries that seem to exist in the beauty and fashion industries and cast new light on our concept of the ideal woman.

Van der Putten lost her right arm in a bus crash in 2005. She posed nude for Playboy earlier this year.

Along with limb loss, disabilities to be represented by contestants on the show include deafness and paralysis. The show debuts Tuesday, July 1.

(Photo from the Daily Mail)

Cover story in the July edition of Reader’s Digest in Canada (not yet available online):

Krystal Nausbaum starred in the popular television movie “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter,” and now her mother, Madeleine Greey, has written an essay about her daughter’s adventures in the world of show business.

Krystal, who has Down syndrome, was thrilled to meet actors Emily Watson and Hugh Thompson. Her mother was equally happy that her 19-year-old daughter improved her reading and memorization skills and found a career she loves.

An excerpt:

If anyone had said when my daughter was born that she’d star in a made-for-TV movie, I would’ve laughed the words away. Doctors said she might not learn to walk, let alone get out of diapers or feed herself. But I’ve learned that doctors don’t always know best, that people with Down syndrome generally are able to do more than anyone imagined, and that dreams are worth dreaming.

Just one thing we wish Madeleine had explained: Why did the movie’s director have to put Krystal in that homely wig?

(Reader’s Digest photo)

From The Today Show:

Long-running NBC daytime drama “Days of Our Lives” introduces a story portraying the range of emotions a couple experiences when their son is diagnosed with autism. (The parents are portrayed by James Reynolds and Renee Jones, left.)

Head writer Dena Higley draws from her personal experience as the mother of an 18-year-old son with autism, and says she collaborated with Autism Speaks to ensure “realism and sensitivity.”

“We’re telling the profound and life-altering story of a child with autism from his parents’ point of view,” Higley explained. “Their pain, their struggle — and ultimately, their ability to find life-affirming hope in the midst of learning how to live day to day with this disability.”

With video. (MSNBC photo.)

From the New York Times:

Choreographer Jean Marc Genereux this week created a dance routine for the popular Fox Show “So You Think You Can Dance” to honor his daughter, who has Rett syndrome. The condition is caused by a genetic mutation on the X chromosome, and is characterized by normal early development followed by loss of motor skills. Audience members were reportedly in tears when the dance was performed. With video. Also on youtube here.