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.

From the American Chronicle:

Tracy Ashton has a recurring comic role on NBC’s “My Name is Earl” as Didi, the one-legged girl. Ashton is a former cancer patient whose leg was amputated. She says she would like to see more roles for performers with disabilities in Hollywood, and a greater emphasis on getting people with actual disabilities to portray characters both with and without disabilities.

From The [Melbourne] Age, [Sydney] Daily Telegraph:

Following a public outcry, Australia’s Channel Seven has apologized for an episode of the ongoing All Saints hospital drama that linked incest with Down syndrome. In the episode, a brother and sister who were having an incestuous relationship were told their unborn child was likely to have Down syndrome as a consequence.

Down Syndrome Australia has sent a formal complaint to the national television network, and said it is considering legal action and a call for a boycott of the show’s advertisers if an apology and correction are not aired on the show. “There is no scientific basis for All Saints’ grossly offensive storyline.”
said the group’s spokesman, Dr. Peter Sloan.