As a young man with cerebral palsy, he gained notice for his quest to be an Eagle Scout and changed Scouting. But his name had been mostly lost to popular memory.
Tag Archives: Disabilities
Can We Put an End to America’s Most Dangerous Myth?
Americans are taught that they have to go it alone. But what if we also valued the art of dependence?
Judy Heumann, Who Led the Fight for Disability Rights, Dies at 75
She successfully battled to become a teacher and went on to help bring about a revolution in the government’s treatment of the disabled.
Hansel Enmanuel Is an Ordinary Player Who’s Anything But
Hansel Enmanuel, who lost his left arm at age 6, doesn’t want sympathy. He just wants to play.
Does Gene Editing Have a Future in Reproductive Medicine?
The desire for profit is colliding with fundamental values related to human health, equity and diversity.
Jesse Treviño, Chicano Artist Whose Muse Was San Antonio, Dies at 76
After losing his dominant right hand from a Vietnam War injury, he began chronicling Mexican American culture with his left.
How Educators Secretly Remove Students With Disabilities From School
Known as informal removals, the tactics are “off-the-book” suspensions often in violation of federal civil rights protections for those with disabilities.
What Times Readers Would Change About Their Doctors’ Offices
These small tweaks could go a long way toward improving patients’ overall experience.
‘Hip Hip Hooray!’ Cheering News for Free Speech on Campus
Stanford University steps back from its list of “harmful” words and phrases.
A Dilemma for Governments: How to Pay for Million-Dollar Therapies
A wave of transformative but hugely expensive treatments is challenging the budgets of health systems in wealthy nations. Now countries with far fewer resources are wrestling with how to cover the therapies.
Savings Accounts for Disabled People Are Opened to More of Them
Only those who became disabled by age 26 have been eligible for ABLE accounts. But Congress raised the age to 46, so more military veterans and others can qualify as of 2026.
Paralyzed by Gun Violence, They Seek Solace From Other Survivors
Gunfire in America has left a growing number of people with long-term disabilities. In one city, a support group that includes people who spent time in the same trauma ward offers a way to cope.
Education Dept. Logs Record Number of Discrimination Complaints
Some of the highest-profile complaints show how America’s culture wars are affecting the nation’s children.
How Henri Matisse (and I) Got a ‘Beautiful Body’
The new limitations of the artist’s body became an opportunity for renewal. With paint, scissors and paper, he constructed a new self.
Lauren Spencer Is a Sex-Positive Disability Influencer
A star of “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” she is also known for her candid YouTube and Instagram posts about life with muscular dystrophy.
Brain Implants Have Begun to Restore Functions, but Advances Are Slow
But achieving full-body restoration of movement, as Elon Musk envisions with such devices, is considered far into the future, if at all.
Miguel Tomasín, el baterista que muestra otro universo musical
Tiene una banda que ha lanzado más de 100 discos y es uno de los pocos músicos profesionales con síndrome Down. Ha llamado la atención hacia la visión artística de las personas con discapacidades.
A Drummer Showing the Way to ‘the Freest Musical Universe’
Miguel Tomasín, one of the few professional musicians with Down syndrome, has brought attention to the artistic visions of people with developmental disabilities, with his band releasing over 100 albums.
How Daniel Romanchuk, a Top Wheelchair Marathoner, Moves Through New York City
Daniel Romanchuk, 24, placed second in the New York City Marathon on Sunday. But getting around the city in a wheelchair can be more challenging than the race itself.
An ‘Aggressive Love for Life’ Regardless of Life’s Challenges
Months after Bradley Carbone met Barbara Torasso, he broke his neck snowboarding. A long recovery brought them closer together.
Fetterman’s Debate Showing Raises Democratic Anxieties in Senate Battle
The Democratic nominee’s performance in Pennsylvania thrust questions of health to the center of a pivotal Senate race, adding uncertainty to the contest and worrying some in his party.
For Disabled Workers, a Tight Labor Market Opens New Doors
With Covid prompting more employers to consider remote arrangements, employment has soared among adults with disabilities.
Stroke and John Fetterman: What Society Should Know About the Brain’s Ability to Heal
What society can learn from John Fetterman’s stroke.
Fetterman’s Debate Challenges: Selling Policies and Proving He’s Fit to Serve
The Democratic candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania will use closed captioning to assist with the after effects of a stroke.
These Doctors Admit They Don’t Want Patients With Disabilities
When granted anonymity in focus groups, physicians let their guards down and shared opinions consistent with experiences of many people with disabilities.
John Fetterman Is a Disabled American Who Needs Technology to Do His Job. So What?
It is our accommodations, often but not exclusively technological in nature, that make it possible for many of us to do our jobs.
Andy Detwiler, Armless Farmer Who Became a YouTube Star, Dies at 52
After a childhood accident, he learned how to drive tractors and feed farm animals with his feet. Then he started a popular farming channel on YouTube.
A Canadian Family Is Seeing the World Before Their Children’s Vision Falters
A Canadian family is on a yearlong journey across Asia and Africa because three of their four children have an eye condition that causes blindness.
‘I Did All I Could’: As Floodwaters Rose, She Fought to Save Her Disabled Brothers
Darcy Bishop for decades has cared for her two brothers, who have cerebral palsy. Hurricane Ian was her biggest test yet.
The Challenges of Dating With Chronic Illness
Deciding if and how to share health information can leave daters on a tightrope between vulnerability and vigilance.
Sidewalk Surfing With My Disabled Parents
Both skateboarding and navigating daily life with a disability involve surprisingly similar ways of engaging with the built environment.
How Health Care Workers Got Me Through the Pandemic
From home aides to doctors, people in health care fields offered more than just medical advice for people getting through the pandemic. They offered comfort.
Is Choosing Medically Assisted Death Too Easy in Canada?
Since the government expanded the eligibility for assisted death last year to include those with disabilities, critics have been saying there should be more checks and balances.
Our Assumptions About the Maternal Instinct
Readers react to an essay about how the maternal instinct is a myth. Also: A third-party alternative; the work environment; new baseball rules; billionaires.
What Is Brain Fog and How Can I Treat It?
Researchers are just beginning to understand the cognitive dysfunction that some people experience with Covid-19 and a range of other health issues.
What It’s Like to Have Face Blindness
When you can’t rely on facial recognition, you look beyond the obvious.
Planning for Your Retirement, and for a Child’s Special Needs, All at Once
People with children who cannot support themselves need to think well past their own lifetime and figure out how to provide for children after they are gone.
Seeking Marriage Equality for People With Disabilities
For some interabled couples, getting married means giving up lifesaving health care and benefits from the government.
What It’s Like to Stutter
Stuttering is considered a problem with speech. What about the listener?
I’m Going Blind. This Is What I Want You to See.
It’s time to expand our definition of blindness.
What Flying Is Like for Passengers Who Use Wheelchairs
To better understand the obstacles faced by wheelchair users, The Times sent a reporter and a photographer to document one man’s plane trip. Here’s what they saw.
Beyoncé Will Change Lyrics After Criticism Over ‘Ableist Language’
The pop star’s decision to replace two words in her song “Heated” follows Lizzo’s removal of the same term, which has been used as a slur against disabled people, from her track “Grrrls.”
Leave My Disability Out of Your Anti-Abortion Propaganda
The dignity of disabled lives and a woman’s right to choose are two separate issues.
Who Can Play the King? Representation Questions Fuel Casting Debates.
Should Shakespeare’s Richard III be reserved for disabled actors? Does the character have to be played by a white man? By a man at all? Three recent productions took different tacks.
Manchin’s ‘Veto’ of the Climate Bill, as the World Heats Up
Reaction to Senator Joe Manchin’s rejection of a climate bill. Also: Liz Cheney; sensitive language; erosion of trust in experts; the right to travel.
‘Is That Ableist?’ Good Question.
No one likes to be scolded for using the “wrong” language. But we must be willing to change our habits as attitudes and language change.
For Blind Internet Users, the Fix Can Be Worse Than the Flaws
Companies say their A.I.-powered tools are the best way to fix accessibility problems online, but many blind people find they make websites harder to use.
What to Know About Prosopagnosia, Brad Pitt’s Face Blindness Condition
Brad Pitt has said he might have prosopagnosia, which affects his ability to recognize people. Here’s what to know about the condition.
The ‘Most Real Richard III There’s Ever Been’
The Royal Shakespeare Company has cast a disabled actor to play the “deformed, unfinish’d” king for the first time. The choice has been hailed as a landmark moment.
New York’s Subway System Vows to Be 95 Percent Accessible by 2055
The M.T.A. will spend billions to add elevators and ramps to stations as part of a settlement of two lawsuits accusing it of violating the rights of people with disabilities.