First of all, thank you to everyone who participated in the ARC Valentines Day Dance! It was a huge success and it was so great to see you all fully involved, putting yourself out there and having a ton of fun doing crafts, and of course having fun on the dance floor!
Right before the dance, I watched a great TEDx talk given by a woman with Cerebral Palsy about disability in the media ( http://www.ted.com/talks/maysoon_zayid_i_got_99_problems_palsy_is_just_one.html), and it made me observe just how much the media influences the attendees of the dance. So many individuals with disabilities have celebrity idols they can look up to, yet they themselves are underrepresented as actors, musicians, producers, etc.
Fortunately, we live in an age where disability is being represented more often in television such as Switched at Birth. Michael J. Fox is a wonderful advocate for those with Parkinson's Disease and continues to act. Companies such as American Girl Doll sell toys who have crutches, hearing aids, and wheel chairs to comfort children and help them feel understood. Yet, if they aspired to be a professional actor or musician, they may face the same struggle Maysoon Zayid did when she was constantly rejected as an actress, even when she auditioned to play a character with CP.
So how can we as future Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologist change this stigma in the media?
Do you have a favorite celebrity with a disability? Please share so we can support them as a community!
Also, many seniors have been receiving interviews for and acceptances into Graduate programs, congratulations to you all! It is so wonderful to see how your hard work has paid off.
Have a great weekend and stay warm!
