This week’s Shabbat Smile is written by Adam Fishbein, a self-advocate and RespectAbility Fellow.

My religious school experience at Congregation Kol Ami in Elkins Park, PA had its ups and downs. As a child with multiple disabilities that made it difficult, and often disruptive, for me to function in a classroom environment, my parents initially had to push the synagogue to accept my differences and adapt to them. They would have constant meetings with the religious school director about my disruptive behavior and how to handle it. Then, in third grade, the then-new cantor at my synagogue, Rebecca Schwartz, started a student choir. She drew me in through her welcoming spirit and love for music. I found instantaneous inspiration. Sunday choir rehearsal became my favorite time of the week. I loved the process of learning, practicing and, eventually, singing Jewish music at Friday night Shabbat services. I found the focus I lacked in secular and religious school. I found acceptance from my fellow choir members. I found something I was good at and, most importantly, I found the voice that would shape my future.

Meanwhile, my parents and religious school staff worked diligently to adapt the religious school curriculum to my needs. While the student choir had opened the door to my synagogue, my fifth grade (and favorite) religious school teacher, Roz Holtzman, led me further inside during sixth and seventh grade, through my one-on-one instruction and Bar Mitzvah prep. This flexibility and reduced-distraction environment allowed me to learn more effectively and become a Bar Mitzvah at the end of seventh grade, despite my increasing behavioral challenges in adolescence with Tourette Syndrome Repeated Anger-Generated Episodes (RAGEs) at home and school. [continue reading…]

Pavarotti is the new Ron Howard documentary about Luciano Pavarotti, one of the most famous Italian opera singers of our time who sold more than 100 million records before his death from pancreatic cancer in 2007. The film showcases his early years, his philanthropy, and of course, his extraordinary talent, powerful music and his immense impact on the world. It is sure to captivate audiences worldwide when it opens in cinemas this Friday, June 7th.

But what is notable about the film from a disability perspective is that it is truly accessible to blind and low vision audiences, thanks to an audio description track from Michele Spitz. According to Spitz’s company website, Woman of Her Word, audio description tracks serve “as a visual description of key elements, essentially painting a picture with words to supplement the existing visual media.” And according to Spitz, “Pavarotti was my most costly and labor intensive audio description film project to produce thus far in my library of AD work of 56 films over the past six years.” [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, California, June 5 – This season on America’s Got Talent, we already have seen two acts with disabilities audition. On the season premiere, autistic blind singer Kodi Lee earned the golden buzzer from Gabrielle Union, skipping straight to the live shows. In the second audition episode, Ryan Niemiller, a comedian with a disability in both arms, made it through to the next round with a standing ovation and four enthusiastic yeses. Both acts were extremely talented, but the differences in how they were presented is a great case study in how to accurately and positively portray people with disabilities.

Ryan Niemiller immediately won over the audience with his quip “So, obviously I have a disability. I think the technical term for it is being very handsome.”

“When I was growing up, there was nobody that looked like me on television,” Niemiller said to Simon Cowell about what he wants to do with the platform. “I want people to be able to look at what I’m doing.”

Niemiller’s plug for representation was important for viewers to hear. Although one in five Americans have a disability, among regular characters on primetime TV in the 2018-2019 season, only 2.1 percent have disabilities. [continue reading…]

Adam Fishbein, a National Leadership Fellow at RespectAbility, has Tourette Syndrome, one of the disabilities highlighted in A&E’s new show The Employables. 

Rockville, Maryland, June 5 – The entertainment industry recently has made meaningful progress in the accurate representation of people with disabilities in TV shows. Accurately portraying and including people with disabilities on screen is not just the right thing to do, it also makes sense economically – given that the disability market is valued at more than $1 trillion according to Nielsen Research.

One of the latest additions to this trend is A&E’s The Employables. Each episode in this docuseries follows two unemployed individuals in their job search–one with Tourette Syndrome (TS) and one on the Autism spectrum. Through interviews with the individual, their family, and potential employers, The Employables effectively displays the struggles of the job search for people with disabilities. 

“I went from being on the dean’s list to becoming academically disqualified,” said James, a 35-year-old with TS in the first episode. “But it’s what we got. It’s the cards you’re dealt so you play the hand you have.”

However, The Employables also showcases the unique skills and talents of each individual and how these traits can benefit their employers as much as–and often more than–people without disabilities. For example, medical professionals conduct IQ testing. Each subject consistently scores above-average for traits such as perceptual reasoning, creativity and verbal comprehension. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, California, June 5 – When Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez)’s son Mateo is having difficulty reading, his teacher suggests testing, saying it “could be a learning disability, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, dyslexia or could be nothing at all.”

Ultimately, Mateo, who is six, is diagnosed with ADHD in last week’s episode of The CW’s Jane the Virgin. His doctor explains that Mateo “struggles with both inattention and impulsivity” and that his “executive functions are somewhat impaired, which is why tasks are not completed and he has trouble self-regulating. It’s just harder for Mateo to focus and prioritize than other kids.”

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a brain disorder that is characterized by an individual’s consistent inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. While everyone experiences these symptoms at one point or another, what classifies these behaviors under ADHD is when it begins to affect normal day-to-day functioning and/or development. ADHD is typically diagnosed in children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 6.4 million children have been diagnosed with ADHD in the United States – 11 percent of children ages four to 17. ADHD Predominantly Inattentive Type, also known as ADD, is a type of ADHD that does not involve hyperactivity. People with ADD may have trouble finishing tasks or following directions and might be easily distracted. But the symptoms are generally less noticeable for ADD than ADHD, and as a result many people with ADD are unfortunately overlooked. [continue reading…]

Photo Credit: Kennedy Krieger Institute

In a few days, I’ll be at a graduation—not an unusual event for this time of year, but this graduation will be unique.

It’ll be the culmination of a year of intense learning and internship experiences for six young adults from across the state of Maryland, all of whom have developmental and/or other disabilities. They’ll be graduating from a program called Project SEARCH, which was carefully designed to support individuals with disabilities transition to adulthood by teaching them the skills they need to live in the community at-large, and to find and keep gainful employment.

All six are unique individuals, beloved by their families, friends, teachers and mentors, each with their own dreams and goals, and special, unique talents to offer the workplace. They want to be a part of the world—to live as independently as possible, and to work and contribute to society. They’ve worked so hard this past year, and I can’t wait to celebrate them at their graduation. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, California, May 30 – On the season premiere of America’s Got Talent, a 22-year-old blind autistic man sang for the judges and earned the golden buzzer, advancing straight to the live shows. Kodi Lee’s voice and piano skills were exceptional, and it is wonderful to see people with disabilities succeed and be represented on reality television. But unfortunately, the way America’s Got Talent portrayed Lee could have been better.

It is clear that Lee deserves the golden buzzer due to his singing and piano-playing abilities. However, all too often people with disabilities are made to be inspirational characters simply for having a disability, falling into the trap of “inspiration porn,” which assumes that disability itself is so terrible that the mere act of living a normal life with a disability is inspirational. Like anything that turns another human being into a simplified foil or object of pity, the ultimate result is to deny the complex humanity of the person with a disability.

The original title that America’s Got Talent used for the YouTube upload of the clip was “Kodi Lee Defeats Autism And Blindness With Music.” This title was problematic, to say the least. It implied that autism and blindness are burdens that need to be overcome. Disability is not a burden, rather, the societal obstacles that people with disabilities face are burdensome. Thankfully, the title was changed on YouTube to “Kodi Lee Wows You With A Historical Music Moment!” This puts the focus back on his talent. [continue reading…]

Netflix’s “Atypical” Creator Robia Rashid Honored During Opening Night

Beverly Hills, California, May 24 – In its premiere during the Evening of Miracles Gala, “Identity: The Musical” left audience members thinking about what being “perfect” actually means.

Written and performed by actors with autism and of all abilities, “Identity: The Musical” is set in an era where decisions are made by data, as “data sees everything,” leading to a person’s identity, including careers and spouses, being determined based on online habits, including social media check-ins and posts from their first 21 years of life. In this world of perfection, government has eliminated pollution, crime and poverty but also self-determination. This show imagines an alternative world in which everyone – regardless of ability – is forced to conform to pre-determined destinies based on this data collected from birth.

Many individuals with developmental disabilities and neurological differences are made to believe that their potential roles in society are limited and have been pre-determined by their diagnosis.

“Individuals with autism are so often labeled for what they cannot do instead of what they can do,” said The Miracle Project’s Founder Elaine Hall. “This musical is an allegory if everyone was labeled that way.” [continue reading…]

Shelly Christensen

For my house shall be a house of prayer for all peoples. Isaiah 56:7

The great disability rights advocate, Rabbi Lynne Landsberg, z’l’ said, “We don’t welcome people with disabilities because they have disabilities. We welcome them because they are people.”

Becoming a house of prayer for all peoples involves much more than an open door. As I was writing my new book, From Longing to Belonging—A Practical Guide to Including People with Disabilities and Mental Health Conditions in Your Faith Community, I wondered if there was more to this verse that might help people understand how important belonging is to people.

Synagogues often turn to Isaiah 56:7 which reads, in part, “my house shall be called a House of Prayer for all peoples.” I noticed that in all of the conversations and planning, synagogues and community organizations were focused on the process of HOW to be inclusive, but rarely considered asking people with disabilities how they want to feel – the critical sense of belonging—where their hopes, dreams, needs, and talents become central to “inclusion.” [continue reading…]