Go Back

Share this issue:

Christopher Meloni Issue

ABILITY Magazine Cover Christopher Meloni issue

Headlines — Project Hope, Blind Justice & Down Syndrome

Circa 2005 PROJECT HOPE CANCER SCREENING IN AFRICA Los Angeles psychologist Geoffry White, PhD, has spent much of his career helping people fight psychological stress and mental illness. Now he is helping women on the opposite side of the globe preserve their physical health as well. White is fighting one of the world’s biggest medical … Read more

I’m Not Angry — Memoirs of Deborah Max

Circa 2005 Most days I don’t feel like a mental patient. In itself that might not seem like an odd statement, but when you examine my history or simply the fact that it’s my predisposition to insanity that pays my bills, you might expect that I’d wear crazy year round. From the time I was … Read more

Comedian Spotlight — Tanyalee Davis

Circa 2005 Comedy is arguably one of the most subjective forms of entertainment. And there are a heck of a lot of comedians out there. Some are funny, some are funny looking and some illuminate why the vaudeville phrase given the hook was originated. For many of the better-known comics of television and film, the … Read more

Celiac Disease — Living Gluten-Free

Circa 2005 Celiac disease (CD), also called celiac sprue, nontropical sprue and gluten-sensitive enteropathy, is an autoimmune disorder, a condition in which the immune system mistakenly identifies part of the body as a foreign object and mounts an attack against it. For genetically susceptible individuals who develop CD, the ingestion of gluten, a component of … Read more

Geoffrey Erb — SVU’s Director of Photography

Circa 2005 The great 19th century American physician, poet and philosopher Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “A medicine … is always directly hurtful; it may sometimes be indirectly beneficial.” (Note that Holmes very aptly included in the definition of medicine herbs and other natural remedies. He was famous for pointing out that poisonous mushrooms proved … Read more

Multiple Sclerosis — New Developments

Circa 2005 What Is Multiple Sclerosis (MS)? The term multiple sclerosis actually means many scars. In multiple sclerosis the body’s immune system repeatedly attacks the protective covering (myelin) of nerve tracks in the brain and spinal cord, causing the characteristic plaques that can be identified on MRI (demyelination). In addition to attacks by the immune … Read more

Christopher Meloni — Beyond SVU’s Detective Stabler

Circa 2005 While some actors suggest any work is a blessing, many struggle to find roles that allow them to demonstrate a diverse range of talents. The objective, of course, is to avoid being typecast. Sean Connery, despite his extensive filmography, will always be James Bond. In fact, it was once said that if Sean … Read more

Employment — Latinos with Disabilities

Circa 2005 As a Latina with a disability and a disability rights advocate, I am often asked to write about the situation of Latinos with disabilities in the United States, especially in regard to employment and independent living. This is a nearly impossible task because we are a diverse group of people with a variety … Read more

Tech Section — Creating Unity in Educational Technology

Circa 2005 Close your eyes. Now try to read the rest of this article. And comprehend it. And explain it to a friend. And take a test on what is written in these pages. And be expected to pass. And if you fail, you have to repeat the process. Difficult? Maybe it would help if … Read more

Book Section — Too Late to Die Young

Circa 2005 A lawyer in South Carolina since 1985, Harriet McBryde Johnson helps facilitate benefits and civil rights claims for poor and working people with disabilities. For more than 25 years she has been active in the struggle for social justice, especially disability rights. Born with a type of muscular dystrophy (a congenital neuromuscular disease), … Read more

Riding The Bus — Making the Movie: A Writer’s Diary

Circa 2005 One day, author and professor Rachel Simon was invited by her sister Beth, who has an intellectual disability, to join her on the buses for a year. Rachel said yes, and so began a journey that changed both their lives. The product of this adventure is the acclaimed Riding the Bus with My … Read more

Humor — My Year

Circa 2005 New Year’s Eve is one of those holidays where people are expected to have a great time. The collective expectation of having a really great time drives people to excess consumption to demonstrate that they are indeed having a fabulous evening. This display of fun is manifested in Times Square, where people jump … Read more

Letter From The Editor — A Time for Action

Circa 2005 Dear Readers, The difficulties in figuring out what Terri Schiavo wanted for herself broke the hearts of two families and embroiled a nation in moral debate. I don’t presume to have any greater wisdom that any other American, certainly not more than the legal scholars and ethicists who have commented or the families … Read more