Circa 2011 Inspirational speaker Sue Z. Hart spends every day doing something she loves: bringing laughter into the lives of those who could use it most. She recently spoke with ABILITY’s Chet Cooper about the healing powers of humor therapy. Chet Cooper: How did you get on this path? Sue Z. Hart: I was ... Read more
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Katie Leclerc Issue
Articles in the Katie Leclerc Issue; Humor — Jockey: A Horse Tale (Pt. 2); Ashley Fiolek — The Wind Beneath Her Wheels; Sen. Tom Harkin — A Call to Employers; Lasik Surgery — The Eyes Have It; Funny Business — Sue Z. Hart and the Art of Laughter; Water skiing — Mama Does It Barefoot; Paralympic Sailing — Harnessing the Wind; Mercy Ships — Healers on the High Seas; Katie Leclerc — ABC Family Star on Ménière’s Disease; Silver Scorpion — New Breed of Superhero; Ra’Shad Solomon — Model of Persistence; Eating Local — A Four Seasons’ Palette; ABILITY’s Crossword Puzzle; Events and Conferences
Silver Scorpion — New Breed of Superhero
Circa 2011 As uncertainty hovers over the Middle East, philanthropist Jay Snyder and professor Valerie Karr, PhD, brought together young people from the United States and Syria for a dynamic cultural exchange that generated an unlikely outcome. Karr teaches at Adelphi University, and champions global disability rights, while Snyder founded the Open Hands Initiative, ... Read more
Katie Leclerc — ABC Family Star on Ménière’s Disease
Circa 2011 As star of the ABC Family series Switched at Birth, actress Katie Leclerc calls upon her own fluctuating hearing loss to infuse her role with a dash of reality. She plays Daphne Vasquez, a deaf teen who meets the family she never knew she had, and gets to share the screen with ... Read more
Mercy Ships — Healers on the High Seas
Circa 2011 Orthopedic surgeon Johannes Bernbeck, MD, occasionally leaves his spinal surgery practice in Southern California to travel the world with Mercy Ships, an organization that has been bringing global charity to developing nations since 1978. When the Mercy Ship docks at ports in Africa and the Caribbean, patients come aboard for critical operations ... Read more
Paralympic Sailing — Harnessing the Wind
Circa 2011 Paralympic sailing is nothing like pleasure cruising. There are no lounge chairs, no drinks with umbrellas, and no rest for the weary crew as they slice through choppy waters at top speed. Nevertheless, United States Sailing Team members Julia Dorsett and Scott Whitman have become experts at harnessing the wind. “It’s like ... Read more
Water Skiing — Mama Does It Barefoot
Circa 2011 Karen Putz’s goal was fairly simple: learn to barefoot waterski—backwards. As a teenager, she loved to ski barefoot, but then she gave it up after an accident left her deaf at 19. Recently she decided to dip back into the sport, get some lessons, and push her skills to a whole new ... Read more
Lasik Surgery — The Eyes Have It
Circa 2011 Mackin: Let’s talk about 3D Lasik surgery. What exactly is it? Joel Hunter, MD: Lasik is an acronym that stands for “laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis.” That’s a longwinded way of saying doctors create a small flap in the cornea, which is a clear window of tissue on the front of the eye. ... Read more
Ra’shad Solomon — Model of Persistence
Circa 2011 Though he lives quite a distance from the glitz and glamour of the world’s famous catwalks, 22-year-old Ra’Shad Solomon isn’t about to let mere geography inhibit his pursuit of a modeling career. Charming, industrious, and camera-friendly, he has what it takes to make it in fashion. He also has spina bifida and ... Read more
Eating Local — A Four Seasons’ Palette
Circa 2011 GREEK SALAD Serves 4 Cut into chunks and place in a bowl: 4 medium tomatoes Add: 12 to 16 Kalamata olives 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese Toss the salad with: 1/2 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar Salt, freshly ground black pepper Variation Add 1 ... Read more
The Wind Beneath Her Wheels
Lately everyone has been asking me the same questions over and over, so I thought I would bring them up in this column, in case ABILITY readers are wondering the same things. I keep getting asked about my bike set up, because I’m smaller than the average rider. People want to know how I ... Read more
Sen. Tom Harkin — A Call to Employers
Circa 2011 NO AMERICAN DREAM WITHOUT JOBS Dear ABILITY readers, As we mark the 21st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), this landmark bipartisan legislation has played a huge role in our country. Today, the US is more accessible; people with disabilities have higher expectations of what they can achieve; and much ... Read more
Humor Therapy — Jockey: A Horse Tale (Pt. 2)
Circa 2011 In Part 1 of our story, Felipe yearned to be a great jockey, But shiny Avocado, the lazy horse Felipe’s father gave him, refused to budge-until it thought a bumblebee was on its tail. That’s when the horse reared up and took Felipe on a wild ride that ended with budding jockey ... Read more
