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Chyler Leigh Issue
Articles in the Chyler Leigh Issue; VOICEYE — It’s Free; Ashley Fiolek; Girls Just Want to Ride!; Humor — Unlocking the Truth: Part 2; China — Shuilin Peng’s Stinky Tofu; Geri Jewell — Cryptic Messages; KMR — Talent Agency of the Stars; OrCam — A Point of Seeing; Haiti — Fighting for Rights, Fighting to Live; Chyler Leigh — Modern Icon; Thirst Project — Seth Maxwell, Well to the Max; Long Haul Paul — Memory Faux Pas; DOL — Deputy Secretary of Labor Chris Lu; EXCERPT — Expect a Miracle; ABILITY’s Crossword Puzzle; Events and Conferences.
Shuilin Peng’s Stinky Tofu
Born in 1958 in Hunan Province, Shuilin Peng suffered severe injuries in a road accident in 2004 in Buji, Shenzhen. His body was amputated in half, and today he is China’s rarest truncation survivor. Shuilin Peng is less than three feet tall and walks on his two arms. He lost his lower body when ... Read more
Cryptic Messages
A cryptic remark has a hidden meaning and is understood only by those for whom it is meant. A cryptic code is a language system understood only by those who are familiar with the code. A cryptic reply is a very brief response conveying little and not plainly understood. And a cryptic message on ... Read more
KMR — Talent Agency of the Stars
The way top actors get jobs is through an agent. The way top actors with disabilities get jobs is through dedicated folks like Gail Williamson and Mark Measures of Kazarian/Measures/Ruskin & Associates (KMR). Williamson has placed talent on Glee, American Horror Story and Shameless, among others, while Measures is a 25-year industry veteran, whose ... Read more
Chyler Leigh — Modern Icon
You may know Chyler Leigh for her portrayals in Not Another Teen Movie, Grey’s Anatomy and Supergirl. She and musician-husband Nathan West also run a company that’s a go-to source to learn, in part, about the altruism of people in the entertainment industry. Leigh and West, who worked together on the TV series 7th ... Read more
Thirst Project — Seth Maxwell, Well to the Max
At 19, Seth Maxwell learned people around the world were drinking from swamps, mud puddles and earth dams. He also discovered waterborne diseases kill scores of children every year. When his pastor began preaching about missions to provide safe water globally, Maxwell and six of his friends founded the Thirst Project in 2008, for ... Read more
DOL — Deputy Secretary of Labor Chris Lu
Deputy Secretary Christopher P. Lu manages the US Department of Labor’s (DOL) 17,000 employees who seek to expand work opportunities for all Americans. He co-edited the book, Triumphs and Tragedies of the Modern Congress: Case Studies in Legislative Leadership and spoke with ABILITY’s Chet Cooper and Lia Matirosyan at the recent CSUN conference in ... Read more
Girls Just Want to Ride!
In recent months, I’ve have a fun time teaching at AFMX schools in Georgia and Florida, which has kept me flying back and forth. Then my really awesome sponsors invited me to two different women’s ride days! A huge thanks to the people at Fox for their “Babe’s Ride Out 2” event. It was ... Read more
Unlocking the Truth: Part 2
…continued from Chris Wood issue The year was 1948. I had been a cop most of my life until I was asked to turn in my badge. They just didn’t like the way that I did things… which way? My way. Good cops would spend hours, or days, following the rules to get vital ... Read more
Memory Faux Pas
By the spring of 2005, I was bothered by tingling, weakness and loss of dexterity in my hands. But it was my failing memory that scared me enough to seek answers. For two years, I had been secretly struggling with cognitive issues — fuzzy thinking, trouble making decisions, multitasking and short-term memory issues. My ... Read more
Haiti — Fighting for Rights, Fighting to Live
Since October 2011 James English has served as an advisor to Gérald Oriol, Jr., Haiti’s Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities. ABILITY Magazine has followed Oriol’s five-year tenure in office with feature stories in 2012 and 2014. This article is the third in the series and coincides with Oriol’s final ... Read more
OrCam — A Point of Seeing
From perusing junk mail to researching art history, an assessable device is helping people with low vision discern what’s on the page when they want to read. ABILITY caught up with optometrist Bryan Wolynski, O.D., one of the team members behind OrCam. He is well-versed on the OrCam MyEye assistive technology device. When we ... Read more
Excerpt — Expect a Miracle
A Mother/Son Asperger Journey of Determination and Triumph David Petrovic is much older than his 22 biological years. A person with autism and Tourette’s, he battled many social, communication, learning, and sensorimotor challenges. Supported by an ever-evolving team, Dave transformed from a struggling and insecure tween to a fulfilled and equipped young man. Once ... Read more
