The Useless Tree

Disability

  • From seven years of archives: Disability and Social Responsibility

    So, yesterday was my seven year blog anniversary.  That's pretty good.  Over sixteen hundred posts and still going.  I'm not one to wallow in the past; I don't usually bring posts back from the archives.  But I think I will… Continue reading

  • Her life is not a tragedy: Zhuangzi understands this

    A nice piece in yesterday's Boston Globe by Beverly Beckham about her grandaughter, who has Down Syndrome, and how she and her family came to see the beauty in this girl's life.  It is a familiar tale, to those of… Continue reading

  • A Daoist Turn on Disability

    A beautiful piece (thanks Laura for sending it along!) in The Chronicle of Higher Education by a father, an English professor, reflecting upon the life of his 10 year old son, who is disabled.  Although their circumstances are somewhat different,… Continue reading

  • Disability and Disease

    I haven't blogged about disability in a long time but Michael Berube's post over at Crooked Timber has brought me back to it. He presses back against those who have an overly simplified expectation of "cures" for disabilities.  A key… Continue reading

  • The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

        We watched the movie, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” last night.  It is haunting, the tale of a man, Jean-Dominique Bauby, who, in his early forties, has a massive stroke that leaves him completely paralyzed, save for the… Continue reading

  • Blindsight, The Movie

         We saw Blindsight on Friday night.  A great film, but one that raises a question about how we understand disability.        First, some background on the film, without too much in the way of spoilers.  The story focuses on… Continue reading

  • Arthur Miller’s Irresponsibility

         It seems (hat tip John and Laura) and that the famous US playwright,  Arthur Miller, produced and passed on the sperm (I will not use the verb "fathered") that helped to create a son, Daniel, who had Down… Continue reading

  • Euthanasia in China

         A sad story in the LA Times yesterday about a severely disabled woman in China who is asserting a right to die: Confined to a rusty wheelchair and unable to control her muscles below her neck, Li Yan… Continue reading

  • Human Diversity

         The NYT today has a story on the ethical questions surrounding prenatal testing for Down Syndrome.  It focuses on parents of disabled children and their efforts to tell the world, and especially soon-to-be parents, that life with Down… Continue reading

  • China Daily: How To Treat Disability

        Turns out my column in China Daily ran last Thursday.  They informed me today.  Here is a link.  It is about "Ashley’s Treatment."  For regular readers of The Useless Tree, you will notice that I have blogged on… Continue reading