Disability

Stories, theology, and cultural commentary related to disability.

Growing Up with Down Syndrome

I don't think about it much any more, but when Penny was born, some of the hardest questions to face were those about her future. Will she ever drive a car? Get married? Have children? Hold a job? Live on her own?

Those questions still exist, of course, and they come up from time to time, but for the ...

"Curing" Down Syndrome?

I found out last week that my friend Ellen Painter Dollar and I won an award from the EPA (Evangelical Press Association) for our point-counterpoint essays about disability published for Christianity Today online. My article was called, "Considering 'Curing' Down Syndrome With Caution," and my argument ...

Perfectly Human by Margot Starbuck: Movie Night, The “R” Word and True Confessions

"What? Since when did tard become politically incorrect?"

I felt confused when I heard these words fall off the lips of a character in the 2005 movie, The Ringer, starring Johnny Knoxville. I wasn't surprised it was coming from Hollywood. I was shocked, though, that the movie had been recommended by ...

What I'm Reading: Articles on Atheist Chaplains, War, and the Autism Epidemic

Should atheists in the military have chaplains to serve their needs? That's the question asked in a recent New York Times article, "Atheists Seeks Chaplain Role in the Military." The article discusses the spiritual climate of the military, which it claims is overwhelmingly Christian. Although the number ...

Sometimes It’s Good Not to Have a Choice (Or What I Didn’t Know Didn’t Hurt Me)

It sounds like good news. Researchers have developed a non-invasive test to detect Down syndrome early on in pregnancy. As this new test becomes widely available, it will replace current screening tests for Down syndrome. Any woman who takes the advice of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, ...

Perfectly Human: An Impossible Goal by Jessica Bigby

My friend Jessica Bigby has offered a Perfectly Human post before: "Walking Toward Freedom." In it, she talks about what it meant–both physically and spiritually–to start learning to walk without her canes. Recently, I learned from Jess that after years of assuming that skiing was impossible for her, ...

Want Some Help Praying? Free Copies of A Praying Life on Kindle

Recently Peter and I took a walk together. We were talking about some trouble Penny's had in school lately. Peter said, "Do you want to pray?" And so we did. It was easy, refreshing, and totally unusual for us.

After nearly two decades as a practicing Christian, I still have trouble with prayer. My mind ...

Seeing Each Other

A long time ago I realized that when people first look at Penny, they don't see her. They see Down syndrome. I do the same thing. When I see someone in a wheelchair, I struggle to pay attention to the individual in front of me. The disability makes it hard for me to see the person. But when my sight ...

Between Cross and Resurrection: Life and Death and Hope

I wrote a few weeks back about a little boy from Zambia who died wearing William's clothes. His name was Francis. Our friends Holly and Eric Nelson, founders of the Special Hope Network, cared for him. They recently wrote to say that another little boy, Gabriel (who has been featured in a Perfeclty ...

Perfectly Human: Harm and Healing by Jill Miller

Last month my husband Paul and I went to Israel to celebrate our 40th anniversary. One of the places that we visited was Bethesda. Unearthed pools with high Greek columns, wide steps and stoned walkways leading to smaller pools were before us. For many years I had imagined taking Kim, my daughter, to ...

Perfectly Human: This Is Community by Karen Jackson

As the parent of a child with special needs, I write of faith communities from a slightly different perspective than most. Faith communities can be large or small, Christian, Jewish, Muslim or any other, filled with people young or old, but they are, I think, in a special category.  People who share ...

My Upcoming Book: A Good and Perfect Gift

I've been working for years now on a memoir about the first few years of Penny's life, and I'm excited to announce that it will be available in just a few months. For more information, visit my page at Baker Books. In a few weeks, I will direct you to a page on my website with a sneak preview of some ...

What Will You Be When You Grow Up?

It's a question I remember from my childhood. And I remember my answers–everything from a banker to a teacher to a farmer to a writer. I wanted to help people. I wanted to make money. I wanted to do the things I liked doing. But it's a question I sometimes hesitate to even think about in relation to ...

Perfectly Human: Celebrate by Gary Bender

To read more about the Perfectly Human series, click here. Today we hear from Margaret "Gary" Bender about her daughter Alex who has Down syndrome. Gary has also recently written a book, From Grief to Celebration, from which this essay is excerpted. It's a short (75 pages) series of reflections, memories, ...

Would You Welcome a Child with Down Syndrome?

Three stories that couldn't be more different. One abortion. One orphan denied a family. And one grandmother who shares the gift of her granddaughter. And yet in each case, the child in question has Down syndrome.

The first came from Babble, a parenting website. (I will include the link here, but I don't ...

What I'm Reading: Articles on Atheists; CP, Comedy, and Oprah; and Teaching Kids to Play

My husband, a Christian, volunteered to be the faculty sponsor of the atheist club on his school campus. Although he believes that Christianity is true (not just true-for-me but true with a capital T), he also believes that everyone has the right to express ideas and to think through their implications. ...

In Memory of Francis or Outgrowing Their Clothes

A little boy died on Monday. His name was Francis, and he had Down syndrome. When he died he was wearing a blue onesie that once belonged to William.

Last week I spent some time going through Penny's old clothes to see what would fit Marilee. I found myself in tears as each item provoked a memory—she ...

Perfectly Human: Becoming Aware of Beauty by Mica May

"Perfectly Human" is a series of guest posts that runs every Wednesday afternoon. Today Mica May, mother to Jackson, a two-year old with Down syndrome, shares her reflections from Down Syndrome Awareness Day. Mica has written for Perfectly Human before (See "My Jackson"), and today she shares some of ...

Bikes and Brownies

Every so often I happen upon a blog of someone who epitomizes stay-at-home-mom. She bakes fresh bread. She thinks of creative art projects with her children. She decorates her home, with her children, for every holiday. She definitely has a garden with both flowers and vegetables. And a compost bin.

Perfectly Human

This weekly feature is intended to provide a picture of life with a disability in all its possibilities and limitations, gifts and struggles. The title of this feature comes from the Greek word telos, which can be translated as "perfect" but which also can be defined as, "the end for which it was created." ...

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