Faith and Spirituality

Leah Ilana Craig

On a bright and sunny July morning, I walked with my cane along the side of the Los Angeles Convention Center. With my head held high in my heavy blue wig, I got ready to join thousands of con attendees at Anime Expo (AX). It was my only day at AX, one of the busiest anime conventions, and I was excited. I often cosplay characters that I identify with, and on this day, I chose to be Jinx from Arcane: League of Legends because there was an Arcane/League of Legends community meet-up scheduled at the con. I love to transform into my favorite characters and show that people with disabilities deserve to hold space in the cosplay community.

As I approached the building, I noticed the regular entrance for AX snaked around the building and I knew that there was no way I could stand in that line without fainting. Luckily, clear signs made the accessible entrance easy to find, which was great because I was already experiencing Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) symptoms from putting together all the makeup and accessories I needed for Jinx. However, when I approached the security team, I found myself in a snafu. [continue reading…]

We invited the Hon. Steve Bartlett and Bobby Silverstein to share thoughts on the significance of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to faith communities in 2022. Both played key roles in this bipartisan legislation. [continue reading…]

What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8.

Rabbi Lynne Landsberg at the 2017 Tzedek dinner for the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism’s Consultation on Conscience. Photo by Ralph Alswang, courtesy of Rabbi Landsberg and the Religious Action Center.

The Talmud [Berachot 34b] teaches that one must pray in a house with windows so they can see the heavens and focus their heart. Rabbi Lynne Landsberg, of blessed memory, was the Senior Advisor on Disability Rights at the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism (RAC). As a passionate advocate for disability rights, she wrote, “the Talmud teaches us that a synagogue must be built with windows in the sanctuary. I believe this is so we can see who is outside and unable to join us.”

Thirty-two years ago, on July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. The ADA is a comprehensive federal civil rights statute that protects the rights of people with disabilities, entitling over 56 million Americans with disabilities to equal opportunities as full citizens of the United States. The ADA is landmark legislation for many people who, prior to its passage, couldn’t cross the street in their wheelchair, use the restroom in public buildings, or ride public transportation.

Faith institutions are covered by Title I employment regulations in the case of organizations with 15 or more employees. They are also covered by Title III if space is rented to an outside organization, such as a daycare that is not owned or operated in any way by the faith organization. But other than with these two cases, faith institutions are exempted from the ADA. [continue reading…]

July is Disability Pride Month. It commemorates the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990. The ADA is a milestone civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including employment, education, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. However, mosques, synagogues, churches, and other religious institutions are largely exempt from ADA regulations.

Courts have upheld this exemption because requiring religious institutions to follow ADA regulations and allowing the government to take enforcement action against them could go against the First Amendment. Exempting religious organizations from the ADA’s equal access standards allows them to erect structures and deliver activities according to their religious convictions. Unfortunately, this means disabled people can be denied accommodations such as curb cuts, special parking spaces, ramps, elevators, just to name a few.

We invited two people with disabilities to describe the consequences of the ADA’s exemption for religious organizations and the exemption’s impact on their lives, the lives of others, and their communities. [continue reading…]

2021 Disability Pride Flag

The original disability pride flag, created by Ann Magill in 2019, underwent a makeover by Magill for accessibility purposes in 2021. They altered the original zigzagged design because it worsened symptoms for individuals with visually triggered disabilities, including seizure and migraine disorders. Magill’s updated design features muted colors and a straight diagonal band from the top left to the bottom right corner.

The original flag’s zigzags represented how disabled people creatively navigate barriers. On the improved flag, the parallel stripes stand for intracommunal solidarity. The colors on the flag symbolize various disability experiences. The black background mourns disabled people who have died due to negligence, suicide, rebellion, illness, and eugenics. The stripe’s color represents disability types:

• Red: physical disabilities
• Gold: cognitive and intellectual disabilities
• White: nonvisible and undiagnosed disabilities
• Blue: psychiatric disabilities
• Green: sensory disabilities

[continue reading…]

Riccardo Ricciardi

How does a “typical day” consolidate with the daily reality of living with Bipolar Disorder? The answer is simple. There is no typical day.

What is Bipolar Disorder?

The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) defines Bipolar Disorder as a group of brain disorders that cause extreme fluctuation in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function.

I’m not a health care professional. I’m someone who has lived with Bipolar 2 Disorder for many years and has gleaned, albeit minimally, from the peaks and precipices of this condition. Each person’s narrative is unique. This is mine. [continue reading…]

Shelly Christensen

The stories we tell of our unique lived experiences with disabilities and mental health conditions matter. It is a generous act when someone pulls back the curtain to tell their story.

Novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave a popular TED Talk called, “The Danger of a Single Story.” A single story is a generalization about a person based on stereotypes and stigma. Often people with disabilities and mental health conditions are seen only by virtue of a diagnosis or behavior, labeled by that one piece of information. The danger of a single story is that so much about that person is never revealed—the strengths and gifts they can contribute to others and the hopes and dreams that give them a sense of purpose and belonging. [continue reading…]

Leah Ilana Craig

I’m told there’s a power to “healing out loud,” speaking to one’s experience of working through, or living with a mental health condition, physical disability, chronic illness, etc. As I tell the story of my recovery from anorexia or living life with my chronic illnesses, I’ve seen this power myself in myriad ways. Still, when I was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (DID) in February 2021, I wondered if there was a limit in the power of healing out loud.

DID used to be known as multiple personality disorder. It is one of the diagnoses in the DSM that remains highly stigmatized. Often the subject of sensationalized media portrayals and wild misinformation, my own DID went unrecognized for years, hidden under layers of shame and fear and confusion. Being open about anxiety or even an eating disorder was one thing. Trying to find the courage to speak about my darkest secret out loud, that I shared a body with multiple alters formed out of great trauma, was entirely another. Would my loved ones accept not just me, Leah Ilana, but the other members of my system I was getting to know in therapy? [continue reading…]

Becca Block

The month of May is Ehlers Danlos Syndromes (EDS) and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD) Awareness Month. Ehlers Danlos Syndromes are genetic connective disorders generally characterized by joint hypermobility, joint instability, skin hyperextensibility, abnormal scarring, structural weakness, etc. EDSs are currently classified into thirteen types. People with hypermobility spectrum disorders have similar joint symptoms but do not have connective tissue involvement. Dermatosparaxis Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is more common in the Ashkenazi Jewish population than in the general population. In addition, though there has been no official study, Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is anecdotally noted to have a higher incidence in the Ashkenazi Jewish population.

For two communities in particular – healthcare professionals and undiagnosed patients – EDS and HSD Awareness Month is a crucial health communication campaign. Diagnoses typically take years or decades. I was not diagnosed with Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome until I was 21 years old. Though EDSs and HSDs have no cure, symptom treatment and preventative care are essential to maintaining one’s quality of life. [continue reading…]