PITTSBURGH — Would you tell a room full of strangers about your illness or disability?
Pittsburgh comedian Brian Gray has started speaking openly on stage about his struggle with crippling migraines. But it took a while to share his story–with his partners on stage, coworkers, and even to wrap his head around it himself.
“I can never be a traditional actor or a comedian living the life on the road and all that that comes with it because of–of this way that I am,” Gray says. “ A lot of times that just gets me depressed.”
He says that when teaching or acting, he has to make backup plans. The nature of improv comedy as a team production is helpful.
“I don’t make a whole cast responsible for understudying me…for shows that I have to miss,” he says.
Our “Look Who’s Here!” podcast host Mark Steidl and Point Park University student Nicole Paxinos spoke with Gray, who’s taught improv in Austin and New Orleans. He is the Education Director of the Pittsburgh Comedy Festival. He also serves as a teacher and New Artist Ambassador with Arcade Comedy Theater, where he performs.
Gray says he admires other performers with disabilities, such as local comedian Gab Bonesso, who talks about her struggles with mental health, and national performer Josh Blue, who has cerebral palsy.
These performers and performances can connect us as human beings, Gray says, and allow us all to laugh with them.
But Gray says it’s important for improvisers to be aware of the physical and emotional limitations of their partners.
“Having conversations about what makes us ourselves, as opposed to sort of hiding those things as we sometimes are taught or socialized to do, really makes this work special,” he says in the interview with Steidl and Paxinos.
Gray says getting to a point as a performer where he can integrate his physical limitation has been a journey, but it’s better than “shaking my fist in the air, which is what I did for many years.”
In this podcast episode, Gray also compares notes with Steidl and Paxinos about how network TV shows portray disability. ABC’s “The Good Doctor” and Netflix’s “Atypical” incorporate characters who have autism spectrum disorder. “Speechless” was recently cancelled, but featured a character with cerebral palsy who used a communication device (similar to that used by Stephen Hawking, the machine typically reads aloud the user’s typed words). In Speechless, the teen with cerebral palsy hired a person to read from the device, which is rarely the case in reality. Gray and Steidl agreed that authenticity should be the next phase of inclusion–hiring actors who have the disabilities portrayed, and showing the disabilities more accurately.
This piece, and companion video were produced in collaboration with the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University as part of our Abilities Media Project. The work is funded by The FISA Foundation and an anonymous foundation.
What’s the most effective way for veterans to share their stories so that the public can understand the realities of war?
A recent roundtable that included news reporters and veterans considered how news reporting on veterans and war, books, podcasts and poetry can communicate veteran stories. The conversation was filmed at the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University.
Do you tune out American #veterans who are killed, maimed, and broken?. This recorded conversation confronts how, where, and whether we learn about warriors.
Author Carmen Gentile has worked on podcasts with Veteran’s Breakfast Club, which include Longest War: The Post-9/11 Veterans Podcast. The Veterans Breakfast Club also holds events for veterans to tell their stories. The events attract hundreds of people who want to listen. The club’s surveys show that 95% of veterans attending reported “a healing benefit” from storytelling events.
Gentile wrote “Blindsided By The Taliban,” about his experience reporting, and being injured in Afghanistan. He is also an Editor-at-Large for Pittsburgh’s Postindustrial Media.
The Veterans Breakfast Club, he says, seeks “to tell the stories of veterans going all the way back to World War II and the Global War on Terror veterans to talk about their experiences and to try to share those not just within their community, but to get outside that community, outside that veteran bubble, to let people know that this very small percentage of a warrior class that we have in America is also an integral part of society.”
CBS Producer and Military Veterans in Journalism founder Russell Midori stressed the importance of media outlets seeking out veterans for their teams.
“Honestly, these veterans who don’t go to work in journalism because it’s too hard to break into the industry–they end up getting great jobs all over the place and they get paid much better,” Midori said. “This is a diversity issue that that companies–that companies should be looking at and how they can improve their own diversity perspectives. And I think it starts with even them just saying, ‘How many veterans work on your staff? We don’t–nobody even says that. We don’t have any data for that.”
During the discussion, Quil Lawrence, author and National Public Radio war correspondent, touched on the notions of the now decades-long American wars and the effects they’re having on the world at large.
“What do we owe these people whose country we invaded and occupied, or what do we owe our own soldiers? Lawrence said. “And do our citizens have an idea about why we’re there, what the mission is, when we will have met that goal?”
Veteran Sean Tyler told the group about using poetry to convey some of his trials after his time as an active duty soldier.
Detail of poem by Sean Tyler: “There’s blood, there’s blood on the floor. I can’t take much more. Who knows what I’ll see when I walk through that door? Because there’s blood, there’s blood on the floor. The screaming and crying. I watched my friends dying. Sights I can’t erase. Where the fuck is his face? He’s losing blood. His legs are gone. Till his last breath. It won’t be too long.”
This event was part of The All-Abilities Media Project, a collaboration between Unabridged Press and the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University in downtown Pittsburgh. The work is supported by the FISA Foundation.
PITTSBURGH_“It’s the power of not yet,” special education teacher’s aide Michelle Steiner told about 50 people gathered at the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University.
“Just because somebody isn’t doing it now, doesn’t mean they are never going to be able to do it,” Steiner said. As a teacher in Butler, Steiner has taught this lesson to her students.
Steiner’s words were informed by Carol Dweck, a psychologist who popularized research about motivation, and why people do, or don’t, succeed.
Steiner was one of 10 speakers who participated in the Dis/Ability Show & Tell: A Community Symposium in October. She talked about her personal journey, which led her to educating a new generation of people with disabilities. Steiner has a learning disability, and eventually felt empowered to ask for accommodations, despite her fears of stigma. She earned an associate degree from community college, and a bachelor’s degree from Slippery Rock University, where she made the Dean’s List.
Throughout the afternoon symposium, the speakers presented videos, photos, and a dramatic reading of a personal essay to share their experiences. Speakers included:
Emily Harnett, a theatre student in Point Park’s Conservatory program, shared her experiences of living with a physical disability, and working in a physically demanding field. Harnett read a spoken word piece she wrote about her diagnosis with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and her fear of not being able to perform on stage.
Tirzah DeCaria, co-founder of Creative Citizen Studios, strives to break down boundaries through art. She connects her group of artists, who have intellectual and developmental disabilities, with the broader arts community. She talked about the visual arts classes and workshops that her organization holds for people with disabilities.
Jade Steele. Photo: Joseph Smith/Benevolent Photos.
An education student at Point Park, Jade Steele, presented information about the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) and Certified Autism Centers. These are organizations where “at least 80 percent of staff training is defined in the field of autism and is committed to ongoing training and autism,” Steele said. Kennywood Park, where Steele works, is newly certified She said being certified helps both people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and businesses, which see an increase in revenue when they become more inclusive. Steele, diagnosed with both ADHD and autism, shared her dream to educate students with disabilities.
Point Park student Regan Tischler was diagnosed with narcolepsy and cataplexy in her senior year of high school. Cataplexy, Tischler says, is a loss of muscle control with high emotion, such as laughter. She jokingly described it as it appearing to be intoxicated. She also explained that narcolepsy isn’t randomly passing out in public. It’s living with the knowledge that sometimes, “you will feel like you haven’t slept in like three days,” she said. Other symptoms include lucid dreaming, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations, in more extreme cases.
Alicia DiGiorgi, Head of Production at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and one of the founders of the Pittsburgh Playhouse Accessibility and Inclusion Committee, spoke about the production she worked on under Bricolage Theatre Company, which led to the creation of the committee. She was inspired by the experiences she had with Bricolage, which has its own mission of inclusivity, and was able to get the funding and support needed to offer more accessible programming and services at the Playhouse. While it has been a huge undertaking, DiGiorgi said all of the work has been worth it. “I believe with an open mind, positive outlook, willingness to learn, a little bit of patience, and the proper support system, we can teach our future theatre makers how important it is to include everyone in the adventure [of theatre,]” she said.
The afternoon ended with an on-stage interview by WESA-FM’s Bill O’Driscoll, who spoke with Point Park alumnus Brian Rutherford. Rutherford is a former Walt Disney World Entertainment costuming manager. At 38, Rutherford suffered four strokes, causing him to lose his eyesight. In a discussion with O’Driscoll, Rutherford talked about his current position as a costume stitcher with the Blind & Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh. He also serves as an audio description coordinator and a consultant to theatres in Pittsburgh. Rutherford says he wishes to see younger people from the blind community in the wings, on stage, and in the audience. He said, “I want to have young people realize the arts can be an accessible thing.”
90.5FM WESA Reporter Bill ODriscoll. Photo: Joseph Smith/Benevolent Photos.
Center for Media Innovation graduate assistant Stacey Federoff and Unabridged Press’ Jennifer Szweda Jordan. Unabridged Press’ Look Who’s Here! founding host Erin Gannon, (who has Down syndrome), and Jordan (who has bipolar depression) also spoke about the beginnings of the All-Abilities Media Project–the work of this effort constitutes most of Unabridged Press’ work in the last few years and can be found throughout this website.
The symposium was inspired by a previous Halloween Symposium held at the center, later dubbed, “Decomposium.”
“At that event, students and staff shared research, choreography about ghosts, and short horror films. I thought, ‘Let’s do a symposium about disability–a kind of show and tell about disability,’” Jordan said. “So, it’s an incredible privilege to have been part of making this happen.”
Rianne Lindsey, who wrote this piece and appears in a video above as a participant in the symposium is a theatre student at Point Park. She spoke about the future of inclusion of people with disabilities in theater.
The Dis/Ability Show & Tell was made possible with help from Point Park graduate assistant Stacey Federoff, the school’s Center for Inclusive Excellence, and funders, including the FISA Foundation.
Photo of a man dressed as judge who has various symbols representing the legal field, along with the rainbow infinity symbol representing the autism spectrum. Photo Illustration: Alex Collinger.
PITTSBURGH_Detention guards didn’t know why some incarcerated kids were biting and pinching their own arms and legs, pulling at their ears, and otherwise mutilating themselves. The youths were autistic.
“When we went in, it was just very apparent,” says psychologist Tammy Hughes. “But because (officers) hadn’t had the training, because they didn’t know what autism looked like, it was misunderstood.”
People with autism spectrum disorder [ASD] are seven times more likely than peers to be either crime victims–or suspected or actual perpetrators.
Listen to Hughes’ conversation with students at Joey Travolta/Arts for Autism Film Camp by pressing the red button with the white arrow.
Hughes trains police, judges, lawyers, and guards to recognize and address autism. She reminds people that autism is not synonymous with violence. This article is drawn from those conversations. Her training materials have been presented to over a thousand judges. But work remains.
It starts on the streets, sometimes in surprising ways. Hughes describes a case in Ohio, in which a young male with an affinity for blankets entered a house to check out a neighbor’s blankets.
“In some window there was a blanket over a chair,” she says. “The door was open. He went in and was touching the blankets. Now, the people there were home and it did scare them. Quite seriously. But it was breaking and entering technically, but his motive for breaking and entering is not the same motive as you would see for somebody trying to steal…he didn’t steal anything.”
Yet the act was illegal and Hughes says that it isn’t just law enforcement that needs to be trained, but individuals with autism as well. This person, she says, needed to be able to answer the question, “How do I get my needs met in a way that’s not illegal?”
A single run-in with the police, even as a juvenile, can be enough to disrupt a person’s life. With a criminal record comes social stigma, barriers to housing and employment, and even longterm health problems. And studies show that the criminal justice system–from policing, to the courts, to correctional facilities–isn’t set up to address, consider, or even recognize ASD among youth.
Additionally, children can be charged and convicted as adults in court, depending on the details of the case. Hughes knows of kids as young as 14 who have been tried as adults in Allegheny County. Add immaturity on top of disability, and the outcome can be disturbing.
“My whole job is to keep kids out of jail and in school,” says Tammy Hughes, a Duquesne University professor in the Department of Counseling, Psychology and Special Education. “A lot of the screenings in juvenile justice really only look at psychiatric problems and not at developmental disabilities.”
Take, for example, a routine traffic stop. Loud sirens, flashing lights, and a uniformed officer are frightening for most anyone. For those with ASD, it can feel especially overwhelming.
Similarly, a police pat-down could cause an autistic person to flee or lash out. Suddenly a speeding ticket may escalate to a charge of resisting arrest or assault, all because the individual can’t negotiate the interaction and the police officer lacks the training to recognize autistic behavior.
“They look very criminal when they really are not,” Hughes says.
This miscommunication can also extend into the courtroom, says Hughes. A juvenile offender may appear to a courtroom and judge as angry, aggressive or lacking remorse.
“You can’t punish a child with a disability for a symptom, a trait of their disability” in a school setting, says Hughes, “but there’s no equal partner to that in juvenile justice.”
This article is based on conversations with C.S. Wyatt, host of The Autistic Me podcast, and Amanda Alcorn and Evan Koepfinger, students at Evolve Coaching’s Joey Travolta/Arts for Autism Film Camp.Click below for full audio and transcripts.
The All-Abilities Media Project is a collaboration between Unabridged Press and the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University in downtown Pittsburgh. The author, Brian Conway is a freelance reporter. His environmental reporting was awarded in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Keystone Chapter Spotlight contest. His work has been published in Motherboard, October, and the Chicago Tribune. @BrianConwayyyyy
What’s changed 30 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act promised access to education, the workplace, shopping, and more (religious institutions got themselves out of the law)? That’s what our newest series explores.
The Around the World in ADA podcast is hosted by disability advocates Josie Badger and Alisa Grishman. It’s part of the All-Abilities Media Project produced by Unabridged Press and the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University with support from the FISA Foundation. We’re gearing up for the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 2020.
Recording the first episodes of the Around the World in ADA podcast: from left, Josie Badger, Ting Yen, Georgia Petropoulos, and Alisa Grishman.
Josie and Alisa are experts about how life works–and doesn’t–for the 20 percent of Americans with disabilities, due to their lived experience as well as 24-7 involvement in education and action at the local and national levels. Watch Josie’s TEDx Pittsburgh talk here, and read about Alisa here.
PITTSBURGH_A campaign in the city’s university center–Oakland–is making one of the city’s most vibrant neighborhoods one of its most accessible.
“Why do we have establishments that aren’t accessible? What could we be doing different?” says Georgia Petropoulos, Executive Director of the Oakland Business Improvement District and founding member of Oakland for All. “We have a group of dedicated individuals from the world of business, from the world of universities and hospitals, nonprofits, advocacy, meeting monthly and strategizing, ‘Well, how do we do this?’”
Sushi Fuku owner Ting Yen spent over $14,000 to regrade a public sidewalk for customers who use wheelchairs–about half was reimbursed through state funding. Photo: Nick Tommarello.
Many business owners think they’re not required to comply with the ADA because their buildings predate the act’s passage 30 years ago–a false assumption. Informed by Oakland for All, OBID points business owners toward funding to mitigate the cost of upgrades, connects them with architects who can make compliance modifications, and reminds businesses that people with wheelchairs have money to spend on food.
Petropoulos says the program came about after meetings with local accessibility advocates. One of those advocates is Alisa Grishman. Along with Josie Badger, she interviews Petropoulos and business owner Ting Yen in the first segment of the Around the World in ADA podcast.
“[They] came to us and said, ‘You know, there’s actually some establishments that we can’t get into, and we’d love to work with you and figure out how we can make this change,’” Petropoulos says.
One of the first business owners on board was Ting Yen, owner of Oakland restaurant group Sushi Fuku. A University of Pittsburgh graduate, Yen came to the United States from Taiwan in 1991, and now lives in Oakland. He says he always thought his building was accessible–since he says that is what his architect told him. But while it was compliant inside, the business lacked a ramp to bridge the single step from the sidewalk.
Yen spent a little over $14,000 to regrade the sidewalk. About half of that amount was reimbursed by OBID from state funding. And he’s also installed a new automatic door push button. The previous one was higher up on the ramp, where people in wheelchairs would have to wait on a slope for the door to open. The new button allows the door to be opened by the time a person travels up the ramp. Yen’s building is now fully accessible.
The Ramp Crawl encourages people with disabilities to show up en masse at accessible bars with their able-bodied peers in Pittsburgh’s Oakland. There’s a special effort on this day to ensure access for those using wheelchairs. Photo: Oakland Business Improvement District
Oakland for All’s most successful event is its annual Ramp Crawl. Just like any bar crawl, the event invites people to eat and drink at Oakland’s accessible bars–with a particular focus on participation by people in wheelchairs. And wheelchair users do show up en masse.
The benefits of accessibility can extend beyond having more potential customers, Petropoulos and Yen agree.
“It just feels good to be in the community,” says Yen, “to help to contribute to the community, and to do what I can as a business owner.”
Unabridged Press produces The Around the World in ADA podcast in collaboration with the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University in downtown Pittsburgh. It’s part of the All-Abilities Media Project supported by the FISA Foundation.
Go Around the World in ADAs (Americans with Disabilities Act) with us on December 5!
See highlights of 2019 media including: Dining with a Disability, Dynamic Kayaking, and one Drummer Drumming. And then–dance with us a bit, and get your minute of fame as we record readings of the ADA to use in a future video. The ADA turns 30 next year!
This event takes pm at the GRW Theater in the University Center of Point Park University at , downtown Pittsburgh. Reserve seats here!
Brought to you by the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University and Unabridged Press with support from the FISA Foundation and other anonymous donors.
After an antisemitic assassin murdered 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, the story of Cecil and David Rosenthal spread. The brothers both had intellectual disabilities and were as much a part of the congregation and the neighborhood as anyone. The belonging they experienced is exactly what happens every day at The Friendship Circle, started by Rabbi Mordy and Rivkee Rudolph. Rabbi Rudolph answered Jim Shirley’s questions about the nonprofit, located in the same neighborhood as the shooting. Their conversation is part of the All-Abilities Media Project. The transcript, and more about the project, are below.
SHIRLEY: [00:00:00] Thanks for speaking with me today. Can you just start off by telling a little bit about yourself? [00:00:05][5.6]
RUDOLPH: [00:00:06] Sure. Thank you. Thank you for having me, Jim. So my wife Rivkee and I start– founded The Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh in 2006. We came at it from a unique perspective we like to say in that my wife was a preschool teacher at the time and I was a newly ordained rabbi. And we’re both from Pittsburgh. We have–grew up Orthodox here. And to us, there was a lot of need for a program like The Friendship Circle in Pittsburgh. It’s a model that we’d seen in other cities. We’re free to kind of it’s our own our own independent organization. But because that was the–because that was the case, it gave us the freedom to be able to do it the way we wanted to do it, essentially. And we had seen, again, seen the model, knew–known that there was a need, particularly in the Jewish community, to create programming for people with disabilities. And now The Friendship Circle extended well beyond just the Jewish community. But at the time that was the perspective we came at it from. And we founded it then…and it really was what spoke to us was was, as I was saying earlier, how it’s really about enhancing an entire community. It’s not just about helping people with disabilities, so to speak. It’s about making an entire community better, regardless of whether a person has or does not have a disability. And what was what we found, what we what we saw as the uniqueness to us was that we really didn’t have any real previous exposure to people with disabilities. It wasn’t like we grew up with a close friend or relative who had a disability that really touched us or affected us. And to us it felt like we grew up with this–the mantra of love for your fellow man and that was such a basic tenet was in Judaism. And at the same time, the people we knew growing up are really just all people who are a lot like us–certainly superficially. And so to be able to go beyond that social circle was something we felt like was was a mission of ours in a way. [00:02:13][126.6]
SHIRLEY: [00:02:14] All right. Thank you for that. Can you just describe briefly how does Judaism fit into the Squirrel Hill community? [00:02:21][7.2]
Photo: The Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh.
RUDOLPH: [00:02:22] It’s hard to, I guess, fully define that. But what I will say is that Squirrel Hill is just known as being the center of the Jewish community, even though in somewhat recent history the Jewish community is extended out into some of the suburbs. But regardless, the the Jewish community has always been in Squirrel Hill. It’s it’s special for a number of reasons one being that it’s it’s always been the Jewish community and even though there are other communities, whether it’s the Hill or East Liberty that have kind of gone had their ups and downs in terms of Jewish life in those those neighborhoods and communities–Squirrel Hill, it’s always been here. And the other thing that I always say is interesting about Squirrel Hill is how it doesn’t just have one denomination of Judaism that they say they say about it in general about folks with, you know, from from a certain, ah–when you talk about their financial ability that someone could grow up pretty modestly in Squirrel Hill, make millions and millions of dollars and buy a house down the street because it’s like that. And I would say so from the Jewish community perspective as well, and that someone could be Reform and then decide to become Orthodox. Or or vice versa and buy a house down the street. And it’s really not… Whereas in many other cities, the Jewish communities, oftentimes the Orthodox communities in one neighborhood and the more Reform or more secular community is in another neighborhood. You don’t find that in Pittsburgh to be the case as much. [00:04:02][100.1]
SHIRLEY: [00:04:04] Yeah, it’s special. So what opportunities are on your calendar right now at Friendship Circle? [00:04:10][6.4]
RUDOLPH: [00:04:11] I’d say every opportunity really is on the calendar. We have everything from holiday events, cooking programs, Shabbat dinners that everyone is obviously welcome to a dance club or a yoga event. We do a boys night sports league. We have bowling parties and bowling in my bowling club in the South Hills. And then we do a number of events for moms and dads, programs for moms of our members or dads of our members to get together and socialize. And then there are also opportunities for folks to understand the mission of Friendship Circle in the background of what it’s all about and realize how the way we would like to portray this is, as I say, as it as a community organization is not necessarily something that would have always been the case. And that, you know, not that long ago, people disabilities were much more marginalized than they are today. And how, yes Friendship Circle does seem like it could be a normal thing, but we have to make sure that we take those steps to ensure that it stays that way and that society has progressed a lot recently. But not that long ago, we had these kinds of state institutions and such that that we need to make sure never to go back to. [00:05:28][77.1]
SHIRLEY: [00:05:30] Right. My next question is, can you say more about how Friendship Circle specifically helps people to grow, to contribute and belong. [00:05:40][9.9]
RUDOLPH: [00:05:41] So because as I said earlier, we try to–we don’t have the model of volunteers helping kids or members or special friends, so to speak, that they do in other places and other organizations. But everyone is a member. It really allows for everyone to gain tremendously from the organization. And no one sees themselves as as as clients. No one sees themselves as projects, as cases. All things that most of us don’t want to be. We want to be able to to be contributing members of society and valued. And so because of that, it allows for people to to maximize their their experiences here and realize that that these aren’t just volunteer opportunities where you go for an hour and you help some unfortunate person, but you’re going to come here and the reason why we’re not charging you or charging your member a fee, which is a philosophy of ours, that we don’t charge anyone for any of our activities–the reason we do that is because we can’t really put a number on on the amount that you’ll gain from this experience. [00:06:47][65.7]
SHIRLEY: [00:06:48] Aright–a follow up question. Are you or your organization involved in any social action related to disability? [00:06:57][9.2]
RUDOLPH: [00:06:59] How do you mean by social action? [00:06:59][0.8]
SHIRLEY: [00:07:00] Civil rights–you know, like petitioning local government. [00:07:03][3.3]
RUDOLPH: [00:07:04] Right. So. So we don’t. I’d say we don’t necessarily get involved directly in in terms of that type of of of like lobbying or whatever. What we do do is is part of that training that I’m talking about. And giving folks the background of what Friendship Circle is about is encourage everyone to be an advocate. We do a training track to many of our teens about advocacy, about things that are near and dear to them. For many of them, it relates to disability rights, for many of them, it relates to mental health awareness. It’s just about teaching the the this next generation of teens, of young people that if there’s something that they’re passionate about, they they don’t have the luxury to sit back and just watch it. But to really get involved and do something about it to whatever degree that means, whether that means, as many of our teens were involved in the vigil right after the shooting in October, just just, you know, roll your sleeves up and do something. If you if you see a need for something, do it. [00:08:02][58.1]
SHIRLEY: [00:08:03] Now, can you tell us about the Rosenthals connection to The Friendship Circle? Maybe share an anecdote or two [00:08:09][6.5]
RUDOLPH: [00:08:11] So I didn’t really know David well. I’d met him, but I don’t really I didn’t really know him well and see. So I did. Cecil had come around to some of our programs and signed up and wanted to volunteer. And it was what was interesting was to us was how he always he always wanted to help out. And he was always very outgoing and came to some of our young adult programs, but really wanted to help more. So wanted to come to some of our programs for for kids. And I really wish I would say that that Cecil and David were more involved in Friendship Circle surely. But what was interesting was how they really didn’t need something like Friendship Circle. And they were kind of the the outliers of their day because so many of their peers, so many adults who may have had disabilities and were of the same age range would have been in an institution and would have been somewhere not involved in the community, and isolated and not having friends. And they weren’t in that at all. And they really felt a sense of belonging in our community. They were part of our community. And that was what really kind of made that was the lesson that we’d like to take, certainly as an organization from from their lives. [00:09:25][74.1]
SHIRLEY: [00:09:28] Yeah. The next question that is going to be asked related to that is how is the community here at Friendship Circle celebrated their legacy? [00:09:39][10.3]
RUDOLPH: [00:09:40] So that’s that’s a lot of it. I mean, I would say a lot of it is this sense. And there was a number of… There was an article written about it shortly after their passing about how we’ve moved from acceptance of people with disabilities into integration, into inclusion, which is kind of the common phrase used today. But we now need to move into another level which is belonging, and how it’s it’s not enough to take the action to include someone in the community whatever aspect of the community we are doing so in. But to do–to move now to the next level and making sure that everyone really feels a sense of belonging. And we’re not making special accommodations to include them, but that they naturally should–should belong. So we try to promote to our our young people as much as possible about the need for for universal design and things like that. What we’ve done this year, actually a new bit of a new initiative for us is ensuring that we have more of a presence in greater community events, because obviously, like I said, we have a number of standalone activities that we provide. But those are all a means to an end, really a means to be able to allow for our members to be part of the greater community. And at a typical Rosh Hashanah event, let’s say that happens as much as we have our own pre-Rosh Hashanah event at a typical Rosh Hashahah event or at services, we should do our best. And obviously we’d like to think that we’ve we’ve made some inroads in this–but to make sure that everyone’s welcome all throughout the community and not just welcome, but really, truly belongs. [00:11:11][90.9]
SHIRLEY: [00:11:13] Thank you. And how did Jews include people with disabilities in general, and why is this important to Jews? And could you speak about autism specifically? [00:11:26][13.3]
RUDOLPH: [00:11:29] I’d say it’s hard to specifically delineate autism, but I’ll speak about–well, I’ll share one anecdote on autism and relating to people with disabilities. People with disabilities should and could be included completely within the Jewish community. And the idea of of of inclusion in general, of of a committee of a community, the idea of a congregation, which is really what the importance of what a Jewish community is. And when we talk about conversion, for example, a large part of conversion is living within a Jewish community. You know, the rituals are important, but the community aspect, an element of what of what of what Judaism is is of just tremendous importance. So if we’re going to be a community, a community needs to be inclusive and needs to make sure that that we make room not not not even make room, that we are available and that we are open and that we include those regardless of their of their differences or disabilities. I will say that I saw a clip of a bit of an interview and it wasn’t quite an interview it was an interaction between a parent and of a child with autism and …Sharabi (name unconfirmed) And … Sharabi’s a mentor of mine and was a lot of the inspiration for the founding of Friendship Circle. And the interaction with these parents who came to the rabbi and asked for a blessing for their son who has autism. And the rabbi’s response was that perhaps how he interacts with his peers may be different and may be something that’s, you know, it it it obviously causes these differences, which is what you know, which is what we know, what you may call autism. But regarding how he interacts with God almighty, that is not that there is no difference. And so, therefore, we need to ensure that he has that that he is treated as such and he is a part of the community as such. [00:13:31][121.9]
SHIRLEY: [00:13:32] This year’s marking the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. And what does that read for you here at Friendship Circle? [00:13:43][10.9]
RUDOLPH: [00:13:45] The 30th year or the American American with Disabilities Act in general. [00:13:48][2.6]
SHIRLEY: [00:13:49] Like this is a landmark. Yeah. Thirty years. What has that meant for you? [00:13:53][4.0]
RUDOLPH: [00:13:53] So first of all, I’ll say that it feels like 25th year was yesterday. So it means the time is flying. That’s that’s number one. But number two is really this is a lot of what we’ve been taking some time to study has been how the impact that something like the ADA has had on society stemmed largely from the history of wars and veterans and how you had people who didn’t–didn’t necessarily know what it was like to have a disability and suddenly they came back from a war and they did. And that, in turn, caused them to stand up for themselves and say, no, I’m not going to not go into that restaurant anymore because there is no wheelchair ramp. I’m gonna figure out how to get in there. Those were the stories that led to the ADA. So for us, what it means is that that that the mandate, if you will, of not resting on our laurels and not saying, ‘Oh, we’ll just because we do something a certain way, you know…’ For many families, for example, who have a child with a disability or for someone who himself or herself has a disability, you kind of resort to ‘Well, this is just how it is and what we have to realize is that if that person would have known that they–he or she would be accepted in these circles and suddenly the change this this this shocking change happens that now suddenly you’re no longer accepted in this setting, they would have never been OK with it. But because sometimes it’s just ‘This is this is just the way it always has been and the way it always will be,’ they they they resort to that. But what we have to realize certainly to us as an organization is that everyone who who who is given the opportunity to belong, we would like to do so. They just sometimes aren’t–aren’t aren’t familiar with it, and that’s that’s our fault, our collective fault as a community. So we need to do our best to make sure it’s not the case. [00:15:54][121.3]
SHIRLEY: [00:15:56] What are your aspirations for greater inclusion at Friendship Circle and beyond Friendship Circle? [00:16:05][8.8]
RUDOLPH: [00:16:07] When I spoke recently to someone who asked me who was a very data-driven organization he’s part of. It’s a foundation and we were discussing potential funding and he said, what is your saturation point as an organization? If it were about involving people with disabilities, in Friendship Circle I could say, ‘You know, they’re X amount of people wotj disabilities in the community. And I want this percentage of them to be part of Friendship Circle.’ But that’s really not what it’s about. As much as that number grows, as much as our membership does grow and our programs grow. It’s really about ensuring that the entire community becomes more inclusive. And I had the pleasure of several months ago of being out for lunch where a mom came up to me and said how she has a son who has a disability and is no longer a current member at Friendship Circle. He had been several years ago, but is no longer part of Friendship Circle. And she said, ‘I have to tell you that what you’re doing in this community has been absolutely tremendous for my son.’ And she said, ‘Yeah, I know he doesn’t come to programs and he’s not as involved,’ she said, ‘but the way that young people look at him is totally different than they used to.’ And to me, that’s a realization of what our mission is all about. So it’s about the community as a whole being a more inclusive and a better one. And it’s it’s really hard to say … at what point we say, OK, we’ve done it because there’s always just so much more to do. [00:17:35][87.7]
SHIRLEY: [00:17:36] Okay. Thank you. Before I close the interview, I just want to make a comment of my own–you can respond if you want. But last year when I started my conversion to Judaism, as well as getting involved with the autism community, I found this Web site called realsocialskills.org And it has a lot of articles about interacting with people who are disabled, particularly autistic. And it also had a number of articles about Judaism and Jewish culture. And I just thought that was interesting. There was that intersection of Judaism and autism. And yet it seems from my reading of the Old Testament, the Jews would, like, take care to protect those with disabilities, like ‘Curse, like the one who puts a stumbling block for the blind…’ You know, from recent history of the Holocaust, my understanding is that disabled people were placed in the camps alongside Jews. Seems to me that connection, both Biblically and historically that Jews have had with disabled people… [00:18:54][78.0]
RUDOLPH: [00:18:55] There is definitely that unfortunate–for better or for worse, when there are marginalized populations. The Jews end up being part of them. And that’s there’s definitely a familiarity with that. [00:19:04][9.2]
SHIRLEY: [00:19:05] OK. Well, this has been Jim Shirley here at Friendship Circle with Rabbi Rudolph. And yeah, thank you for your time. [00:19:15][10.4]
RUDOLPH: [00:19:16] Thank you. [00:19:16][0.0]
THE ALL-ABILITIES MEDIA PROJECT AT THE CENTER FOR MEDIA INNOVATION AT POINT PARK UNIVERSITY IN DOWNTOWN PITTSBURGH AND UNABRIDGED PRESS PROVIDE MEDIA WORKSHOP EDUCATION, EVENTS, AND PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTION OPPORTUNITIES. THIS WORK IS FUNDED IN PART BY THE FISA FOUNDATION
PITTSBURGH_We’re working to enable people with disabilities to host podcasts, work in newsrooms, and serve in marketing, and other media-related roles.
“While 2020 marks 30 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with disabilities are mostly absent from prominent roles in journalism and related fields,” says Unabridged Press’ Jennifer Szweda Jordan, winner of ACHIEVA’s 2018 Yvonne Zanos Excellence in Media Award.
Through free workshops, people with disabilities are invited to learn the art of interviewing and podcast technology from seasoned pros at the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University. It’s part of our All-Abilities Media Project.
Workshop participants Jim Shirley and Darah Thompson practice interviewing at the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University in downtown Pittsburgh.
Workshops can be scheduled for individuals and small groups through December 2020. Contact or . Workshop applicants can submit information at this link.
This effort builds on the success of our program Look Who’s Here! in which hosts Erin Gannon, and Mark Steidl, won Press Club of Western Pennsylvania’s Golden Quill Awards.
Interviews will be published to educate the community and inspire dialogue via Unabridged Press, and other news outlets in Pittsburgh, as well as at public events like this one on Oct. 22. Participant work may also be submitted for journalism awards.
These workshops are generously supported by FISA Foundation. The mission of FISA is to build a culture of respect and improve the quality of life for three populations in southwestern Pennsylvania: women, girls and people with disabilities.
LISTEN! PRESS THE WHITE ARROW IN THE ORANGE CIRCLE AT TOP LEFT.
When James Coke was in his twenties, playing soccer suddenly made his left leg weak. Even walking became so painf, doctors confirmed what Coke suspected–he had Multiple sclerosis.
The diagnosis enhanced Coke’s passion for cooking, and for encouraging others to get in the kitchen for improved health. He branded himself “The Disabled Chef” and started blogging. The name “The Disabled Chef” was partly a play on words because of statistics that while the average person is not disabled, they are unable to cook more than six dishes from scratch. On the site, you’ll find recipes for low-cost meals like Pumpkin Soup and Spaghetti Bolognese.
“I’m not saying cooking has cured me from primary progressive Multiple Sclerosis (Ppms), it hasn’t–that’s confined me to a wheelchair,” Coke writes on his website. “But 20 years on from diagnosis, I’m still punching above my weight, holding the line and fueling my body the home-cooked way.”
In an interview, Coke dished on his mom’s cooking, climate change, and medical marijuana. He spoke with Darah Thompson–who is curator of The Sweet Remedies online bakery based in Pittsburgh.
Since Thompson’s focus is desserts–most of which contain spirits like Hennessy in cinnamon buns–she asked Coke about his preferred sweets. One favorite is his wife’s blueberry baked cheesecake. They even add clotted cream, which, he half-jokingly adds, could cause a heart attack. His website also has a list of other treats.
And while American pies are more often considered dessert, that’s not the case across the pond. Coke says his mother cooked lots of savory English pies.
The vegetable curry that appears on The Disabled Chef website.
“There’s a couple recipes on my website for steak and ale pie, and she used to make a lovely, lovely pork pie,” he says. “She used to make great crumbles.”
Yet Coke doesn’t eat as much pork pie as he used to. His colorful curry vegetable recipe (pictured) is one way he tries to reduce the use of foods that may be less of a drag of the planet. Exotic dishes and spices like curry inspire him.
“In society, we eat too much meat. I think we all have the opportunity to change,” Coke says. “The world is getting immersed by Co2, much of which is due to farm animals’ flatulence, so this dish is not only nice and healthy but good for your carbon footprint.”
In his writing and videos, Coke also discusses universal kitchen design. His adjustable stovetop cranks up or down to accommodate his height seated in a wheelchair and that of his wife, who sautees while standing up.
Coke grew up eating local produce and eating fresh vegetables from his home garden that his parents would prepare. He still likes supporting local markets and maintaining a balanced diet. That doesn’t mean he’s not a fan of desserts.
James Coke. Image Provided.
Besides writing about cooking, Coke’s a vocal advocate for medical marijuana. His writing on the subject is published in The Guardian.
Coke says America is “light years ahead of where we are in the U.K.” in legalizing medical marijuana.” He says the only licensed cannabis drug in his home country is very expensive.
“It’s the one thing that is really good for my body,” Coke says of marijuana. “My spasms are better at night, I can sleep a lot better… it gives me more of an appetite.”
Although Coke doesn’t use cannabis in his cooking, he says he might try it. A new muffin recipe might even be featured on his website.
Sweet Remedies curator Darah Thompson is based in Pittsburgh.
The Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University in downtown Pittsburgh enables us to train people with disabilities in media and to publish their work. Free workshops are supported by The FISA Foundation.
