The Stories of Those with Disabilities
~ Media Resources ~
As a Speech-language pathologist (SLP), I've always loved hearing interviews, reading biographies, and watching movies in which people tell their stories, particularly those diagnosed with a communication disorder. Mass media provides a mechanism for us to tell our stories. It allows us to step inside someone else's shoes, to better understand their world through their experiences. No two stories are alike. While media can't fully capture and convey the complexities of someone's experience, it offers viewers and readers a momentary glimpse. It provides new perspectives and considerations.
When we understand the plight of others, we become more invested in making the world a better and more accessible place for everyone. The King's Speech, for example, inspired a generation of new SLPs. These stories allow us to unravel the complexities of the human condition, for we have more in common than that which sets us apart. In an interview on Nightline, Minnie Driver from the tv show Speechless, said it best.
"It's difficult for us to be told, 'look at this differently.' So what you do is make people laugh, and see them, and have them observe a family that lives like this. And then maybe their interaction with someone who uses a wheelchair on the street is different."
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While this is by no means an exhaustive list, check out these movies, documentaries, television shows, radio programs, video clips, children's books, biographies, and more.
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Acceptance, Diversity, & Inclusion:
Disabilities in the Media (Video Clip)
Disability Representation in Literature (Video Clip)
Sesame Street: Billy Joel and Marlee Matlin Sing Just The Way You Are (TV Series)
Sesame Street: Gina Explains Service Dogs (TV Show)
Tuesday Tucks Me In: The Loyal Bond between a Soldier and His Service Dog by Luis Carlos Montalvan (Children’s Book)
Sesame Street: Empathy (TV Show)
UNICEF: Disability and Child Protection (Public Health Campaign Video)
Disability: How You See Me (Public Health Campaign Video)
What Is Inclusion (Video)
Cultivate Inclusion (Video)
Dr. Seuss’ Sneetches on the Beaches (Video)
Disability Awareness (Film)
My Dad Matthew (Short Documentary)
Welcome to Holland by Emily Perl Kingsley (Poem)
Ally the Accepting Alligator by Kameron Trumbo and Fanny Liem (Children’s Book)
The Five of Us by Quentin Blake (Children’s Book)
Cinemability (Documentary Film)
The Doctor (Film)
Nelson Beats the Odds by Ronnie Sidney II (Children's Book)
I’m Not Your Inspiration, Thank You Very Much by Stella Young (TED Talk)
Sesame Street: Will.i.am Sings “What I Am” (TV Series)
Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell (Children’s Book)
It’s Hard to be Five: Learning How to Work My Control Panel by Jamie Lee Curtis (Children’s Book)
I’m Gonna Like Me: Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem by Jamie Lee Curtis (Children’s Book)
Disabling segregation: Dan Habib (TEDx)
The Wish by Tara McCarton (Children’s Book)
Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity by Andrew Solomon (Book)
Far From the Tree (Documentary Film)
Ian (Short Film)
Erste Christmas Ad 2018: What would Christmas be without love? (Ad)
Nike (Ad)
The Employables (TV Series)
Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger (Children's Book)
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Anatomy & Physiology: How We Hear, Speak, & Think
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Brain:
Map of the Developing Human Brain Shows Where Problems Begin (Audio News Story)
Parts of the Brain – Pinky and the Brain (Video)
Left Brain Talks to the Right Hand (Audio News Story)
Violinist Plays During DBS Surgery (Video)
ER (TV Series), “Piece of Mind” (Season 7, Episode 10) Mapping Broca’s Area
Hearing:
How the Ear Hears (Video)
How Your Ear Works – BBC (Video)
Journey of Sound to the Brain (Video)
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Language Production:
The Birth of a Word by Deb Roy (TED Talk)
My Mouth Is a Volcano! By Julia Cook (Children’s Book)
The Word Collector by Sonja Wimmer (Children’s Book)
The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds (Children’s Book)
The Great Dictionary Caper by Judy Sierra (Children’s Book)
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Respiration and Phonation:
Anatomical Tutorial During Trans-Nasal Endoscopy (Video)
Laryngeal Movements (Video)
A Child’s Throat (Video)
Normal Physiology-Respiration and Swallow Pass Muir Valve (Video)
3D View of Diaphragm – Respiration (Video)
Respiration 3D Medical Animation (Video)
Christopher Reeve’s Interview with Barbara Walters (Video)
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Speech Production:
From Grunting to Gabbing: Why Humans Can Talk (Audio News Story)
Sounds of Speech – Interactive Illustrations of English Sounds (Step-by-step Illustrations)
Oral Mechanism Exam for Speech Language Pathology (Video)
Process of Phonation (Video)
ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease:
The Theory of Everything (Film)
Pride of the Yankees (Film)
You’re Not You (Film)
Tuesdays with Morrie (Film)
Gleason (Documentary Film)
I Am Breathing (Documentary Film)
TransFatty Lives: Trailer (Documentary Film)
Jason Becker Not Dead Yet (Documentary Film)
Breadth of Hope (Documentary Film)
Running for Jim (Documentary Film)
So Much So Fast (Documentary Film)
The Big Idea My Brother Inspired by Jamie Heywood (TED Talk)
ALS Hasn’t One – ALS ONE! By Kevin Gosnell (TED Talk)
Meet the Mom Who Started the Ice Bucket Challenge by Nancy Frates (TED Talk)
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Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia:
Still Alice by Lisa Genova ()
Still Alice (Film)
Call the Midwife (TV Series)
Grey’s Anatomy (TV Series)
The Notebook (Film)
The Caregiver: A Life with Alzheimer’s by Aaron Alterra (Book)
What They Had (Film)
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Articulation and Speech Sound Disorders:
Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger (Children’s Book)
Wodney Wat’s Wobot by Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger (Children’s Book)
Taking Speech Disorders to School by John E. Bryant (Children's Book)
The Princess Bride (Film)
Big Bang Theory (TV Series)
The Little Couple (Reality TV Series)
Sesame Street (TV Series)
Tweety Bird (Cartoon)
Daffy Duck (Cartoon)
Elmer Fudd (Cartoon)
Sylvester (Cartoon)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder:
Wordy Birdy by Tammi Sauer (Children’s Book)
Marvin’s Monster Diary: ADHD Attacks! (But I Rock It, Big Time): An ST4 Mindfulness Book for Kids
by Raun Melmed and Annette Sexton
Nelson Beats the Odds by Ronnie Sidney II (Children's Book)
What Were You Thinking?: Learning to Control Impulses (Executive Function) by Bryan Smith (Children’s Book)
The Classroom Mystery: A Book about ADHD by Tracy Packiam Alloway (Children's Book)
Baxter Turns Down His Buzz: A Story for Little Kids About ADHD by James M. Foley (Children's Book)
Cory Stories: A Kid's Book about Living with ADHD by Jeanne Kraus (Children's Book)
The Survival Guide for Kids with ADHD by John F. Taylor (Children's Book)
Mrs. Gorski I Think I Have the Wiggle Fidgets (The Adventures of Everyday Geniuses by Barbara Esham (Children's Book)
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Auditory Impairment, Deafness, & Sign Language:
Mr. Holland’s Opus (Film)
Retropod: The Deaf Men who Helped NASA Send Humans to Space (Podcast)
Taking Hearing Impairment to School by Elaine Ernst Schneider (Children's Book)
Deaf Jam: Experiencing Music Through a Cochlear Implant (Audio News Story)
Sound and Fury: Deaf Documentary (Film)
Children of a Lesser God (Film)
Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye (TV Series)
Sesame Street: Linda (TV Series)
Sesame Street: Evelyn Glennie Plays the Drums (TV Series)
Sesame Street: Billy Joel and Marlee Matlin Sing Just the Way You Are (TV Series)
Moses Goes to a Concert by Isaac Millman (Children’s Book)
Call the Midwife (TV Series) Series 4, “Episode 8”
The Silent Child (Film)
The Court Jester (Film, 1956)
The Miracle Worker (Film)
See No Evil, Hear No Evil (Film)
Switched at Birth (TV Series)
ER (TV Series)
Miracle on 34thStreet (Film,1994)
Miami Medical (TV Series)
Hear and Now (Documentary Film)
Dancing with the Stars (Reality TV Series; Interview)
A Quiet Place (Film)
Wonderstruck (Film)
The Family Stone (Film)
Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter (Documentary Film)
Take Shelter (Film)
It's A Wonderful Life (Film)
Making Connections: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children Learn at School with SLP and Audiology (PSA Video)
Soul to Keep (Film) - Lead character is deaf, written by a speech-language pathologist
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Augmentative and Alternative Communication & Assistive Technology:
Bed Number Ten by Sue Baier and Mary Zimmeth Schomaker (Book)
New Voices for the Voiceless: Synthetic Speech Gets an Upgrade (Audio News Story)
Speechless (TV Series)
The Theory of Everything (Film)
Schuyler’s Monster: A Father’s Journey with His Wordless Daughter by Robert Rummel-Hudson (Book)
3 lbs (TV Series) Season 1, “Lost for Words”
Making Connections: Augmentative and Alternative Communication and the SLP (PSA Video)
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Autism Spectrum Disorders and Social Skills:
Carly’s Café - Experience Autism Through Carly’s Eyes (Video)
In Plain Sight (TV Series) Season 3, "Her Days are Numbered"
Face Value by Dave Kot (Comic Book)
StoryCorps Q&A – Asperger’s Interview (Video)
Max and Mary (Film)
The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin by Julia Finley Mosca and Daniel Rieley (Book)
Temple Grandin (HBO Film)
What It’s Like to Have a Brother with Autism (Video)
Taking Autism to School by Andreanna Edwards (Children's Book)
Rain Man (Film)
The A Word (TV Series)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (Book)
Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism by Temple Grandin (Book)
The Good Doctor (TV Series)
Parenthood (TV Series)
Sesame Street: Meet Julia (TV Series)
The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion (Book)
Sesame Street and Autism (TV Series – Public Health Campaign Video)
Temple Grandin: What It Feels Like to be Autistic (Video)
Neurotypical (Documentary Film)
Look Me In the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s by John Elder Robison (Book)
Love Anthony by Lisa Genova (Book)
Dinosaur Train (TV Series)
How Autism Freed Me To Be Myself by Rosie King (TED Talk)
Just Like You (Documentary Film)
The Party: A Virtual Experience of Autism (360 Film)
Autism Simulator (Video Game)
Private Practice (TV Series)
I See Things Differently: A First Look at Autism (A First Look At…Series) By Pat Thomas (Children’s Book)
A Friend Like Simon by Kate Gaynor (Children’s Book)
The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida (Book)
All My Stripes: A Story for Children with Autism by Shaina Rudolph and Danielle Royer (Children’s Book)
Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s by John Elder Robison (Book)
Russell Is Extra Special: A Book About Autism for Children by Charles A. Amenta III (Children’s Book)
The Accountant (Film)
Atypical (TV Series)
The Art of Autism - Understanding the Spectrum (Comic Strip)
Arthur (TV Series)
DAD... a film about Autism and Fatherhood (Documentary Film)
Lucas the Spider: Don't Eat Me (YouTube Clip)
Making Connections: SLPs Help Children with Autism to Communicate (PSA Video)
Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel's Autism: My Journey as a Vaccine Scientist, Pediatrician, and Autism Dad by Peter J. Hotez and
Arthur L. Caplan (Book)
The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida (Book)
All My Stripes: A Story for Children with Autism by Shaina Rudolph and Danielle Royer (Book)
The Perfect Project: A Book about Autism by Tracy Packiam Alloway (Children's Book)
Cerebral Palsy:
Sports Illustrated Kids 2012 Sports Kids of the Year: Conner and Cayden Long (Video)
Speechless (TV Series)
Breaking Bad (TV Series)
Taking Cerebral Palsy to School by Mary Elizabeth Anderson (Children's Book)
I Got 99 Problems…Palsy Is Just One by Maysoon Zayid (Ted Talk)
My Left Foot (Film)
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper (Book)
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Cleft Lip & Palate:
Call the Midwife (TV Series) Series 8, "Episode 3"
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Developmental Receptive & Expressive Language Disorders:
The Little Couple (Reality TV Series)
The Wish by Tara McCarton (Children’s Book)
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Down Syndrome:
Dance Like Nobody’s Watching – Down Syndrome Documentary Trailer (Film)
Life Goes On (TV Series)
Born This Way (TV Series)
Taking Down Syndrome to School by Jenna Glatzer (Children's Book)
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter: A Novel by Kim Edwards (Book and Film)
Glee (TV Series)
Monica and David (Documentary Film)
Call the Midwife (TV Series) Series 6, “Episode 5”
American Horror Story (TV Series)
Any Day Now (Film)
Sesame Street: Jason Kingsley (TV Series)
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Dyslexia and Learning Disabilities:
What is Dyslexia (Video)
Dyslexia – Think How You Learn (Video)
Nelson Beats the Odds by Ronnie Sidney II (Children's Book)
I Can’t Do This But I CAN Do That: A Film for Families About Learning Differences (Documentary Film)
The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal by Jonathan Mooney (Book)
Here I Am. (Public Outreach Campaign)
In Her Shoes (Film)
The Cosby Show (TV Series)
Beverly Hills 90210 (TV Series)
Glee (TV Series)
My So-Called Life (TV Series)
Pearl Harbor (Film)
George Lopez (TV Series)
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightening Thief (Film)
Shake It Up (TV Series)
How I Learn: A Kid’s Guide to Learning Disability by Brenda S. Miles, Colleen Patterson (Children’s Book)
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (Book)
Here's Hank by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver (Book Series)
SEN Superpowers: The Map Challenge: A Book about Dyslexia by Tracy Packiam Alloway (Children's Book)
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Feeding & Swallowing Disorders:
Swallow: A Documentary (Film)
Making Connections: Swallowing Therapy and the SLP (PSA Video)
Making Connections: Pediatric Feeding and the Speech-Language Pathologist (PSA Video)
Huntington's Disease:
Call the Midwife (TV Series) Series 7, “Episode 3”
Do You Really Want to Know (Documentary Film)
Everwood (TV Series), “Need to Know”
Cold, Cold Heart, DLC for Batman: Arkham Origins (Video Game)
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Intellectual Disorder:
I Am Sam (Film)
Forest Gump (Film)
The Other Sister (Film)
Being There (Film)
Gabrielle (Film)
Of Mice and Men (Film)
Riding the Bus with My Sister (Film)
The Ringer (Film)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Film)
Radio (Film)
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Mental Illness:
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 (Documentary Film)
A Beautiful Mind (Film)
Call the Midwife (TV Series) Series 2, “Christmas Special 2012”; Series 3, “Episode 7”; Series 6, “Episode 1” and “Episode 6”
Homeland (TV Series)
Matchstick Men (Film)
It’s Kind of a Funny Story (Film)
Silver Linings Playbook (Film)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Film)
The Skeleton Twins (Film)
Infinitely Polar Bear (Film)
Welcome to Me (Film)
Insight Out (Film)
As Good as It Gets (Film)
The Bell Jar (Film)
Benny and Joon (Film)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Film)
Behind the Lines (Film)
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (Film)
Phenomenon (Film)
In Her Shoes (Film)
The Bipolar Experience by Lee Ann Jeffries and Eva Marie Everson (Book)
Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405 (Documentary Film)
It's A Wonderful Life (Film​)
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Mutism & Selective Mutism:
The Shape of Water (Film)
The Piano (Film)
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Parkinson's Disease:
The Good Wife (TV Series)
Physical/Medical Disabilities:
Sesame Street: Christopher Reeve talks about his wheelchair (TV Series)
Peppa Pig - Mandy Mouse (TV Series)
Mom (TV Series)
Sometimes by Rebecca Elliott (Children’s Book)
Susan Laughs by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross (Children’s Book)
Max the Champion by Sean Stockdale, Alexandra Strick and Ros Asquith (Children’s Book)
Lemon the Duck by Laura Backman (Children’s Book)
Body of War (Documentary Film)
Call the Midwife (TV Series) – Thalidomide, Series 5, “Episode 1” and “Episode 8”; spina bifida (Series 2, “Episode 4”), dwarfism (Series 6, “Episode 2”), polio (Series 3 “Christmas Special 2013”)
ER (TV Series)
Forest Gump (Film)
Special (TV Series)
Maltesers Ad (Commercial Ad)
The Opportunity of Adversity by Aimee Mullins (TED Talk)
Deep Sea Diving…In a Wheelchair by Sue Austin (TED Talk)
Friday Night Lights (TV Series)
Joan of Arcadia (TV Series)
Sesame Street: Itzhak Perlman (TV Series)
Sesame Street: Tarah (TV Series)
Sesame Street: Traction Jackson “TJ” (TV Series)
The Sessions (Film)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Film)
An Affair to Remember (Film)
The Bone Collector (Film)
Born on the Fourth of July (Film)
Finding Nemo (Film)
Wonder by R. J. Palacio (Book)
Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories by R. J. Palacio (Book)
The Horse Whisperer (Film)
The Little Couple (Reality TV Series)
Little People, Big World (Reality TV Series)
Hiding a Disability: FDR; American Experience (TV Series)
FDR walking (News Footage)
Hyde Park on Hudson (Film)
The World’s Worst Place to be Disabled (Documentary Film)
Some Kids Use Wheelchairs: Revised Edition (Understanding Differences) by Lola M. Schaefer (Children’s Book)
We’re All Wonders by R.J. Palacio (Children’s Book)
Downton Abbey (TV Series)
Mercy Street (TV Series)
Grey’s Anatomy (TV Series)
West Wing (TV Series)
Inside I’m Dancing (Film)
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (Book and Film)
X Men – Professor X (Film)
Soar by Joan Bauer (Book)
Nike (Commercial)
Sara Reinertsen: My Crazy Dream (Nike Commercial)
Five Feet Apart (Film)
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Speech-language Pathology:
The Little Couple (Reality TV Series)
Little People, Big World (Reality TV Series)
Making Connections: SLPs Help Children with Autism to Communicate (PSA Video)
Making Connections: The SLP and Community Based Services to Transition Aged Youth and Adults (PSA Video)
Making Connections: Swallowing Therapy and the SLP (PSA Video)
Making Connections: Augmentative and Alternative Communication and the SLP (PSA Video)
Making Connections: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children Learn at School with SLP and Audiology (PSA Video)
Making Connections: Cultural and Linguistic Diversity and the Speech-Language Pathologist (PSA Video)
Making Connections: Memory Care and the Speech-Language Pathologist (PSA Video)
Making Connections: Transgender Voice and the Speech-Language Pathologist (PSA Video)
Making Connections: Pediatric Feeding and the Speech-Language Pathologist (PSA Video)
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Stuttering & Dysfluency:
The King’s Speech (Film)
Out With It: How Stuttering Helped Me Find My Voice by Katherine Preston (Book)
Colin Firth, 60 Minutes, Including video clip of King George VI’s speech (Interview)
Porky Pig’s Debut, 1935 (Video)
A Fish Called Wanda (Film)
The Cowboys, 1972 (Film)
M*A*S*H, 1982 (TV Series)
Little House on the Prairie, 1982 (TV Series)
Shakespeare in Love (Film)
A Family Thing (Film)
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (Film)
The Hurricane (Film)
Stutterer (Documentary Film)
Lady in the Water (Film)
The Right Stuff (Film)
The Astronaut Wives Club (TV Series)
Rocket Science (Film)
Out with It: How Stuttering Helped Me Find My Voice by Katherine Preston (Book)
My Stutter Made Me a Better Writer (New York Times Op Ed)
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Tourette's Syndrome:
The Tic Code (Film)
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Traumatic Brain Injury & Brain Injury:
Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope by Gabrielle Giffords (Book)
Regarding Henry (Film)
In an Instant: A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing by Lee Woodruff and Bob Woodruff (Book)
Lost in My Mind: Recovering From TBI by Kelly Bouldin Darmofal (Book)
What Happens When You Have a Concussion (Video)
League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis (TV Show)
Concussion (Film)
Head Cases: Stories of Brain Injury and Its Aftermath by Michael Paul Mason (Book)
Where is the Mango Princess: A Journey Back from Brain Injury by Cathy Crimmins (Book)
ALICIA - Living with Traumatic Brain Injury (Film)
Left Neglected by Lisa Genova (Book)
The Vow (Film)
Head Games (Documentary Film)
Call the Midwife (TV Series) Series 4, “Episode 8”
Run and Jump (Film)
iBoy (Film)
Every 21 Seconds (Film)
Along Recovery (Documentary Film)
50 First Dates (Film)
The Descendants (Film)
Remember Sunday (TV Film)
The Music Never Stopped (Film)
The Crash Reel (Documentary Film)
The Bell Ringer: The Invisible Brain Injury (Documentary Film)
Providence (TV Series)
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Visual Impairment:
Sesame Street: Lauren Goes to School (TV Series)
Sesame Street: Big Bird Learns about Braille (TV Series)
Sesame Street: Aristotle (TV Series)
Lucy’s Picture by Nicola Moon (Children’s Book)
The Secret Code by Dana Meachen Rau (Children’s Book)
Mole’s Sunrise by Jeanne Willis and Sarah Fox-Davies (Children’s Book)
Can I See? By Amanda McCoy (Children’s Book)
Call the Midwife (TV Series) Series 6, “Episode 2”
Looking Past Limits by Caroline Casey (TED Talk)
Fashionyesta by Emily Davison (Blog)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series)
LeVar Burton on “Geordi LaForge’s” Blindness (Interview)
The Miracle Worker (Film)
Do You Dream in Color (Documentary Film)
Scent of a Woman (Film)
See No Evil, Hear No Evil (Film)
Ray (Film)
Little House on the Prairie (TV Series)
Dare Devil (Film​)
Ice Castles (Film)
Sesame Street: Ray Charles (TV Series)
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Voice Disorders:
Julie Andrews’ Struggle with Losing Her Singing Voice (Interview)
Adele Opens Up About Vocal Chord Surgery (Interview)
Vocal Cords Singing (Video)
Singing in the MRI (Video)
National Geographic, Steven Tyler (Documentary)
NPR’s Diane Rehm and Spasmodic Dysphonia (Interview)