Yahoo! Accessibility

The next installment of Yahoo’s bi-monthly Disability News roundup will be published Jan. 22. Happy holidays to all!

Was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer bullied?

George Giuliani, a special ed professor at Long Island University in New York, has some issues with a classic Christmas cartoon. “The whole community of the North Pole is into exclusion, not inclusion,” says Giuliani of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” a 1964 television special that finds its way back onto the airwaves each December. “The message to disabled children is we will not accept you as you are, but only if you can do something extraordinary,” he said. If your family is watching Charlie Brown, the Grinch, or, yes, Rudolph this season, here’s some advice from Herbert Nieburg, a Connecticut psychologist and bullying expert: “Parents should have a conversation with their kids … the main one being about difference. How do we work with people who are different? It’s not just having a red nose, it’s being gay, smart, athletic. Parents should talk constantly with kids about how we treat other people.”

Santa Claus and Rudolph puppets from the TV special "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." (AP photo/Paul Vernon)

Broadway strikes an autism-friendly chord

A unique performance of Broadway musical “The Lion King,” based on the Disney film by the same name, incorporated production changes aimed at making the theater-going experience more accessible for people on the autism spectrum. Adjustments to the show included “bringing down the sound of a steam blast, lowering the music at points, and eliminating strobe lights,” said Lisa Carling, director of the Theatre Development Fund’s Accessibility Programs. The sensory sensitivities some autistic people have can turn large crowds, bright lights and loud sounds into big stressors, making theater attendance difficult. The Associated Press reports: “According to organizers, the performance in the 1,600-seat theater had quickly sold out (with another 1,000 families on a waiting list for tickets), pointing to a real need for accessible theater for the autism-spectrum community.” TDF plans to mount another autism-friendly show in 2012.

A production of "The Lion King" in Las Vegas. (AP photo/Darrin Bush).

The touchscreen that lets you feel textures

The Week reports on the next frontier in touchscreens: “Touchscreens that feel nubbly or even fur-like? That’s the surreal promise behind new technology from Tokyo firm Senseg, which allows users to feel textures captured in an image on a tablet’s display screen — photos of pebbles, sandpaper, or packing material will feel like the real thing.” Potential uses include virtual keyboards with discernible key edges, Braille tablets, and touch-based video games.

Deafness shaped Beethoven’s music

According to scientists, progressive deafness profoundly influenced Beethoven’s compositions, prompting him to choose lower-frequency notes as his condition worsened, AFP reports. What’s really interesting is that once he was totally deaf, the higher notes returned. “When he came to rely completely on his inner ear, he was no longer compelled to produce music he could actually hear when performed, and slowly returned to his inner musical world and early composing experiences,” says the research paper. Check out a video about the project below:

More reading

• Paralyzed Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand is featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s year-end issue.
• The Obama administration unveils a plan to boost employment for disabled workers.
• A new study finds cochlear implant problems are rare in children.
• Tell me, doc: How long do I have? Life expectancy is a topic many disabled seniors want to talk about with their doctors but very few have that discussion, a new study finds.
• Thousands of disabled people rallied in Athens to protest sweeping benefit cuts imposed in Greece that have deprived many people of sign-language translation.
• A new kind of robotic therapy might help some stroke survivors walk.