Spring 2023
Living the Hard Times Out Loud
This beautiful poem by “a mother on a mission to help families and caregivers navigate life with differently-abled kids” presents the powerful story of Noah Williams. Noah lives an extraordinary life as an artist, athlete, and public speaker, as he deals daily with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and visual impairment. As Naomi’s words flow through the poem, they detail his lifelong struggle, and the love of people who join in his joy of living and help him navigate his days. “The best that is in him keeps unfolding into the spaces so many help open and hold.”
How Structural Oppression Has Shaped the Physical Therapy Profession and Access to Rehabilitative Services
Physical therapy has been practiced in the US for more than 100 years. But have rehabilitative services been the same for all Americans? These authors show how Black, Brown, and Indigenous People have not fully reaped the rewards of this, or any, aspect of the US healthcare system. They state that the nation’s “structural racism” continues to shape “exclusion of racialized persons from all levels of physical therapy.” They offer this article as a “first step in better understanding this history”—and in finding real solutions.
Towards a Global Knowledge Creation Strategy: Learning From Community-Based Rehabilitation
Community-based rehabilitation has been growing worldwide, in efforts to improve the lives of persons with disabilities within their own communities. This Perspective sheds light on the global development of CBR—and demonstrates the differences in rehabilitation research and practices between high-income countries and low-to-middle income countries. To reach all people in need, the authors suggest opportunities for “national collaboration to integrate knowledge between countries regardless of income categorization.”
Profiles in Professionalism With Susan S. Deusinger
Download the article (pdf) Introduction The Profiles in Professionalism series featured in the Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation seeks to explore the elusive yet crucial
“The Hat”
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents My husband was so strong, athletic, caring. I fell in love with him when I witnessed how gently
Ascents
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents Rock-hobbled pace: praiseproud, profane. Slow strolls aroundeach missing mountain. About the Author(s) Woods Nash, MPH, PhD Woods Nash,
Owed to the Fingers
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents Fingers make our lives go aroundThey snap and tap out daily soundsThey wave on a fetal ultrasoundAnd lower
Little Gestures
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents You turned the broken door handle,went inside, and here we are. The tools I have to help are
“The Classroom, Clinic, and Community: What Can We Do With All Three?”
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents Congratulations to Doctor of Physical Therapy graduate student Mason Trauger (DeSales University), SPT, winner of the annual CHEP-JHR
Getting to the Heart of the Patient-Provider Interaction: A Novel Theoretical Framework
[vc_row content_placement=”top”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading source=”post_title” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left|color:%231e73be” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”By Dustin Willis, PT, DPT, PhD(c) and Everett B. Lohman III, DSc, PT” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left|color:%23000000″ use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1679457323855{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Download the article
The Fight
In this expressive poem, Dr. Diana Early gives an authentic voice to the experiences of parents of children born with Down syndrome. Drawing upon her research into the lives of families, she chronicles “the fight” these parents endure to gain what others take for granted.
Editorial: “The Thicket of Life”
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents The “thicket of life.” This metaphor resonates deeply with me as I struggle under the weight of unanswered
Gutted
Tiffany Bystra reflects on the peculiar path of her illness journey, which has led to a trail of recovery that feels both disappointing and thrilling. In this powerful and humbling poem, she provides rich insight into how it feels to taste both the sweetness and the tartness of life in the same moment.
The Intouchables Revisited: Shifting Perspectives With our Dynamic Society
We present our first set of paired articles—the previously published The Intouchables–A Reflection on Disability and Caregiving: Who Helps Whom? and a new piece, Intouchables Revisited: Shifting Perspectives With our Dynamic Society, both by Dr. Sarah Caston. The author re-visits her previous article with a fresh perspective.
On her own journey to revisit this piece, Caston invites us into this “space of curiosity,” to question our long-held presumptions, and rethink words like independence, autonomy, and flourishing. She asks us to ponder what it means to “relinquish…our power in order to empower.” We present both her original review and her current commentary together, to observe the process of critical thinking–and re-thinking–and to perhaps prompt us to do so in our own work.