A database of news and information about people with disabilities and disability issues...
Copyright statement: Unless otherwise stated, all posts on this blog continue to be the property of the original author/publication/Web site, which can be found via the link at the beginning of each post.
HOUSTON - A musical perspective both unique and provocative. It is the gift of Richmond singer and songwriter Kyle Cousins (pictured).
Cousins' capacity to express with music what so many others living with autism keep locked up inside has offered a welcome window into an often mysterious world.
His debut album "Spectrum" drew devoted fans and now his song "Everybody Wants to be Heard" has been licensed by the national advocacy group Autism Speaks as a national campaign song.
"This isn't just about a few states or a few cities this issue is nationwide, so its the perfect campaign song for this cause, to stop autism once and for all," says the 20-year-old Cousins.
The song has been incorporated in soon to be distributed public service announcements.
For Cousins' proud parents, this thriving and inspiring is a worthy pay-off for years of struggle.
"To be offering this hope to other young families is a miracle to me," says Kyle's mom, Diane Cousins.
For Kyle Cousins, exposure to a new and growing national audience represents a real chance to make a meaningful mark with his music.
"Yes, I do have autism, but really I'm just a singer, that's all."
A self image that says as much about where he's headed, as where he's been.
Beth Haller, Ph.D., is Co-Director of the Global Alliance for Disability in Media and Entertainment (www.gadim.org). A former print journalist, she is a member of the Advisory Board for the National Center on Disability and Journalism (https://ncdj.org/). Haller is Professor Emerita in the Department of Mass Communication at Towson University in Maryland, USA. Haller is co-editor of the 2020 "Routledge Companion to Disability and Media" (with Gerard Goggin of University of Sydney & Katie Ellis of Curtin University, Australia). She is author of "Representing Disability in an Ableist World: Essays on Mass Media" (Advocado Press, 2010) and the author/editor of Byline of Hope: Collected Newspaper and Magazine Writing of Helen Keller (Advocado Press, 2015). She has been researching disability representation in mass media for 30+ years. She is adjunct faculty in the Disability Studies programs at the City University of New York (CUNY) and the University of Texas-Arlington.
From My Fox-TV in Houston:
