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Long neglected, disabled make gains in Caribbean

By David McFadden
Published October 16, 2014 4:07am ET
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Long neglected, disabled make gains in Caribbean
In this Oct. 7, 2014 photo, seventh-grader Andre Coleman poses in his wheelchair at his new school in the Mona neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica. The hard-working 12-year-old with a big personality has a disabling spinal condition that does nothing to stop him from enthusiastically joining in football games with able-bodied peers. Even as they grapple with overcoming numerous challenges, hopes for the future are rising among many disabled youngsters.in Jamaica. Last week, lawmakers passed a watershed law that will, among other things, prohibit workplace discrimination and create a special tribunal to rule on complaints made by disabled citizens. (AP Photo/David McFadden) | David Mcfadden

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Claudia Gordon abruptly went deaf as a child in rural Jamaica, and lost much more than her hearing as a result.

She was pulled out of school and kept at home to perform chores. Neighbors shunned, and sometimes mocked her. Some of the people who took care of her periodically hauled her off to rituals where soothsayers would attempt to cure the medical condition, still mysterious to this day, that caused her deafness.

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