For Many With Disabilities, 'Let It Go' Is An Anthem Of Acceptance; NPR, January 22, 2019

Joseph Shapiro, NPR; For Many With Disabilities, 'Let It Go' Is An Anthem Of Acceptance

"Since its arrival in 2013, many groups have found significance in the song on a personal level. Stories abound of gay, lesbian and transgender people, people in prison, people with eating disorders and chemical addictions and plenty of others on the margins, all identifying with the tale of a queen in hiding, who learns to shed her shame and accepts the things that make her different...

And that's the power of "Let It Go": It's an anthem for people taking pride in who they are, the way they are. Kristen Anderson-Lopez says she still hears from people who identify with the song's message.

"I think anyone who's carrying a secret shame," she says, "that gets so heavy that they really can't carry it anymore, is identifying with this idea of just shedding that and starting anew. Letting it out, letting it all explode and trying to find your way forward.""

Gay and Lesbian High School Students Report ‘Heartbreaking’ Levels of Violence; New York Times, 8/11/16

Jan Hoffman, New York Times; Gay and Lesbian High School Students Report ‘Heartbreaking’ Levels of Violence:

"The first nationwide study to ask high school students about their sexuality found that gay, lesbian and bisexual teenagers were at far greater risk for depression, bullying and many types of violence than their straight peers...

The survey documents what smaller studies have suggested for years, but it is significant because it is the first time the federal government’s biennial Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the gold standard of adolescent health data collection, looked at sexual identity. The survey found that about 8 percent of the high school population described themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual, which would be about 1.3 million students...

Dr. Elizabeth Miller, the chief of adolescent and young adult medicine at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said, “The intensity of homophobic attitudes and acceptance of gay-related victimization, as well as the ongoing silence around adolescent sexuality, marginalizes a whole group of young people.”...

Dr. Miller, who is also a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said that self-acceptance can begin at home. “We have to start conversations early with young people about healthy sexuality, attraction, relationships, intimacy and how to explore those feelings in as safe and respectful a way as possible,” she said."

‘It’s Sacred’: A Gay Refuge, Turned Into a War Zone; New York Times, 6/13/16

Michael Barbaro, New York Times; ‘It’s Sacred’: A Gay Refuge, Turned Into a War Zone:

"To fully grasp the unique horror of what happened inside Pulse — a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., that became the site of the worst mass shooting in America — you have to understand the outsize role that gay bars play in the history, lives and imagination of gay people.

They are refuges and havens, places where, the moment you cross the threshold, there is an unspoken understanding: You will feel accepted and safe.

In Orlando, that concept was perverted and upended in the most brutal way imaginable. The safe harbor became a bloody death chamber.

It was a gay bar that had liberated me and so many of my peers, once we finally summoned the courage to stick around and take a seat, putting us on a long path toward self-acceptance."

Santa's Powerful Message For Boy With Autism: 'It's Okay To Be You'; Huffington Post, 12/10/15

Dominique Mosbergen , Huffington Post; Santa's Powerful Message For Boy With Autism: 'It's Okay To Be You' :

"“Santa sat him next to him and took L's hands in his and started rubbing them, calming them down. Santa asked L if it bothered him, having Autism? L said yes, sometimes. Then Santa told him it shouldn't. It shouldn't bother him to be who he is,” Johnson wrote in her post.

Landon told Santa that he sometimes “gets in trouble at school and it's hard for people to understand that he has autism,” but that he's “not a naughty boy.”

“You know I love you and the reindeer love you and it’s OK. You’re a good boy,” Santa told WOOD-TV, recalling the exchange with Landon. “You’re a good boy, you know.”

Johnson said she was incredibly moved by Santa's thoughtful words.

“This stranger in a red suit told my son the same message I've been trying to get through to him for a while now -- that he's special and I love him just the way he was made,” the mom told Today.com. “Seeing Landon's face light up in that moment was just incredible. I couldn't stop crying.”"