Feel Good

"A society where everyone, regardless of background or disability, feels welcome, included and supported"

Among the daily stories of disasters, destruction and general bad news, we want to create a space where people can come and feel good.

Here you will find stories that make your heart sing and you face light up. These stories are about the joys of diversity and difference and the fullness that is the human experience.

If you have a story that you would like to see here, please email us mdaa@mdaa.org.au

---

USA

They laugh about it now

(By Mark Woods, 29.10.11) No, listening to them re-tell the story of what happened when Carson Pickett was 6 months old, when a prosthetics guru tried attaching a series of artificial arms, you realize that they smiled even then.

Mike and Treasure Pickett say the only time they cried was the day their only child was born and the nurse said they had a problem. Carson was missing her left arm below the elbow.

"We had a little cry," Mike Pickett said. "But that was about it. And Carson never has complained about it or questioned it.

When she was 6 months old, she basically did the opposite. Even though she couldn't talk yet, she clearly complained and questioned why people kept attaching things to her body.

She supposedly had been given a golden opportunity. A prosthetic specialist in Spartanburg, S.C., where they lived at the timeme, was going to make her the youngest recipient at the children's hospital. He tried three different types of prostheses on her. One with hooks attaching to her right shoulder. One myoelectric. And one standard, passive model.

In each case, the result was the same. They wanted her to try crawling. And she did. But first she yanked off the prosthetic and started sucking on it. Then she went flying across the floor, crawling at an amazingly fast pace. If that wasn't enough to make them appreciate what Carson had, not what she was missing, there was the first family they met at the Shriners Hospital. They had a young boy with no arms or legs.

"That kid would use his nubs and just fly down the hall, laughing and giggling," Mike Pickett said. "I looked at Treasure and said, 'Man, we are lucky.'" Today you pity Carson at your own risk.

On a soccer field, where she has become one of the best high school players in Florida, she can use a wicked left-footed shot to make opponents feel helpless.

Off the field, as a senior at St. Johns Country Day School, she can use a wicked comeback to make classmates groan. "One of my friends said, 'I'm so hungry I could eat both of my arms,'" she said. "I said, 'Well, I can eat one of mine.' ...I always joke about it and make people uncomfortable. That's my favorite thing to do."

She smiles. The reality is that, more than anything, she makes people forget about it. One time last year someone from another team was talking to one of her best friends, Kaili Torres, trying to ask about Carson.

"This girl was trying to describe me," Carson said. "She said, 'the girl with one arm.' And my friend said, 'We don't have a girl with one arm.' ... She totally forgot. People I've been with forever don't even think about it."

Treasure Pickett recalls that, as a mom, that was her biggest fear. Not how Carson would respond to having one hand. How others would. Would it hamper her socially? When she got older, would it scare away the boys?

"I was hoping it would," Mike Pickett said with a smile, looking over at his daughter. "I tried to teach her to let soccer be her boyfriend. It worked for a while."

If you had to guess at how Carson became so good at soccer — 24th among high school seniors in America, according to one recruiting ranking — you'd probably say she gravitated toward it because it's a sport that doesn't require the use of your hands, that even has rules against it. But that's only part of it.

Her mom, now the principal at Orange Park High School, went to a college basketball Final Four with Northeast Louisiana in 1985. Her dad played college soccer and was drafted by a professional team, the Cleveland Force. Both became high school coaches. Both had taken courses in adaptive physical education and worked with kids with a variety of physical disabilities.

So not long after Carson yanked off her first prosthetic limb, she was playing sports. All sports. Tennis, basketball, golf. You name it. Remember how her parents said they only cried the day she was born? That's not completely true. They cried a different kind of tears the day she competed in her first swim meet, swimming the anchor leg and leading a relay team to victory.

"We were bawling," Mike Pickett said. "She hopped out and said, 'Why are you crying? I won. " But it was probably inevitable that she would end up playing soccer. That's what all her friends did. It's what her dad coaches, the St. Johns Country Day girls team and an elite under-18 club team, Creeks Clash. He won two state titles as a player at St. Johns Country Day. But he says it has been more meaningful to win a couple with his daughter — who also won two more in track-and-field as part of a 4x400-meter relay team. When the Spartans play their opener Monday, he will kick off his 14th season as coach at St. Johns Country Day and his last
one as coach of his only child.

When you bring this up, you get the feeling that there might be a few more tears when she plays her final Creeks Clash game and heads off to Florida State, one of the top programs in the country. It was a wild recruiting process. When they went to Tennessee, the school had legendary women's basketball coach Pat Summitt greet them. But as memorable as that was, it's tough to top what the Texas A&M coach did.

He arranged for them to meet Emily Peterson, a former A&M player who in 2009 was named the most outstanding senior student-athlete in Division I women's soccer. Peterson was born without part of her left arm. She's the same height as Pickett (5-foot-8), wears the same number (16) and plays the same style.

"The coach said he about fell out of his chair the first time he saw Carson play," Mike Pickett said.

There is one difference, though. Peterson wears prosthetic limbs, passive on the field and myoelectric off it. She told the Picketts that one of her most embarrassing moments was when the arm came off during a game against top-ranked North Carolina. The action stopped while she went over, picked up her arm and re-attached it.

Carson Pickett was able to share some of her stories, like when a ref called her for a handball, saying she had touched the ball with her left hand. Her dad pointed out that she didn't have a left hand. And won't any time soon.

Not too long ago she went back to a Shriners Hospital to try a new prosthesis. She put it on and walked around, swinging the arm. They shot some video of it, knowing that it wasn't going to last. And sure enough, it was only a matter of time before she was repeating what began when she was 6 months old. Ditching the limb, flying into the future.

Source: www.jacksonville.com/

Dreams come true despite disability - Northwest Rankin student has Cinderella night

(Dustin Barnes, Flowood 08.10.11) Northwest Rankin High student Katelyn Simpson was living a Cinderella fairy tale moment Friday night when the senior was named homecoming queen She didn't need a fairy godmother to overcome the machinations of an evil stepmother and two bratty stepsisters. Katelyn, who has Down syndrome, just needed the support of her classmates and school to say the requisite high GPA wasn't as important as being the role model she is.

"I didn't expect this," said Mitchell Simpson, Katelyn's father, as he choked back tears. "I didn't expect her to be on the homecoming court and definitely didn't expect this." Standing on the football field, surrounded by her fellow homecoming court members and her beaming father, Katelyn had a big grin on her face and a few tears in her eyes while she was crowned.

The popular student looked around as the crowd yelled its approval. The school's push to put Katelyn on the throne, however, wasn't a surprise to Principal Richard Morrison. "She's a part of this school, and we wanted her to be part of this (homecoming) night," he said. Earlier in the school year, several students petitioned Morrison to allow Katelyn's name on the homecoming ballot, he said. After discussing a possible exception for Katelyn, Morrison told students to get 100 signatures from classmates and faculty support. "They came in with over 100 signatures from students, and over 60 members of the faculty members, all saying they wanted Katelyn to be put on the ballot," Morrison said.

Students cast their homecoming votes roughly three weeks ago, said junior maid Kelsey Hubbard. "In order to be on the court, you've got to be a role model, because you're representing your school," she said. Katelyn's interaction with her classmates stood out for many, Morrison said. "Katelyn's special in a lot of ways," he said. "She's got a smile that she always shares with all the students." That smile was on full display Friday night, as Katelyn stood in a sea of homecoming maids, cheerleaders, school officials and parents.

"The faculty and the students at this school are above the best," said Katelyn's mother, Anissa Simpson, as she ushered her daughter off the crowded football field. "She was so excited getting ready (earlier this evening). All she could talk about was wearing her pretty white dress and looking like Cinderella."

Source: clarionledger.com

Despite Disability, Little Leaguer Shines on the Diamond

Missing part of an arm doesn't slow down Alex Luna, who pitches, fields and bats.

(By David Scherzer, Paul Milo, and Scott Wyllie, patch.com, 24.04.11) Alex Luna, who was born with a shortened right arm that stops at the elbow, stands out among the other players on the Belleville Knights of Columbus Little League team. But to describe the 12-year-old honor student as handicapped would be misleading.

The kid can play. 

“He’s getting better every year,” said Bob Abramson, Alex’s coach for the last three years. “It is amazing. Simply amazing.”

Indeed, after meeting Alex Luna, you almost have no choice but to expand your idea of what’s possible.

Alex, who this year is an outfielder and relief pitcher for the Knights of Columbus team, also takes to the plate too, swinging the bat one-handed. (Check out the video to watch Alex in action at practice.) He was a reliever in the season opener earlier this month.

Alex has been honing his technique since he began playing organized ball at age eight. Learning to pitch and field “was kind of difficult,” Alex admitted during a recent interview at his home, where he lives with his mother Yolanda, dad Alexander and kid sister Izabella, 4. “I had to learn to put the glove in my right arm so I wouldn’t drop the ball. I had to learn to do it fast, too.”

“That was one of the things with his pitching, learning to put the glove back on fast,” said the elder Alexander Luna, an elevator and wheelchair-lift mechanic.

Apparently, however, Alex has gotten the hang of it.

“He follows through on his pitches. He throws some heat for a 12-year-old,” said Abramson. “He’s going to strike out some kids this year.” 

Asked to demonstrate how he would field a pop fly, Alex placed his gloved left hand in the air, closed the glove around the “ball,” then balanced both glove and ball in the crook between his right arm and torso. He swiftly removed his left hand from the glove, extracted the ball and launched it. Alex executed this maneuver, from catch to throw, in less time than it took a reporter to count two Mississippi.

“If only he could take out the garbage that fast,” joked Yolanda Luna, an aide in the Belleville public schools.

At the plate, meanwhile, Alex does what any other batter does -- except one handed, without the benefit of the power that would come from a second arm. His dad said  Alex in the past has had a tendency to hang back from the plate and has drawn a lot of walks, “but when he whales it, he really whales it .”

“He gets some shots off that bat,” Abramson said. “Apparently I have a lot of power in that hand,”  young Alex said simply.  

Alex has a very rare condition known as congenital short femur, which affects about 1 in 50,000 people.  Along with abnormal limb development, those with the condition also typically experience other problems. In Alex’s case, that includes hip dysplasia, which has resulted in one leg being slightly longer than the other. The effects of the dysplasia are addressed with orthopedic shoes.

Alex, an intelligent young man who seems more confident and self-possessed than the typical preteen, readily shows a reporter his cleats, one of which has a lift cleverly concealed in the sole.

Many boys learn the mechanics of America’s pastime at a young age, and with lots of mentoring from parents and coaches. Alex’s dad, for instance, played catch with him, while mom Yolanda  showed him videos of Jim Abbott , the Major League pitcher born with only one hand who once famously threw a no-hitter for the New York Yankees. (Alex, however, is quick to point out that he’s a fan of the Yankees' cross-town rivals, the Mets.) 

But according to Abramson as well as his father, Alex largely figured out his style of play on his own. “He did it himself,” the elder Luna said, correcting his son when Alex attempted to credit his dad.  

Coaching him “is really like coaching any other kid,” Abramson said. “He got better because he wanted to work at it. When the challenge comes, he’s there to do it.”

Alex is well aware that his condition draws the attention of some, including a new set of teammates at the start of every season. But the School 5 sixth-grader deals with any questions in a straightforward way.

“I explain, and they get it,” Alex said. “They comment on how I play and they say, ‘You’re very good.’”

“It’s surprising when people first see him,” Abramson said. “We scrimmaged against 15 other towns this year....parents go to the fences to watch, they want to see this. I’m pretty sure Alex channels something. He doesn’t back down.” 

Baseball is just one arena where Alex has learned to adjust to a world largely designed for two hands. The youngster enjoys a typical range of pursuits, including skateboarding, basketball -- he took part in a student-teacher charity game at School 3 earlier this year -- fishing, swimming, and, like just about every 12-year-old in America, video games.

But to watch Alex Luna do something even as mundane as operate the controller for an Xbox is to witness a testament to human ingenuity. To work the bottom right button on the game controller, Alex uses his knee, which he jostles furiously to mimic the actions of fingers.

A student in the gifted and talented program who excels in math and science and who hopes to one day to enter a technical field, Alex said he has, in fact, yet to experience any limitations because of his physical difference.

“I always try whatever I can try to do,” he said.

Source: http://millburn.patch.com/

Mississippi artist not hindered by his disability

(By Cheryl Lasseter, Jackson, MS, WLBT, 10.03.11) 36-year-old William Heard has just enough dexterity to grip a Styrofoam ball attached to a plastic spoon.

"I love Jackson Pollock and the way he dripped using a paint brush," Heard says as he demonstrates his technique. "This is how I started painting. Using a spoon. I couldn't really hold a paint brush that well. I thought about what could I use to drip paint."

Using simple tools and some self-taught techniques, he creates canvas after canvas of vibrant artwork.

"I had surgery on my wrist where I can move my thumb in and out, but I can't move my fingers. I'm a quadriplegic," Heard said. "You never know what's going to happen in life. In an instant, things can change."

Back in 2000, Heard was a medic in the National Guard, even helping with people with spinal cord injuries, when he was involved in a car wreck that broke his C5 and C6 vertebrae.

The injury left him paralyzed.

"I basically had to start all over again. I was reborn from my car accident," Heard said.

That's why he likes to paint butterflies, a symbol of rebirth.

One of his butterfly paintings hung in the U.S. Capitol during President Obama's inauguration.

Heard is currently a board member of L.I.F.E., or Living Independently for Everyone, in Jackson.

But his studio is in Tupelo.

"I started Our Artwork. It's an art class for people with spinal cord or traumatic brain injuries. We meet several times a month," Heard says.

And if art reflects life, Heard hopes his zest for creativity will rub off on others who are disabled and need inspiration.

"Our house is our safe zone. We feel safe there, but we really need to get into the community, get back in it, become more a part of it," Heard says.

Heard also visits Mississippi schools to share his artwork with students.

Source: www.wlox.com/

New Zealand

Making light of disability

(15.02.11) Lucy McLeod regards her disability as an opportunity. The 18-year-old, who suffers from albinism, which affects her vision, has already been to the United States to take part in blind athletics and worked extensively with the Blind Foundation.

Now she has received a $1000 grant to help her begin studying arts and law at Canterbury University this year.

The former pupil of Samuel Marsden Collegiate in Wellington says her condition is not an obstacle.

"I have lots more opportunities than if I was `able-bodied'."

Lucy is one of three people to benefit from the John Burns Study Award, for students from the Wellington region who have displayed "perseverance or moral courage in the face of adversity".

Her albinism, which means she has no pigment in her skin or eyes, was not all bad, she said, with many people envious of her platinum blonde hair.

"Everyone's like, `You look like Lady Gaga'."

She wears blue-tinted contact lenses to conceal the lack of pigment in her eyes.

She has had a lifetime of asking teachers what was written on the whiteboard. "It has been kind of hard, but I have grown up with it and so it's normal for me to stand right at the front of the board."

She got her first pair of glasses when she was 9 months old, but felt sick every time she wore them and they did not actually help her sight, she said.

Although as a youngster she was self-conscious about her learning techniques, "I just got to the point where I was like, I don't care, this is my education".

The sensitivity to light, and nystagmus, a condition that makes her eyes move involuntarily, blurred her vision, meaning she cannot read street signs or see big writing from more than two metres away.

She was nervous that note-taking in lectures would be impossible, but had been offered a note-taker by the university.

She had never considered her condition would hold her back from going to university. "It's kind of just the normal thing – you finish school, you go to university ... I didn't think of myself as different, because that's the way my mum raised me, that I can just do anything."

The John Burns scholarships, running since 1991, are available to those going to university who live within 60 kilometres of Wellington railway station and meet the criteria of beating adversity.

John Burns was an engineer with the navy, who fought off pneumonia and tuberculosis but died from cancer, aged 37

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/

India

Physical disability no impediment for this mechanic

(By Rajiv Mani, TNN, 24.12.10, Allahabad) They have not sensation for sound, yet they know when it malfunctions. A father and son duo of Mohammed Shamim and Ishan are rated among the best meachanics of pressure horns in the city. Both are deaf and dumb. Only their special senses help them in handling their profession.

Watching this duo work on faulty horns is fascinating as they repair the horns while feeling the vibrations of the blowing horns. It is not only the horns, the father and son are also expert in repairing electric mechanism of vehicles.

Shamim, 45, who started working at the age of six, has three children. Ishan is his eldest child.

TOI visited the roadside shop of Shamim to peep into his life. He married Salma Begum, also deaf and dumb. "Shamim was five, when our mother died. Since there was no woman member in our family, he had to accompany me to my roadside shop. There he learnt to repair dynamo and armature and later the horns of two-wheelers. Today, he is self-reliant," Shamim's elder brother Abdul Aziz said.

Soon his business started growing, some came for his expertise while others watched him repair horns as he dexterously moved his hands without hearing the sound produced by the machines. "I know these horns make too much of sound, but this is my passion and I like it," Shamim told TOI using the sign language.

Following the footstep of his father, Ishan too has picked up and now the two are famous in the Civil Lines market. Their makeshift shop is located besides the mazar, with the nickname of `Gunge mistry'.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

A group of artists have not let their disability come in the way of realising their dreams.

(By: Kasmin Fernandes, 09.01.11, Mumbai) Don't miss the Enable India Show next Saturday that will feature Bharatnatyam, Sufi, martial art, sword fighting and yoga -- all on wheels. Like 70 million people in India, Delhi-based Vijay Kumar was born with a disability -- binding his body on a wheelchair, but not his powerhouse spirit. The 19 year-old found his calling with Ability Unlimited Foundation, India's first dance-theatre troupe for the disabled. You've probably seen them on television -- the troupe has made appearances on talent shows Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega and Dance India Dance.

"I attended a workshop that Guruji (Sallauddin Pasha, founder) conducted in Delhi for physically challenged kids. Until then, I never thought I could dance. But when I saw them do amazing turns and dances on wheels, I knew I could too."

Kumar put his heart and soul into the workshops and later joined the dance-theatre troupe. His decade-long association with the foundation gets stronger every year. "I learnt everything from dance and martial art to choreography, lighting and set direction. My dream is to become a professional artist after I graduate from college," says the junior college student in a telephonic interview from Delhi.

On January 15, he will perform Sufi, martial art, Bharatnatyam and sword fighting -- all on wheels -- along with several others from Ability Unlimited Foundation at the Enable India Show. "Organised in partnership  with NGO Utthan Prayash Foundation, the charity show is an attempt to empower the differently-abled persons by showcasing their extraordinary talents in dance performances," says the NGO's founder Tulsi Das.

Says founder-choreographer Guru Syed Sallauddin Pasha, "This is our first time in Mumbai, and we hope to change the perceptions people have of PwDs (people with disabilities)." Artists in Guru Pasha's group have varying conditions such as visual or physical impairment, polio, dyslexia, cerebral palsy, even autism.

Guru Pasha says his decision to heal the disabled through what he calls "therapeutic theatre" came 30 years ago. Since then, the foundation has staged over 100 productions across the world.

A recipient of the National Award from the President of India for outstanding performances in the category of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Guru Pasha is a world record holder in the Limca Book of World Records for creating 100 dance theatre productions and 10,000 performances by persons with disabilities across the globe.

Passionate about changing the way the world looks at differently-abled people, the able-bodied Guru Pasha sometimes even goes through his day -- including this interview -- in a wheelchair "to know what it really feels like". He says, "When I see the wheelchair, I see the chariot of Krishna. Crutches look like the trishul of Shiva to me."

Source: http://www.mid-day.com/

From dancing to disability– Bollywood gets serious

India's film industry used to mock everything from stutters to mental illnesses. Now it's championing a more enlightened take

(By Andrew Buncombe in Delhi and Alia Waheed) For a long time, if you spotted a disabled character in a Bollywood film the chances were they were there as a figure of fun.

Their disability, be it a speech impediment or a mental illness, was something to be mocked, either by the other characters or else the sniggering audience.

But something has changed. In the last couple of years, a flurry of Hindi-language films starring some of the industry's biggest names have featured differently-abled characters in positive roles. Not only that, many of the films have been box-office hits in India and beyond.

The change that is sweeping through the directors' studios of Mumbai appears to reflect a growing awareness within Indian society of the issues surrounding disability, something that has taken place because of the work of NGOs and advocacy groups. Now the actors themselves are also rallying to the cause. Among those who have spoken out is Hrithik Roshan, a leading Bollywood actor with legions of fans at home and abroad. Roshan, who was recently in London to unveil his waxwork model at Madame Tussauds – the fifth Bollywood star to be thus feted – starred as a quadriplegic in last year's film Guzaarish.

Speaking to The Independent, Roshan, who suffered a stammer as a child, said he still had to spend an hour every day on speech exercises in order to get through ordinary conversations, never mind film scripts. "In the greed of entertainment, we use people's disabilities to garner a cheap laugh, which is completely wrong," he said of films that still portrayed disability for comic effect. "My stammer was always a cross [to bear] in my life. I remember the first time somebody asked me what I wanted to do in life and I tried to say I wanted to be an actor, but I couldn't get the words out. I got stuck on the word 'actor'. I could feel a loss of breath as my stammer came and my facial expression stuck. The more anxious I felt, the worse it got."

Roshan, who caught the eye of Hollywood after his most recent film, Kites, became the first Bollywood film to debut in the US box office top 10, has been applauded by organisations working for disabled rights. The actor, who was reportedly on the shortlist for Jake Gyllenhaal's role in Prince of Persia, said the childhood bullying he received because of his stammer gave him the motivation both to succeed and to speak out. "I want to tell all the people out there who are suffering from a speech impediment that nothing is impossible if you are willing to work hard," he said. "After 37 years, I still have to sit in the bathroom for an hour with the door closed and teach myself to talk every single day."

Film industry analysts say the shift in Bollywood's attitude can be traced back to the 2005 film Black, the first by a major director to focus on a girl with disabilities. More box office success followed with the 2007 film Taare Zameen Par, directed by Aamir Khan and telling the story of an eight-year-old boy who suffers from dyslexia.

Mridula Murgai, a Delhi-based film blogger and the founder of a now defunct organisation that invited Indian film and TV stars to meet with disabled people and talk about their portrayal on the screen, said Khan's film marked a breakthrough. "The film was totally focused on the troubled world of a young boy and the inability of all those around him to understand the fact that there is a problem somewhere and that he is not a difficult child, just a different one," she said.

"Here was a paradigm shift in how a director looks at disability – from the point of view of the disabled person. Rather than making us just sympathise with his predicament, the director asked us to treat him with love and care and to stop getting upset with his inability to cope with the normal world."

Since then there have been films featuring the rare genetic condition progeria (Paa), Asperger's syndrome (My Name is Khan), amnesia (Ghanjini) and speech problems (Kaminey).

However, Ms Murgai said while the change was welcome, problems remained; disabled characters were often shown being "cured", possibly raising false expectations among viewers, little attempt was shown to portray the lives of those who cared for differently-abled people, and disabled characters rarely appeared to be happy. "I would like to see a happy disabled person. They should not all be a burden in the lives of those around them," she said.

Indeed, some organisations say Bollywood needs to do more. The Indian Stammering Association recently organised a petition to protest about the portrayal of a character with a speech impediment in the film Golmaal 3. "There has been some change in the industry," said association's spokesman Nitin Tomer. "But in this film there was a character with a speech impediment and he was made fun of."

One area in which Indian cinema has so far resisted change is the use of actors who are differently-abled. But even there a shift may be under way. Last year, the Tamil-language film industry based in the city of Chennai – sometimes referred to as Kollywood – produced the film Maa, using a cast of differently-abled actors.

It was directed by Fathima Beevi, who uses a wheelchair, and the score was produced by G Kathik, who has been visually impaired since childhood. The movie, which examines whether disability should stand in the way of love, was supported by the charity Action Aid. The film's lead actor, TMN Deepak, said the movie had been well received by Tamil audiences, especially in the city of Madurai where it was watched by thousands of people. "Attitudes towards disability are changing," said Deepak. "Things like the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities are now coming more into the mainstream. The print media has helped a lot."

Roshan, whose Madame Tussauds waxwork double features him typically bare-chested, said he had been forced to think again about his own problems with speech difficulties by the release of the British film The King's Speech, which shows King George VI struggling to overcome a stammer.

"When you find yourself in the public eye, you are subjected to even harsher scrutiny by onlookers. Everyone is observing you to the most minute detail, as if under a microscope." he said. "Rather than celebrating our uniqueness, those character traits are perceived as flawed and we are encouraged to aspire towards perfection. It places a huge amount of pressure on individuals.

"Sadly, it is a universal phenomenon. The most damaging by-product of this is our self-perception, and how we see ourselves through the eyes and opinions of others."

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/

Kenya

Top marks boy proves disability is not inability

(By Noah Cheploen, 29.12.10) An inability to see will not stop Brian Otieno from achieving his dream of being a lawyer, after he emerged among the best in the just released KCPE results. Brian, 13, from Menengai Primary School in Nakuru, was the best among those with poor eyesight. He scored 376 marks out of a possible 500.

He was the only visually impaired pupil in a class of 96 and he was ranked fourth.

Song and dance

It was song and dance after the school received the good news on Wednesday, even though his teachers had expected a better result from him, saying he had come top of his class many times before.

“He is a top achiever. We expected more from him, but we’ll settle for what he has achieved,” said Ms Rose Kisina, the head teacher.

She was enthralled by Brian’s achievement because it will, in addition, go a long way towards demystifying the myths associated with physical disabilities in the society.

“It is joy for us. We are very grateful. We know very well that such children can achieve big things in life,” she said.

To help pupils like Brian, the school bought a bus which picks them up at their homes. “It would have been better if we had boarding facilities so that they could stay here because it is difficult for them commuting to and from school daily,” said the head teacher.

Brian walks with the aid of a white cane. He stayed focused both in and outside school, leading to a good performance.

“I expected more but I’m very happy and I want to thank God, my teachers, parents and everyone who was involved in my performance,” Brian said Ms Kisina.

He wants to become a constitutional lawyer so he can speak for the voiceless. “I want to help others. I will work hard so that I can improve things in the society.”

Brian attributed his success to hard work, discipline and prayers. “I want to tell others who are like me to work hard and avoid feeling sorry for themselves because of their condition,” he stated.

“They should ignore the pity they are shown and work hard. Reading and more reading is the secret to success,” he added.

His mother, Doreen Waguma, said Brian lost his sight at the age of six after an attack of meningitis. Brian is the second born in a family of three children.

His mother says he has always done well in school. Mrs Jane Chesire, the coordinator of the programme for physically disabled children in Nakuru County asked parents with such children not to lose hope, saying that with proper support, they can achieve big things in life. “They should not hide them in their homes because they can be assisted,” she said.

Source: http://www.nation.co.ke/

Nigeria

Leaping Through Disability

(By Paul Dada, 09.01.11) While some people allow their conditions in life to restrain them from forging ahead in life, others brave all odds in their quest to attain their life goals. Abiodun Elugbaju is one of those who refused to be quenched by physical disability.

One thing most physically challenged people do is seek sympathy from people by drawing attention to their predicament. This is why it is common to see those who are handicapped begging for alms from members of the public. These people seem to hold the notion that they can only amount to nothing in the society. They have low self-esteem, are bedeviled by a sense of inferiority complex hence, they take to using their condition as a means to making a living.

There are however, a few of these physically disabled persons who would rather believe in what they can do to help themselves. These have acquired education and skills which are capable of making them largely self reliant. They believe in the doctrine of ability in disability. One of them is Abiodun Elugbaju, an erudite blind Education Correspondent with Choice FM, Lagos, one of the radio stations owned by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).

Today, Elugbaju, fondly called Otunba by friends and associates is as agile as any reporter. His disability does not restrict him from carrying out any assignment as you are sure to find him at any event that has to do with the education beat he covers.

He is not deterred by the intractable Lagos traffic however heavy, neither does inclement weather conditions. He exudes confidence. His gait does not show him to be one who is disabled. He does not feel inferior to any of his colleagues who have their full sight.

Elugbaju is humorous and sociable, being a sanguine. According to Tim Lahaye, a Christian psychologist, the sanguine is a super extrovert who is lively, outspoken, sociable and friendly. Elugbaju enjoys life too much to engage in self pity. Sympathy from people might even irk him since he attemps everything those who are not physically challenged do.

This blind journalist uses the laptop with ease and handles a tape recorder well and his sense of hearing is very sharp, making it easy for him to recognise people easily by their voices. He also has no problem with entering contacts in his phone and reading text messages.

Elugbaju knows the contents of a text message through a special software in his phone. The software is an audio device through which a recipient can hear messages sent to him.

Although vivacious and undaunted by his physical challenge, his story is not that of courage and fortitude which he now shows. The reason for his initial discouragement was because he was not born blind, so blindness to him was a shock.

Elugbaju who was born on 15 August, 1972 at Ile-Ife in Osun State, attended Ansarudeen Primary School, Ogbon Agbara, Ile-Ife, after which he attended Anglican Commercial Grammar School, Iyekere, Ile-Ife. "I lost my mother in 1975. So my father started taking care of me until 7th January, 1988 when I lost the poor man".

"I was the only male child of my father and the first child of my mother. (My mother had a girl for someone else. My father had other girls by another woman)."

At first, Elugbaju tried to combine his education with the job of a bus conductor, but he could not cope, so he had to resign himself to the fact that he was a school dropout. But from being a bus conductor, Elugbaju became a farmer.

His grandmother took him to a village called Alapata to work in a cocoa plantation owned by her uncle. The grandmother wanted him to inherit the plantation owned by her own uncle since the man had no child. At this point, Elugbaju was pleading that he be allowed to continue with his education at least up to senior secondary school level. Nobody however, seemed to be interested in his dream.

A ray of hope came when his half sister who was based in Kaduna came to take him away from the village. But his hope was dashed as Oluremi, the sister preferd he trained to become a mechanic in Kaduna. She also made him join her in her food vending business near Mando Park in Kaduna for two years.

After much entreaty from Oluremi's son, she allowed Elugbaju to start school some years later. He enrolled in Sardauna Memorial College, Kaduna in 1990. As the young man continued to savour the euphoria of being back in school, he lacked the premonition that he would soon develop a disease which would plunge him into a life of perpetual darkness.

In March of the same year, he had a terrible headache which was diagnosed as migraine. He was given medication and after that, Elugbaju said he ate white amala and draw soup given to him by his sister and that was the last thing he remembers having been unconscious for six days.

When he regained conciousness, h e discovered that everywhere was dark, he yelled for light and that was when he realised he could no longer see.

"So I went to the general hospital in Kaduna where I was diagonised with cataract. I was scheduled for an appointment on October 3, 1990 but before the appointment, some drugs were prescribed for me which my sister refused to buy and on the day of the appointment, she said she could not leave her shop

"In spite of my situation, she made me work at home. And this included washing her underwear and boiling water for her bath."

Elugbaju who was in his twenties at the time was disillusioned. "I never imagined I would be blind. I thought I was the only blind person in existence and this made me think of what I had done to deserve this." This made him attempt suicide but his efforts at suicide failed.

His orientation however, changed when a preacher came to preach to him in the house where he lived. From that time, he became spiritually inclined and went as far as looking for a miracle at a crusade held in Kaduna by the German evangelist, Reinhard Bonnke.

The only miracle which he later got in his life was a positive change in self- perception. He got involved in a church and a man with the heart of gold in that church sponsored him through blind school in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State.

"When I was there, I learned braille reading, craft-making, typewriting and animal husbandry. After that, I went back to school at Adeola Odutola College, Ijebu-Ode, starting JSS 3 at the age of 23." This was in 1994. He was a recipient of several scholarships during his secondary education.

In December, 1999, Elugbaju gained admission to read Mass Communication in the University of Lagos. While in the university, Elugbaju coped well. His friends read materials to him while he recorded them on tape. During exams, questions were read to him and he answered them.

He belonged to social clubs, was involved in Students' Union activities and during his service year, participated in many of the drills at the NYSC orientation camp.

Elugbaju after his service year was employed by the FRCN where he still works. He has since bagged a Master's degree from the University of Lagos but he is yet to get his result

Apart from being a journalist, Elugbaju is a member of a musical band. He plays the talking drum and also plays the keyboard to an extent.

Commenting on the ability of Elugbaju and his attitude to work, Mr. Amos Alfa, Head of Department, News/Current Affairs at FRCN (Choice FM) said, "I have tested and tried him and have seen that he is more reliable than some who have their sight. Before he goes for an assignment, he asks relevant questions. When he goes to an event, he knows what questions to ask. He is up to date. He is also spiritually inclined".

The story of Abiodun Elugbaju is indeed that of resilience and triumph. And it is a lesson for those who are weighed down by one disability or the other.

Source: http://allafrica.com/

USA

Delaware violinist's disability proves no match for persistence

Fifth-grader named Young Soloist for 2011

(By Edward L. Kenney, 28.01.11) Holding onto the violin bow with her palm, 11-year-old Annika Ly gets a firmer grip with a device specially designed to allow her to play the notes with much more flourish and command.

Annika was born without fully developed fingers or a thumb on her left hand, and the digits were amputated when she was 18 months old.

Yet not only has she mastered the instrument -- aided by the contraption that also allows her to arch her wrist -- but she also was picked this month as VSA Delaware's Young Soloist for 2011.

"I'm so used to using one hand that it's actually kind of easy now," she said.

Annika practices the violin every day, and she goes to weekly lessons. Middletown music instructor Kerry Craig, who has been giving her lessons for several years, saw how she had to lay her palm flat on the bow to play, so he designed a device that could help her arch her wrist more and have a better bow grip. He faxed his design to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, where a leather sleeve was made for Annika that features a Velcro strip to tighten the sleeve on her wrist.

Annika has adapted to playing with the device and is an excellent pupil, Craig said.

"I think she plays as well or better than most of the kids her age because she's inspired," he said. "She loves it. I think it's kind of proving to herself. This is something she can do, that she can excel at."

Annika received her award certificate Jan. 11 at Cedar Lane Elementary School near Middletown, where she is a fifth-grader. During a special assembly, her mom, Kirsten, who sometimes substitute-teaches at the school, read an essay Annika submitted for the competition while her daughter played a solo concert for her classmates.

"That [essay] was well-crafted and really had a wonderful message. She was really communicating with others that she is overcoming this and she is succeeding," said Jennifer Gunther, executive director of VSA Delaware, which used to stand for Very Special Artists and was started 36 years ago to inspire the disabled to success in the arts.

Annika just plain loves music. She sings wherever she goes, she said, and listens to songs all the time on the radio when her mom drives her to and from school. She enjoys fiddle-style music on the violin, although she also can play classical and other genres.

"I think it's a very fun hobby," she said. "And it's calming and relaxing."

But she had to overcome some daunting obstacles to get to where she is now. Her birth defect prevented her from playing right-handed, so her mother had to scour the Internet to find a left-handed violin to accommodate her daughter when she decided almost five years ago she wanted to play the instrument.

"They're hard to find," Kirsten Ly said. "It's sort of frowned upon. Most left-handers are told to learn it [right-handed]. If you watch a symphony perform, most of the bows are going in the same direction. I was told she just needs to buck up and play right-handed."

But then, of course, she had to tell them that she could not do that.

Kirsten Ly eventually found a supplier that would ship a left-handed violin. Annika is now on her third instrument, getting new ones as she has outgrown the old.

"It's inspiring," Cedar Lane Elementary Principal Donna Kolakowski said of her student. "The disability isn't going to keep her from doing what she wants to do."

Kirsten Ly said one of the first doctors she talked to shortly after her daughter was born told her to prepare to be amazed by what she could accomplish, and she never ceases to feel that way.

"Since she was born the way that she was, I don't think she even feels it is a disability," she said. "Everything in her life -- tying her shoe, cutting her meat -- everything she's been able to figure out. She just does it differently."

Annika submitted a CD of several songs to VSA Delaware for the competition. That same CD will be submitted for the national award competition, and the winner will get to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington in March, Gunther said.

Win or not, she is impressed by what Annika has been able to do so far.

"I think she's an emerging artist," Gunther said. "I think she is working on honing her skills. She is developing."

Annika is a little more direct in describing her playing abilities.

"Considering I only have one hand," she said, "I'm pretty good."

Source: http://www.delawareonline.com/

Local recruit turns disability into advantage

(By Jeffrey Wolf, Longmont, January 2011) He's 6 feet 5 inches tall and nearly 300 pounds, but that's not what makes Justin Hansen such an impressive recruit for the CSU Rams' football team. He earned All-State honors at Longmont High School and will be a local favorite when he starts at Colorado State University next fall.

What makes Justin impressive is that he has Asperger's syndrome. It is an extremely rare autism spectrum disorder. Only three out of every 10,000 people have it.

Justin was first diagnosed a decade ago as a second-grader. He wasn't sure how Asperger's would affect his athletic career, but he had it all backwards. It turns out his athletic career affected his Asperger's.

Playing sports helps him work through his difficulties. He is a solid student with a 3.2 grade point average. He plans to study business and information systems at CSU.

Justin was a dominant force during his high school career. Now he hopes to do the same at CSU. He picked Fort Collins over Washington, Utah and Kansas State.

(KUSA-TV © 2011 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)

Source: http://www.9news.com/

Utah attorney finds great success, despite lifelong disability

(By Jennifer Stagg, Salt Lake City, 13.01.11) It can be tempting to feel sorry for ourselves when we are dealt a trial or struggle in life. But an attorney with the Utah Attorney General's Office hasn't let his wheelchair keep him from accomplishing remarkable things.

Steve Mikita has never taken a step in his life, never felt the weight of his body on his feet, never experienced the feeling of running. But that doesn't mean he's hasn't taken bigger strides than most people ever do.

He's just done it all sitting down.

"I always knew that yes, life would have its challenges and its inequalities," he said. "But at the same time, it has a great deal of meaning and beauty and opportunities to serve and love."

Mikita lives with spinal muscular atrophy, a condition that has deteriorated his muscles. But as an assistant attorney general for Utah and a graduate of Duke University and BYU, it's rarely his disability people remember -- it's his passion and enthusiasm.

"I have been given certain talents and skills that others do not have and it's one of my missions while I am still on this earth to bring voice and protections and opportunities to individuals who a lot of society still ignores, neglects and marginalizes," Mikita said.

He tirelessly represents the state agencies that help people exactly like him and many who are much more vulnerable -- Utahns with disabilities. What he lacks physically, he more than makes up for intellectually.

It's a skill Mikita says he learned from his loving parents.

"That instilled in me hope and faith and resolve and a spirit of tenacity that no muscle could ever give me," he said. "I was given a sense that my life meant something to someone and that my life had a purpose. I needed to focus on that which I could do and not feel sorry for myself for what I could not do."

All of us have challenges, Mikita says. His are just more visible.

He suggests focusing on our abilities, rather than our disabilities.

"Let's start reconstructing our lives and our future around what you do have, not what you've lost," he said.

Steve is the brother of KSL's own Carole Mikita. He was honored by the Utah Attorney General's Office with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

Mikita also authored a book that was just released called, "I Sit All Amazed."

Source: http://www.ksl.com/

No legs no problem for local construction worker

(by Nadia Ramdass, 07.01.11, San Antonio)Here's a remarkable story about a man who refuses to let his disability get in the way of his passion for construction work.

It’s all in a day’s work for construction worker Gerardo Fragoso.

Fragoso has grown accustomed to long days at work that exert quite a bit of physical demand on him. For example, working in close, tight quarters and shoveling dirt.

But while this seems like a common task for many in this field, this particular employee is not typical.

"For me, it's not that difficult for me anymore. It used to be," Fragoso said.

Fragoso has worked construction for most of his adult life. However, he has done so without the use of his legs over the course of the last seven years.

As a young man, Fragoso played a dangerous game of chicken in 1988 when a train hit him. He lost his legs and ultimately steady employment as a construction worker.

For years, employers doubted Fragoso could meet the physical demands of the job. But seven years ago he proved them wrong when his future boss noticed his talents.

"I've never seen anyone work that fast. He fits in places I don't fit. I'm six foot one and he's about three feet tall. He has an advantage down there," said License Contractor Francisco Lozano of Frank's House Leveling.

"I'm 69-years-old and I've never seen anybody that could get around and work as hard as he does," said client Esequiel Campos.

For those of you who feel the odds are against you, Fragoso has this message: "Don’t give up, don’t give up, no matter what," Fragoso said.

Source: http://www.kens5.com/

Stevie Wonder’s vision for the blind and visually impaired comes true

(24.10.10) In an unprecedented United Nations-supported initiative, people who are blind and those who have other forms of visual disability will have access to published works through publisher intermediaries who will create accessible formats of publications and share them with specialized libraries.

The initiative is in line with the Declaration by the world-famous singer-songwriter and UN Messenger for Peace Stevie Wonder who on 20 September 2010 called on the international community to take action to enhance accessibility for all those with physical disabilities. 

The new initiative aims to ensure that people with print disabilities in both developing and developed countries have equal access to published works as persons without print disabilities.

The arrangement was announced on 23 October 2010 at the end of the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) meeting in the Indian capital, New Delhi.

‘The success of this project – which represents an effective global partnership for development – will require commitment and investment of all concerned,’ said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry,who attended the meeting in New Delhi.

Mr. Wonder made his call when he spokeon at the opening of the annual meetings of WIPO Assembliesin Geneva, where he challenged delegates to conclude an agreement on improved accessibility to copyright protected works by visually impaired persons (VIPs).

He was launching his ‘Declaration of freedom for people with disabilities’ at the start of the annual meeting of Member States of WIPO.

Wonder said then that the declaration was ‘a call to action, a plan to empower the independence of people with disabilities by providing them with the tools to learn and grow.’

‘Through your legislative efforts, incentives can be created to advance the blind and visually disabled towards the promise of a better life,’ he told the ministers and policy-makers from WIPO’s 184 Member States.

It is estimated that only five percent of the world's one million print titles that are published every year are accessible to the some 340 million around the world who are blind, visually impaired or who live with other print disabilities.

Under the initiative, specialized organizations globally, such as libraries for the blind, have taken on the task of adapting these books into Daisy, Braille audio or special digital formats.

WIPO is collaborating with organizations representing authors, publishers and blind and low vision persons, including the World Blind Union and the International Publishers Association to provide access to a wider range of accessible books.

WIPO will provide the technical support for the project.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/

(By Gerry Tuoti,  Staff Writer, Taunt Gazette, 22.10.10, Taunton) After losing a leg when she was hit by a car at age 13, Taunton native Sarah Doherty leaned heavily on community.

She will share her story Sunday, Oct. 24, at an event sponsored by One Light Center for Spiritual Transformation.

“My focus will be the foundation of the person I became, so I could take new steps in new directions as a disabled person,” said Doherty, 50, who now lives in British Columbia, Canada.

After losing her leg, Doherty was determined to overcome her disability and developed a passion for hiking. She has scaled some of the tallest peaks in the world, including Mt. McKinley and Mt. Kilimanjaro.

She went on to become an occupational therapist and developed a specialized type of crutches called SideStix.

Doherty is speaking on behalf of One Light at the invitation of its founder, Peggy Patenaude, who was her teacher at Taunton Catholic Middle School back in the 1970s.

“Peggy has always kept (me) tough and is one of my spiritual mentors,” Doherty said. “She’s a good person who is full of love and kindness.”

The presentation will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Cape Cod & Islands Realtors Association Conference Center, 22 Mid-Tech Drive, West Yarmouth. The event is free for children and has a suggested donation of $15 for adults to attend.

“As a former teacher of Sarah, I can attest to the indomitable spirit she has displayed over her lifetime,” Patenaude said in an email announcement for the event.

While visiting Massachusetts, Doherty will also deliver the keynote address at the Massachusetts Association of Occupational Therapists’ fall conference in Norwood.

Doherty, who grew up as one of nine children in her family, said she is grateful for the support she received throughout her life.

“I’m not terribly religious, but I do believe in the power of prayer,” Doherty said. “The community prayed for me and willed me to survive.”

She also went on to compete as a member of the U.S. disabled ski team in the 1988 paralympics, and carried the Olympic torch for the Vancouver Winter Games

Much of what she has accomplished in life, she said, she owes to support from her community and family.

“I learned to be strong confident person,” she said. “I think that the first thing I learned from the help of my family was to re-enter my life using strength. I have a deep gratitude for where I come from, and a deep gratitude for life.”

Source: http://www.tauntongazette.com/

Disability didn't keep Russell Schupp from serving

(By Brian Albrecht, 11.07.10) There's a reason Russell Schupp, a Kirtland farm kid, congenitally blind in one eye, wound up driving an ambulance at night, with no headlights on, over rugged Italian mountain roads, occasionally dodging tanks and artillery fire during World War II.

And that reason fits right in with the themes of honor, pride and duty to country on July 4, Independence Day.

Schupp, now 85, of Grand River, remembered the frustration of being classified as unfit for military service, 4F, during the war. After all, his father was a World War I Army field artillery veteran who fought in France, and his older brother had enlisted in the Marines and served in the Pacific theater.

"I tried the Army, Navy, Air Corps, K-9s, everything. I couldn't get in," Schupp said.

He remembered how people shot questioning looks him -- an apparently healthy candidate for combat -- and the cop who harshly asked, "Why aren't you in France with my boy?"

Then he spotted a small newspaper story about the American Field Service and its need for ambulance drivers for the war. (Today, AFS Intercultural Programs is perhaps best known for its foreign student exchange program, established after the war.)

During World War I, the American Field Service ambulance corps was formed by the American Hospital in Paris and fielded 2,500 volunteers in vehicles financed by private donations.

Come World War II, the call went out again and about 2,000 recruits served as noncombatant ambulance drivers who transported wounded and dead from battlefields in Europe. Some 36 volunteers were killed, 62 wounded and 13 captured.

Many drivers were not qualified for military service due to age or physical disability. Schupp recalled an early encounter with a fellow recruit who asked, "What is your particular maladjustment?"

Schupp paid his own way to New York so he could be shipped overseas and assigned to duty with the British Eighth Army fighting in Italy in 1944.

While en route, he wrote to his father: "I am on my way again to see more of this exciting, cruel, curious, humorous, sad world. One day registered 112 degrees in the shade and the ship's PA system plays Bing Crosby's 'White Christmas.' It's mental sabotage. I've been sleeping in damp conditions on the ground. Mom may use my car, if she keeps it polished!"

In Italy he lived out of his ambulance, sleeping on a stretcher, and adjusted to the eccentricities of English military life. "They stopped the whole war for tea, at 10 in the morning and two in the afternoon," Schupp recalled. "When I got home I never had another cup of tea."

To avoid becoming an easy daylight target, most of his driving was done at night with headlights doused to avoid getting shot at, as he carried casualties from the front lines or forward aid stations to larger medical facilities in the rear. Schupp said the drivers eventually developed keen night vision -- "that's what saves your life."

The threat of enemy fire was a constant companion. "About three or four times the German 88s [artillery] found me," Schupp said. "They did not hit me, but they were close and scared the . . . Well, I always carried a change of underwear with me -- No, just kidding about that."

Narrow roads were another challenge and Schupp quickly discovered that tanks always had the right of way. He recalled one ambulance that was sliced open by a passing tank, "just like a can opener."

Schupp was glad his role was strictly delivery, maybe lending a hand with stretchers now and then. Once, a forward aid station doctor asked him to hold a plasma bottle during emergency surgery. Schupp said he held it at arm's length, looking away, because the doctor "didn't know I faint at the sight of blood."

The observation still makes his wife, Trudy, chuckle at the idea of an ambulance driver who gets woozy at the sight of blood, driving with one good eye in the dark along roads marked with directional signs in a language he can't read.

Somehow Schupp made it work, and he's proud that he did. "It gave me the courage to face things in the future, from then on, to know that if I could do that, I could do this, too," he said.

That future included a career as a typesetter at local newspapers, including the Painesville Telegraph and Lake County News-Herald, and raising four children with his wife.

The past still periodically revisits at night, waking him, but not in a bad way. Just vivid recollections of Italy and war.

Looking back, Schupp said, "I'm glad I was in a position to help people, and not shoot them. I've got nothing against the guy who has to carry a rifle, because I tried to enlist and they wouldn't let me.

"But I was happy I could drive an ambulance. The fact that I could do it is a great blessing to me."

Source: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/07/disability_didnt_keep_russell.html

A Level results: Shaun hopes he'll be an inspiration

22 August 2009

Teenager Shaun Turner has triumphed in his A-levels after refusing to let his cerebral palsy hold him back at school.

The 18-year-old studied at St John Fisher Catholic College, in Newcastle, and was given a laptop and scribe to help him cope with the demands of essays and other written work.

Now he has achieved B, C and D grades at A-level after taking English language, philosophy and ethics, and law. He is now preparing for university next month and hopes his success will inspire others. Shaun, who lives in Gillow Heath, near Biddulph, said: "I've done brill. I'm really chuffed. It's been quite hard work, but really worth it. I was predicted Cs and Ds, so getting a B has been a big achievement."

Cerebral palsy, which is linked to brain injury and causes movement problems, affects people in different ways. Shaun has remained relatively mobile, but seemingly simple physical tasks can prove tricky. "I struggle to write quickly and to make it legible," he said. "The other main problem is tiredness. Later in the day, I've tended to be really tired. It was a bit of a challenge in the exams.

"I was given extra time in the exams and also had a laptop, which the school provided." Shaun joined St John Fisher half-way through his first year at high school after finding it difficult to settle at his previous school. He said: "My mum and dad and I were very impressed with St John Fisher when we first spoke to the staff.

"They have made me feel like my disability is not an issue which can't be overcome. I have felt really valued at the school. "The teaching staff have also been brilliant and offered me a lot of support." As well as providing the equipment to help with his writing, the school teamed him up with a mentor, who helped him with the transition into the sixth form.

Shaun, who also has 10-and-a-half GCSEs, has now landed a place at De Montfort University, in Leicester, to study English and journalism. Staff at St John Fisher say he has contributed much to the life of the school during his six years and he fully deserves his academic success. Joanne Hughes, head of the school's sixth form, said: "Shaun was deputy head boy last year and has played a fantastic role. He was also one of our senior prefects. He's a top young man."

Source: www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk

---

Student with disability awarded for perseverance

Cherie Rodriguez, Miami Herald USA

Oscar Ortiz, a 10-year-old who attends Treasure Island Elementary School, came to the United States two years ago from Puerto Rico. Besides suffering from cerebral palsy, he had to learn a new language and make new friends.

"At first, it was hard, but my teachers helped me," Ortiz said.

Ortiz once was known as a student who hid from schoolmates and teachers behind a language barrier. Now they recognize him for his persistence and outgoing personality.

"I never give up," Ortiz said. "I keep on trying."

This past school year, Ortiz was awarded the Award of Excellence for Students with Disabilities. Oscar won the county-wide award in the elementary school division. The award is given by Parent to Parent of Miami, a nonprofit that advocates for kids with disabilities, and the Superintendent's District Advisory Panel for Students with Disabilities, made up of parents of children with disabilities, school officials and other education advocates. The award is given to students with disabilities that have demonstrated a high level of independence, effort and progress in classes.

"We are looking for students that have made progress, and develop friendships,'' said Isabel Garcia, executive director of Parent to Parent of Miami.

Oscar's special education teacher Alexis Schonfield and inclusion teacher Jilian Herrera sponsored his application for the award, citing his significant attitude improvement.

"When I first met him, he would refuse to speak to me and only spoke in Spanish,'' Schonfield said. "He got rid of his wheelchair and now only uses it for field trips.'' His mother, Jenniffer Del Valle, also noted a change in Ortiz's personality.

"He has changed a lot because he was frustrated and he cried,'' Del Valle said. "Now he tries to do everything himself.''

Ortiz struggled with his academics at first, but he later learned to thrive in the classroom, according to Schonfield. With hard work, he became a member of the Accelerated Reader Club, which recognizes students that achieved an 80-percent score or higher on quizzes of specified books.

"Before, he couldn't do anything on grade level,'' Schonfield said. "And now he is doing everything on his own and you never hear him complain.''

The perseverance that Oscar shows also makes him stand out to his classmates, Schonfield said. Now he proudly sports a green walker instead of the wheelchair he started school with.

"The kids see that he is a leader because even a walk to the computer is hard for him,'' Schonfield said. "The other kids see that he has to work twice as hard to do basic things, and that they have nothing to complain about.''

Ortiz continues to dream big, and his next goal is to become a Hollywood actor.

"According to the application's description, when he comes into a room, everyone knows he has arrived.'' Garcia said. ``He doesn't see his disability as a barrier."