Newport - Shake A Leg
This morning I was in Newport in Bretton Point Park telling stories and talking with kids and adults from Shake-A-Leg. If you haven't heard about shake-a-leg, it's an amazing organization that treats people with handicaps like human beings -- and tests them, giving them credit for resources that many of us ignore. In other words, not limiting their lives but expanding them.
It's been wonderful telling stories to these youngsters because it calls into question my own preconceptions. For instance, I decided to put Jack (as in the Beanstalk) into a wheelchair, and then deal with all the problems he would have climbing and fighting giants. Turns out you just need to be a little inventive.
Talking with Donna Tolpa about issues that concern her, she said that the sort of non-person status many people to the handicapped is one of the most troublesome. At the recent tall ships festival, she heard a woman clucking about how the handicapped children Donna was taking out to see the ships were just in the way and really ought to be at home. "Hi there," the woman said, when she got close, putting on a false smile.
Even though the Americans With Disabilities Act has made great strides, Tolpa says, we still have a long way to go.
posted by Mark Binder @ 1:41 PM
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