LLG-LS Special Needs

Famous People Lifelong Guidelines & LIFESKILLS

These are people who have persevered to live life to the fullest even though they have special needs and/or disabilities.

TRUSTWORTHINESS

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States. was 39 years old when he was stricken with polio. He struggled to regain the use of his legs. During the Great Depression, Roosevelt’s reassuring "fireside chats," calmed a worried public.

TO ACT IN A MANNER THAT MAKES ONE WORTHY OF TRUST AND CONFIDENCE LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

TRUTHFULNESS

Ronald Reagan, the 40th American President, was one of the most famous people identified as having Alzheimer’s Disease. He started out in show business and also served as Governor of California for eight years.

TO BE HONEST ABOUT THINGS AND FEELINGS WITH ONESELF AND OTHERS LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

ACTIVE LISTENING

As a baby, Helen Keller was very ill and lost her sight and her hearing. A wonderful teacher, Annie Sullivan taught Helen to fingerspell words and to talk. She attended Radcliffe College and later became a speaker, author, and spokesperson for the blind.

TO LISTEN ATTENTIVELY AND WITH THE INTENTION OF UNDERSTANDING LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

NO PUT DOWNS

Jean Driscoll, born with spina bifida, is a seventime winner of the Boston Marathon, setting world records in five of those races. She won silver medals the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, as well as two gold medals, one silver and one bronze at the 1996 Paralympics.

NOT TO USE WORDS, ACTIONS, AND/OR BODY LANGUAGE TO DEGRADE, HUMILIATE, OR DISHONOR OTHERS LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

PERSONAL BEST

Manny Guerra, goalie on the U.S. Paralympic Hockey Team, says he just wants to be seen as an athlete doing his best -- not as a paraplegic overcoming adversity to play an able-bodied sport.

ONE’S BEST POSSIBLE PERFORMANCE GIVEN THE TIME AND RESOURCES AVAILABLE LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

CARING

When Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded Special Olympics in 1968, she envisioned a program of athletic competition for people with mental retardation that sidelined prejudice and substituted opportunity and understanding. Through her advocacy, she has brought to millions of lives what all people deserve.

TO FEEL AND SHOW CONCERN FOR OTHERS LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

COMMON SENSE

Patricia Polacco has been writing children's books even after she was diagnosed as having dyslexia, dysnumeria and dysgraphia at the age of 14. Patricia did not learn to read well until after she was 14 years old. A teacher was able to get the additional help Ms. Pollaco needed to overcome her reading problems!

TO USE GOOD JUDGMENT LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

COOPERATION

Mark Zupan, 30, is the captain of the U.S. quadriplegic rugby team, which competes in the Paralympics and took home a bronze medal at the Athens games. He appears in Murderball, a film that won the Documentary Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.

TO WORK TOGETHER TOWARD A COMMON GOAL OR PURPOSE LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

COURAGE

Jason McLewain, student with autism, played his first four minutes of his high school team’s last basketball game. During that time, he scored six 3 pointers and one other shot (after missing the first two) and scored 20 points for his team. A movie is being made about this courageous young man.

TO ACT ACCORDING TO ONE’S BELIEFS DESPITE FEAR OF CONSEQUENCES LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

CURIOSITY

Stephen Hawking, British physicist and author, is perhaps the world’s best known scientist. He has been diagnosed with AML but still leads a full life despite the fact that he is wheelchair bound.

A DESIRE TO INVESTIGATE AND SEEK UNDERSTANDING OF ONE’S WORLD LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

EFFORT

Christopher Burke, born August 26, 1965 in NY is an American actor with Down Syndrome who played Charles "Corky" Thatcher on the television series Life Goes On.

TO DO YOUR BEST LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

FLEXIBILITY

Lou Ferrigno, deaf American film and television actor, professional bodybuilder who won titles of Teenage Mr. America in 1970, Mr. Universe in 1973, Mr. America in 1973, and Mr. Universe in 1974. He acted in the original Incredible Hulk TV series.

TO BE WILLING TO ALTER PLANS WHEN NECESSARY LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

FRIENDSHIP

Walt Disney, who is believed to have been dyslexic, was a cartoonist and the visionary founder of Disneyland and Disney World. His characters are friends to everyone!

TO MAKE AND KEEP A FRIEND THROUGH MUTUAL TRUST AND CARING LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

INITIATIVE

Christopher Reeve became a quadriplegic as a result of injuries when he fell off a horse. He and his wife, Dana, founded the Christopher Reeve Foundation. This organization supports research to develop effective treatments and a cure for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury.

TO DO SOMETHING BECAUSE IT NEEDS TO BE DONE LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

INTEGRITY

Working for a law firm as a file clerk in 1991, Erin Brockovich discovered the medical records of people with illnesses caused by toxins in their places of employment. Her investigation into the matter resulted in one of the largest direct action lawsuits in history. She is dyslexic.

TO ACT ACCORDING TO A SENSE OF WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

ORGANIZATION

People have speculated that Albert Einstein had Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of Autism. In his words, “My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities...."

TO PLAN, ARRANGE AND IMPLEMENT IN AN ORDERLY WAY, TO KEEP THINGS ORDERLY AND READY TO USE LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

PATIENCE

Brian Wilson was one of the original Beach Boys. American composer, singer and record producer. He is almost completely deaf in his right ear and has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

TO WAIT CALMLY FOR SOMEONE OR SOMETHING LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

PERSEVERANCE

Marlee Beth Matlin is an Academy Award winning American actress who is almost completely deaf. She lobbied Congress to require close-captioning on all sets.

TO KEEP AT IT LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

PRIDE

Tony DuBlois is a 31-year-old pianist who is blind, autistic and has Savant Syndrome. He has been playing the piano since age two. Tony was the subject of the 1997 CBS “Made for TV Movie of the Week "Journey of the Heart" which was inspired by actual events in Tony's life. “

SATISFACTION FROM DOING YOUR PERSONAL BEST LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

PROBLEM SOLVING

Temple Grandin, PhD, is an associate professor at Colorado State University and arguably the most accomplished and well-known adult with 'high functioning' autism in the world. Grandin is also a world renowned professional designer of humane livestock facilities.

TO CREATE SOLUTIONS FOR DIFFICULT SITUATIONS AND EVERYDAY PROBLEMS LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

RESOURCEFULNESS

Famed major league baseball player Jim Abbott overcame a birth defect of having only one hand. He beat the odds, and became an amazing professional baseball pitcher and ball player for the Angels, the New York Yankees, the Expos and other teams.

TO RESPOND TO CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE WAYS LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

RESPONSIBILITY

Charles Schwab is an American creator of a multimillion dollar brokerage firm. He earned a Business MBA from Stanford despite severe dyslexia. He founded PERC, Parents' Educational Resource Center in San Mateo, Ca., which provides counseling to families dealing with learning disabilities.

TO RESPOND WHEN APPROPRIATE; TO BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006

SENSE OF HUMOR

Robin Williams, actor and comedienne, was diagnosed as having A.D.D. and learning disorders as a child.

TO LAUGH AND BE PLAYFUL WITHOUT HURTING OTHERS LG/LS © Susan Kovalik & Associates 2006