Role Models?

Role models come in many forms. There are even anti-role models, people who are in the don't let this be you club. The most important role models are parents and or other immediate family. Without good role models at home, I doubt others will be all that effective. I knew of famous handicapped people, but never thought that could be me! Nah, the big role models for me were much closer to home, parents brothers and my sister. All gave me both encouragement and challenged me to do more. I was never told I could not be something, no matter how unlikely it was. I was encouraged to take on challenges both large and small. I was never excluded from play time with brothers and my sister. They always worked me in somehow. Cannot ride a bike? No worry, I'd ride with one of my brother's bikes on the back or even be towed behind in a wagon. Who says I cannot play football? They would put a helmet and shoulder pads one me and we would crash into each other like fools! Yeah, I was always included even being punished when needed. I never thought of teachers as role models. They were teachers. I'm lucky in that I never had any really bad teachers. They were all okay to outstanding. I never thought of actors, or pro-ball players as role models for the most part. There were a few notable exceptions...

Whenever I got stuck trying something, I'd think of James West figuring out how to get out of a trap being cool and looking good all the while. He never lost his composure going into panic mode. I also sometimes thought of myself as Jim Rockford, laid back detective. These guys used their brains. Later on in life as a young teen, I was exposed to the real possibility of doing some pretty serious drugs. I remembered all the anti-drug ads Magic Johnson did. "He would not be wasting his time, if he was not serious."-- my teen brain thought. I passed on those opportunities. The druggies I hung around at the time were cool with my decision. Thank God, there was not a lot of peer pressure BS!

My conclusion? For me, it did not matter if a given role-model had a disability of some kind or not. I had the important role models of a good loving family and friends. With out that, I'm not sure what the best teachers in the world or most well intentioned famous athletes can do. So if you stumbled across this blog asking how to best help a disabled son or daughter, look no further than a mirror.