A tall and slim strawberry blonde, Kelsie (not her real name) is a seventeen-year-old high school junior born with Spina bifida, a congenital disorder caused by the incomplete closing of the embryonic neural tube. In addition to Spina bifida...
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A seventeen-year-old high school senior with a winning smile and short brown hair that throws off reddish glints, Donald (not his real name) has Down syndrome. He is a young man of few words and, like most guys, keeps his feelings to himself...
Read More It’s rare to see a fourteen-year-old working these days. The times have changed and priorities have shifted along with the times. A combination of unmotivated and/or overindulged youth coupled with protective parents keeps many teens locked...
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Classified with intellectual disabilities, Benson (not his real name) is a friendly fourteen-year-old with an engaging smile and an easy personality. I first met Benson when his mother called me after she read a newspaper article about my work...
Read More I realize that we have to give names to things, but I’m not sure that “disability” or “disabled” should be used to describe human beings. Read the below story about one teen I worked with and let me know how...
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PART 2 OF 2 I’d built momentum from the last charity event I created, organized, raised funds for, and promoted. Now I needed to replicate its success. I conducted research, made some calls, and drafted a heartfelt letter to send to Mr...
Read More PART 1 OF 2 For many years people have debated which fighting style is superior. Boxers argued they would knock out wrestlers. Wrestlers claimed they’d defeat boxers after bringing the fight to the ground. Karate practitioners, kickboxers, tae...
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PART 2 of 2 During my next visit to Charleston the following December, I was once again hired by Lindsay’s parents to help their daughter with a new project. Her parents reported that she was still working well with Carly at The...
Read More PART 1 of 2 Due to the flexibility of my job and my wife’s work—combined with our desire to travel and embark upon new adventures—I was able to build a small caseload of students in Charleston, South Carolina each winter. During my work in...
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This article originally appeared on Disabled World’s website: https://www.disabled-world.com/disability/publications/special-stories.php Over the last fifteen years, award-winning transition educator Mike Kelly has worked with hundreds of...
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Below read what some notable people, papers and organizations are saying about “Special Stories…” “In life you meet a lot of very interesting people. Some are takers and others are givers. Mike Kelly is a giver and he...
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In the second half of my book I talk about how celebrities I reached out to wanted tens of thousands of dollars to briefly appear at charity events I had conceived and organized benefiting individuals with disabilities, and how I was both shocked...
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