Letter from the Editor
"So What!"
That's not just a snarly comeback to someone who might question what you're doing. It's part of the title of a book by Ben Anderson. The complete title is IQ of 63 - So What!
Born with cerebral palsy, Anderson grew up in the small town of Kenmare, N.D. When he was 12, he discovered he wasn't quite like everyone else. Until then, the eight-year resident of the former Crippled Children's School felt "normal”. The year was 1965. Anderson returned to his hometown to live with his family for the first time since he was 4. He began to realize he was different, he says, because of the way he was treated by others. He never felt that way at the school, because "everyone else was different.
"I began to ask myself, 'Why?' Why am I different from the rest of my peers?" It's that attitude he encountered as a boy that he's trying to change in others now with Break Through, Inc., a non-profit organization he founded in 1978. "I believe that people need to be treated and respected for who they are;' Anderson says. He travels the country spreading that message and teaching people about vocational rehabilitation.
We met Ben at the 2008 TASH Conference in December in Nashville, Tenn. His "So what!" attitude fits in with TASH's philosophy -"fighting for a society in which inclusion of all people in all aspects of society is the norm”
The annual conference brings together university researchers and grade school teachers, service providers and people receiving support, disability rights lawyers and the government agencies they sometimes battle. We heard references to "person-centered planning;' "self-determination" and "nothing about us without us:'
Those phrases sum up, in a way, what TASH is all about. Since it was founded in 1975, TASH has stood against separatism, stigmatization, abuse and neglect and promoted full inclusion and participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of life.
"TASH believes that no one with a disability should be forced to live, work or learn in a segregated setting; that all individuals deserve the right to direct their own lives:' The people we write about in this issue of Apostrophe have taken that message to heart even if they don't know anything about TASH.
Lissie Clark and Jennifer Bodner, both of Great Falls, and Tony Shea of Anaconda, for instance, live full, productive and satisfying lives after overcoming obstacles thrown their way.
Lissie runs a successful business, making and selling all-natural dog biscuits and educating people about fetal alcohol syndrome at the same time. Jennifer is a successful artist, whose talents with oil and brush on canvas came to light when she was in her 20's. Tony, a movie buff and retired clerk at Washoe Market and later Safeway Store in Anaconda, has written a history of his hometown.
There's much more in this issue about people determining their own lives. In our "Access" section, columnist Chris Clasby of MonTECH gives readers the run-down on adaptive recreation equipment, while Disability Rights Montana lawyer Tom Dooling explains the pros and cons of guardianship in a section titled "It's the Law:'
You'll also read about Exceptionalities, a program that pairs students with peer tutors at Missoula Sentinel High School and about Special Olympics Montana's 14-year partnership with a Whitefish ski resort.
This issue also brims with practical advice: how to paint a room, where to get a converter box for the change to high -definition TV, how to keep your skin healthy and glowing, where to go for help with filing tax returns, how to make hearty clam chowder and where to find a job.
As always, forget the apostrophe's - can't and don't. We can and do.
– Jim Tracy
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