Running With Babies.

Wow would I ever love to have a had a teacher this supportive! The good article for the week. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things and doing them to benefit others.

http://www.beavertonvalleytimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=128163223640300100

I think the man is a hero but I'm wondering whether or not he could have found something less painful to do to promote cancer awareness. What do you think?

Need help solving problems? Find someone eighteen months old. This is a pretty fascinating article:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/08/what_babies_are_teaching_scien.html

The article, does it surprise you, fascinate you, or both? Do you believe babies have problem solving abilities at such a young age?

OK, I admit I have an ego. Maybe a small one but one just the same. Every so often I will search my name on Google to see if anyone is saying good or bad things about me. You can see how often I search my name by the date on the article. I am so popular that I had one hit. I was mentioned on The Oregonian's web site in February:

http://www.oregonlive.com/hillsboro/index.ssf/2010/02/yodeling_its_not_swiss_cheese_says_blogger_and_other_links.html

Thank goodness I was called clever.

Are you clever too? I think you are but come on now pat yourself on the back and fess up and call yourself clever.

Who Am I?

Yesterday's answer: BRIGADIER GENERAL WILMA L. VAUGHT

You will not find me in Wikipedia but I was born in 1946 and according to my Mom I was eager to be born because I wanted to arrive before the doctor got to the hospital. I had cerebral palsy but mom didn't know it until I was five. Doctors told Mom she was being a hypochondriac. I attended public schools in New York City. Throughout my school years, I never knew other students with disabilities. I only had friends without disabilities. I played all of the games, including punch ball. During my teenage years, my friends started dating, thinking about boys, getting periods and developing breasts. Although I went through all that but felt that I was not going to be part of the dating scene and that sex, marriage and children were not possible for me. I concentrated instead on my studies. I thought my role was to do very well in school and to get good grades and just to achieve. It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I began to consider the possibility of a social and sexual life. When I was 22, 1 had an important experience. I worked one summer for a prominent woman economist who had cerebral palsy. When I interviewed for the position, it was like looking in a mirror. Her effects on me are still with me. I was impressed that a woman with cerebral palsy could become so successful in her career, particularly in the "man's field" of anti-trust economics. She also gave me the ability to see that I could have both a career and a social life. My self-esteem really began to improve when I found a career I liked, being a psychotherapist. After attending a psychotherapy training institute for a year, I was asked to leave because some of the teachers didn't think that a person with my disability should become a psychotherapist. They claimed that my disability would be too stressful for patients to handle. They suggested I consider a different career. My life as a disability rights activist began after I successfully sued the institute. I achieved a certain level of self-confidence to be able to consider not just my brains, but my whole self. I wanted more than just to be smart. I became involved in the women's movement. Although I was the only woman with a disability involved with my women's groups, I had a real sense of commonality. I sponsored a mentoring program for girls with disabilities. Named the Networking Project for Disabled Women and Girls, the project allows women and girls with disabilities to meet and share experiences. I wanted to help girls with disabilities avoid certain things that I had experienced, especially the isolation and the acceptance of negative stereotypes. After I started the Networking Project, I wrote a book to help young women with disabilities learn about the experiences of women who had "been there." I'm helped a national youth organization on modifying their Operation SMART program that addresses the under-representation of girls and women in science and math so that it is accessible to girls and young women with disabilities. According to my book I am "Disabled, Female, And Proud" Who Am I?