University of Central Florida

This week, I was reading my Pegasus U.C.F. Alumni magazine and saw a little boy with a prosthetic arm on the cover. I had seen something about it on the news earlier in the week but, really hadn’t thought too much about it.

What really struck me about the story in the magazine was the fact that Alex’s mother noticed the difference having the prosthetic makes in his life. I’ve spoken with many parents of children and people with disabilities and I know that emotions about disability run the gamut. Whether someone’s disabled at birth or a disability occurs later in life, it can be difficult for people to handle. One of the most important things is the support and love our parents give us to achieve our goals. I know living with a disability can be challenging for everyone affected but, positive results can always be achieved because of our outlook on life. The way his parents have encouraged him and didn’t give up on finding the assistance he needed will impact him for the rest of his life. Not just because the end result was receiving the prosthetic, but also the other seeds the experience has potentially planted.

At the same time, sometimes prosthesis aren’t suitable for those who might be able to utilize them, depending on their particular circumstances. That’s okay too. We all find a way to compensate when we need to accomplish our goals. According to the article, although adjusting to the weight of the prosthetic has its challenges, it’s given Alex a new outlook on life. Although he may still have challenges ahead, I think this opportunity will start him looking at life in a different way, allowing him to begin his own adventure. Kudos also are in order to the team of students who had a part in completing this project. They unselfishly took the time out to positively impact someone else’s life. The difference they made will be felt for years to come by many not able to get this assistance by other avenues currently available.

How have different pieces of assistive technology impacted your life?

For more information check out the link below:

http://today.ucf.edu/fulfilling-6-year-olds-dream-ucf-students-design-build-arm/

Thanks for reading..

Since I was watching a pre-season NBA game earlier tonight, I guess it’s fitting that today’s post is about basketball. Specifically, I’d like to spotlight The University of Florida for adding a basketball player who has a physical disability to their roster. I graduated from the University of Central Florida, and anyone who knows me, knows how much I love the Knights but, a special kudos goes out to the University of Florida for making this choice.

I’ve written before about adaptive sports but, this is really great. Zach Hodskins was born with part of his left arm missing but, it’s obvious he never let that stop him from what he wants to do in life. It’s not about what you can’t do, it’s about knowing what you want to do and finding a way to get there. I’m proud to read that he never stopped the way people looked at him from what he wanted to do. I have limited use of my left arm and hand and if I let the fact that people stare at me sometimes stop me from what I want to do in life, I wouldn’t have accomplished as many things as I have. As I’ve said before any sort of sport whether it’s an adaptive one or if you can participate in a mainstream one, the most important thing is to stay active.

With younger people who are disabled positively influencing the younger generations, and showing the older generations that disability doesn’t stop us from focusing on our abilities, maybe we can begin to erase the negative stereotypes that unfortunately still exist. Maybe then we could just be seen as people with different abilities like everyone else in this world.

What do you think about disabled people playing in mainstream sports?

To find out more about this story, you can check out the link below:

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2013/10/22/one-armed-teen-commits-to-university-florida-basketball-team/

Thanks for reading..

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Special Gift from UCF Students

The New University of Florida Basketball Player