Disability Access News

At 5 months, I became the youngest “polio victim” in New York State. I began to walk at age 6, wearing braces on both legs. Later, I needed a cane and then a wheelchair. There are, of course, countless individuals with disabilities much worse than mine, and many handicapped people whose accomplishments are infinitely greater than mine. But I am clearly covered by the Americans With Disabilities Act, and I think my achievements are greater than most “normal” people would expect from a guy in a wheelchair.

I am not writing this to boast about my accomplishments. I’m writing it to show other physically challenged individuals that life with a disability can be a good life, and to discourage “walkies” from automatically feeling sorry for someone in a wheelchair.

My disability probably helped my grades. Unable to participate in sports, I had more time to study. In high school I was first in my

class. I was also class president. At Hamilton College I made Phi Beta Kappa, and at Harvard Law School I graduated in the upper third of my class.

During my last year at Harvard, I met Lorraine King. Two weeks later we were engaged, and six months later we were married. Lorraine had no disability and was not concerned about mine.

After law school, I practiced for 42 years with Buffalo’s largest law firm. I became chairman of the Trusts and Estates Department, and was listed in every edition of “The Best Lawyers in America.” In 1992, I received an award “for exceptional contribution to the section and the probate bar.”

Unlike most people, I enjoy public speaking. It’s an endeavor in which my disability is of no consequence. I taught classes for the New York State Bar Association, the American Institute of Banking, the Creative Education Foundation and the American College of Chartered Life Underwriters.

Writing doesn’t require walking either. Twenty-one of my articles have been published. A 1992 piece helped persuade the Shriners to drop “Crippled” from the name of their Hospitals for Children. A Holiday Inn magazine article about creativity included quotes from Woodrow Wilson, Thomas Edison, John Steinbeck, Mark Twain — and Gordon Mac- Leod. The article quoted from an essay written during my 30 years as a trustee of the Creative Education Foundation: “Almost every cloud does have a silver lining, but it takes imagination to find it.” The concept has special meaning for people with disabilities.

In my early years as a law firm associate, I began designing toys and games as a hobby. Over the years, I have licensed games to Hasbro, Pressman Toys, Milton Bradley, Talicor, Hearthsong, Toys R Us and Ravenburger.

Following a 1965 visit to Las Vegas, I read a book on blackjack and practiced diligently at home. On my next trip, the system worked — too well, in fact. Several casinos, paranoid about “card counters,” strongly indicated that I was unwelcome. Now, as I play locally using a different strategy, I win less often but have more fun.

People with a strong sense of rhythm usually express it through dancing. I found a different way. Soon after my parents bought me a used set of drums, I was playing at high school dances. Since 1969, I have been the drummer for the Amherst Male Glee Club.

That’s it — 80 years in the life of a “polio victim.” I can honestly say that, despite my handicap, conceivably because of it, I can think of no one whose life I would trade for my own — with the possible exception of Warren Beatty.

Younger disabled people who have been forced to live in nursing homes on the New South Wales mid-north coast could soon get a reprieve.

About 100 people, including several on the mid-north coast, asked to move when they were surveyed by the State Government.

The Minister for Disability Services, Kristina Keneally, says they will be provided with more specialised care.

"They're young people, and they want the type of life and the type of lifestyle that their age peers are having," she said.

"What we're aiming to provide is 100 new supported places, flexible age appropriate, innovative places."